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The Book of Micah is the sixth of the
twelve minor prophets The Twelve Minor Prophets (, ''Shneim Asar''; , ''Trei Asar'', "Twelve"; , "the Twelve Prophets"; , "the Twelve Prophets"), or the Book of the Twelve, is a collection of twelve prophetic works traditionally attributed to individual prophets, like ...
in the
Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
. '' Micah, whose name is ''Mikayahu'' (), meaning "Who is like Yahweh?", an 8th-century BCE prophet from the village of Moresheth in Judah (Hebrew name from the opening verse: מיכה המרשתי). The book has three major divisions, chapters 1–2, 3–5 and 6–7, each introduced by the word "Hear", with a pattern of alternating announcements of doom and expressions of hope within each division.Limburg (1988), p. 159 Micah reproaches unjust leaders, defends the rights of the poor against the rich and powerful; while looking forward to a world at peace centered on
Zion Zion (; ) is a placename in the Tanakh, often used as a synonym for Jerusalem as well as for the Land of Israel as a whole. The name is found in 2 Samuel (), one of the books of the Tanakh dated to approximately the mid-6th century BCE. It o ...
under the leadership of a new
David David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament. The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Dam ...
ic monarch.Sweeney (2000), pp. 341–42 While the book is relatively short, it includes
lament A lament or lamentation is a passionate expression of grief, often in music, poetry, or song form. The grief is most often born of regret, or mourning. Laments can also be expressed in a verbal manner in which participants lament about something ...
(1:8–16; 7:8–10),
theophany Theophany () is an encounter with a deity that manifests in an observable and tangible form.. It is often confused with other types of encounters with a deity, but these interactions are not considered theophanies unless the deity reveals itse ...
(1.3–4), a hymnic prayer of petition and confidence (7:14–20), and the "covenant lawsuit" (6:1–8), a distinct genre in which
Yahweh Yahweh was an Ancient Semitic religion, ancient Semitic deity of Weather god, weather and List of war deities, war in the History of the ancient Levant, ancient Levant, the national god of the kingdoms of Kingdom of Judah, Judah and Kingdom ...
(God) sues Israel for breach of contract of the
Mosaic covenant Abrahamic religions believe in the Mosaic covenant (named after Moses), also known as the Sinaitic covenant (after the biblical Mount Sinai), which refers to a covenant between the Israelite tribes and God, including their proselytes, not lim ...
. The formation of the Book of Micah is debated, with a consensus that its final stage occurred during the
Persian period The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire, also known as the Persian Empire or First Persian Empire (; , , ), was an Iranian peoples, Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great of the Achaemenid dynasty in 550 BC. Based in modern-day Iran, i ...
or
Hellenistic period In classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Greek history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the death of Cleopatra VII in 30 BC, which was followed by the ascendancy of the R ...
, but uncertainty remains about whether it was formed at the time or merely finalized.


