Hosea the Prophet
Reading from the Synaxarion:
According to some, Hosea, whose name means "God is help," was from the
tribe of Issachar, or more likely, from that of Reuben; he was the son
of Beeri. He is the first in order of the twelve minor Prophets and
the most ancient of all. He prophesied in the days of the divided
Kingdom; the Lord told him to take a harlot to wife (Hosea 1:2), and then
an adulteress (ibid., 3:1). The harlot, a known sinner, was a figure
of the Kingdom of Israel in Samaria, which openly worshipped idols;
the adulteress, lawfully married yet sinning secretly with her
lovers, was a figure of the Kingdom of Judah in Jerusalem, which, while
having the Temple, and the priesthood, and the divine worship according
to the Law, stealthily served the idols also. The Prophet Hosea
prophesied for sixty years, and lived for some ninety years, from 810 to 720
B.C. His book is divided into fourteen chapters.
Reading from the Synaxarion:
According to some, Hosea, whose name means "God is help," was from the
tribe of Issachar, or more likely, from that of Reuben; he was the son
of Beeri. He is the first in order of the twelve minor Prophets and
the most ancient of all. He prophesied in the days of the divided
Kingdom; the Lord told him to take a harlot to wife (Hosea 1:2), and then
an adulteress (ibid., 3:1). The harlot, a known sinner, was a figure
of the Kingdom of Israel in Samaria, which openly worshipped idols;
the adulteress, lawfully married yet sinning secretly with her
lovers, was a figure of the Kingdom of Judah in Jerusalem, which, while
having the Temple, and the priesthood, and the divine worship according
to the Law, stealthily served the idols also. The Prophet Hosea
prophesied for sixty years, and lived for some ninety years, from 810 to 720
B.C. His book is divided into fourteen chapters.