Knowledge of God According to Hosea the Ripper: The Interlacing of Theology and Social Ideology in Hosea 2*

* This article is a revised version of a paper presented at the SBL International Meeting in Edinburgh, July 4, 2006, in the Prophecy section. A am grateful for all the useful remarks I received. For a more comprehensive, rhetorical reading of the Book of Hosea I wish to refer to Rosengren 2006, which will appear in revised English version.

Abstract

A semiotic reading of Hosea 2 suggests that two stories are told: The story of Hosea and Gomer, and the story of Yahweh and Israel. This semiotic entanglement, however, is also present in the passage of cosmic promises, Hos 2,18–25. “Knowing God” in the Book of Hosea is not just a question of adhering to a system of religious thoughts, it is a question of knowing how to live one's life according to specific social rules, namely that of patriarchy. The theology of the text cannot be separated from the ideology of the text. This is to be tested on the text of Hos 2,18–25 in which the emphasis is apparently firmly placed on the universal signified.

* This article is a revised version of a paper presented at the SBL International Meeting in Edinburgh, July 4, 2006, in the Prophecy section. A am grateful for all the useful remarks I received. For a more comprehensive, rhetorical reading of the Book of Hosea I wish to refer to Rosengren 2006, which will appear in revised English version.

Notes

* This article is a revised version of a paper presented at the SBL International Meeting in Edinburgh, July 4, 2006, in the Prophecy section. A am grateful for all the useful remarks I received. For a more comprehensive, rhetorical reading of the Book of Hosea I wish to refer to Rosengren 2006, which will appear in revised English version.