The book of the prophet Micah – a scientific commentary on the text

Scholarly comments are given in brackets after each verse.

Chapter 1

1 The word of the Lord, which came to Micah Morasfitin in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, the kings of Judah, and which was revealed to him concerning Samaria and Jerusalem. (There is a verbal suggestion on the part of the hypnotist priest. Perhaps this is a later insertion. We learn from it that Micah lived under the same kings as Isaiah, that is, from about 750 to 790 BC, and that Micah was from Moresheth, a small town in the southwest of Judea, in the neighborhood of the larger city of Lachish.These lands suffered greatly from the raids of neighboring tribes, and especially during the campaign of Senacherib against Palestine in 701: they were captured, plundered, and a large part of their population was taken into captivity Micah, therefore, unlike Isaiah from the capital, was a "provincial", which may partly explain why he regards Jerusalem as the center of sins (1:5; 3:10) and predicts that Jerusalem will be turned into a heap of ruins, while Isaiah, on the contrary, foretold that Jerusalem will be preserved as "a city of righteousness, a faithful capital" (Isaiah 1:26).).

2 Hear, all nations, listen, earth and all that fills it! May the Lord God be a witness against you, the Lord from His holy temple! (Appeal to the flock. Simultaneously with Isaiah, another prophet preached in Judea, whose speeches were also included in the Old Testament. His name was Micah or Micah).

3 For, behold, the Lord proceeds out of his place, and descends and treads on the high places of the earth—(The high places had a "sacred" status).

4 and the mountains will melt under him, the valleys will fall apart, like wax from fire, like waters flowing from the steep. (God is capable of everything).

5 All this is for the wickedness of Jacob, for the sin of the house of Israel. From whom is Jacob's wickedness? is it not from Samaria? Who [arranged] heights in Judah? isn't it Jerusalem? (Sinners are residents of both Samaria and Jerusalem).

6 Therefore I will make Samaria a heap of ruins in the field, a place for growing grapes; I will cast down its stones into the valley, and I will lay bare its foundations. (The imminent fall of Samaria).

7 All her idols will be broken, and all her adulterous gifts will be burned with fire, and all her idols I will put to destruction, for she made them out of adulterous gifts, and they will be turned into adulterous gifts. (The idol idols that were given adulterous gifts will be destroyed.)

8 For this I will weep and wail, I will walk like a robbed and naked, howl like jackals, and weep like ostriches, (Comparison with animals).

9 because her defeat is painful, it has reached Judah, it has even reached the gates of my people, even Jerusalem. (The gate had a "sacred" status).

10 Do not announce it in Gath, do not cry loudly there; but in the village of Ofra cover yourself with ashes. (Crying, sprinkling ashes on the head – an expression of grief).

11 Move, inhabitants of Shafir, shamefully naked; she who dwells in Zaan will not run away; weeping in the village of Etzel will not allow you to stay there. (Proposal for resettlement, as a difficult time has come).

12 The resident of Maratha mourns for her good, for disaster has come down from the Lord at the gates of Jerusalem. (Disaster in Judea).

13 Harness to the chariot of the fast, inhabitant of Lachish; you are the beginning of the sin of the daughter of Zion, for the transgressions of Israel have appeared to you. (Sins, crimes filled Israel).

14 Therefore you will send gifts to Moresheth-Geth; but the cities of Achziv will be a deception to the kings of Israel. (An enumeration of various settlements whose inhabitants behave differently during difficult times).

15 I will bring you another heir, O woman of Moresh; it will go to Odollam, the glory of Israel. (An enumeration of various settlements whose inhabitants behave differently during difficult times).

16 Take off your hair, cut your hair, grieving for your dearly beloved sons; widen your baldness because of them, like that of a molting eagle, for they will be exiled from you. (Hair had a "sacred" status. This refers to the great lamb hawk, whose head and neck are bald and covered with down, a trait not common to any of the eagle breeds.)

Chapter 2

1 Woe to those who plot iniquity, and plot evil deeds in their beds, which they commit in the morning at dawn, because there is power in their hand! (The prophet convicts Judah and Israel of their sins and calls for correction, both comforting and threatening.)

2 They desire fields and take them by force; houses and take them away; they rob a man and his house, a husband and his inheritance. (The prophet convicts Judah and Israel of their sins and calls for correction, both comforting and threatening.)

3 Therefore thus says the Lord: Behold, I intend to bring upon this generation such a calamity that you will not cast off your neck, neither will you walk upright; for this is an evil time. (The prophet convicts Judah and Israel of their sins and calls for correction, both comforting and threatening.)

4 On that day they will utter a parable about you and weep bitterly and say: "We are completely ruined! The inheritance of my people is given to others; how will he return to me! Our fields have already been divided among foreigners." (The prophet convicts Judah and Israel of their sins and calls for correction, both comforting and threatening.)

5 Therefore, you will not have anyone who would cast lots for measurement in the congregation before the Lord. (The lot was cast in the public assembly in front of the chief Jewish priest).

6 Do not prophesy, you prophets; do not prophesy to them, lest dishonor come upon you. (In its original meaning, Judaism was not limited to the instructions of the priests, but also included the instructions and warnings of the prophets, uttered, as the prophets themselves and their listeners believed, by inspiration "from above." Thus, in addition to the priestly Judaism, there was also the Judaism of the prophets, but both remained unwritten from the very beginning and for a number of centuries).

7 O you who are called the house of Jacob! Has the Spirit of the Lord been humbled? are these his actions? Are not My words beneficial to him who does what is right? (The prophet convicts Judah and Israel of their sins and calls for correction, both comforting and threatening.)

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