he same way concerning the inhabitants of
Judah. He would severely rebuke their sins, and at the same time
readily acknowledge, as he does, their advantages,--for "Salvation
cometh of the Jews."

If, then, these be the arguments in favour of the Judean origin of
Hosea, it readily appears that the probabilities of such an origin,
compared with that of his Israelitish descent, are not [Pg 169] even in
the proportion of one to a hundred. The prophets were almost more
numerous in the kingdom of Israel than in that of Judah; and yet the
entire history knows of only two instances of prophets being sent from
the kingdom of Judah to that of Israel, viz., the prophet spoken of in
1 Kings xiii. and Amos. And the former of these even scarcely belongs
to this class, inasmuch as he received only a single mission into the
kingdom of Israel, and _that_, at a time when the prophetic institution
was not as yet organized there. In the case of Amos likewise, it is
manifest not only that he was only an exception to the rule,--as
appears from the transactions with the priest Amaziah, reported in Amos
vii. (compare especially ver. 12),--but still more plainly, from the
mention in the inscription of his having been a native of Judah.

With regard to the _time_ of the prophet, the inscription places his
ministry in the reigns of the kings Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah.
A long period is, no doubt, thus assigned to it,--a period embracing at
least twenty-six years of Uzziah's reign, and, in addition, the sixteen
years of that of Jotham, the sixteen years during which Ahaz reigned,
and at least one or two years of the reign of Hezekiah, making, at the
lowest calculation, a period of sixty years in all.

This exceedingly long duration of the prophet's ministry might easily
excite suspicion regarding the genuineness and correctness of the
inscription; but such suspicion is at once set at rest by the fact,
that the statements contained in the book itself lead us to assume a
period equally extended. The _beginning_ of the prophet's ministry
cannot be assigned to any _later_ period; for, in chap. i. 4, the fall
of Jeroboam's house, which took place soon after his death, is
announced as a future event. _Moreover_, the condition of the kingdom
appears still, throughout the whole first discourse, as a very
flourishing one. Nor can the end of his ministry be assigned to any
earlier period. For in chap. x. 14, an expedition of Shalman or
Shalmanese