 | Micah | |
A shortened form of Micaiah, who is like Jehovah?
(1.) A man of Mount Ephraim, whose history so far is introduced in Judges 17, apparently for the purpose of leading to an account of the settlement of the tribe of Dan in Northern Palestine, and for the purpose also of illustrating the lawlessness of the times in which he lived (Judges 18; 19:1-29; 21:25).
(2.) The son of Merib-baal (Mephibosheth), 1 Chronicles 8:34, 35.
(3.) The first in rank of the priests of the family of Kohathites (1 Chronicles 23:20).
(4.) A descendant of Joel the Reubenite (1 Chronicles 5:5).
(5.) "The Morasthite," so called to distinguish him from Micaiah, the son of Imlah (1 Kings 22:8). He was a prophet of Judah, a contemporary of Isaiah (Micah 1:1), a native of Moresheth of Gath (1:14, 15). Very little is known of the circumstances of his life (Comp. Jeremiah 26:18, 19).
Micah, Book of
The sixth in order of the so-called minor prophets. The superscription to this book states that the prophet exercised his office in the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah. If we reckon from the beginning of Jotham's reign to the end of Hezekiah's (B.C. 759-698), then he ministered for about fifty-nine years; but if we reckon from the death of Jotham to the accession of Hezekiah (B.C. 743-726), his ministry lasted only sixteen years. It has been noticed as remarkable that this book commences with the last words of another prophet, "Micaiah the son of Imlah" (1 Kings 22:28): "Hearken, O people, every one of you."
The book consists of three sections, each commencing with a rebuke, "Hear ye," etc., and closing with a promise, (1) ch. 1; 2; (2) ch. 3-5, especially addressed to the princes and heads of the people; (3) ch. 6-7, in which Jehovah is represented as holding a controversy with his people: the whole concluding with a song of triumph at the great deliverance which the Lord will achieve for his people. The closing verse is quoted in the song of Zacharias (Luke 1:72, 73). The prediction regarding the place "where Christ should be born," one of the most remarkable Messianic prophecies (Micah 5:2), is quoted in Matthew 2:6.
There are the following references to this book in the New Testament:
5:2, with Matthew 2:6; John 7:42. 7:6, with Matthew 10:21,35,36. 7:20, with Luke 1:72,73.
