There are at least three options regarding Hosea’s obedience to God’s command, when he says: I bought her.
The prophet could be:
Paying a bride price (similar to lobola or a dowry)
Cancelling Gomer’s debt (redeeming her)
Giving his wife a bridal gift
The specific amount, fifteen shekels of silver and a homer and a lethech of barley
does not help in narrowing down the purpose or recipient of the payment.1 Ortlund goes on to say that the amount might indicate that Gomer’s adulterous lifestyle meant she was not worth very much, for the payment is akin to what was needed to redeem a slave (Exodus 21:32). Similarly to the paying of a bride price, the action could serve to cancel Gomer’s indebtedness.2
As Hwang3 argues, the most probable meaning of this payment is that it was a gift, paid to the bride. This is consistent with Hosea 2:19, and it also reverses the threat that he would take away her basic provisions (Hosea 2:8–9). Thus Hosea’s payment signifies God’s earlier promise to betroth his people (Hosea 2:19–20). Remarkably, despite the desperate situation of Israel and Gomer respectively, God and Hosea give generously toward the marriage.
All of the options outlined above convey a similar point: just as Hosea’s love will cost him, so too will God’s love toward Israel. To further demonstrate this, Hubbard4 compares Hosea’s response to the command in Hosea 3:1 with his response to the command in Hosea 1:2. In the latter case, we read that Hosea simply went and took Gomer for his wife (Hosea 1:3). But here, the response to the command, go again, love
(Hosea 3:1), is: so I bought her.
So he writes, It is love that bears all that is necessary to accomplish the divine purpose.
2 So I bought her for fifteen shekels of silver and a homer and a lethech of barley.