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The scent of Israel is compared to the wine of which country?

Hosea

Hosea uses a troubled marriage as a living message about faithfulness. Explore its themes of love, justice, and returning to God, even after failure.

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Fascinating Fact:

Hosea frequently speaks about “knowledge” of God as something lived out through loyalty and justice, not just ritual.

In Specialist The Bible, Hosea is one of the “minor prophets”. It mixes poetry and prophecy to challenge empty religion, warn about the consequences of unfaithfulness, and call people back to wholehearted commitment and mercy.

Key Terms

Prophet: A messenger who speaks God’s message to the people, often calling them to change direction.
Covenant: A serious agreement or relationship commitment, especially the bond described between God and God’s people.
Idolatry: Worshipping something or someone instead of God, including trusting power, wealth, or false gods.

Frequently Asked Questions (Click to see answers)

What is the book of Hosea about?

The book of Hosea is about unfaithfulness and restoration. It uses strong images and warnings to show the harm caused by turning away from God, while also offering a call to return.

Where is Hosea in the Bible?

Hosea is in the Old Testament among the minor prophets. In most Bibles it appears near the end of the Old Testament, after Daniel and before Joel.

Why does Hosea talk about marriage and relationships?

Hosea uses marriage imagery to show how serious loyalty and betrayal can be. It helps explain the idea of commitment, heartbreak, and forgiveness in a way readers can recognise.

Try These Related Quizzes

All quotations from the Bible are taken from the Authorised King James Version.

1 .

Hosea, at the command of God, took a wife. What was her name?

Gillian

Gomer

Gail

Guner

God told Hosea to marry a woman of ill-repute. This was a symbol of God's relationship with his sinful people.

Hosea 1:2-3
"The beginning of the word of the Lord by Hosea. And the Lord said to Hosea, Go, take unto thee a wife of whoredoms and children of whoredoms: for the land hath committed great whoredom, departing from the Lord. So he went and took Gomer the daughter of Diblaim; which conceived, and bare him a son"

2 .

Hosea was told by God to name his son Jezreel. What does 'Jezreel' mean in Hebrew?

God Sows

God Loves

God Judges

God Forgives

Jezreel was the name of a valley in Israel where much blood had been spilt. Hosea's son, like his wife, was also a symbol. He represented God's judgement which would soon be sown upon Israel.

Hosea 1:4-5
"And the Lord said unto him, Call his name Jezreel; for yet a little while, and I will avenge the blood of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu, and will cause to cease the kingdom of the house of Israel. And it shall come to pass at that day, that I will break the bow of Israel in the valley of Jezreel"

3 .

Hosea and his wife next had a daughter, Lo-ruhamah. She also was symbolic, but of what?

Of the slavery of the Jews

Of God's mercy

Of an end to God's pity

Of God's forgiveness

Lo-ruhamah means 'not pitied.'

Hosea 1:6
"And she conceived again, and bare a daughter. And God said unto him, Call her name Lo-ruhamah: for I will no more have mercy upon the house of Israel; but I will utterly take them away"

4 .

Gomer had a third child, named Lo-ammi. What does the name Lo-ammi mean?

Not Loved

Not Holy

Not Clean

Not Mine

God was showing that he had rejected the sinful nation of Israel.

Hosea 1:8-9
"Now when she had weaned Lo-ruhamah, she conceived, and bare a son. Then said God, Call his name Lo-ammi: for ye are not my people, and I will not be your God"

5 .

Hosea became sad because he had lost which member of his family?

Gomer

Lo-ammi

Jezreel

Lo-ruhamah

Hosea's wife left him and her children in order to be with her lovers.

Hosea 2:5
"For their mother hath played the harlot:
she that conceived them hath done shamefully:
for she said, I will go after my lovers,
that give me my bread and my water,
my wool and my flax, mine oil and my drink."

Gomer's betrayal was symbolic of Israel's abandoning God

6 .

Despite her wicked ways, Hosea loved Gomer and went out to look for her. He found her living as a slave and he paid her owner to give her back. How much did Hosea have to pay for his wife?

5 pieces of silver and 17 litres of barley

15 pieces of silver and 317 litres of barley

45 pieces of silver and 517 litres of barley

75 pieces of silver and 3,170 litres of barley

Hosea 3:1-2
"Then said the Lord unto me, Go yet, love a woman beloved of her friend, yet an adulteress, according to the love of the Lord toward the children of Israel, who look to other gods, and love flagons of wine. So I bought her to me for fifteen pieces of silver, and for an homer* of barley, and an half homer of barley."

Just as Hosea paid a large sum to get his wife back, God would give anything for His people to come back to Him.

*A homer was a dry measure equivalent to 211.4 litres

7 .

Hosea warns the people of their coming judgement. He says that they shall reap what?

A poor crop

Their own deaths

No crops

The whirlwind

Hosea 8:7-8
"For they have sown the wind,
and they shall reap the whirlwind:
it hath no stalk:
the bud shall yield no meal:
if so be it yield,
the strangers shall swallow it up.
Israel is swallowed up:
now shall they be among the Gentiles as a vessel wherein is no pleasure."

Hosea is saying that the Israelites will have to pay the consequences for their sins

8 .

Chapter 11 in the Book of Hosea shows God's regret that he must punish the Northern Kingdom. But He promises that one day they shall return as a bird from Egypt and as which animal from Assyria?

As a fish

As a lion

As a dove

As a lamb

The Northern Kingdom is to be conquered by the Assyrians and some people are to flee to Egypt, but one day they shall return.

Hosea 11:11
"They shall tremble as a bird out of Egypt,
and as a dove out of the land of Assyria:
and I will place them in their houses, saith the Lord"

9 .

Hosea condemns the people's idolatry, saying that they kiss what?

They kiss calves

They kiss demons

They kiss pigs

They kiss dragons

Because of their sin and their idolatry the people must be punished.

Hosea 13:2-3
"And now they sin more and more,
and have made them molten images of their silver,
and idols according to their own understanding,
all of it the work of the craftsmen:
they say of them, Let the men that sacrifice kiss the calves.
Therefore they shall be as the morning cloud,
and as the early dew that passeth away,
as the chaff that is driven with the whirlwind out of the floor,
and as the smoke out of the chimney"

10 .

The Book of Hosea ends with God's promise to restore Israel. In it the scent of Israel is compared to the wine of which country?

Lebanon

Babylon

Greece

France

A wonderful country is described, where the people shall return and they will prosper.

Hosea 14:4-7
"I will heal their backsliding,
I will love them freely:
for mine anger is turned away from him.
I will be as the dew unto Israel:
he shall grow as the lily,
and cast forth his roots as Lebanon.
His branches shall spread,
and his beauty shall be as the olive tree,
and his smell as Lebanon.
They that dwell under his shadow shall return;
they shall revive as the corn, and grow as the vine:
the scent thereof shall be as the wine of Lebanon."

Author: Graeme Haw