Texts in Conversation
Hosea describes a broken bond between God and Israel that will one day be restored, with rejection turned into renewed acceptance. Paul later quotes these words in Romans but applies them to Gentiles, showing how he reshaped scripture to serve his rhetorical goals rather than interpret it in its original context.
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Hosea 2:23
Hebrew Bible
21 “At that time, I will willingly respond,” declares the Lord. “I will respond to the sky, and the sky will respond to the ground; 22 then the ground will respond to the grain, the new wine, and the olive oil; and they will respond to ‘God Plants’ (Jezreel)! 23 Then I will plant her as my own in the land. I will have pity on ‘No Pity’ (Lo-Ruhamah). I will say to ‘Not My People’ (Lo-Ammi), ‘You are my people!’ And he will say, ‘You are my God!’”
Date: 6th Century B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Romans 9:25
New Testament
23 And what if he is willing to make known the wealth of his glory on the objects of mercy that he has prepared beforehand for glory— 24 even us, whom he has called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles? 25 As he also says in Hosea: “I will call those who were not my people, ‘My people,’ and I will call her who was unloved, ‘My beloved.’” 26 “And in the very place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’ there they will be called ‘sons of the living God.’”
Date: 55-58 C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... The extraordinary feature of Paul's appeal to Hosea is not the freedom with which he paraphrases the wording of Hosea 2:25 (2:23 in most English translations) - including his introduction of the link-word call into the passage - but the revisionary interpretation that he places on the prophecy. In its original setting, Hosea's prophecy promises the restoration of a sinful and wayward Israel (i.e., the northern kingdom) to covenant relationship with God. Though God provisionally disowns Israel through a dramatic reversal of the covenant promise ("for you are not my people and I am not your God" [Hosea 1:9b, compare Exodus 6:7]), he ultimately will supersede Israel's covenant violation through his own steadfast love, symbolized by Hosea's faithfulness to the harlot Gomer ..."
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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