Meaning of the Name Hoshea
Hoshea comes from the Hebrew form Hoshea. It is usually explained as "salvation" or "he has saved / he saves," and is connected with the yasha root. This etymology is widely accepted and is semantically related to the longer forms behind the name Joshua.
Origin
The name Hoshea is of Hebrew origin.
Who is Hoshea in the Bible?
The figure meant here is Hoshea, the last king of the northern kingdom of Israel. During his reign Assyrian pressure reached its climax, and Samaria eventually fell. He should not be confused with the prophet Hosea; as king he appears especially in 2 Kings 15 and 17.
The story of Hoshea in the Bible
Hoshea was the last king of the northern kingdom of Israel; he should not be confused with the prophet Hosea, who bore the same name. According to 2 Kings 15:30, Hoshea son of Elah conspired against King Pekah, killed him, and reigned in his place. 2 Kings 17:1 says he ruled nine years in Samaria, and the narrative notes that although he did evil, he did not go as far as the kings of Israel before him. His reign passed under the shadow of Assyria. At first he submitted to King Shalmaneser and paid tribute, but when he sent envoys to the king of Egypt and withheld the tribute, the Assyrian king treated it as treachery and had him seized and imprisoned. The Assyrian army then invaded, and Samaria endured a three-year siege. As 2 Kings 17:6 records, the city finally fell and the people of Israel were deported to Assyrian lands. Hoshea's reign thus became the final chapter of the northern kingdom, a downfall the narrative traces to the people's turning away from God.
Is Hoshea mentioned in the Quran?
The name Hoshea does not appear in the Quran; in the Old Testament, in 2 Kings, he is the last king of the northern kingdom of Israel.
Verses where Hoshea appears
- 2 Kings 15:30 —
Hoshea the son of Elah made a conspiracy against Pekah the son of Remaliah, and struck him, and killed him, and reigned in his place, in the twentieth year of Jotham the son of Uzziah.
- 2 Kings 17:1 —
In the twelfth year of Ahaz king of Judah, Hoshea the son of Elah began to reign in Samaria over Israel for nine years.
- 2 Kings 17:6 —
In the ninth year of Hoshea the king of Assyria took Samaria, and carried Israel away to Assyria, and placed them in Halah, and on the Habor, the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes.