Micah

Stephen G. Dempster

• Publisher: Eerdmans
• Year: 2017
• Print ISBN: 9780802865137
• eBook ISBN: 9781467448376
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Biblical Criticism & Interpretation

A distinctively theological take on the book of Micah Readers of the book of Micah learn a great deal about God: he is a mighty God who controls the nations, yet he is also concerned with everyday matters like equity, poverty, and care for widows and orphans. In presenting this transcendent-yet-immanent God, Micah's message revolves around themes of justice, judgment, and salvation that continue to carry great significance today. In this theological commentary on the book of Micah, Stephen Dempster places the text in conversation with the larger story of Scripture. After discussing questions of structure and authorship in his introduction, Dempster systematically works through the text, drawing links to the broader biblical story throughout. In the second part of his commentary Dempster offers theological discussion that further explicates the most significant themes in Micah and their applicability to today's Christians.

Commentary

Prophetic Superscription (1:1)

This verse functions as the book’s title and indicates important information about its content: divine source, human messenger, time of the message, and address. It is written in prose and has a clause length that far exceeds any other in the book. It is probably the only text that existed in written form from the beginning and was added to the collection of speeches within the book.¹ There may be a few other examples where oracles have been edited (rather than simply transcribed) to produce cohesion within the framework of the book. Because of its formulaic similarity with superscriptions of other prophetic books (exact parallels are found in Hos 1:1; Joel 1:1; and Zeph 1:1; similar expressions are found in Isa 1:1; Ezek 1:1; Jer 1:1–2; Amos 1:1; and Hab 1:1), the superscription was probably the work of the same editor of those books. It functions to frame the ensuing discourse, thereby providing crucial information necessary for understanding it and also creating “structures of expectation” for the audience.² The superscription supplies the essential information that the discourse is divine revelation expressed in a particular historical time. Knowledge of this history is important for understanding the collection of oracles that follow the superscription.³

Source. The grammatical subject of this lengthy introductory clause is “the word of Yahweh,” and thus this subject identifies the source of information found in the book. This grammatical subject becomes the great subject of discourse in the book. Yes, this book is about Israel and Judah in the eighth century BCE but it is primarily about “the word of Yahweh.” This subject supplies the book’s raison d’être—why there is any book at all. The book owes its existence to Yahweh’s transcendent speech. This phrase “the word of Yahweh” indicates prophetic discourse. It occurs 270 times in the Old Testament, virtually always in a prophetic context. In the two exceptions, it has a prophetic meaning, that is, it signals important divine revelation.⁴ Thus by placing this expression at the beginning of Micah, the editor stamps the book with the divine imprimatur. It is not accidental that the expression “the word of Yahweh came to” or a similar phrase occurs at the head of every prophetic collection of oracles. “The title claims that the entire book is the result of the word of Yahweh.”⁵

Thus the many words that follow this phrase are supremely important: they express the one word that is above all words. Hillers remarks that though

in other contexts the phrase “the word of Yahweh” may express a rather specific conception of how communication from God to a prophet took place, in editorial superscriptions such as this it stands before collections of the most disparate materials, so that it is not to be taken as expressing anything about the means of communication, but only the idea that all that follows is somehow from God. For this editor, scripture is “the words of Yahweh.”⁶

Some older commentators sought to psychologize Micah by stressing that he found his calling in the cry of oppression from the poor rather than in the voice of God.⁷ But this superscription points to transcendence rather than immanence as the origin of his prophecies, as Micah himself testifies (3:8).

That the divine name “Yahweh” is chosen shows that this God is in covenantal relationship with Israel, with a clear disclosure of his character and a clear expectation of character requirements on the part of his people. This is not a reference to divinity in general, but to a particular God in covenantal relationship to his people so much so that he can be known by his own personal name.⁸

Messenger. The second important piece of information in the title is the identity of the messenger: Micah the Morashite. His name is a short form of Micayahu (מִיכָיָהוּ/mîkāyāhû), found in Jer 26:18, which means “Who is like Yahweh?” It is a rhetorical question that emphasizes God’s transcendence. Micah’s humble origins stand in contrast to the rhetorical question that praises the greatness of God. He is from Moresheth, probably a town in southwestern Judah, also named Moresheth-gath, because it was near the Philistine city of Gath. That Micah was known by his hometown meant that his prophetic vocation was exercised elsewhere. He was “someone from away,” and since we know that his prophesying registered a profound impact on Hezekiah in Jerusalem, it was in this city that he probably became known as Micah the Moreshite. Other prophets such as Amos (Tekoa; Amos 1:1)⁹ and Nahum (Elkosh; Nah 1:1) were also identified by their location, but most prophets were distinguished by their family (e.g., “Isaiah son of Amoz”; Isa 1:1) or sometimes simply by a title (“the prophet Habakkuk”; Hab 1:1).

