Honor and Shame in Hosea's Marriages

Abstract

While Hosea's marriage has often been read in terms of an analogy of action, so that the ‘whoring’ of Israel parallels the whoring of Gomer, this article argues that the analogy rests on a status of shame. Yahweh commands Hosea to take on the shameful status of being married to a whoring wife. Hosea thereby embodies Yahweh's shameful status in being bound to Israel. By noting this we are able to understand the paucity of details that leave commentators puzzled and to reckon with the marriage statements as they stand. The restoration of Israel and Hosea's second marriage are then understood as embodying Yahweh's embrace of the shameful status for the sake of his love (covenant devotion) towards Israel.