The Book of Hosea (Biblical Hebrew: סֵפֶר הוֹשֵׁעַ, romanized: Sēfer Hōšēaʿ) is one of the books of the Twelve Minor Prophets of the Nevi'im ("Prophets") in the Tanakh and a book in the Christian Old Testament, having fourteen chapters in both. According to the traditional order of most Hebrew Bibles, it is the first of the Twelve.
Set around the fall of the northern Kingdom of Israel, the Book of Hosea denounces the worship of gods other than Yahweh (the God of Israel), metaphorically comparing Israel's abandonment of Yahweh to a woman being unfaithful to her husband. According to the book's narrative, the relationship between Hosea and his unfaithful wife Gomer is comparable to the relationship between Yahweh and his unfaithful people Israel: this text "for the first time" describes the latter relationship in terms of a marriage. The eventual reconciliation of Hosea and Gomer is treated as a hopeful metaphor for the eventual reconciliation between Yahweh and Israel.
