Gomer (II)

II. GOMER, the daughter of Diblaim, before she became the Prophet Hosea’s wife, led the debauched life of a Prostitute. But when she married the Prophet, she forsook this wicked way of living. Hosea received God’s command to take a lewd woman for his wife, to signify the prostitution and disorders of Samaria, which had abandoned God, and given itself up to Idolatry. The Lord enjoins him to give such figurative names to the children, who should be the issue of this marriage, as might express the extremity of his anger; and that his vengeance was upon the point of being executed upon the kingdom of the ten Tribes. This was performed by Hosea, upon the birth of his first son, whom he called Jezreel, and his first daughter, who was named, without mercy , and of his second son whose name was, Ye are no longer my people , &c.

Several Interpreters¹, offended at the irregularity which appeared to them in Hosea’s marriage with Gomer, the daughter of Diblaïm, have imagined, that in reality there was no such thing, but that it was only a parable; or that Hosea had only discovered to the people what had happened to him in a vision, but was never truly executed. Nevertheless the whole sequel of this Prophet’s discourse is an evidence, that every thing he said, did literally happen to him: and that his marriage, as well as the birth of his children, were realities.

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