Hosea, volume 24 in the Anchor Bible Series of new, book-by-book translations of the Old and New Testaments and Apocrypha is a collaboration by world-renowned scholars Francis I. Andersen and David Noel Freedman. The authors' treatment of Hosea consists of:

Introduction: A review and rethinking of Hosea research that offers a fascinating interpretation of the prophet's life and work.

Translation: Based on one of the oldest of prophetic writings, this new translation of Hosea is unique insofar as the literary integrity of the text is scrupulously adhered to.

Notes: For both scholar and general reader there is cultural and linguistic information which sets each passage within the sociohistoric context of eighth century B.C.E. Hebrew vocabulary, syntax, and poetic language are examined in an effort to confront one of the most obscure sections of biblical literature.

Illustrations: Eight pages of photographs will take the reader through the ancient days of the Middle Bronze Age into the wonders of the Iron Age in which Hosea lived.

Francis I. Andersen, Professor of Religion at the University of Queensland in Australia, is recognized worldwide as a premier scholar of the Hebrew Bible. David Noel Freedman is Professor of Biblical Studies at both the University of Michigan and the University of California, San Diego. He is the general editor and, with W.F. Albright, the cofounder of the Anchor Bible Series.

THE ANCHOR YALE BIBLE COMMENTARY SERIES is a project of international and interfaith scope in which Protestant, Catholic, and Jewish scholars from many countries contribute individual volumes. The project is not sponsored by any ecclesiastical organization and is not intended to reflect any particular theological doctrine.

The Anchor Yale Bible is committed to producing commentaries in the tradition established half a century ago by the founders of the series, William Foxwell Albright and David Noel Freedman. It aims to present the best contemporary scholarship in a way that is accessible not only to scholars but also to the educated nonspecialist. Its approach is grounded in exact translation of the ancient languages and an appreciation of the historical and cultural context in which the biblical books were written supplemented by insights from modern methods, such as sociological and literary criticism.