In theories that argue for an original, coherent corpus of the Twelve Minor Prophets, the book of Hosea plays an ambiguous role. While some studies view Hosea as a rela¬tive latecomer in the collection, others consider it as an introduction to the Twelve. After briefly presenting the main literary links proposed in the scholarly literature to Malachi, this paper reevaluates them and argues that Hosea and Malachi were shaped as a literary frame around the Twelve.