Setting

The opening verse identifies the prophet as "Micah of Moresheth" (a town in southern Judah), and states that he lived during the reigns of
Jotham Jotham or Yotam (; ; ) was the eleventh king of Judah, and son of Uzziah and Jerusha, daughter of Zadok. Jotham was 25 years old when he began his reign, and he reigned for 16 years. Edwin R. Thiele concluded that his reign commenced as a coreg ...
,
Ahaz Ahaz (; ''Akhaz''; ) an abbreviation of Jehoahaz II (of Judah), "Yahweh has held" (; ''Ya'úḫazi'' 'ia-ú-ḫa-zi'' Hayim Tadmor and Shigeo Yamada, ''The Royal Inscriptions of Tiglath-pileser III (744-727 BC) and Shalmaneser V (726-722 BC), ...
and
Hezekiah Hezekiah (; ), or Ezekias (born , sole ruler ), was the son of Ahaz and the thirteenth king of Kingdom of Judah, Judah according to the Hebrew Bible.Stephen L Harris, Harris, Stephen L., ''Understanding the Bible''. Palo Alto: Mayfield. 1985. "G ...
, roughly 750–700 BCE. This corresponds to the period when, after a long period of peace, Israel, Judah, and the other nations of the region came under increasing pressure from the aggressive and rapidly expanding
Neo-Assyrian empire The Neo-Assyrian Empire was the fourth and penultimate stage of ancient Assyrian history. Beginning with the accession of Adad-nirari II in 911 BC, the Neo-Assyrian Empire grew to dominate the ancient Near East and parts of South Caucasus, Nort ...
. Between 734 and 727 Tiglath-Pileser III of Assyria conducted almost annual campaigns in
the Levant The Levant ( ) is the subregion that borders the Eastern Mediterranean sea to the west, and forms the core of West Asia and the political term, ''Middle East''. In its narrowest sense, which is in use today in archaeology and other cultura ...
, reducing the Kingdom of Israel, the
Kingdom of Judah The Kingdom of Judah was an Israelites, Israelite kingdom of the Southern Levant during the Iron Age. Centered in the highlands to the west of the Dead Sea, the kingdom's capital was Jerusalem. It was ruled by the Davidic line for four centuries ...
and the
Philistine Philistines (; Septuagint, LXX: ; ) were ancient people who lived on the south coast of Canaan during the Iron Age in a confederation of city-states generally referred to as Philistia. There is compelling evidence to suggest that the Philist ...
cities to
vassal A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerain ...
age, receiving
tribute A tribute (; from Latin ''tributum'', "contribution") is wealth, often in kind, that a party gives to another as a sign of submission, allegiance or respect. Various ancient states exacted tribute from the rulers of lands which the state con ...
from
Ammon Ammon (; Ammonite language, Ammonite: 𐤏𐤌𐤍 ''ʻAmān''; '; ) was an ancient Semitic languages, Semitic-speaking kingdom occupying the east of the Jordan River, between the torrent valleys of Wadi Mujib, Arnon and Jabbok, in present-d ...
,
Moab Moab () was an ancient Levant, Levantine kingdom whose territory is today located in southern Jordan. The land is mountainous and lies alongside much of the eastern shore of the Dead Sea. The existence of the Kingdom of Moab is attested to by ...
and
Edom Edom (; Edomite language, Edomite: ; , lit.: "red"; Akkadian language, Akkadian: , ; Egyptian language, Ancient Egyptian: ) was an ancient kingdom that stretched across areas in the south of present-day Jordan and Israel. Edom and the Edomi ...
, and absorbing Damascus (the Kingdom of Aram) into the Empire. On Tiglath-Pileser's death Israel rebelled, resulting in an Assyrian counter-attack and the destruction of the capital,
Samaria Samaria (), the Hellenized form of the Hebrew name Shomron (), is used as a historical and Hebrew Bible, biblical name for the central region of the Land of Israel. It is bordered by Judea to the south and Galilee to the north. The region is ...
, in 721 after a three-year siege. Micah 1:2–7 draws on this event: Samaria, says the prophet, has been destroyed by God because of its crimes of idolatry, oppression of the poor, and misuse of power. The Assyrian attacks on Israel (the northern kingdom) led to an influx of refugees into Judah, which would have increased social stresses, while at the same time the authorities in Jerusalem had to invest huge amounts in tribute and defense. When the Assyrians attacked Judah in 701 they did so via the Philistine coast and the
Shephelah The Shephelah () or Shfela (), or the Judaean Foothills (), is a transitional region of soft-sloping rolling hills in south-central Israel stretching over between the Judaean Mountains and the Coastal Plain. The different use of the term "Jud ...
, the border region which included Micah's village of Moresheth, as well as
Lachish Lachish (; ; ) was an ancient Canaanite and later Israelite city in the Shephelah ("lowlands of Judea") region of Canaan on the south bank of the Lakhish River mentioned several times in the Hebrew Bible. The current '' tell'' by that name, kn ...
, Judah's second largest city. This in turn forms the background to verses 1:8–16, in which Micah warns the towns of the coming disaster (Lachish is singled out for special mention, accused of the corrupt practices of both Samaria and Jerusalem). In verses 2:1–5 he denounces the appropriation of land and houses, which might simply be the greed of the wealthy and powerful, or possibly the result of the militarizing of the area in preparation for the Assyrian attack.


