Micahchapter 5
15 verses · Micah · 750 to 686 BC · The Twelve
But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come forth for Me One to be ruler over Israel—One whose origins are of old, from the days of eternity.
Introduction
Micah, The Twelve, Micah Overview.
This chapter was spoken to Jerusalem under siege, with the enemy at the gates and the city's ruler humiliated. Micah turns the eyes of his hearers from the capital to Bethlehem, the small town where David was born. His hearers knew David's story and the promise that a son of David would rule forever. Listen for how small the place is and how great the ruler who comes from it. Listen for the two pictures of the remnant among the nations. Read it with Matthew 2, where the scribes of Jerusalem quote it to Herod.
Context
- Who
- Judeans whose king was being humiliated while Assyria camped in their fields
- What
- The promise of a ruler from Bethlehem who will shepherd Israel in the LORD's strength, with the remnant among the nations and the purging of Israel's weapons and idols.
- Where
- Jerusalem under siege, with Bethlehem Ephrathah a few miles to the south, and the lands of Assyria and Nimrod beyond.
- When
- Micah's ministry, about 750 to 686 BC; the siege of verse 1 is read either as the Assyrian threat of 701 BC or as the later Babylonian siege.
- Why
- To give a besieged and humbled Jerusalem hope in a King from David's town, and to show that God would remove everything His people trusted in place of Him.
Historical context
Striking the judge of Israel on the cheek with a rod is a description of public humiliation of a ruler, and 701 BC supplies the occasion. Sennacherib's own account, preserved on clay prisms, boasts that he took forty-six of Judah's fortified cities and shut Hezekiah up in Jerusalem like a bird in a cage, his words, in his own records.
Show the rest of the historical context, 3 more paragraphs
Bethlehem Ephrathah is called little among the clans of Judah, and the description is accurate. It was a village of a few hundred people about six miles south of Jerusalem, with no strategic value and no administrative role. Its only claim was that David had come from there three centuries earlier.
The phrase about the ruler's goings forth being from of old, from ancient days, uses language that elsewhere describes what belongs to eternity rather than to history. Whatever else it says, it says this ruler's origin is not measured from Bethlehem.
The list of things to be cut off at the end is a list of what a nation trusted for security: horses and chariots, fortified cities and strongholds, and then the sorceries, soothsayers, carved images, and Asherah poles. Military hardware and magical hardware are put in the same pile, because they served the same function.
Significance
For hearers under siege, the promise of seven shepherds and eight princes raised up against the Assyrian said that the empire in their fields was not the last word. That year, Sennacherib withdrew without taking Jerusalem, a fact his own prism quietly confirms by never claiming the city.
Show the rest of the significance, 1 more paragraph
The Bethlehem promise was read by Jewish scholars as pointing to the Messiah's birthplace, and Matthew records the chief priests quoting this exact verse to Herod when the wise men asked where the king was to be born. They knew the answer without needing to look it up.
This chapter in Jewish lifeWhat this chapter is in Jewish life and reading.
What is done
This chapter is read aloud in the synagogue once a year. The site's table in src/lib/hebraic/readings.ts records Micah 5:6 to 6:8 as the Haftarah of Balak, the portion of Numbers 22:2 to 25:9. The probe printed that reading for both the Ashkenazi and the Sephardi rite. The table gives the reference in Hebrew numbering. The corpus's notes show that Hebrew 5:6, the remnant of Jacob like dew from the Lord, is 5:7 in the Berean Standard Bible. The reading therefore opens at the seventh verse of this chapter in an English Bible.
A congregation hears the story of Balak and Balaam from the Torah scroll and then hears this chapter and the next from the prophets. The join is named in the next chapter, where Micah recalls what Balak planned and what Balaam answered.
How it is read
Rashi is the one commentator on this chapter whose English the corpus carries, quoted here from The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg, which Sefaria reports as CC-BY. The corpus numbers the chapter by the Hebrew text, so each of its verses is one lower than the Berean Standard Bible's. Hebrew 5:1 is English 5:2.
