Hosea: The Word of the Lord that Happened to Hosea

According to the Talmud, four prophets prophesied in one age and the

greatest of all of them was Hosea. The Book of Hosea is in fact a key

to the Hebrew Bible, a unique witness to the antiquity of Scripture, as

it offers a number of the oldest testimonies to various traditions, such

as the Exodus, the Decalogue, as well as patriarchal legends such as the

cycle of Jacob. But Hosea is much more than a deposit of ancient

traditions. Hosea’s prophecy harbors phrases that have transformed the

image of God forever, such as I desire kindness and not sacrifice and

knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings (Hos 6:6), or My heart

has turned against me together - my consolations have been kindled. I

will not do the heat of my anger. […] For I myself am God and not man

(Hos 11:8cd-9ac). Far from the immobile first mover of Greek philosophy,

this is the heart of a passionate God who pours out his feelings that

are turned upside down with humanity in these inspired pages.

For the first time the four great versions in which this Word has gone

through the centuries - the Masoretic text, the Septuagint, the Vulgate

and the Peshitta - have been collated and meticulously translated into

English on a same page. This is accompanied by a wealth of annotations

that allow one to hear echoes throughout various periods, confessions

and disciplines, from textual criticism to films, as well as Jewish and

Christian traditions, literature, painting and music.