Composition

The formation of the Book of Micah is a topic of scholarly debate. The 2021 Oxford Handbook of the Minor Prophets summarizes: “There is a consensus that the book has a long history of formation with the Persian (or even
Hellenistic In classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Greek history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the death of Cleopatra VII in 30 BC, which was followed by the ascendancy of the R ...
) period as its last stage. However, it is contested whether it was formed in these days or only finalized after a longer history of tradition.” Some, but not all, scholars accept that only chapters 1–3 contain material from the late 8th-century BCE prophet Micah. According to scholars, the latest material comes from the post-Exilic period after the
Temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...
was rebuilt in 515 BCE, so that the early 5th century BCE seems to be the period when the book was completed. The first stage was the collection and arrangement of some spoken sayings of the historical Micah (the material in chapters 1–3), in which the prophet attacks those who build estates through oppression and depicts the Assyrian invasion of Judah as Yahweh's punishment on the kingdom's corrupt rulers, including a prophecy that the Temple will be destroyed. The prophecy was not fulfilled in Micah's time, but a hundred years later when Judah was facing a similar crisis with the
Neo-Babylonian Empire The Neo-Babylonian Empire or Second Babylonian Empire, historically known as the Chaldean Empire, was the last polity ruled by monarchs native to ancient Mesopotamia. Beginning with the coronation of Nabopolassar as the King of Babylon in 626 BC a ...
, Micah's prophecies were reworked and expanded to reflect the new situation. Still later, after Jerusalem fell to the Neo-Babylonian Empire, the book was revised and expanded further to reflect the circumstances of the late exilic and post-exilic community.


Surviving early manuscripts

The oldest surviving
manuscripts A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand or typewritten, as opposed to mechanically printed or reproduced in some indirect or automated way. More recently, the term has c ...
were made hundreds of years after the period or periods of authorship. The earliest surviving
Masoretic Text The Masoretic Text (MT or 𝕸; ) is the authoritative Hebrew and Aramaic text of the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible (''Tanakh'') in Rabbinic Judaism. The Masoretic Text defines the Jewish canon and its precise letter-text, with its vocaliz ...
versions include the
Codex Cairensis The Codex Cairensis (also: ''Codex Prophetarum Cairensis'', ''Cairo Codex of the Prophets'') is a Hebrew manuscript containing the complete text of the Hebrew Bible's Nevi'im (Prophets). It has traditionally been described as "the oldest dated He ...
(895), the Petersburg Codex of the Prophets (916), and Codex Leningradensis (1008). Since 1947, the current text of the
Aleppo Codex The Aleppo Codex () is a medieval bound manuscript of the Hebrew Bible. The codex was written in the city of Tiberias in the tenth century CE (circa 920) under the rule of the Abbasid Caliphate, and was endorsed for its accuracy by Maimonides. ...
is missing Micah 1:1 to 5:1. Fragments containing parts of this book in the original
Biblical Hebrew Biblical Hebrew ( or ), also called Classical Hebrew, is an archaic form of the Hebrew language, a language in the Canaanite languages, Canaanitic branch of the Semitic languages spoken by the Israelites in the area known as the Land of Isra ...
were found among the
Dead Sea Scrolls The Dead Sea Scrolls, also called the Qumran Caves Scrolls, are a set of List of Hebrew Bible manuscripts, ancient Jewish manuscripts from the Second Temple period (516 BCE – 70 CE). They were discovered over a period of ten years, between ...
, including 4Q82 (25 BCE);Dead sea scrolls - Micah
/ref> and Wadi Murabba'at Minor Prophets (75–100 CE). There is also a translation into
Koine Greek Koine Greek (, ), also variously known as Hellenistic Greek, common Attic, the Alexandrian dialect, Biblical Greek, Septuagint Greek or New Testament Greek, was the koiné language, common supra-regional form of Greek language, Greek spoken and ...
known as the
Septuagint The Septuagint ( ), sometimes referred to as the Greek Old Testament or The Translation of the Seventy (), and abbreviated as LXX, is the earliest extant Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible from the original Biblical Hebrew. The full Greek ...
, made in the last few centuries BCE. Extant ancient manuscripts of the
Septuagint The Septuagint ( ), sometimes referred to as the Greek Old Testament or The Translation of the Seventy (), and abbreviated as LXX, is the earliest extant Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible from the original Biblical Hebrew. The full Greek ...
version include
Codex Vaticanus The Codex Vaticanus ( The Vatican, Bibl. Vat., Vat. gr. 1209), is a manuscript of the Greek Bible, containing the majority of the Old Testament and the majority of the New Testament. It is designated by siglum B or 03 in the Gregory-Aland numb ...
(4th century),
Codex Alexandrinus The Codex Alexandrinus (London, British Library, Royal MS 1. D. V-VIII) is a manuscript of the Greek Bible,The Greek Bible in this context refers to the Bible used by Greek-speaking Christians who lived in Egypt and elsewhere during the early ...
(5th century) and
Codex Marchalianus Codex Marchalianus, designated by siglum Q, is a 6th-century Greek language, Greek manuscript copy of the Greek version of the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh or Old Testament) known as the Septuagint. It is now in the Vatican Library. The text was writte ...
(6th century). The Book of Micah is missing in the extant
Codex Sinaiticus The Codex Sinaiticus (; Shelfmark: London, British Library, Add MS 43725), also called the Sinai Bible, is a fourth-century Christian manuscript of a Greek Bible, containing the majority of the Greek Old Testament, including the deuterocanonica ...
. Some fragments containing parts of this book in Greek were found among the
Dead Sea Scrolls The Dead Sea Scrolls, also called the Qumran Caves Scrolls, are a set of List of Hebrew Bible manuscripts, ancient Jewish manuscripts from the Second Temple period (516 BCE – 70 CE). They were discovered over a period of ten years, between ...
, that is, Naḥal Ḥever 8Ḥev1 (late 1st century BCE).


