הוֹשֵׁעַ
Hoshea, the name of five Israelites
Definition
Hoshea is a Hebrew proper name meaning 'salvation' or 'deliverance,' borne by several significant figures in the Old Testament. Most notably, Hoshea was the final king of the northern kingdom of Israel (2 Kings 15:30, 17:1-6), whose reign ended with the Assyrian exile. Earlier, the spy sent by Moses was originally named Hoshea before being renamed Joshua (Yehoshua) by Moses (Numbers 13:8, 13:16). The name also appears for other minor figures, including a son of Azaziah (1 Chronicles 27:20) and a chief who sealed the covenant with Nehemiah (Nehemiah 10:23).
Biblical Usage
The name Hoshea is used 15 times in the Old Testament, primarily in historical narratives. Its usage spans the books of Numbers, Deuteronomy, 2 Kings, 1 Chronicles, and Nehemiah. A key pattern is its association with leadership and pivotal moments in Israel's history: the spy Hoshea (later Joshua) during the wilderness exploration, and King Hoshea during the kingdom's collapse. In Deuteronomy 32:44, it appears as an alternate name for Joshua. The most concentrated references are in 2 Kings 17, detailing King Hoshea's reign and the subsequent Assyrian captivity.
Etymology
The name Hoshea (הוֹשֵׁעַ) is derived from the Hebrew root יָשַׁע (yasha', H3467), meaning 'to save,' 'to deliver,' or 'to give victory.' It is a shortened form of the name Yehoshua (Joshua), which means 'Yahweh is salvation.' The name is a simple active participle, essentially meaning 'savior' or 'deliverer.'
Semantic Range
The name Hoshea is theologically significant as it embodies the core biblical theme of salvation. It connects directly to the ministry of the prophet Hosea (a variant of the same name), whose life and message illustrated God's saving love for a faithless people. The renaming of Hoshea to Joshua (Yehoshua) by Moses (Numbers 13:16) explicitly adds the divine name (Yahweh), pointing to God as the source of salvation. This foreshadows the ultimate deliverance found in the New Testament figure of Jesus (Yeshua), whose name is the Greek form of Joshua/Yehoshua. Understanding this name enriches reading by highlighting the consistent biblical narrative of God's desire to save His people.
In ancient Israelite culture, names were often descriptive and carried significant meaning, reflecting character, destiny, or parental hopes. Hoshea, meaning 'salvation,' was a name expressing hope for divine rescue or deliverance. The act of Moses changing Hoshea's name to Joshua (adding the divine element 'Yah-') in Numbers 13:16 was a profound cultural and religious statement, publicly identifying this leader's mission and success as dependent on Yahweh. For King Hoshea, the irony of his name ('salvation') presiding over the nation's destruction would not have been lost on the original audience.
Yehoshua (Yᵊhôshûaʻ, H3091) — The longer form of the name, meaning 'Yahweh is salvation,' borne by Moses's successor. Yesha (yᵊshûaʻ, H3442) — A later, shortened form of Yehoshua, meaning 'he saves' or 'salvation.'
Word Details
How this works
Hebrew definitions are from Brown-Driver-Briggs (1906) and Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (1890), both public domain. BDB was groundbreaking for its era but reflects 19th-century assumptions about Semitic etymology. Modern scholarship (HALOT, DCH) has revised many entries. Use these definitions as a starting point for exploration, not as the final word on a term's meaning in context.
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