The word of Yahweh that came to Hosea the son of Beeri, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel.
    The book begins with an account of Gomer’s unfaithfulness (Hosea 1:1-11) which symbolized Israel’s unfaithfulness. The names Hosea gave to Gomer’s three children expressed God’s judgment of the nation: Jezreel = scattered by God; Loruhamah = not pitted; and Loammi = not my people.