260 The Legends of the Jews
He persisted in his challenge, and a war ensued. The for- tune of battle decided against Amaziah. He suffered defeat, and later he was tortured to death by his own subjects."
Three Great Prophets
The reign of Uzziah, who for a little while occupied the throne during his father Amaziah's lifetime, is notable par- ticularly because it marks the beginning of the activity of three of the prophets, Hosea, Amos, and Isaiah. The oldest of the three was Hosea,10 the son of the prophet and prince Beeri, the Beeri who later was carried away cap- tive by Tiglath-pileser, the king of Assyria.11 Of Beeri's prophecies we have but two verses, preserved for us by Isaiah."
The peculiar marriage contracted by Hosea at the com- mand of God Himself was not without a good reason. When God spoke to the prophet about the sins of Israel, expecting him to defend or excuse his people, Hosea said severely: " O Lord of the world ! Thine is the universe. In place of Israel choose another as Thy peculiar people from among the nations of the earth." To make the true relation between God and Israel known to the prophet, he was com- manded to take to wife a woman with a dubious past. After she had borne him several children, God suddenly put the question to him : " Why followest thou not the example of thy teacher Moses, who denied himself the joys of family life after his call to prophecy ? " Hosea replied : " I can neither send my wife away nor divorce her, for she has borne me children." " If, now," said God to him, " thou who hast a wife of whose honesty thou art so uncertain that