Rashi reads Bethlehem Ephrathah as the town David came from, citing I Samuel 17:58 and Genesis 48:7 (Rashi on Micah 5:1:1). He explains why it stood low among the clans of Judah, "because of the stigma of Ruth the Moabitess in you." (Rashi on Micah 5:1:2). The rest of his brothers in the next verse are "The brothers of the King Messiah" (Rashi on Micah 5:2:2).
At the woman in labour Rashi sets two readings side by side. By the simple meaning, Zion is in labour and the redemption follows her pangs. He also reports the Sages. "But our Sages state that from here we deduce that the son of David will not come until the wicked kingdom spreads over the entire world for nine months" (Rashi on Micah 5:2:1). He cites Yoma 10b and Sanhedrin 98b for it, and he closes by holding to the simple meaning.
The peace of Hebrew 5:4 is "A complete and permanent peace, without interruption" (Rashi on Micah 5:4:1). The land of Nimrod is Babylon (Rashi on Micah 5:5:2). The remnant like dew is read as a lesson about help: "so Israel will not hope for the help of man, but for the Lord." (Rashi on Micah 5:6:1). The horses to be cut off are "the Egyptian aid upon which you rely to supply you with horses." (Rashi on Micah 5:9:1).
The Christian reading parts from Rashi's at the Bethlehem verse. The New Testament cites that verse at Matthew 2:6, and the Christian reading takes the ruler who comes out of Bethlehem to be Jesus. Rashi reads the verse of the house of David and of the King Messiah still to come. Both readings are named here and neither is set aside.
The corpus carries 8 further notes on this chapter without an English text, each marked linked because Sefaria holds no English version of the ref. They stand cited and unquoted at Ibn Ezra on Micah 5:6:1, 5:8:1, 5:9:1, 5:10:1, 5:11:1 and 5:12:1 and Radak on Micah 5:8:1 and 5:14:1.
What the rabbis say
The corpus carries 40 rabbinic locators on the verses of this chapter, 0 in the Talmud and 40 in the Midrash. It carries the text of none, so each is cited by ref here and never quoted or paraphrased. The verse numbers are the Hebrew ones the corpus prints.
On verse 1 it holds Aggadat Bereshit 49:4, Aggadat Bereshit 64:1, Bereshit Rabbah 82:9 and Bereshit Rabbati, Parashat Vayishlach 29. It also holds Midrash Sekhel Tov, Bereshit 35:19:2, Midrash Tehillim 11:4 and Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer 3:4. On verse 2 it holds Aggadat Bereshit 71:3, Ein Yaakov (Glick Edition), Sanhedrin 11:51, Ein Yaakov (Glick Edition), Yoma 1:12 and Ein Yaakov, Yoma 1:13. It also holds Midrash Tehillim 8:1, Otzar Midrashim, Midrash on the Ten Kings 1:16 and Otzar Midrashim, Midrashim of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, Chapter of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai 6. On verse 3 it holds Midrash Tehillim 21:2 and Otzar Midrashim, Midrash Shelosha v'Arba'ah 1:20.
On verse 4 it holds Bamidbar Rabbah 14:1, Eikhah Rabbah 1:41, Ein Yaakov (Glick Edition), Sukkah 5:9 and Ein Yaakov, Sukkah 5:15. It also holds Esther Rabbah 1:18, Midrash Tannaim on Deuteronomy 33:5:10 and Midrash Tehillim 2:8. On verse 5 it holds Otzar Midrashim, Explanation of the Seven Vowels 1:5. On verse 6 it holds Aggadat Bereshit 44:1, Aggadat Bereshit 8:1, Bereshit Rabbah 42:3 and Bereshit Rabbah 75:8. It also holds Bereshit Rabbati, Parashat Toldot 12 and Bereshit Rabbati, Parashat Toldot 13.
