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MICAH (r )

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Originally appearing in Volume V18, Page 358 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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MICAH (r )  , in the See also:Bible, the name prefixed to the See also:sixth in See also:order of the books of the See also:minor prophets.' He was a See also:con-temporary and See also:fellow-worker of See also:Isaiah . The name in various modifications—Micdimhu, Micaiehu, Micdidh—is See also:common in the Old Testament, expressing as it does a fundamental point of See also:Hebrew faith: Who is like Yahweh ?2 It was also See also:borne among others by the Danite whose See also:history is given in See also:Judges xvii. seq . (see See also:separate See also:article), by the See also:prophet who opposed See also:Ahab's expedition to Ramoth-See also:Gilead (1 See also:Kings xxii.),' and by the son of See also:Jonathan (see See also:SAUL) . The editorial See also:title of the See also:book of See also:Micah declares that Micah prophesied " in the days of Jotham (739–734), See also:Ahaz (733–721) and See also:Hezekiah (720–693), kings of See also:Judah." Nothing in the book itself can claim to belong to the reign of Jotham, but the prophecy against See also:Samaria (i . 5–8) may have been uttered originally before the fall of Samaria in 722, i.e. in the reign of Ahaz . In its See also:present See also:form, however, it has been incorporated in a prophecy against Judah, belonging, most probably, to the years 705–701, when a new Palestinian rising provoked See also:Sennacherib's See also:campaign of 701 (Nowack; cf . See also:Marti) . This prophetic activity of Micah under Hezekiah is confirmed by the See also:direct statement of Jer. See also:xxvi . 17 seq., where Mic. iii . 12 is quoted (" See also:Zion shall be plowed as a See also:field," &c.) . The See also:verse quoted forms the See also:climax of Mic. i.–iii., from which chapters only any certain conclusions as to the prophetic See also:message of the historic Micah can be See also:drawn; the remaining sections of the present book (iv.–v., vi.–vii.) consist, in whole or in greater See also:part, of writings belonging to a later See also:period . Chs. i.–iii .

(with the exception of two verses, ii . 12, 13)4 are a prediction of See also:

judgment on the sins of Judah and See also:Ephraim . In a majestic exordium Yahweh Himself is represented as coming forth in the thunderstorm (cf . See also:Amos i . 2) from His heavenly See also:palace, and descending on the mountains of See also:Palestine, at once as See also:witness against His See also:people, and the executer of judgment on their sins . Samaria is sentenced to destruction for See also:idolatry; and the See also:blow extends to Judah also, which participates in the same See also:guilt (ch. i.) . But, while Samaria is summarily dismissed, the See also:sin of Judah is analysed at length in chs. ii. and iii., in which the prophet ' A confusion between the two prophets of the name has led to the insertion in the Massoretic See also:text oft Kings xxii . 28 of a See also:citation from Micah i . 2, rightly absent from the LXX . 2 See, however, See also:Gray, Hebrew Proper Names, p . 157: " In later times they were perhaps virtually synonymous; but this is not to be assumed for See also:early times . The shorter forms may well have had a purely See also:secular reference, signifying' who is like this See also:child' ?

" 3 He is called '' the Morashtite " (Mic. i . 1; Jer. xxvi . 18) from his birthplace, Moresheth-See also:

Gath . That Micah lived in the Shephelah or Judaean See also:lowland near the See also:Philistine See also:country is clear from the See also:local colouring of i. l0 seq., where a number of places in this See also:quarter are mentioned together (in connexion with the See also:war in Philistia), and their names played upon in a way that could hardly have suggested itself to any but a See also:man of the See also:district . The paronomasia makes the verses difficult, and in i . 14 none of the See also:ancient versions recognizes Moresheth-Gath as a proper name . The word Morashtite (Morashti) was therefore obscure to them; but this only gives greater See also:weight to the traditional See also:pronunciation with o in the first syllable, which is as old as the LXX., and goes against the view, taken by the See also:Targum both on Micah and on See also:Jeremiah, and followed by some moderns (including See also:Cheyne, E.B., 3198), that Micah came from Mareshah . When See also:Eusebius placed MwpaoBel near See also:Eleutheropolis it is not likely that he is thinking of Mareshah (Maresa), for he speaks of the former as a See also:village and of the latter as a ruin 2 M. from Eleutheropolis . See also:Jerome too in the Epit . Paulae (Ep. cviii.), speaking as an See also:eye-witness, distinguishes Morashtim, with the See also:church of Micah's See also:sepulchre, from Maresa . This indeed was after the pretended miraculous See also:discovery of the See also:relics of Micah in A.D . 385; but the name of the village which then existed (Praef. in Mich.) can hardly have been part of a pious See also:fraud .

