Sacred Spaces in the Book of Hosea: The Intersection of Gender, Space, and the Sacred in Ancient Israel from a Feminist-Theological Perspective

Abstract

L ike no other prophetic book of the Hebrew Bible, Hosea presents a conflict about “true” ritual and “right” sacred spaces. The prophetic voice polemically criticizes local sanctuaries and characterizes the worshippers at these sites with pejorative feminized terms. The addressees of the prophetic critique, however, are not granted a voice so that the text also reveals a hierarchy of power, in which the prophet can define what is right or wrong. Both the intention of Hosea’s polemic and the rituals performed at these sites are highly disputed among scholars. My analysis of space and gender in some passages of the book aims at highlighting the sociohistorical reality of these sacred spaces mirrored in Hosea, where competing religious convictions intersect. Rather than taking a stance in the conflict I will describe the different perspectives and critically analyze their underlying ideologies. The multidisciplined character of this volume requires me briefly to introduce my methodology with regard to space and gender. The main part of this article analyzes passages of Hosea that deal with the local sanctuaries and the royal sanctuary at Bethel. These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.

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