Hosea Matthews is one of the co-founders of the Van der Linde gang. He's the oldest member of the gang and Dutch van der Linde's oldest frien🌜d. Like they do with Dutch, Arthur Morgan and other members of the gang view Hosea as a father figure who keeps the gang's best interests in mi𝕴nd. As opposed to Dutch's more violent nature, Hosea opts out of unnecessary violence and sticks instead to conning and robbing people without hurting them.
This list contains spoilers for .
10 𒁃10. His Name
Hosea is the name of a prophet who lived in Israel in the eighth century and has been documented in the Hebrew Bible. While his name's meaning, "salvation," "he helps," or "he saves," fits with his character arc, his name's origin doesn't match his backstory. On , he's listed as a Roman Catholic. However, this name is Jewish in nature, since it comes from the Hebrew Bible. To further confuse things, Hosea says he once wanted to be a priest, but he "didn't know you had to be a Catholic🌄 to be a priest." S🅰o which is it? Catholic or Jewish?
9 ♎ 9. Why Did He Become An Outlaw?
Hosea wasn't always going to be the outlaw he turned out to be. In his younger years, he planned on becoming an actor and comedian. There's no real explanation for why this plan went awry, and there are plenty of colorful characters in the story that make it clear acting is a viable career in the Red Dead universe𒁃—so why🐲 did he give it up to become an outlaw?
There are no drama schools to worr🌞y about getting into, and ♌just about anyone could make it in Saint Denis. What on earth happened?
8 ♊ Bessie Matthews
Back in the day, Hosea was married to a woman named Bessie. At some point, he left the gang to be with Bessie, and to supposedly live a normal life within the boundaries of the law. We know Bessie eventually dies in the years prior to Red Dead Redemption 2, but there's far more about her we don't know. What killed her? Was it natural circumstances or as a result of Hosea returning to the outlaw life? Why did Hosea return to the outlaw life at all? Where and how on earth did he meet Bessie in t🎃he first place?
7 Why Didn't He Voice His Doub𝕴ts?
It's obvious Hosea is supposed to act as a foil to Dutch's grandiose and violent character. It's part of what makes the story of Red Dead Redemption 2 so beautiful and tragic. And though the van der Linde gang is named after, well, Dutch, it's obvious that Hosea is his right-hand man and supposedly an equal. When Dutch starts going off🦂 the rails and growing increasingly violent, why didn't Hosea tak💫e it upon himself to voice doubts about it as a friend, peer, and confidante?
6 🌺 Why Was He So Obsessed With Ginseng? 🦹
During the Colter 🌠Chapter at the very beginning of the game, Hosea helps Arthur and Charles replace a broken wheel on one of the gang's wagons. After telling a short history of the Native Americans in the region after spotting a few of them on a nearby cliff, Hosea hands Arthur a Ginseng Elixir. In terms of gameplay, this is an awesome gift, as it gives Arthur a 25% XP boost towards his health core and is impossible to buy in shops. But in terms of s🎶toryline, why on earth was Hosea always pushing herbal cures on Arthur?
5 Why Didn'🗹t He Eat One Of The Rabbits?
In "Exist Pursued by a Bruise Ego," Hosea takes Arthur hunting ᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚin Ambarino to find the Legendary Bharati Grizzly Bear. Along the way, he helps Arthur step up his hunting skills by encouraging him to hunt dജown rabbits. As it's getting late, they decide to settle down and eat the rabbits for dinner—except Hosea doesn't eat one. He encourages Arthur to eat or keep both rabbits and as far as the player is concerned, goes hungry all night. What gives, old man?
4 🦋 ♉ Conman vs. Robin Hood
The game really wants you to know Hosea is the angel on Dutch's shoulder while Micah is definitely, definitely the devil on his other shoulder. Hosea is pragmatic and peaceful while the rest of the gang is not. He agrees with Dutch's original idea to act asꦍ Robin Hood for the poor while stealing from the rich. So how did Hosea decide acting as a cꦏonman was the same thing as being generous? Maybe it's just a flaw we're supposed to accept from every member of Dutch's gang, but sometimes, it doesn't feel like the ends justify the means.
3 Why Did He Tell Dutc🙈h꧑ About The Bank In Saint Denis?
Speaking of👍 Hosea's efforts to avoid violence, what's the deal with the mayor's party in "The Gilded Cage?" Hosea doesn't want to hurt people, yet he's the one who gets the information about the Lemoyne National Bank at the party and puts the id🎀ea to rob it in Dutch's head.
He could have been acting out of desperation to get as much money as Dutch thought t༒hey need🍷ed to retreat back west or maybe he was just done trying to defy Dutch. Since the bank robbery killed Hosea, players may never know.
2 🗹 What Is Wrong With His Lungs?
Gang members around camp will comment on Hosea's poor lungs every so often. And though he's an older man, it's safe to say he looks pretty rundown as compared to the rest of the camp (unless you could Arthur in chapter six). This is all not to mentioꦆn his coughing and wheezing and explaining it away as "old man syndrome." There is never a real explanation behind Hosea's failing lungs and general health, but there are .
1 Why Didn'tಌ He Leave? ꦓ
This is perhaps the saddest question of all, and one that could extend to the beloved Arthur Morgan as well: why didn't Hosea leave the Van der Linde gang? The answer may be simple enough: loyalty. It could be that he loved the gang as much as anyone else did and didn't want to leave them to their fate. It could b🐈e that he didn't know who he could trust or feared Dutch would hunt him down and enact revenge if he did leave. And who's to say leaving the gang would have spared his life anyway?