LoAmmi

Lo-Ammi is a Hebrew term meaning “not my people,” used in the Hebrew Bible as the name given to the third son of the prophet Hosea and his wife Gomer. The naming occurs in Hosea 1:9, where the Lord commands: “Call his name Lo-Ammi; for ye are not my people, and I will not be your God.”

The name is highly symbolic within Hosea’s prophetic narrative. Alongside the other two children named in Hosea 1, Jezreel and Lo-Ruhamah, Lo-Ammi represents Israel’s strained relationship with God due to unfaithfulness and covenant breach. The trio of names functions as a visual metaphor for the nation’s spiritual status during a period of judgment.

Etymologically, Lo-Ammi translates to “not my people,” underscoring the temporary disassociation between God and Israel. Yet the surrounding text also points toward eventual restoration; Hosea 1:10–11 envisions a future reversal in which the people will again be called God’s own, and God will be their God.

Scholarly discussion of Lo-Ammi often centers on its role as a teaching device in Hosea, illustrating themes of judgment, discipline, and eventual mercy within the covenantal relationship. It is generally treated as a literary and theological symbol rather than a recounting of a separate historical figure.

In contemporary usage, Lo-Ammi is mainly encountered in biblical studies, theology, and literary analysis. It is rarely used as a personal name outside religious or scholarly contexts.