Micah’s hometown, situated as it was in the lowlands between the Philistine plain on the west and the Central Mountain Range on the east, in the southwestern portion of Judah, served as the interface between two cultures—Philistine and Israelite.¹⁰ Anyone growing up here would quickly become aware of developments in the capital city of Jerusalem to the east, which would have viewed this city as a key outpost on its southwestern border. Jerusalem would seek to guarantee the security of the nation by securing Moresheth, and thus the town would experience significant influence from the central government of the nation: economic, military, and cultural. Indeed, thirty-seven handles of storage jars with the words “belonging to the king” inscribed on them date from Micah’s time.¹¹ At the same time, significant pressure exerted from the Philistine west would also have interests in gaining control. The reality of the Philistine influence is shown by the name Moresheth-gath, which identifies the town by its physical proximity to the Philistine center.¹²

The name of Micah’s town means “inheritance,” “possession,” or “heritage” and thus suggests the importance of land and lineage and tradition.¹³ This could not help but conjure up for anyone growing up in this town that the land was an inheritance from Yahweh. It was not a right. Israel was to be a steward of the land (Lev 25). This may be one reason why land is so central in the book of Micah. The ultimate punishment is to lose one’s inheritance in the land (cf. Mic 2:5). That Micah’s first oracle against Judah and Jerusalem is oriented toward the southwest shows his perspective. That part of the invasion was particularly relevant to him since he came from that area. The Assyrians destroyed forty-six cities in Judah, but Micah names the most relevant ones for him: neighboring towns with which he was familiar as well as the capital.¹⁴

As for Micah himself, little is known except that his prophecy in 3:12 was remembered verbatim a century later (Jer 26:18), and it inspired the repentance of King Hezekiah and the people over whom he reigned.¹⁵ Anything else we know about Micah comes from his book.

Times. Micah delivered his message at a specific time, during the reigns of the kings of Judah named Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah.¹⁶ This reference shows the importance of history for understanding the biblical message: “The specific references to contemporary kings . . . [are] only one example of the constant biblical recognition that the religion of Israel is an ‘historical religion.’ Here is no revelation of a timeless truth to be contemplated—but the word of a Living God to be obeyed in concrete situations.”¹⁷ It is clear that the audience(s) of the book of Micah is constrained to hear and read the words of the prophet as spoken during this particular period.¹⁸ There is certainly some latitude for determining the specific time for an oracle but within the general historical constraints indicated in the inscription.¹⁹ This is a long period of time for his prophetic career, and the dating depends on a number of factors occurring at the beginning and the end of the ministry.

Do Jotham’s dates refer to the last part of his father’s Uzziah’s reign, when he was reigning with his father, who was sick and therefore in seclusion during his last years (2 Chr 26:16–23)? And does the date of Hezekiah refer to his complete reign or just a portion, for example, the Assyrian crisis in 701 BCE? One standard set of dates is the beginning of Jotham’s reign after the death of his father (742 BCE) to the end of Hezekiah’s reign (687 BCE), a span of fifty-five years. This would be a maximum date for the prophetic mission of Micah. The minimum time would be in the last year of Jotham until the first year of Hezekiah’s accession, a period of about twenty-two years, less than half the length of the maximum extent. At the same time it is clear from Jer 26 that Micah prophesied during the Assyrian crisis around 701 BCE when only the walls of Jerusalem stood between the Assyrians and the final collapse of Judah. According to this tradition recorded in Jeremiah, Micah’s message of imminent judgment caused Hezekiah to repent, and the reform inspired by him saved the city from the Assyrians. This seems to be the natural context for many of Micah’s judgment oracles (1:8–16; 3:9–12). Thus the period of Micah’s prophecies most likely should extend until shortly after 701 BCE, constituting a period of about thirty-five years.

It is instructive that the editor of Micah’s book does not include the northern kings of Israel in this chronological reference for Micah, even though Micah would have prophesied in the last decade of the nation of Israel. This omission of Menahem (745^–737 BCE), Pekahiah (737–736 BCE), Pekah (736–732 BCE), and Hoshea (732–722 BCE) shows not only the southern perspective of the editor but probably also his belief that these last kings were royal pretenders. The prophetic editors usually omitted any mention of northern kings from the superscriptions, particularly for the prophets of the southern kingdom. For prophets to the northern kingdom, sometimes a northern king would be noted—especially if there was a long dynastic reign—but such a king would always be listed after the relevant kings of Judah (Hos 1:1; Amos 1:1).²⁰

Micah lived in a time of crisis. There were in fact three relevant crises in the life of the nation during his prophetic tenure, one near the beginning of the prophetic call of Micah, one in the middle of his prophesying, and one near the end (for specific details see introduction).

Such critical political times coincided with religious and social crises into which Micah spoke. From his oracles and those of his contemporary, Isaiah, it is clear that a coterie of wealthy individuals in Jerusalem had accumulated large estates and vast resources for themselves. Their insatiable greed was sanctioned by a corrupt judicial and religious system. Variously described in the book, these profiteers dreamed and schemed of how they would pillage and pirate, robbing even the shirts from the backs of the poor, driving out farmers from house ...

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• Preface
• Introduction to the Book of Micah
• Commentary
• Theological Themes of Micah
• Micah’s Contribution to Biblical Theology
• Micah’s Relevance to Present-Day Theological Issues
• Bibliography
• Index of Modern Authors
• Index of Subjects
• Index of Scripture and and Ancient Sources