Lo-Ammi

Hosea's Symbolic Son

The divided kingdomc. 750 B.C.

Lo-Ammi was the third son of the prophet Hosea and his wife Gomer. His name means 'not my people' and served as a prophetic sign that God would temporarily reject Israel because of their unfaithfulness and idolatry.

Family

FatherHosea MotherGomer (Hosea's wife)SiblingJezreel (Hosea's son)SiblingLo-Ruhama (Hosea's daughter)

Key events

The Birth and Naming of Lo-Ammi

God commanded Hosea to name the child Lo-Ammi as a prophetic sign. The name meant that Israel was no longer God's people because of their sin.

Hos 1:8 Show in context →

8After she had weaned No Mercy, she conceived and bore a son.

וַתִּגְמֹ֖ל אֶת־לֹ֣א רֻחָ֑מָה וַתַּ֖הַר וַתֵּ֥לֶד בֵּֽן׃ ‬

Hos 1:9 Show in context →

9And the LORD said, "Name him Not My People,[^1] for you are not my people, and I will not be your God.[^2] [^1]: Hebrew Lo-Ammi. [^2]: Hebrew "and I will not be yours"; the wording echoes the divine name revealed in Exodus 3:14.

וַיֹּ֕אמֶר קְרָ֥א שְׁמ֖וֹ לֹ֣א עַמִּ֑י כִּ֤י אַתֶּם֙ לֹ֣א עַמִּ֔י וְאָנֹכִ֖י לֹֽא־אֶהְיֶ֥ה לָכֶֽם׃ ס ‬

The Symbolic Meaning of the Name

The name Lo-Ammi represented God's judgment on Israel. Just as Gomer had been unfaithful to Hosea, Israel had been unfaithful to God through idolatry.

Hos 1:9 Show in context →

וַיֹּ֕אמֶר קְרָ֥א שְׁמ֖וֹ לֹ֣א עַמִּ֑י כִּ֤י אַתֶּם֙ לֹ֣א עַמִּ֔י וְאָנֹכִ֖י לֹֽא־אֶהְיֶ֥ה לָכֶֽם׃ ס ‬

Promise of Restoration

Despite the judgment, the prophecy also included a promise of future restoration. Those who were called 'not my people' would again be called 'children of the living God'.

Paul Quotes Hosea's Prophecy

The apostle Paul used the prophecy about Lo-Ammi to explain how Gentiles were included in God's people through faith in Christ.

Rom 9:25 Show in context →

25As he says in Hosea: "I will call them 'my people' who were not my people, and her 'beloved' who was not beloved,"

ὡς καὶ ἐν τῷ Ὡσηὲ λέγει· Καλέσω τὸν οὐ λαόν μου λαόν μου καὶ τὴν οὐκ ἠγαπημένην ἠγαπημένην·

Rom 9:26 Show in context →

26and, "In the very place where it was said to them, 'You are not my people,' there they will be called sons of the living God."

καὶ ἔσται ἐν τῷ τόπῳ οὗ ἐρρέθη ⸀αὐτοῖς· Οὐ λαός μου ὑμεῖς, ἐκεῖ κληθήσονται υἱοὶ θεοῦ ζῶντος.

Peter applies the prophecy

The apostle Peter also applied Hosea's prophecy to Christians, showing how those who once were not a people had now become God's people.

1 Pet 2:10 Show in context →

10Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

οἵ ποτε οὐ λαὸς νῦν δὲ λαὸς θεοῦ, οἱ οὐκ ἠλεημένοι νῦν δὲ ἐλεηθέντες.