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Micah 5

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The Ruler from Bethlehem Promised 1–6

1
Now gather thyself in troops, O daughter of troops: he hath laid siege against us: they shall smite the judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek. ​
2
But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting. ​
3
Therefore will he give them up, until the time that she which travaileth hath brought forth: then the remnant of his brethren shall return unto the children of Israel. ​
4
And he shall stand and feed in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God; and they shall abide: for now shall he be great unto the ends of the earth. ​
5
And this man shall be the peace, when the Assyrian shall come into our land: and when he shall tread in our palaces, then shall we raise against him seven shepherds, and eight principal men. ​
6
And they shall waste the land of Assyria with the sword, and the land of Nimrod in the entrances thereof: thus shall he deliver us from the Assyrian, when he cometh into our land, and when he treadeth within our borders.

The Role of the Restored Remnant 7–9

7
And the remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many people as a dew from the LORD, as the showers upon the grass, that tarrieth not for man, nor waiteth for the sons of men. ​
8
And the remnant of Jacob shall be among the Gentiles in the midst of many people as a lion among the beasts of the forest, as a young lion among the flocks of sheep: who, if he go through, both treadeth down, and teareth in pieces, and none can deliver. ​
9
Thine hand shall be lifted up upon thine adversaries, and all thine enemies shall be cut off.

The Lord Purifies Israel and Judges the Nations 10–15

10
And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD, that I will cut off thy horses out of the midst of thee, and I will destroy thy chariots: ​
11
And I will cut off the cities of thy land, and throw down all thy strong holds:
12
And I will cut off witchcrafts out of thine hand; and thou shalt have no more soothsayers: ​
13
Thy graven images also will I cut off, and thy standing images out of the midst of thee; and thou shalt no more worship the work of thine hands. ​
14
And I will pluck up thy groves out of the midst of thee: so will I destroy thy cities. ​
15
And I will execute vengeance in anger and fury upon the heathen, such as they have not heard.

Bible text: King James Version (1769 Blayney text) · Public domain

Study Notes for Micah 5

Verse 1

smite the judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek — ‘Gather thyself in troops’ (gadad, to crowd together) is said to the ‘daughter of troops’ while ‘he hath laid siege against us’. A blow to the cheek is contempt: ‘they have smitten me upon the cheek reproachfully’ (Job 16:10; compare Lam 3:30). The next verse speaks of the ruler who will come out of Bethlehem.

Verse 2

Bethlehem Ephratah — Ephrath is the older name, ‘Ephrath, which is Bethlehem’ (Gen 35:19), and David was son of ‘that Ephrathite of Bethlehemjudah’ (1 Sam 17:12). ‘Little’ (tsa’ir) is the word of Isa 60:22, ‘a small one a strong nation’. The chief priests and scribes cite the verse to Herod as the Christ’s birthplace (Matt 2:4–6).

Verse 3

until the time that she which travaileth hath brought forth — The birth is that of the ruler in v.2. Mic 4:10 has Zion in pain ‘like a woman in travail’, and Isa 7:14 says ‘a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son’. ‘Give them up’ is nathan, to give over; the ‘remnant’ (yether, what remains) of his brethren then ‘shall return’ (shub) to the children of Israel.

Verse 4

he shall stand and feed — ‘Feed’ is ra’ah, to shepherd, the verb of ‘The LORD is my shepherd’ (Ps 23:1), and Isa 40:11 has ‘He shall feed his flock like a shepherd’. His strength is the LORD’s: ‘in the strength (oz) of the LORD, in the majesty (ga’on) of the name of the LORD his God’. ‘He shall be great’ is echoed in Luke 1:32.

Verse 5

this man shall be the peace — Shalom, peace, is what the ruler of v.2 is; Paul says of Christ, ‘he is our peace’ (Eph 2:14), and Zech 9:10 says ‘he shall speak peace unto the heathen’. The Assyrian (v.6 adds ‘the land of Nimrod’) is met by ‘seven shepherds, and eight principal men’: the shepherds (ro’im) are of the same root as ‘feed’ in v.4.

Verse 7

as a dew from the LORD — The remnant is blessing: ‘dew’ (tal) and ‘showers’ (raviv) come without man’s help, ‘that tarrieth not for man, nor waiteth for the sons of men’. Hos 14:5 has the LORD say ‘I will be as the dew unto Israel’. The same remnant ‘in the midst of many people’ becomes a lion in v.8.

Verse 8

as a lion among the beasts of the forest — The remnant ‘in the midst of many people’ of v.7 is now a lion (ari) and a young lion (kephir) among sheep. Balaam saw the same: ‘the people shall rise up as a great lion’ (Num 23:24). ‘Treadeth down’ is ramas, ‘teareth in pieces’ taraph; Mic 4:13 has ‘Arise and thresh, O daughter of Zion’.

Verse 10

I will cut off thy horses — ‘Cut off’ is karath, ‘cut’, and horses and chariots are what Israel was warned against: the king ‘shall not multiply horses to himself’ (Deut 17:16). Ps 20:7 sets them against the name of the LORD. Zech 9:9–10 pairs the king ‘riding upon an ass’ with ‘I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem’.

Verse 12

witchcrafts out of thine hand — Kesheph, sorcery, is the noun of the verb in Deut 18:10, ‘or a witch’. ‘Soothsayers’ is anan, the word rendered ‘observers of times’ in Deut 18:10, 14. Isa 8:19–20 answers the call to ‘familiar spirits’ and wizards with ‘To the law and to the testimony’.

Verse 13

graven images… standing images — Pesil, a carved image (Lev 26:1 has the related pesel), and matstsebah, a pillar, are the two forbidden together in Lev 26:1: ‘no idols nor graven image, neither rear you up a standing image’. ‘The work of thine hands’ (ma’aseh yad) is the phrase of Hos 14:3, ‘neither will we say any more to the work of our hands, Ye are our gods’.

Verse 14

I will pluck up thy groves — ‘Groves’ is asherim, plural of Asherah, the wooden pole set by a Baal altar: Gideon was told to ‘throw down the altar of Baal… and cut down the grove that is by it’ (Judg 6:25). ‘Pluck up’ is nathash, the verb of ‘root out’ in Jer 1:10 and of ‘pluck up’ in Jer 31:28.