° These two verses are a prophecy of restoration; they are admittedly an interruption in their present context (so, e.g., See also:

Driver, G . A . See also:Smith) ; they belong in substance to the second See also:section of the book (iv. v.) . no longer deals with idolatry, but with the corruption of society, and particularly of its leaders—the grasping See also:aristocracy whose whole energies are concentrated on devouring the poor and depriving them of their little holdings, the unjust judges and priests who for gain wrest the See also:law in favour of the See also:rich, the hireling and gluttonous prophets who make war against every one " that putteth not into their mouth," but are ever ready with assurances of Yahweh's favour to their patrons, the wealthy and See also:noble sinners that fatten on the flesh of the poor . The See also:internal disorders of the See also:realm depicted by Micah are also prominent in Isaiah's prophecies; they were closely connected, not only with the See also:foreign complications due to the approach of the Assyrians, but with the break-up of the old agrarian See also:system within See also:Israel, and with the rapid and uncompensated aggrandisement of the nobles during those prosperous years when the See also:conquest of See also:Edom by Amaziah and the occupation of the See also:port of Elath by his son (2 Kings xiv . 7, 22) placed the lucrative See also:trade between the Mediterranean and the Red See also:Sea in the hands of the rulers of Judah . On the other See also:hand the democratic See also:tone which distinguishes Micah from Isaiah, and his announcement of the impending fall of the See also:capital (the deliverance of which from the See also:Assyrian appears to Isaiah as the necessary See also:condition for the preservation of the See also:seed of a new and better See also:kingdom), are explained by the fact that, while Isaiah lived in the centre of affairs, Micah, a provincial prophet, See also:sees the capital and the aristocracy entirely from the See also:side of a man of the oppressed people, and fore-tells the utter ruin of both . But this ruin does not present itself to him as involving the captivity or ruin of the nation as a whole; the See also:congregation of Yahweh remains in See also:Judaea when the oppressors are See also:cast out (ii . 5) ; Yahweh's words are still See also:good to them that walk uprightly; the See also:glory of Israel is driven to take See also:refuge in See also:Adullam,l as in the days when See also:David's See also:band of broken men was the true See also:hope of the nation, but there is no hint that it is banished from the See also:land . Our only See also:evidence as to the reception of Micah's message by his contemporaries is that afforded by Jer. xxvi . 17 seq., both directly, in the recorded effect on Hezekiah and the people; and indirectly, in the fact that the impression created was remembered a See also:century afterwards . Micah resembles Amos, both in his country origin, and in his See also:general See also:character, which expresses itself in strong emphasis on the ethical side of See also:religion .

As the last of the four See also:

great prophets of the 8th century he undoubtedly contributed to that religious and ethical See also:reformation whose See also:literary See also:monument is the Book of See also:Deuteronomy.' The See also:remainder of the book bearing the name of Micah falls into two See also:main divisions, viz. iv., v. and vi., vii . Each differs from the first See also:division (i.–iii.) in a marked degree . The second consists mainly of prophecies of restoration including eschatological (iv . 1 seq.)3 and Messianic (v . 2 seq.) hopes . The third is formed of three or four apparently unrelated passages, on the spirituality of true See also:worship (vi . 1–8), social immorality and its See also:doom (vi . 9–16; vii . 1-6); and Israel's future recovery from present adversity through Divine See also:grace (vii . 7–2o) . It is improbable that much, if any, of these chapters can be ascribed to Micah himself,' not only because their contents are so different from his undoubted See also:work (i.–iii.), for which he was subsequently remembered (Jer. xxvi . 18), but because they presuppose the historic outlook of the See also:Exile, or a later See also:age (e.g. iv .

6 seq.; vii . 7 seq.) . It is neither psychologically nor historically impossible for a prophet of ' i . 15; the reference is, however, obscure and uncertain . 'See the Introduction to the Century Bible, " Deuteronomy and See also:

Joshua," by H . See also:Wheeler See also:Robinson . 3 Mic. iv . 1–3 and Isa. ii . 2–4 are but slightly modified recensions of the same text, and as Isa. ii. is older than the prophecy of Micah, while on the other hand Mic. iv . 4 seems the natural completion of the passage, it is common to suppose that both copy an older prophet . But the words have little connexion with the context in Isaiah, and may be the See also:quotation of a copyist suggested by ver . 5 .

Phoenix-squares

On the other hand it has been urged that the passage belongs to a later See also:

stage of prophetic thought than the 8th century B.C . Reasons making this view the more probable one are given by See also:Wellhausen (p . 142) and Marti (p . 281) . ' Nowack thinks that iv . 9, 10a, 14 and v . 10–14 may possibly belong to Micah; Wellhausen recognizes the same possibility, which he extends, however, to vi . 1–8 . Marti, who (like Cheyne in Ency . Bib.) finds nothing by Micah in iv.–vii., thinks these chapters have crystallized See also:round two central passages, viz. iv . 1-4, and vi . 6-8, whose addition to the first three chapters formed the second stage in the growth of the present book .