Content


Structure

At the broadest level, Micah can be divided into three roughly equal parts:King (1988), p. 27 * Judgment against the nations and their leaders * Restoration of Zion (chapters 4–5, which belong together despite their possibly unclear connection, probably exilic and post-exilic);Rogerson (2003), p. 703 * God's lawsuit against Israel and expression of hope (chapters 6–7, also probably exilic and post-exilic). James Limburg sees the word "Hear" in Micah 1:2, 3:1 and 6:1 as the marker for three separate sections, noting that Amos 3:1, 4:1, 5:1 and 8:4 mark similar divisions within the
Book of Amos The Book of Amos is the third of the Twelve Minor Prophets in the Christian Old Testament and Jewish Hebrew Bible, Tanakh and the second in the Greek Septuagint. The Book of Amos has nine chapters. According to the Bible, Amos (prophet), Amos was ...
, another of the minor prophets. Within this broad three-part structure are a series of alternating oracles of judgment and promises of restoration: * 1.1 Superscription * 1.2–2.11 Oracles of judgment * 2.12–13 Oracles of restoration * 3.1–12 Oracles of judgment * 4.1–5.15 Oracles of restoration * 6.1–7.6 Oracles of judgment * 7.7–20 Oracles of restoration


Verse numbering

There is a difference in verse numbering between English Bibles and Hebrew texts, with Micah 4:14 in Hebrew texts being Micah 5:1 in English Bibles, and the Hebrew 5:1 etc. being numbered 5:2 etc. in English Bibles. This article generally follows the common numbering in Christian English Bible versions.


