Lo-ammi

Lo-ammi (Hebrew, meaning not my people) was the symbolical name given by divine command to Hosea's third child by Gomer (Hos. 1:9). The name encapsulated God's declaration of covenantal rupture: for ye are not my people, and I will not be your God. This was the starkest of the three symbolic names Hosea gave his children—all three together (Jezreel, Lo-ruhamah, Lo-ammi) announced judgment upon the northern kingdom of Israel for its spiritual adultery through Baal worship and political instability.

Lo-ammi's theological significance extends far beyond its immediate context. Hosea 1:10 and 2:23 immediately promise a reversal: In the place where it was said to them, 'You are not my people,' it shall be said to them, 'Children of the living God.' Paul quotes this promise in Romans 9:25–26 and applies it to the calling of the Gentiles—those who were not my people becoming recipients of God's grace in Christ. Peter similarly cites Hosea in 1 Peter 2:10. The Lo-ammi oracle thus becomes in the New Testament one of the foundational prophecies for the inclusion of the nations in the covenant people of God.