According to the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
. '' was a prophet in the Bible and is traditionally regarded as the author of the Book of Micah. He is considered one of the Twelve Minor Prophets of the Hebrew Bible and is depicted as a contemporary of the prophets Isaiah, Amos and Hosea. Micah is described as having been from Moresheth-Gath, in southwest Judah and prophesying during the reigns of kings Jotham, Ahaz, 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 ...

of Judah. Micah's messages were directed chiefly toward

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

. He prophesied the future destruction of Jerusalem and Samaria, the destruction and then future restoration of the Judean state, and he rebuked the people of Judah for dishonesty and idolatry. The formation of the Book of Micah is debated, with a consensus that its final stage occurred during the Persian period 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. is interpreted by Christians as a prophecy that

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 ...

, a small village just south of Jerusalem, would be the birthplace of the

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 ...

Biblical narrative

Micah was active in 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 ...

from before the fall of

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

in 722 BC and experienced the devastation brought by Sennacherib's invasion of Judah in 701 BC. He prophesied from approximately 740 to 698 BC. Micah was from Moresheth, also called Moresheth-Gath, a small town in southwest Judah. Micah lived in a rural area, and often rebuked the corruption of city life in Israel and Judah. Unlike prophets such as Isaiah and Hosea, no record of his father's name has been retained by the scribes, but it is likely that he was descended from the common people, as the target of his message was towards the privileged classes. John Taylor comments that "To call a man a rural prophet is not to say that he was ignorant." Micah prophesied during the reigns of kings Jotham, Ahaz, and

of Judah. Jotham, the son of Uzziah, was king of Judah from 742 to 735 BC, and was succeeded by his own son Ahaz, who reigned over Judah from 735 to 715 BC. Ahaz's son Hezekiah ruled from 715 to 696 BC. Micah was a contemporary of the prophets Isaiah, Amos, and Hosea.

Jeremiah Jeremiah ( – ), also called Jeremias, was one of the major prophets of the Hebrew Bible. According to Jewish tradition, Jeremiah authored the Book of Jeremiah, book that bears his name, the Books of Kings, and the Book of Lamentations, with t ...

, who prophesied about thirty years after Micah, recognized Micah as a prophet from Moresheth who prophesied during the reign of Hezekiah, quoting text found in Micah 3:12.

Message

His messages were directed mainly towards Jerusalem, and were a mixture of denunciations and prophecies. In his early prophecies, he predicted the destruction of both

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 ...

and Jerusalem for their respective sins. The people of Samaria were rebuked for worshipping idols, which were bought with the income earned by prostitutes. Micah was the first prophet to predict the downfall of Jerusalem. According to him, the city was doomed because its beautification was financed by dishonest business practices, which impoverished the city's citizens. He also called to account the prophets of his day, whom he accused of accepting money for their oracles. Micah also anticipated the destruction of the Judean state and promised its restoration more glorious than before. He prophesied an era of universal peace over which the Governor will rule from Jerusalem. Micah also declared that when the glory of Zion and Jacob is restored, the will force the Gentiles to abandon idolatry. Micah also rebuked Israel because of dishonesty in the marketplace and corruption in government. He warned the people, on behalf of God, of pending destruction if ways and hearts were not changed. He told them what the requires of them: Israel's response to Micah's charges and threats consisted of three parts: an admission of guilt, a warning of adversaries that Israel will rely on the for deliverance and forgiveness, and a prayer for forgiveness and deliverance. Another prophecy given by Micah details the future destruction of Jerusalem and the plowing of Zion (a part of Jerusalem). This passage (Micah 3:11–12), is stated again in Jeremiah 26:18, Micah's only prophecy repeated in the Old Testament. Since then Jerusalem has been destroyed three times, the first one being the fulfillment of Micah's prophecy. The Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem in 586 BC, about 150 years after Micah gave this prophecy.Micah: A Commentary. Mays, James Luther. Old Testament Library. Westminster John Knox Press, 1976. . p. 131–133.

Christian interpretation

is interpreted as a prophecy that

, a small village just south of Jerusalem, would be the birthplace of the

. This passage is recalled in Matthew 2:6, and the fulfillment of this prophecy in the birth of Jesus is further described in . In

Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

adapts to his own situation; Micah was referring to the division in Judah and Samaria, the distrust that had arisen between all citizens, even within families. Jesus was using the same words to describe something different. Jesus said that he did not come to bring peace, but to divide households. Men are commanded to love Jesus Christ more than their own family members, and Jesus indicated that this priority would lead to persecution from others and separation within families.Matthew 10. Henry, Matthew. Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible. Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2000. Page 381. In Micah 7:20, Micah reminded Judah of God's covenant to be merciful to Jacob and show love to

Abraham Abraham (originally Abram) is the common Hebrews, Hebrew Patriarchs (Bible), patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father who began the Covenant (biblical), covenanta ...

and his descendants. This is repeated in Luke 1:72–73 in the prophecy Zechariah at the circumcision and naming of

John the Baptist John the Baptist ( – ) was a Jewish preacher active in the area of the Jordan River in the early first century AD. He is also known as Saint John the Forerunner in Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy, John the Immerser in some Baptist ...

. This prophecy concerned the kingdom and salvation through the Messiah. It is a step in the fulfillment of the blessing of the descendants of Abraham. When Micah restated this covenant promise, he was comforting Judah with the promise of God's faithfulness and love. Micah's prophecy to King

is mentioned in :

Liturgical commemoration

Micah is commemorated with the other eleven

minor prophet 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 ...

s in the Calendar of Saints (Armenian Apostolic Church) on July 31. In the

Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, officially the Orthodox Catholic Church, and also called the Greek Orthodox Church or simply the Orthodox Church, is List of Christian denominations by number of members, one of the three major doctrinal and ...

he is commemorated on August 14 (the forefeast of the Great Feast of the Dormition of the Mother of God).

References

Bibliography

* Delbert R. Hillers, ''Micah'' (Minneapolis, Fortress Press, 1984) (Nurse). * Bruce K. Waltke, ''A Commentary on Micah'' (Grand Rapids, Eerdmans, 2007). * Mignon Jacobs, ''Conceptual Coherence of the Book of Micah'' (Sheffield, Sheffield Academic Press, 2009). * Yair Hoffman Engel, "The Wandering Lament: Micah 1:10–16," in Mordechai Cogan and Dan`el Kahn (eds), ''Treasures on Camels' Humps: Historical and Literary Studies from the Ancient Near East Presented to Israel Eph`al'' (Jerusalem, Magnes Press, 2008).

External links

Prophet Micah
Orthodox

icon An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Catholic Church, Catholic, and Lutheranism, Lutheran churches. The most common subjects include Jesus, Mary, mother of ...

and synaxarion for August 14
Historical and Literary Overview
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Micah 8th-century BC writers 8th-century BC religious leaders Christian saints from the Old Testament Book of Micah people