Subsections

* The Heading: As is typical of prophetic books, an anonymous editor or
scribe A scribe is a person who serves as a professional copyist, especially one who made copies of manuscripts before the invention of Printing press, automatic printing. The work of scribes can involve copying manuscripts and other texts as well as ...
has supplied the name of the prophet, an indication of his time of activity, and an identification of his speech as the "word of Yahweh", a generic term carrying a claim to prophetic legitimacy and authority. Samaria and Jerusalem are given prominence as the foci of the prophet's attention. Unlike prophets such as Isaiah and Hosea, no record of his father's name has been retained. * Judgment against Samaria (1:2–7): Drawing upon ancient traditions for depicting a theophany, the prophet depicts the coming of Yahweh to punish the city, whose sins are idolatry and the abuse of the poor. * Warnings to the cities of Judah (1:8–16): Samaria has fallen, Judah is next. Micah describes the destruction of the lesser towns of Judah (referring to the invasion of Judah by Sennacherib, 701 BCE). For these passages of doom on the various cities, paronomasia is used. Paronomasia is a
literary device A narrative technique (also, in fiction, a fictional device) is any of several storytelling methods the creator of a story uses, thus effectively relaying information to the audience or making the story more complete, complex, or engaging. Some ...
which 'plays' on the sound of each word for literary effect. For example, the inhabitants of Beth-le-aphrah ("house of dust") are told to "roll yourselves in the dust" (1:14). Though most of the paronomasia is lost in translation, it is the equivalent of 'Ashdod shall be but ashes,' where the fate of the city matches its name. * Misuse of power denounced (2:1–5): Denounces those who appropriate the land and houses of others. The context may be simply the amassing wealth for its own sake, or could be connected with the militarisation of the region for the expected Assyrian attack.Rogerson (2003), p. 704 * Threats against the prophet (2:6–11): The prophet is warned not to prophesy. He answers that the rulers are harming God's people, and want to listen only to those who advocate the virtues of wine. * A later promise (2:12–13): These verses assume that judgment has already fallen and Israel is already scattered abroad. * Judgment on wicked Zion (3:1–4): Israel's rulers are accused of gaining more wealth at the expense of the poor, by any means. The
metaphor A metaphor is a figure of speech that, for rhetorical effect, directly refers to one thing by mentioning another. It may provide, or obscure, clarity or identify hidden similarities between two different ideas. Metaphors are usually meant to cr ...
of flesh being torn from the people illustrates the length to which the ruling classes and socialites would go to further increase their wealth. Prophets are corrupt, seeking personal gain. Jerusalem's rulers believe that God will always be with them, but God will be with his people, and Jerusalem will be destroyed. *Prophets for Profit (3:5-8): those condemned by Micah are explicitly called "prophets", while he appears to distance himself from personally being called a prophet.Williamson, H. G. M., ''32. Micah'', in Barton, J. and Muddiman, J. (2001)
The Oxford Bible Commentary
/ref> *A concluding judgment (3:9-12) drawing together chapters 2–3. * Zion's future hope (4:1–5): This is a later passage, almost identical to
Isaiah Isaiah ( or ; , ''Yəšaʿyāhū'', "Yahweh is salvation"; also known as Isaias or Esaias from ) was the 8th-century BC Israelite prophet after whom the Book of Isaiah is named. The text of the Book of Isaiah refers to Isaiah as "the prophet" ...
2:2–4. In the " latter days", "last days", or "the days to come", Cheyne, T. K. (1882)
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
on Micah 4, accessed on 7 September 2024
Zion (meaning the Temple) will be rebuilt, but by God, and based not on violence and
corruption Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense that is undertaken by a person or an organization that is entrusted in a position of authority to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's gain. Corruption may involve activities ...