On verse 7 it holds Esther Rabbah 10:11 and Esther Rabbah, Petichta 11. On verse 8 it holds Yalkut Shimoni on Torah 183:1. On verse 9 it holds Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer 48:16. On verse 14 it holds Midrash Lekach Tov on Lamentations 3:66:1, Midrash Tanchuma Buber, V'Zot HaBerachah 3:1, Midrash Tanchuma, V'Zot HaBerachah 4:1 and Midrash Tannaim on Deuteronomy 33:2:31. It also holds Midrash Tehillim 149:1 and Midrash Tehillim 6:2.
What each of them teaches is a saying of the rabbis, and is reported as theirs wherever this site quotes one. The quotations wait on a fetch that carries the text.
Sources: Rashi, Rashi on Micah 5:1:1 to 5:13:1, The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg, reported CC-BY; Ibn Ezra, Ibn Ezra on Micah 5:6:1, 5:8:1, 5:9:1, 5:10:1, 5:11:1 and 5:12:1, cited by ref because the corpus carries no English text; Radak, Radak on Micah 5:8:1 and 5:14:1, cited by ref because the corpus carries no English text; The Sefaria corpus, scripts/data/sources/sefaria/micah/5.json, the 40 Talmud and Midrash locators on the verses of this chapter; The site's own files, src/lib/hebraic/readings.ts, probed for Micah 5 with parashotForChapter, haftarahUsesForChapter and festivalReadingForBook; The Berean Standard Bible, Matthew 2:6 and Micah 5:1 to 5:2, read from the store for the citation and the verse count, not quoted.
The heads below are this chapter's scenes. The numbered points under each are its verses.
Bethlehem Ephrathah, little among the thousands of Judah
strike the cheek of the judge of Israel: The chapter opens under siege, and the enemy will "strike the cheek of the judge of Israel", the public shaming of the nation's ruler. Matthew Henry sets beside it the striking of Jesus at Matthew 27:30 as an echo. The verse stands first in Micah's own day.
Micah 5:1
“Lest the faithful should fall into carnal security because of the previous promises, he reminds them of the calamities which are to precede the prosperity. daughter of troops--Jerusalem is so called on account of her numerous troops. he hath laid siege--the enemy hath. they shall smite the judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek--the greatest of insults to an Oriental.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
1 more voice on this verseWhat preachers and commentators have said about this verse, in their own words.
Micah 5:1
“Now gather thyself in troops, O daughter of troops - The “daughter of troops” is still the same who was before addressed, Judah. The word is almost always . used of “bands of men employed in irregular, marauding, in-roads.” Judah is entitled “daughter of troops,” on account of her violence, the robbery and bloodshed within her (Mic 2:8; Mic 3:2; etc. Hos 5:10), as Jeremiah says, “Is this house which is called by My Name become a den of robbers in your eyes?” (Jer 7:11, compare Mat 21:13).”
But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah: Bethlehem Ephrathah, "small among the clans of Judah", is named as the ruler's home, the verse the chief priests gave Herod in Matthew 2:5-6. Ephrathah ties the ruler to David's clan in 1 Samuel 17:12. His "origins are of old", so the verse gives him a beginning before his birth.
Micah 5:2
“But thou, Beth-lehem Ephratah - I have considered this subject in great detail in the notes on Mat 2:6, to which the reader will be pleased to refer. This verse should begin this chapter; the first verse belongs to the preceding chapter. Bethlehem Ephratah, to distinguish it from another Beth-lehem, which was in the tribe of Zebulun, Jos 19:15. Thousands of Judah - The tribes were divided into small portions called thousands; as in our country certain divisions of counties are called hundreds.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
Micah 5:2
“This was the scripture which the scribes went upon when with the greatest assurance they told Herod where Christ should be born ( Matt. ii. 6 ), and hence it was universally known among the Jews that Christ should come out of the town of Bethlehem where David was, John vii.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Cross references
Micah 5:2
- Quoted inMatthew 2:6‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah, for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of My people Israel.’”
chief priests cite the birthplace prophecy to Herod ('for thus it is written by the prophet')
ConnectionsIsaiah 11:1, Matthew 1:1, Matthew 2:6
Micah 5:3-4
Therefore Israel will be abandoned: "Israel will be abandoned until she who is in labor has given birth", an interval named but not measured. The woman in labor is read as Zion in the pains of exile, or as the mother of the ruler of verse 2. He will "shepherd His flock".