More conservative views as to authorship are taken by Driver and G . A . Smith, the former suggesting, however, that " the existing Book of Micah consists only of a collection of excerpts, in some cases fragmentary excerpts, from the entire See also:

series of the prophet's discourses " (L . O . T., ch. vi . § 6).judgment to be also a prophet of comfort; but the internal evidence of composite and (in whole or part) later authorship must outweigh the traditional See also:attachment of these passages to a MS. containing the work of Micah . The sequence of thought in chs. iv. v. is really difficult, and has given rise to much complicated discussion . Thus iv . 11–13 stands in direct See also:contradiction to iv . 9, 10, and indeed to iii . 12 . The last two passages agree in speaking of the See also:capture of See also:Jerusalem, the first declares Zion inviolable, and its capture an impossible profanation .

Such a thought can hardly be Micah's, even if we resort to the violent harmonistic See also:

process of imagining that two quite distinct sieges, separated by a renewal of the See also:theocracy, are spoken of in consecutive verses . Another difficulty lies in the words " and See also:thou shalt come even to See also:Babylon " in iv . 10 . Micah unquestionably looked for the destruction of Jerusalem as well as of Samaria in the near future and by the Assyrians (i . 9), and this was the judgment which Hezekiah's repentance averted . If these words, therefore, belong to the See also:original context, they See also:mark it as not from Micah's hand; though they might be a later See also:gloss . The prophetic thought is that the daughter (See also:population) of Zion shall not be saved by her present rulers or defensive strength; she must come down from her bulwarks and dwell in the open field; there, and not within her proud ramparts, Yahweh will See also:grant deliverance from her enemies . Opposition to present tyranny expresses itself in recurrence to the old popular ideal of the first See also:simple Davidic kingdom (iv . 8) . These old days shall return once more . A new David, like him whose exploits in the district of Micah's See also:home were still in the mouths of the common people (? i . 15), goes forth from See also:Bethlehem to feed the See also:flock in the strength of Yahweh .

The kindred Hebrew nations are once more See also:

united to their brethren of Israel (cf . Amos ix . 12, Isa. xvi . 1 seq.) . The remnant of See also:Jacob springs up in fresh vigour, inspiring terror among the surrounding peoples, and there is no lack of chosen captains to See also:lead them to victory against the Assyrian foe . In the rejuvenescence of the nation the old stays of that oppressive kingship which began with See also:Solomon, the strongholds, the fortified cities, the chariots and horses so foreign to the See also:life of ancient Israel, are no more known; they disappear together with the divinations, the soothsayers, the idols, the mazzebah and asherah of the high places . Yahweh is See also:king on See also:Mount Zion, and no inventions of man come between Him and His people . The sixth See also:chapter of Micah presents a very different situation from that of chs. i.–iii. or iv., v . Yahweh appears to plead with His people for their sins, but the sinners are no longer a careless and oppressive aristocracy buoyed up by deceptive assurances of Yahweh's help, by prophecies of See also:wine and strong drink; they are bowed down by a religion of terror, wearied with attempts to propitiate an angry See also:God by countless offerings, and even by the See also:sacrifice of the first-See also:born . Meantime the substance of true religion —See also:justice, charity and a humble walk with God—is forgotten, fraud and deceit reign in all classes, the See also:works of the See also:house of Ahab are observed (worship of foreign gods) .. Yahweh's judgments are multiplied against the land, and the issue can be nothing else than its See also:total desolation . All these marks may be held to See also:fit exactly the evil times of See also:Manasseh as described in 2 Kings xxi .

Cp. vii . 1-6, in which the public and private corruption of a hopeless age is bitterly bewailed, possibly belongs to the same context . Micah may very well have lived into Manasseh's reign, but the title in i . 1 does not See also:

cover a prophecy which certainly falls after Hezekiah's See also:death, and the See also:style has nothing in common with the earlier part of the book . It is therefore prudent to regard the prophecy, with See also:Ewald, as See also:anonymous . Ewald ascribed the whole of chs. vi., vii. to one author . Wellhausen, however, remarks with justice that the See also:thread is abruptly broken at vii . 6, and that verses 7–201 represent Zion as already fallen before the See also:heathen and her inhabitants as pining in the darkness of captivity . The hope of Zion is in future restoration after she has patiently borne the chastisement of her sins . Then Yahweh shall arise mindful of His See also:oath to the fathers, Israel shall be forgiven and restored, and the heathen humbled . The faith and hope which breathe in this passage have the closest See also:affinities with the book of See also:Lamentations and Isa. xl.–lxvi . Indeed, as Marti points out (p .

259) the triple division of the book of Micah (i.–iii.; iv., v.; vi., vii.) •corresponds with that of the book of Isaiah (i.–xxxix.; xl.–lv.; lvi.–lxvi.) in the character of the three divisions (judgment; coming restoration; See also:

prayer for help in adversity) respectively, and in the fact that the first alone gives us pre-exilic See also:writing in the actual words of the prophet to whom the whole book is ascribed . In both cases, it need hardly be said, the great literary and spiritual value of the later passages ought in no way ' Regarded by See also:Stade (Z . A . T . W., 1903, p . 164 seq.) as an inde pendent See also:psalm . 358 to suffer See also:prejudice from See also:critical conditions as to their date and authorship .

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