Hosea 1:2

Take unto thee a wife. Concerning the events here described three views have been held:

a. That they represent merely a dream or a vision, and hence were not actually fulfilled in the personal life of Hosea.

b. That the account is only a parable or an allegory.

c. That the account is a literal, biographical sketch of the personal family life of Hosea.

The principal objection urged against the literal interpretation is that the command to take “a wife of whoredoms and children of whoredoms” seems inconsistent with the character of God.

However, in the absence of any direct statement or hint that the passage is allegorical or that it describes a vision or dream, the most natural way to understand the passage is to regard it as a literal narrative. Many commentators favor the literal view, although they differ widely in their understanding of the details. Some have sought to justify the command of God to Hosea by observing that whatever God commands is therefore right. Others observe that the narrative by no means establishes that Gomer was of questionable character when Hosea married her, since the phrase “of whoredoms” may simply describe her ancestry, not necessarily her personal character, or may proleptically describe the woman’s future status. That she later became unfaithful appears clear (ch. 3:1-3). However, the precise time of her fall is not clearly pointed out. Of the three children born, only of the first, Jezreel, is it said that he was born to “him,” that is, to Hosea.

If Gomer was of upright character when Hosea married her, then there can be no question as to a command from God to marry this woman. It was possibly a permissive command (see Num. 13:1,2; cf. Deut. 1:22; PP 387) to marry someone he already loved.

The narrative has the form of a strictly historical account, and in the absence of any real evidence to the contrary it seems preferable to take it as such.

The land hath committed. The personal family experience of Hosea was made the basis of important religious instruction and appeal.