Micah 5:3
“Therefore - Since God has so appointed both to punish and to redeem, He, God, or the Ruler “whose goings forth have been from of old from everlasting,” who is God with God, “shall give them up, that is, withdraw His protection and the nearness of His Presence, “giving them up:” (1) into the hands of their enemies. And indeed the far greater part never returned from the captivity, but remained, although willingly, in the enemy’s land, outwardly shut out from the land of the promise and the hope of their fathers (as in 2Ch 36:17).”
2 more voices on this verse
Micah 5:3
“Though the out-goings of the Messiah were from everlasting, yet the redemption in Jerusalem, the consolation of Israel, must be waited for ( Luke ii. 25-38 ) until the time that she who should bring forth (so the virgin Mary is called, as Christ is himself called, He that shall come ) shall bring forth; and in the mean time he will give them up.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Micah 5:3
“Israel's deliverance from her long travail-pains of sorrow will synchronize with the appearance o� Messiah as her Redeemer (Ro 11:26) in the last days, as the Church's spiritual deliverance synchronized with the virgin's giving birth to Him at His first advent. The ancient Church's travail-like waiting for Messiah is represented by the virgin's travail.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
shepherd His flock in the strength of the LORD: The ruler from Bethlehem stands and shepherds His people, and He does it in the LORD's strength and in the LORD's name. His people live securely under Him. His greatness reaches the ends of the earth, far beyond the borders of Judah.
Micah 5:4
“He shall stand and feed - The Messiah shall remain with his followers, supporting and governing them in the strength and majesty of the Lord, with all the miraculous interferences of his power, and all the glories of his grace. And they shall abide - After this the Jews shall no more go astray, but shall remain one people with the Gentiles, under the one Shepherd and Bishop of all souls. Newcome translates, “They shall be converted” for instead of וישבו veyashebu, he reads וישובו veyashubu, which gives him the translation above.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
2 more voices on this verse
Micah 5:4
“And he shall stand and feed in the strength of the Lord,.... The ruler in Israel, before described and prophesied of; the Messiah, as Kimchi himself interprets it, and other Jewish writers. Kimchi's note is, "after the affliction, the King Messiah shall stand and feed Israel in the strength of the Lord;'' and so R. Isaac (t) paraphrases the words exactly in the same way: wherefore, as another learned Jew (u) observes, these expressions evince that the ruler here spoken of can be no other than the Messiah; not Zerubbabel, who never attained to this height and happiness.”
Micah 5:4
“THERE can be no doubt but what the Prophet here spoke of the Messiah—of our Lord Jesus Christ. We shall not need to enter into any discussion of that subject here, but shall take it at once for granted that the passage means, "Now shall the Lord Jesus be great unto the ends of the earth." This does not mean that Jesus Christ will be any greater than He always is essentially and naturally. As the Son of God, He is Infinite in Glory and can be no greater.”
Charles Spurgeon · written before 1892 · The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 3382: “Our Lord's Transcendent Greatness” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition)Particular Baptist
Micah 5:5-6
And He will be our peace: The ruler is named as the peace itself: "And He will be our peace when Assyria invades our land". The "seven shepherds" follow the counting pattern of Amos 1:3, which means more than enough. Assyria will be ruled "with the sword", the invader suffering what he meant to inflict.
Micah 5:5
“The peace - Which is promised to the people of God; all their deliverances are not only for his sake, but effected by his power. Shall tread in our palaces - Which Sennacherib did in all the cities of Judah, except Jerusalem.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)evangelical
the land of Nimrod: is Babylon and Assyria, the empire Genesis 10:10 and 11 traces to Nimrod. Assyria was the enemy of Micah's own day. The shepherds raised against it will rule it with the sword, and the One who is Israel's peace will deliver His people.
