Hosea 12 comprises oracles against Ephraim, references to the life of Jacob, and allusions to the Exodus. While the unity of the chapter still has some advocates, the prevailing view remains that an original Ephraim oracle was later supplemented with the Jacob and Exodus material. This view is based on the alleged dependence of the Jacob passage on Genesis and the assumption that the prophetic role of Moses is Deuteronomistic. This paper challenges these assumptions, contending that vv. 4-5* and 8 differ from both Genesis and from Hos 12,13. Moreover, as demonstrated by the examples of Saul and Deborah, a Northern Israelite tradition predating the Deuteronomistic redaction presents ideal leaders as prophets. Consequently, the study concludes that at the core of the chapter there were two oracles: an Ephraim oracle (12,1a.2) and an Ephraim-Jacob oracle (12,3-5*.8-12.15), with the latter subsequently expanded by vv. 13-14. Both oracles likely originated in the final years of Israel, evolving from oral traditions and later unified in Hosea 12 based on common thematic elements.