Hosea’s ministry stretched beyond the time of Jereboam II, yet no other northern kings are mentioned in Hosea’s opening verse. Thus, an opening salvo is launched against the kings of Israel, so ineffective and unfaithful that they do not merit mention. Hosea’s cynical view of the kings is unmistakable, but the treatment is not one-dimensional. The absence of a king is a sign of judgment (3:4), yet Hosea proclaims a Davidic hope (3:5). On the one hand, in anger Yahweh gave them a king; on the other hand, in wrath Yahweh took away their king (13:11). This paper will survey Hosea’s treatment of kingship in order to offer a cohesive theology of kingship for the 8th century BC prophet, instructive for an ongoing view of temporal politics and rulers.