OSEE
337
OSEE
Osee. — Name and Country : Osee (Heshed'^^al-
iration), son of Beeri, was one of the Minor Prophets,
and a subject of the Ephraimite Kingdom which he
calls "the land", whose king is for him "our king",
and the localities of which are familiar to him, while he
speaks of Juda but seldom and does not even make
mention of Jerusalem.
Time of his Ministry: — According to the title of the book, Osee prophesied during the reign of Jero- boam II in Israel, and in the time of Ozias, Joatham, Achaz, and Ezechias, kings of Juda, hence from about 750 to 725 B. c. The title, however, is not quite satis- factory and does not seem to be the original one, or, at least, to have been preserved in its primitive form. None of the historical allusions with which the proph- ecy is filled appears to be connected with any event later than the reign of Manahem (circa 745-7.35); there is nothing concerning the Syro-Ephraimite war against Juda, nor the terrible intervention of Tiglath- Pile-ser III (734-733). The era of the Prophet, there- fore, if it is to be judged from his writings, ought to be placed about 750-735; he was perhaps contempora- neous with the closing years of Amos and certainly with the first appearance of Isaias. 1 he reign of Jeroboam II was marked by great and glorious external prosper- ity; but this prosperity contributed to make the polit- ical and religious decadence more rapid. Political dissolution was approaching. Zachary, son of Jero- boam, was assassinated after a reign of six months. His murderer, Sellum, retained the sceptre but one month, and was put to death by Manahem, who occu- pied the throne for ten years, 745-735. Israel was hastening to its ruin, which was to be completed by the taking of Samaria by Sargon (722).
The Book of Osee: — It always occupies the first place among the twelve minor prophets, most prob- ably on account of its length. In point of time Amos preceded it. The book is divided into two distinct parts: cc. i-iii, and cc. iv-xiv. (a) In the first part, Osee relates how, by order of Jahve, he wedded Gomer, a "wife of fornications", daughter of Debelaini, in order to have of her "children of fornications " : — sym- bols, on the one hand, of Israel, the unfaithful spouse who gave to Baal the homage due to Jahve alone ; and, on the other, figures of the children of Israel, who in the eyes of Jahve, are but adulterous children. The outraged husband incites the children against their guilty mother, whom he prepares to punish : while for the children themselves is reserved a fate in keeping with their origin. The first is named Jezraliel — the reigning dynasty is about to expiate the blootl shed by its ancestor Jehu in the valley of Jezrahel. The second is a daughter, L6-Ruhamah, "disgraced" Jahve will be gracious no more to his people. The third is called L6- Ammi, "not my people" — Jahve will no longer recog- nize the children of Israel as his people. However, mercy will have the last word. Osee is commanded to receive Gomer again and to prepare her, by a tempo- rary retirement, to renew conjugal intercourse — Israel was to prepare herself in captivity to resume with Jahve the relationship of husband and wife.
Is the marriage of Osee historical or purely allegori- cal? The hypothesis most in favour at present says that the marriage is historical, and the grounds for it are, (1) the obvious sense of the narrative; (2) the ab- sence of any symbolical sense in the words Gomer and Debelaim; (3) that the second child is a daughter. It appears to us, however, with Davidson (Hastings, " Diet, of the Bible ", II, 421 sqq.) and Van Hoonacker, that the first reason is not convincing. A careful read- ing of cc. i-iii discloses the fact that the action is ex- tremely rapid, that the events are related merely in order to express a doctrine, and, moreover, they appear to take place within the single time requisite to one or two speeches. And yet, if these events are real, a large part of the Prophet's life must have been spent in these unsavoury circumstances. And again, the XL— 22
names of the children appear to have been bestowed
just at the time that their meaning was explained to
the people. This is especially the case with regard
to the last child: "Call his name, Not my people:
for you are not my people. . . ." Another rea-
son for doubting this hypothesis is that it is
difficult to suppose that God ordered His Prophet to
take an unfaithful wife merely with a view to her being
unfaithful and bearing him aduUonius children. And
how are we to explain the fact that the prophet re-
tained her notwithstanding her adultery till after the
birth of the third child, and again received her after
she had been in the possession of another? That the
second child was a daughter may be explained by
dramatic instinct, or by some other sufficiently plausi-
ble motive. There remain the names Gomer and De-
belaim. Van Hoonacker proposes as possible trans-
lations: consummation (imminent ruin), doomed to
terrible scourges; or, top (of perversity), addicted to
the cakes of figs (oblations offered to Baal). Nestle also
translates Bath Dehelaim by daughter of the cakes of
figs, but in the sense of a woman to be obtaineil at a
small price (Zeitsch. flir alttest. Wissenschaft, XXIX,
233 .seq.). These are but conjectures; the obscurity
may be due to our ignorance. Certain it is at least
that the allegorical meaning, adopted by St. Jerome,
satisfies critical exigencies and is more in conformity
with the moral sense. The doctrinal meaning is iden-
tical in either case and that is the only consideration of
real importance.
(b) The second part of the book is the practical and detailed application of the first. Van Hoonacker di- vides it into three sections, each of which terminated with a promise of salvation (iv-vii, la . . . vii, lb . . . xi . . . xii-xiv). We may accept this division if we also admit his ingenious interpretation of vi, 11 — viii, la: — And yet Juda, I shall graft on thee a branch (of Eph- raim) when I shall re-establish my people; when I shall heal Israel. In the first section he speaks almost exclusively of religious and moral corruption. The princes and especially the priests are chiefly respon- sible for this and it is on them that the punish- ment will principally fall; and as he speaks simply of the "house of the king" it would appear that the dynasty of Jehu still occupied the throne. It is different in the following chapters. In vii, la- viii, the political and social disorders are espe- cially emphasized. At home there are conspiracies, regicides, anarchy, wliile abroad alliances with foreign powers are sought. No doubt Menahcm was already reigning. And yet the religious disorders remained the principal object of the prophet's reprobation. And in spite of all, mercy ever retains its prerogatives. Jahve will gather together again some day His scat- tered children. In the last section it is felt that the final catastrophe is close at hand; and, nevertheless, once again, love remains victorious. The book ends with a touching exhortation to the people to turn to God who on His part promises the most tempting blessings. An epiphonema reminds at last every one that the good and the wicked shall receive the retribu- tion each has merited.
.Style and Text. — St. Jerome has described in a few words the style of our Prophet: "Osee commati- cus est, et quasi per sententias loquens." (P. L., XXVIII, 1015.) An intense emotion overpowers the Prophet at the sight of his dying country. He mani- fests this grief in short broken phrases with little logi- cal sequence, but in which is revealed a tender and afflicted heart. Unfortunately the notorious obscu- rity of the Prophet hides many details from our view, this obscurity is due also to many allusions which we cannot grasp, and to the imperfect condition of the text. The question has been raised as to whether we possess it at least in its substantial integrity. Some critics claim to have discovered two main series of interpola- tions; the first, of small extent, consists of texts rela-
