God
Sows the Land: Hosea’s Place in the Book of the Twelve Laurie J. Braaten, Eastern Nazarene College SBL 2000 Seminar Papers, pp.218-41
There is current interest in reading the twelve
minor prophets as a single work -- the Book of the Twelve. This paper
proposes to isolate an important theological thread uniting this Book:
the Land (’eres). A land inclusio provides a significant theological
frame for the Book of the Twelve. Hosea 1-2 introduces the reader
to land vocabulary and imagery. In Hosea land is often the focal
point of Yahweh’s judgment and salvation, presented in terms of the uncreation
and re-creation of the land occupied by Israel. Malachi 3-4
contains conditional promises of a restored land, then closes with an editorial
postscript proclaiming that unless conditions change, Yahweh will strike
the land with a curse (herem). In Hosea and Malachi this judgment
against the land is threatened against a community plagued with false worship.
In both prophets salvation is promised as a work initiated by Yahweh, but
is only sustained as the people "return" responsively to their God.
A sequential reading reveals
that the land theme is a continuous strand throughout the Twelve.
Hosea sets the stage with employment of creation and fertility language
and imagery throughout his book. This image becomes paradigmatic
of Yahweh’s more comprehensive work of re-creation of the land as a renewed
earth. This re-creation theme broadens in scope to include all nations
and inhabitants of creation as recipients of either God’s judgment or salvation.
A second and closely connected
frame is provided by the theme of God’s displaced child(ren). Disowned
in Hosea due to "whoredom" and "illegitimacy," God’s child is displaced
from the land. The child is later reclaimed and flourishes as part
of God’s creative work of restoration. Malachi contains related imagery.
Like the land theme, the displaced and reclaimed child is paradigmatic
for the more comprehensive work of the restoration of all creation.
Structual Summary
of paper.
Corrections:
Missing page, 219a in Web
or PDF
format, and full Additions
and Corrections.