but on the desire to learn God's laws, beat swords to ploughshares and live in peace.Rogerson (2003), p. 705 * Further promises to Zion (4:6–7): This is another later passage, promising Zion that she will once more enjoy her former independence and power. * Deliverance from distress in Babylon (4:9–5:1, 4:9-14 in Hebrew Bible numbering) The similarity with Isaiah 41:15–16 and the references to Babylon suggest a later period for this material, although it is unclear whether a period during or after the siege of 586 is meant. Despite their trials, God will not desert his people. * The promised ruler from
Bethlehem Bethlehem is a city in the West Bank, Palestine, located about south of Jerusalem, and the capital of the Bethlehem Governorate. It had a population of people, as of . The city's economy is strongly linked to Tourism in the State of Palesti ...
(5:1 ��14): This passage is usually dated to the exile. Although Micah 4:9 has asked "is there no king" in Zion, this chapter predicts that the coming
Messiah In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias (; , ; , ; ) is a saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of '' mashiach'', messianism, and of a Messianic Age originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible, in which a ''mashiach ...
will emerge from Bethlehem, the traditional home of the Davidic monarchy, to restore Israel. Assyria will invade (some translations prefer "''if'' the Assyrians invade"), but she will be stricken, and Israel's punishment will lead to the punishment of the nations. Williamson treats Micah 4:8-5:6 as one unit, with "a clear and balanced structure". * A Covenant lawsuit (6:1–5): Yahweh accuses Israel (the people of Judah) of breaking the covenant through their lack of justice and honesty, after the pattern of the kings of Israel (northern kingdom). * Torah Liturgy (6:6–8): Micah speaks on behalf of the community asking what they should do in order to get back on God's good side. Micah then responds by saying that God requires only "to do justice, and to love
mercy Mercy (Middle English, from Anglo-French , from Medieval Latin , "price paid, wages", from Latin , "merchandise") is benevolence, forgiveness, and kindness in a variety of ethical, religious, social, and legal contexts. In the social and le ...
, and to walk humbly with your God", thus declaring that the burnt offering of both animals and humans (which may have been practiced in Judah under Kings
Ahaz Ahaz (; ''Akhaz''; ) an abbreviation of Jehoahaz II (of Judah), "Yahweh has held" (; ''Ya'úḫazi'' 'ia-ú-ḫa-zi'' Hayim Tadmor and Shigeo Yamada, ''The Royal Inscriptions of Tiglath-pileser III (744-727 BC) and Shalmaneser V (726-722 BC), ...
and
Manasseh Manasseh () is both a given name and a surname. Its variants include Manasses and Manasse. Notable people with the name include: Surname * Ezekiel Saleh Manasseh (died 1944), Singaporean rice and opium merchant and hotelier * Jacob Manasseh ( ...
) is not necessary for God. * The City as a Cheat (6:9–16): The city is reprimanded for its dishonest trade practices. * Lament (7:1–7): The first passage in the book in the first person: whether it comes from Micah himself is disputed. Honesty and decency have vanished, families are filled with strife.Rogerson (2003), p. 707 The
Jerusalem Bible ''The Jerusalem Bible'' (JB or TJB) is an English translation of the Bible published in 1966 by Darton, Longman & Todd. As a Catholic Bible, it includes 73 books: the 39 books shared with the Hebrew Bible, along with the seven deuterocanonical ...
suggests that verse 7, ''For my part, I look to Yahweh ...'' may have been the conclusion of the original book, before additional poems on Israel's restoration were added. * A song of fallen Jerusalem (7:8–10): The first person voice continues, but now it is the city who speaks. She recognises that her destruction is deserved punishment from God. The recognition gives grounds for hope that God is still with her. * A prophecy of restoration (7:11–13): Fallen Jerusalem is promised that she will be rebuilt and that her power will be greater than ever (a contrast with the vision of peace in 4:1–5). * A prayer for future prosperity (7:14–17): The mood switches from a request for power to grateful astonishment at God's mercy. Hermann Gunkel and Bo Reicke identify the last chapter as a ritual text possibly connected to a festival such as the Israelite New Year. *A hymn of praise for the incomparable God (7:18-20): the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine in the United States notes that these final verses "contain a hymn of praise for the incomparable God, who pardons sin and delights in mercy".


