Wounds and Healing, Dew and Lions: Hosea’s Development of Divine Metaphors

The study of Hos 5:8-6:6 has been concerned primarily with the passage’s historical context and apparent historical references. The metaphors of the pericope have received comparatively less attention. In this article, I analyze three metaphor domains (water, healing, and lions) in Hos 5:8-6:6, trac...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Lancaster, Mason D. (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Catholic Biblical Association of America 2021
In: The catholic biblical quarterly
Year: 2021, Volume: 83, Issue: 3, Pages: 407-424
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B Hosea / Hosea 784 BC/725 / Metaphor / Lion / Wound / Healing / Water / God / Jahwe
IxTheo Classification:HB Old Testament
Further subjects:B preexilic prophets
B Hosea
B Character
B Repentance
B Yhwh
B Hermeneutics
B Metaphor
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Summary:The study of Hos 5:8-6:6 has been concerned primarily with the passage’s historical context and apparent historical references. The metaphors of the pericope have received comparatively less attention. In this article, I analyze three metaphor domains (water, healing, and lions) in Hos 5:8-6:6, tracing the development and reversal of those domains across the rest of the book, and noticing some consistent patterns in those developments and their rhetorical purpose. Finally, I draw three theological implications from the developing characterization of Yhwh that results: (1) Yhwh’s consistent character—as expressed, for example, in Exod 34:6-7—manifests in different ways at different times in response to different circumstances. (2) Yhwh does not circumvent failure, sin, and judgment in order to reach the ultimate divine purpose; rather restoration comes through judgment. (3) By appropriating metaphors and imagery from contemporary deities and nation-states, Hosea lays claim to Yhwh’s exclusive sovereignty over the people of Israel, as well as Yhwh’s absolute sufficiency to meet all of Israel’s needs and desires.
ISSN:2163-2529
Contains:Enthalten in: The catholic biblical quarterly
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1353/cbq.2021.0082