Reconsidering the date and provenance of the book of Hosea : the case for Persian-period Yehud / James M. Bos. [print]

Introduction -- The anti-monarchical ideology of the book of Hosea as evidence for a Persian-period date of composition and Judahite provenance -- The anti-Benjamin, anti-Bethel, and anti-Samaria polemic in the book of Hosea read against the background of the early Persian period -- The pervasiveness of the Judahite dual theme of exile-return in the book of Hosea as evidence for a Persian-period date -- The traditions of "Israel" in the book of Hosea : evidence for a post-monarchic date and Judahite provenance -- Conclusion.

The study argues that the book of Hosea ought to be understood and read as a text that was composed in Persian-period Yehud rather than in eight-century Israel. The author challenges the traditional scholarship and emphasizes that there is the evidence to suggest that the book should be reviewed as a Judahite text - a book that was composed in the late sixth or early fifth century B.C.E. Bos provides an overview of the state of prophetic research, as well as a discussion of genre and the generation of prophetic books, linguistic dating and provenance; and a survey of Hosea research. He discusses various aspects of the book of Hosea that aim to prove his argument the book was composed in Persian-period Yehud - the anti-monarchical ideology of the book, the dual theme of "Exile' and 'Return' which is consistent with the discourse found in other Judahite books dating to the sixth century; and the historiographical traditions.

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