The Prophet Hoshea: Hoshea ben Be’eri
A prophet during the late First Temple period. From the first verse of Hoshea's book we learn that the prophet was active during the tenure of the Israelite king Yerovam ben Yoash, as well as during the reigns of four Judean kings: Uzziah ben Amatzya, Yotam ben Uzziah, Ahaz ben Yotam, and Hizkiahu ben Ahaz, who were Yehuda's 10th to 13th kings.
God's first communication to Hoshea is a command for him to marry a prostitute, symbolizing Israel's abandonment of God for other faiths (1:2). (The theme of infidelity is further developed in chapter 2.) Hoshea marries a woman named Gomer bat Divlayim, who bears him three children; each is given a symbolic name.
The first child is named Yizre’el which has two meanings: God will "plant" Israel in its land after the nation has been punished for its sins, but God will first destroy the kingdom of Israel which contains the region known as the 'Valley of Yizre’el'. The second child is a girl named Lo Ruhama indicating that God will have no mercy on His people. The third child, a boy, is named of Lo Ami - God is disowning His people by declaring they are "not my nation".
Nevertheless, God promises that the threat of each name will be reversed in the future: the symbolism of Lo Ami will be replaced as Israel will be called Bnei El Hai - - children of the living God; Yizre’el will be rebuilt; God will show compassion for His people.
After Gomer betrays Hoshea by sleeping with other men, the prophet is told to take her back, just like God will take back his straying nation (chapter 3). Indeed, God declares that after the nation of Israel has been with other gods, He will marry her again -
וְאֵרַשְׂתִּיךְ לִי לְעוֹלָם וְאֵרַשְׂתִּיךְ לִי בְּצֶדֶק וּבְמִשְׁפָּט וּבְחֶסֶד וּבְרַחֲמִים : וְאֵרַשְׂתִּיךְ לִי בֶּאֱמוּנָה וְיָדַעַתְּ אֶת ה ':
I will betroth you unto Me forever; I will betroth you unto Me in righteousness, and in justice and in kindness and compassion; I will betroth you unto Me in faithfulness and you will know the Lord (2:21-22). Nevertheless, while Hoshea does hold out a pledge of hope of salvation and redemption (2:1-3, 2:16-25), his primary message remains a warning to the people of impending doom and exile (2:4-15, 5:8-15, 8:5, 10:13-15, chapter 13, 14:1).
The following are some additional themes that Hoshea emphasizes in his communications.
a. Israel is sinful and corrupt, and ignores God (chapter 4, 6:4-7:7, 8:1, 8:14, 9:10-17, chapter 12, 13:6)
b. Israel's Kohanim and ministers lead the people in misbehaving (4:4-10, 5:1-7)
c. God desires obedience rather than sacrifices (6:6, 8:13)
d. Israel is called upon to repent (10:12, chapter 14)
e. God has always loved Israel and will show her mercy (chapter 11)
Several Haftarot (supplemental Shabbat readings) are taken from the prophecies of Hoshea.
Here is a list of those parshiyyot and their corresponding selections from the Book of Hoshea(Chapter numbers do not always indicate that the full chapter is read.):
Vayetze: Hoshea 12-14 for Ashkenazim; 11-12 for Sefaradim
Vayishlah: Hoshea 11-12 for Ashkenazim
Bemidbar: Hoshea 2
Vayelekh: Hoshea 14
Adapted from Tanakh Profiles- www.tanakhprofiles.org