Hosea's purchase price of fifteen silver pieces and barley creates the only biblical redemption narrative where payment combines precious metal with grain, mirroring Israel's dual need for spiritual and physical restoration.
Hosea 3
Hosea's Redemption of Gomer
1The LORD said to me, “Go again, love a woman loved by another, and an adulteress, even as the LORD loves the children of Israel, though they turn to other gods, and love cakes of raisins.”
2So I bought her for myself for fifteen pieces of silver and a homer and a half of barley.
3I said to her, “You shall stay with me many days. You shall not play the prostitute, and you shall not be with any other man. I will also be so toward you.”
4For the children of Israel shall live many days without king, without prince, without sacrifice, without sacred stone, and without ephod or idols.
5Afterward the children of Israel shall return and seek the LORD their God, and David their king, and shall come with trembling to the LORD and to his blessings in the last days.
Font Size 17pt
Line Spacing
Theme
God commands Hosea to redeem his unfaithful wife Gomer, purchasing her back from adultery as a living parable of divine love for wayward Israel. Hosea buys her for fifteen pieces of silver and barley, establishing a period of restoration where she must remain faithful. This prophetic act illustrates Israel's coming exile from religious and political institutions, followed by their eventual return to seek the Lord and their Davidic king in the last days.
Context
This chapter provides the climactic resolution to the marriage metaphor introduced in chapters 1-2, demonstrating God's redemptive love despite Israel's persistent unfaithfulness.
Key Themes
Outline
- 1 Divine Command to Redeem God instructs Hosea to love and reclaim his adulterous wife, paralleling God's persistent love for unfaithful Israel.
- 2-3 The Purchase and Covenant Hosea buys back Gomer and establishes terms for her restoration, requiring mutual faithfulness during a period of separation.
- 4-5 Israel's Exile and Return The symbolic act prophesies Israel's long period without religious and political institutions, followed by their eventual restoration under David's line.
Hosea's Redemption of Gomer
3:1–3:5 narrative narration tender
Hosea redeems his adulterous wife as a symbolic act of God's redemptive love for unfaithful Israel, prophesying future restoration and return to God in the last days.
person_contrast
Hosea's purchase price of fifteen silver pieces and barley creates the only biblical redemption narrative where payment combines precious metal with grain, mirroring Israel's dual need for spiritual and physical restoration.
Insights
Cross-References
Connected passages across Scripture
Hosea 3:1 1 reference
Interlinear
Word-by-word original language
v. 1
v. 2
v. 3
v. 4
v. 5
Lemma
Morphology
Semantic Range
Theological Significance
Translation Notes
Key Passages
Historical Context
Places and events in this chapter
Loading map...