Traditions about Hosea.—Been, the prophet s father, is identified by the Rabbins with Beerah (1 Chron. v. 6), a Reubenite prince carried captive by Tiglath Pileser. This view is already expressed by Jerome, Qucest. in Paralip , and doubtless underlies the state ment of the Targum to Chronicles that Beerah was a prophet. For it is a Jewish maxim that when a pi ophet s father is named, he too was a prophet, and accordingly a tradition of R. Simon makes Isa. viii. 19, 20 a prophecy of Beeri (Kimchi in loc. ; Leviticus Eabba, par. 15). According to the usual Christian tradition, how ever, Hosea was of the tribe of Issachar, and from an unknown town, Belemoth or Belemon (pseudo-Epiphanius, pseudo-Dorotheus, Ephrem Syr., ii. 234 ; Chron. Pasch., Bonn ed. , i. 276). As the tradition adds that he died there, and was buried in peace, the source of the story lies probably in some holy place shown as his grave. There are other traditions as to the burial-place of Hosea. A Jewish legend in the Shalsheht haqqabala (Carpzov, Inlrod., pt. iii. ch. vii. 3) tells that he died in captivity at Babylon, and was carried to Upper Galilee, and buried at DSV, that is, Safed (Nenbauer, G eog. du Talmud, p. 227) ; and the Arabs show the grave of Neby Osha, east of the Jordan, near Es-Salt (Badeker s Palestine, p. 337 ; Burckhardt s Syria, p. 353).
Literature.—Of the older commentaries on Hosea which have been fully catalogued by Rosemnuller in his Scholia, it is sufficient to name, as books still practically useful, Le Mercier s Latin anno tations, embodying a translation of the chief rabbinical expositions, and the English commentary of E. Pococke, Oxford, 1685, which is not surpassed in learning and judgment by any subsequent work. Among recent expositions the most important are those in Ewald s Propheten, Bd. i. (2d ed., Gb ttingen, 1867 ; Eng. trans., London, 1876); Hitzig s Kleine Propheten (3d ed., Leipsic, 1863); Keil s Kleine Propheten (Leipsic, 1866; Eng. trans., Edinburgh, 1868); Pusey s Minor Prophets, London, 1860 ; Reuss s Bible, part ii. {Paris, 1876) ; the Speaker s Commentary, vol. vi. (by Huxtable, London, 1876) ; Heilprin s Historical Poetry, vol. ii. (New York, 1880) ; and the separ.ite publications of Simson (Hamburg and Gotha, 1851), Wiinsche (Leipsic, 1868), and Nowack (Berlin, 1880). The last gives a list of recent Continental commentaries and mono graphs, to which may be added Houtsma s " Bijdrage " (Theol. Tijdsch., 1875, p. 55 sq.). The English commentary of Williams (London, 1866) is of little importance ; Schmoller s commentary inLange s Bibelwerk(1872 , Eng. trans., 1874) is adapted for homi- letical purposes. The theology of Hosea is ably discussed by Duhm, Theol. der Propheten (Bonn, 1875), with which an essay by Smend (Stud. u. Krit., 1876) may be advantageously compared.
Texts and Versions.—The best edition of the Massoretic text is that with notes by S. Baer (Leipsic, 1878). From the great fac simile of the Codex Babylonicus Pctropolitanus Hosea and Joel have been separately published (St Petersburg, 1875). The most recent helps to the use of the VSS. are Nestle s appendix to the 6th edition of TischendoiTs Septuagint (Leipsic, 1880), Lagarde s edition of the Targum from the Cod. Reuch. (Leipsic, 1872), Ceriani s facsimile editions of the great Ambrosian MSS. of the Syro-Hexaplar (Milan, 1874) and Peshito (Pars iii., Milan, 1879), and Field s Hexapla (vol. ii. 1870). An Arabic version directly translated from the Hebrew was published by Schroeter from a Bodleian codex in Merx s Archiv, 1869. A convenient and acces sible edition of the Hebrew text of Hosea, with Targum and Rab binical commentaries, is H. v. d. Hardt s reprint (Gb ttingen, 1775) of R. Stephen s Paris text of 1566.