Themes

Micah addresses the future of Judah/Israel after the Babylonian exile. Like
Isaiah Isaiah ( or ; , ''Yəšaʿyāhū'', "Yahweh is salvation"; also known as Isaias or Esaias from ) was the 8th-century BC Israelite prophet after whom the Book of Isaiah is named. The text of the Book of Isaiah refers to Isaiah as "the prophet" ...
, the book has a vision of the punishment of Israel and creation of a "
remnant Remnant or remnants may refer to: Religion * Remnant (Bible), a recurring theme in the Bible * Remnant (Seventh-day Adventist belief), the remnant theme in the Seventh-day Adventist Church * ''The Remnant'' (newspaper), a traditional Catholic n ...
", followed by world peace centered on Zion under the leadership of a new Davidic monarch; the people should do justice, turn to Yahweh, and await the end of their punishment. However, whereas Isaiah sees Jacob/Israel joining "the nations" under Yahweh's rule, Micah looks forward to Israel ruling over the nations. Insofar as Micah appears to draw on and rework parts of Isaiah, it seems designed at least partly to provide a counterpoint to that book.


Allusions in the New Testament

There are several allusions to the Book of Micah in the
New Testament The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...
: *
Matthew's Gospel The Gospel of Matthew is the first book of the New Testament of the Bible and one of the three synoptic Gospels. It tells the story of who the author believes is Israel's messiah ( Christ), Jesus, his resurrection, and his mission to the ...
quotes from the Book of Micah in relation to Jesus being born in
Bethlehem Bethlehem is a city in the West Bank, Palestine, located about south of Jerusalem, and the capital of the Bethlehem Governorate. It had a population of people, as of . The city's economy is strongly linked to Tourism in the State of Palesti ...
: *Jesus' words in Matthew 10:36 reflect Micah's warning that families will be divided: :Although the wording is different,
Jerome Jerome (; ; ; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was an early Christian presbyter, priest, Confessor of the Faith, confessor, theologian, translator, and historian; he is commonly known as Saint Jerome. He is best known ...
comments that "we should always take note when a passage is cited out of the Old Testament, whether the sense only, or the very words are given". * John's Gospel has a possible allusion to the identification of the mysterious "him" that God causes to see marvels or marvelous things:


See also

*
Zion Zion (; ) is a placename in the Tanakh, often used as a synonym for Jerusalem as well as for the Land of Israel as a whole. The name is found in 2 Samuel (), one of the books of the Tanakh dated to approximately the mid-6th century BCE. It o ...


Notes


References


Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * * *


Further reading

* "Book of Micah." The Anchor Bible Dictionary. Vol. 4, Editor-in-Chief: Freedman, David N. Doubleday; New York. 1992. * "Book of Micah." International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. General Editor: Bromley, G.W. William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.; Grand Rapids, MI. 1986.
“ Book of Micah”
Forward Movement Publications, Cincinnati, OH, 2007 * Holy Bible: The New Oxford Annotated Bible. Coogan; Oxford University Press, 2007. * LaSor, William Sanford et al. ''Old Testament Survey: the Message, Form, and Background of the Old Testament''. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 1996. * Hailey, Homer. (1973). ''A Commentary on the Minor Prophets''. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House. * Maxey, Al. ''The Minor Prophets: Micah''. (n.d.). 20 Paragraphs. Retrieved October 4, 2005, fro

* McKeating, Henry Engel. (1971). ''The Books of Amos, Hosea, and Micah''. New York: the Syndics of the Cambridge University Press. * Pusey, E.B. (1963). ''The Minor Prophets: A Commentary'' (Vol. II). Grand Rapids: Baker Book House. * Wood, Joyce Rilett. (2000). "Speech and action in Micah's prophecy". '' Catholic Biblical Quarterly'', no. 4(62), 49 paragraphs. Retrieved September 30, 2005, from OCLC (FirstSearch) databas
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External links

* Jewish translations: *
Michah – Micah (Judaica Press)
translation ith Rashi's commentary">Rashi.html" ;"title="ith Rashi">ith Rashi's commentaryat Chabad.org * Christian translations: *
''Online Bible'' at GospelHall.org
(ESV, KJV, Darby, American Standard Version, Bible in Basic English) *
BibleGateway.com
(New International Version) *

(New Revised Standard Version) * Various versions {{DEFAULTSORT:Micah Book of Micah"> 8th-century BC books 8th-century BC books">Book of Micah"> 8th-century BC books 5th-century BC books Twelve Minor Prophets"> 06