I. Name

The name is variously spelled in Hebrew. In this book we have the shortened form, Micah 1:1. In Jer. 26:18 it is written Micaiah, and in Judges I7:iff the Hebrew spelling is Micayehu. It means, "Who is like Jehovah?" being an exact equivalent of the name Michael found in Num. 13:13. He is called the Morashtite, 1:1, from his native town, which cannot now be clearly identified, but is supposed to have been on the border between Judah and the Philistine territory. He is to be distinguished from another prophet of the same name, of Elijah's time, I Kings 22:28, whose words are identical with those of our prophet in 1:2.

II. Date

The prophecy is dated "In the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah." i:i. This is further confirmed from Jer. 26:18. He was therefore a younger contemporary of Isaiah, 720-695 B. C.

III. Unity

The narrative is consecutive though abrupt and speaks strongly for the unity of authorship. Some exception has been made to Chs. 6 and 7, because of the more subdued tone of the writing and the more pronounced feeling of despair over the ever-increasing corruption among the people and especially among the rulers. Ewald refers these chapters to the corrupt reign of Manasseh, but the tendency in Hezekiah's time, during which Micah prophesied, would amply justify the increasing sadness of the prophet's thought. Driver practically concedes the unity of the book.

IV. Style

Micah's home was in a country town and this fact gives tone to his style. It is at times quaintly poetical, quite abrupt both in conception and expression of thought, 2:3-5. Much in it reminds us of Isaiah and Hosea. Micah 4:1-3 with Isa. 2:2-4. Great contrasts are presented and sometimes very peculiar figures are employed, 3:2, 3. The prayer at the close of the book reveals a spirit of trust in God and a wide conception of His loving mercy.

V. Contents

The prophecy may be grouped under three divisions:

1. Threatening. Chs. 1-3. Jehovah is coming for judgment, 1:3; and Samaria will suffer a fearful overthrow, 6, 7. Judah, even Jerusalem, will be consumed in the resistless assault, 8-16. In Ch. 2 the sin of the people, especially of the rulers, is graphically described. the character of their punishment indicated, ii; and the divine mercy revealed, 12, 13. The shameful greed and oppression of the poor by the rulers is severely denounced, 3:1-8; and the prophet tells them that they are the cause of the ruin of the nation, 3:9-12.

2. The restoration. Chs. 4 and 5. With Ch. 4 the vision changes. Zion is no longer guilty and forsaken, trampled under foot by her enemies, but restored as a center of national life, 4:1-5, and the object of veneration by all men. Her foes shall be scattered by a great leader springing from Bethlehem, 5:2-5; under whom Israel will dwell safely, 6-15.

3. The great controversy. Chs. 6 and 7. In this section the truth is presented in a series of personal statements. First, Jehovah speaks, asking the people why they repay His kindness with such ingratitude, 6:1-5. Then the people, humbled, ask how they may suitably appear before Jehovah, 6, 7. The prophet replies that Jehovah requires nothing but uprightness, 8; and Jehovah pronounces His condemnation of their sins, 9-16. The prophet renews his assertion of their inexcusable and deliberate sin resulting in the utter demoralization of the nation, 7:1-6.

With 7:7 the scene again changes and penitent Israel utters its lament, 7-10; to which the prophet replies in the assurance that their sin may be forgiven and the banished ones restored to the divine favor, although there must first come a period of desolation, 13. He then pleads with Jehovah for mercy and God promises His blessing, 14, 15. The prophecy closes with a declaration of the marvelous character of God who pardons iniquity and performs His truth to Jacob, 20.

VI. Characteristics

The deep moral earnestness of the prophet is everywhere apparent. He condemns unsparingly but with an evident desire to arouse the people to repentance. The chief blame is thrown on the leaders of the people and the necessity for practical righteousness is rigidly enforced. God's mercy is for the upright in heart and life.

It is also worthy of note that Micah does not speak of God's judgments as resulting from their relations with other nations, but as the necessary result of their own internal corruption. The oppression of the poor by the rich, the social irregularities of the people, the greed of those in power, — these bring the wrath of God.

Micah has very advanced ideas of the kingdom of God, when the people shall be restored to the divine favor, and through obedience to God and justice to man, shall attain a glory which will make them the center of spiritual life to all the world. His declaration concerning the birth of the Messiah in Bethlehem is one of the most noteworthy of the prophetic utterances on this subject.

The language of Micah is quoted in Matt. 2:5,6, and indirect reference is made to it in all the Gospels. Matt. 10:35, 36; Mark 13:12; Luke 1:72; John 7:42.

LITERATURE

Commentaries: Orelli; G. A. Smith, The Book of the Twelve Prophets; Keil and Delitzsch; Pusey. Hengstenberg's Christology; Robertson Smith, The Prophets of Israel; Farrar, The Minor Prophets; article "Hosea" in Bible Dictionaries of Smith and Hastings; Introductions of Driver, Keil, Bleek; Stanley, History of the Jewish Church.