ABSTRACT
The gender issues in Hosea 13 are more involved than those in Jeremiah 23. This chapter begins with a preliminary discussion of the role played by the prophet's marriage to Gomer. The presence of this human marriage might be expected to strengthen the gender polarity of the marriage metaphor. The gender issues in Hosea are complicated by claims made by some critics that Yhwh is depicted as having feminine qualities. The gender issues in Hosea are complicated by claims made by some critics that Yhwh is depicted as having feminine qualities. Jeremiah has provided opportunities to search for breakdowns in the binary relationship of vehicle (bride/betrayed marriage) and tenor (male Israelites/broken covenant). When turning to Hosea, one may expect to find a sharper and more consistent gender division; for in Hosea the imagery of the divine/human relationship is closely involved with the description of a human marriage.
