The Book of Micah
Introduction to the Book of Micah in the Bible

Micah 1:1-3 - The word of the LORD that came to Micah the Morasthite in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, [and] Hezekiah, kings of Judah, which he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem. Hear, all ye people; hearken, O earth, and all that therein is: and let the Lord GOD be witness against you, the Lord from his holy temple. For, behold, the LORD cometh forth out of his place, and will come down, and tread upon the high places of the earth.

Micah 5:2 - 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.

The Old Testament - A Brief Overview

Bible Survey - Micah
Hebrew Name - Mikah "Who is like Yahweh"
Greek Name - Micha (Greek form of the Hebrew)
Author - Micah (According to Tradition)
Date - 750 BC Approximately
Theme - The Word Micah saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem
Types and Shadows - In Micah Jesus is the king from Bethlehem

Summary of The Book of Micah

Quick Overview of Micah. � � 1-3 � � Micah's prophecies concerning the sins of Israel and Judah, condemnation of the rich, the rulers, and the false � � 4-5� � God's promise to restore Zion, and the Temple, and the return of the Jewish exiles � � 6 � � God's charges and threats against Israel� � 7 � � the conquest of Israel's enemies in the restoration of the exiles.

Micah prophesied about the Assyrian and Babylonian invasions that would cause the fall of both Samaria (capital of the northern kingdom of Israel) and Jerusalem (capital of the southern kingdom of Judah). The word of the Lord which came from Micah was in the form of a lawsuit by God, with Micah as the prosecutor, and the mountains and hills (the high places of  idolatry) as the silent judges. Mica proclaimed that "her wounds are incurable" because of the corruption of the people. He goes on to describe the leaders as "butchering the people." In Micah 5:2 is the great verse that proclaims the birthplace of the Messiah who comes from Eternity, born in the city of Bethlehem, the least among the cities of Judah.
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Micah was called the "Morasthite" because he was originally from the city of Moresheth, sometimes called Moresheth-gath (Micah 1:14), because it was located in the southwestern portion of Judah knew the Philistine city of Gath.

Micah was also mentioned in the book of Jeremiah (Jeremiah 26:18) as having prophesied during the reign of Hezekiah in Judah. The book of Micah begins by saying that he was prophesying during the time of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah. The time period that these three kings of Judah reigned was from about 751 to 687 BC. Micah might have been directly responsible for helping to bring revival in Judah, especially during the reign of King Hezekiah. Micah was also a contemporary of the prophet Isaiah in Judah and the prophet Hosea in Israel. Some have supposed him to have been a disciple of Isaiah. That there was some contact between the two seems evident from the practically identical passages in Isaiah 2:24 and Micah 4:1-3.

Interesting Note: because of the practically identical passages in  Micah 4:1-3 and Isaiah 2:24 some have believed that Micah was either a disciple of Isaiah, or heavily influenced by his prophecies.

The contents of the book may be analyzed further as follows :

Outline of the Book of Micah

Micah's message was directed to Samaria and Jerusalem, the capital cities of Israel and Judah, who was responsible for the corruption which had spread over the two kingdoms. Micah 1 announces the doom that is to befall Samaria for her idolatry. Micah 2 is a message of woe for the ruling class, because of their oppression of the poor. In this chapter Micah records the attempts of these men to do away with his preaching (Micah 2:6, 11). The sins of the ruling classes, as well as the false prophets, and the priests, are dealt with in Micah 3.

The tone of the Micah's prophecy shifts abruptly in the opening verses of Micah 4, as Micah pictures the future glory of Jerusalem, or Zion. In Micah 4:9, however, he suddenly continues his previous message of impending doom. A remarkable prophecy is contained in Micah 4:10, as Babylon is named as the conqueror of Judah although, at this time, Assyria was the leading power and Judah by no means appeared safe from her threats. About 100 years later, however, the prophecy was fulfilled as Judah, having survived the Assyrian conquests, was overrun by the forces of Babylon. Another well-known prophecy is contained in Micah 5:2, where it is stated that a ruler for Israel "whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting," will come out of Bethlehem. When Herod inquired of the scribes as to the birthplace of Jesus, this prophecy was cited as having been fulfilled (Matt. 2: 1-6). Micah 6 and 7 are a continuation of the picture of moral corruption and resultant punishment, but with an assurance that God will show compassion for Israel and will allow a remnant to flourish again, thus keeping the promise which he had made to Abraham (Micah 7:20 ).

Read Micah

Micah Select a Chapter Micah 1 Micah 2 Micah 3 Micah 4 Micah 5 Micah 6 Micah 7

More About the Book of Micah
Micah in the Picture Study Bible
Chart of the Prophets of Israel and Judah
Timeline of the Ancient World
Back to the Old Testament
Back to Bible History Online

The Story of the Bible - Part One - The Old Testament

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