HOSHANGÁBÁD, a British district in the chief com- missionership of the Central Provinces of India, lying be tween 21 40 and 22 59 N. lat. and between 76 38 30" and 78 45 30" E. long. It is bounded N. by the Narbada (Nerbudda), which separates it from the territories of Bhopal, Sindhia, and Holkar ; E. by the Dudhi river, dividing it from Narsinghpur district; S. by the districts of Western Berar, Betul, and Chhinclwara ; and W. by Nimar. Hoshangabad may be described as a valley of varying breadth, extending for 150 miles between the Nerbudda and the Satpura mountains. The soil consists chiefly of black basaltic alluvium, often more than 20 feet deep ; but along the banks of the Nerbudda the fertility of the land compen sates for the tameness of the scenery. Towards the west, low stony hills and broken ridges cut up the level ground, while the Yindhyas and the Satpuras throw out jutting spurs and ranges. In this wilder country considerable regions are covered with jungle. On the south the lofty range which shuts in the valley is remarkable in mountain scenery, surpassing in its picturesque irregularity the Vindhyan chain in the north. Many streams take their rise amid its precipices, then, winding through deep glens, flow across the plain between sandy banks covered with low jungle, till they swell the waters of the mighty Nerbudda. None of the streams are of any importance except the Tawa, which is interesting to the geologist on account of the many minerals to be found along its course. The boundary rivers, the Nerbudda and Tapti, are the only con siderable waters in Hoshangabad. At Charwa a dense low jungle extends over a large region, but by far the finest timber is found at Bori and Denwa.
The census of 1877 showed a population of 463,625 (Europeans, 86 ; Eurasians, 10 ; aboriginal tribes, 89,029 ; Hindus, 364,679 ; Mahometans, 21,765; Buddhists and Jains, 1132). There ara only four towns with a population exceeding 5000, viz., Hoshan gabad, 11,613; Harda, 9170; Seoni, 7579; and Sohagpur, 7552. The total revenue in 1876-77 was 69,842 ; the total cost of officials and police, 14,733. There were 11 civil and revenue judges, and 22 magistrates. The number of police was 582. There were 94 Government schools, attended by 4024 pupils.
Of the total area of 4376 square miles only 1442 are culti vated, and of the portion lying waste 825 are returned as culti vable ; 2455 acres are irrigated entirely by private enterprise. Wheat forms the staple crop of the district ; the other products are inferior grains, cotton, and sugar-cane. Hoshangabad does a con siderable export trade in agricultural produce, receiving in return English piece-goods, spices, cocoa-nuts, salt, and sugar. The extent of made roads in Hoshangabad is returned at 498 miles. The Great Indian Peninsula Railway intersects the whole district from east to west, with stations at the principal towns. Besides roads and railway, the Nerbudda, with its tributaries, supplies means of communication by water for 150 miles during part of the year. The district is generally free from violent alternations of temperature, hot winds are rare, and the nights during the sultry weather and rains are always cool. The rainfall is exceedingly variable, ranging between the limits of 40 and 60 inches for the year. The prevailing diseases are fevers and bowel complaints. In 1876 five charitable dispensaries afforded medical relief to 18,206 in-door and out-door patients.
History.–Little is known of the history of Hoshangabad prior to the Marhatta invasion. When the Mughal troops occupied Handia, the eastern part of the district inhabited by Gonds, who still retain their possession, maintained a rude independence. About 1720 Dost Muhammad, the founder of the Bhopal family, captured the town of Hoshangabad, and annexed a considerable territory with it. In 1750 Raja Raghuji Bhonsla of Nagpur reduced the country east of Handia and south of the Nerbudda, except the portion held by Bhopal. In 1795 the rival dynasties of Bhopal and Nagpur came into conflict, and the town and fort of Hoshangabad were captured by the Nagpur forces. In 1802 the Bhopals retrieved their loss. The Nagpur army again besieged the fort, but failed in their attack, and contented themselves with burning the town. In 1809 Hoshangabad was again assailed by a Nagpur force, and the Bhopals, finding their communications with Bhopal cut off, sur rendered. Overcome by these disasters, the Bhopals called in the Pindharis to their help, and till they were finally extirpated in 1817 the whole of this fertile region became a prey to ravage and massacre. Under the order which the British Government has restored, the prosperity of the country is gradually returning. In 1818 that part of the district held by Nagpur was ceded under an agreement. In 1844 the region of Harda Handia was made over by Sindhia in part payment of the Gwalior contingent, and by the treaty of 1860 became British territory.
