Some have even argued that the earlier prophet Hosea reflects
knowledge of the whole Pentateuch. After a careful study of several passages,
Umberto Cassuto concluded, “There is nothing in the entire Book of Hosea to
compel us to suppose that the Pentateuchal material existed in his day in a
form different from that before us today. On the contrary the Book of Hosea
contains passages that cause us to believe that much of what read in the Torah
today already existed in its present form in Hosea’s time and was known to
broad circles of the people.” The writings of Hosea and other early eighth
century BC prophets, according to Schniedewind, show evidence of editing and
redacting from the reign of Hezekiah. Thus, the presence of all parts of the
Torah in Hosea points to the compilation and editorial activity of Hezekiah’s
reign as the latest possible period for the formation of an initial version of
the Pentateuch, based on earlier sources combined with some new editorial
expansions from the late eighth century BC. (Neal Rappleye, “’They Did Contain
the Five Books of Moses’: Source Criticism and the Contents of the Plates of Brass,”
in “Open Thou Mine Eyes”: Defending the Old Testament in Latter-day Saint
Doctrine: Proceedings From the 2025 FAIR Virtual Conference and Additional
Papers, ed. Jared Riddick, Sarah N. Allen, Spencer Kraus, and Trevor Holyoak
[Redding, Calif.: FAIR, 2025], 385)
Further
Reading:
Mark E. Rooker, “The
Use of the Old Testament in the Book of Hosea,” Criswell Theological Review
7, no. 1 (1993): 51-66