A remnant like dew, and like a lion among the flocks
Micah 5:7-8
Then the remnant of Jacob will be in the midst of many peoples: The remnant appears first "like dew from the LORD". It then stands "like a lion among the beasts of the forest". Both verses open with the same words, "the remnant of Jacob", so one people is a blessing to some nations and a judgment to others.
Micah 5:7
“And the remnant of Jacob - Micah (Mic 4:7), as well as Isaiah (Isa 10:21), had prophesied, that a remnant only should return unto the Mighty God.”
like a lion among the beasts of the forest: The remnant is dew in verse 7 and a lion in verse 8. The two pictures belong together. Among the nations the remnant brings blessing to some and terror to those who resist, and no one can rescue what the lion takes.
Micah 5:8
“And the remnant of Jacob shall be as a young lion - o: “What more unlike than the sweetness of the dew and the fierceness of the lion? What so different as the gentle shower distilling on the herb, and the savageness or vehemence of a lion roaring among “the flocks of sheeps?” Yet both are ascribed to “the remnant of Jacob.” Why? Because the Apostles of Christ are both tender and severe, tender in teaching and exhorting, severe in rebuking and avenging.”
1 more voice on this verse
Micah 5:8
“Judah will be "as as lion," not in respect to its cruelty, but in its power of striking terror into all opponents. Under the Maccabees, the Jews acquired Idumea, Samaria, and parts of the territory of Ammon and Moab [GROTIUS]. But this was only the earnest of their future glory on their coming restoration.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Micah 5:9-11
Your hand will be lifted over your foes: Victory over every foe opens into a purge of Israel's own strength: "I will remove your horses from among you". The cities and "all your strongholds" follow. Isaiah 31:1 rebukes those who rely on horses and chariots, and here the Lord wins by removing what Israel would have trusted.
Micah 5:9
“Thine hand shall be lifted up--In Isa 26:11 it is Jehovah's hand that is lifted up; here Israel's as Mic 5:8 implies, just as "Zion" is addressed and directed to "beat in pieces many people" (Mic 4:13; compare Isa 54:15, 17).”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
1 more voice on this verse
Micah 5:9
“It was the sin of Israel that they furnished themselves extravagantly with horses and chariots, and were soothsayers and idolaters; see Isa. ii. But here it is promised that they shall not regard them any more. The tranquillity of the kingdom of Christ is intended in that promise, which explains this, Zech. ix.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Horses, cities, sorceries, and carved images cut off
Horses and chariots were the strength of a kingdom at war, and Deuteronomy 17:16 forbade Israel's king to multiply horses. God will take them away. The purging leaves His people trusting in Him alone.
Micah 5:10
“Solomon had disregarded this command (1Ki 10:26, 28). Hereafter, saith God, I will remove these impediments to the free course of My grace: horses, chariots, &c., on which ye trust. The Church will never be safe, till she is stripped of all creature trusts, and rests on Jehovah alone [CALVIN].”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
tear down all your strongholds: Walled cities and fortresses go the same way as the chariots. Zechariah 2:4 and 5 promises a Jerusalem without walls, with the LORD as a wall of fire around it. The people will need no defence but God.
Micah 5:11
“I will cut off the cities of thy land - So God promised by Zechariah, “Jerusalem shall be inhabited as towns without walls; for I will be unto her a wall of fire round about” Zec 2:4-5. The Church shall not need the temptation of human defense; for God shall fence her in on every side. Great cities too, as the abode of luxury and sin, of power and pride, and, mostly, of cruelty, are chiefly denounced as the objects of God’s anger.”
Micah 5:12-15
I will cut the sorceries from your hand: The purge turns to the occult and the idol: sorceries and "fortune-tellers", and "the carved images and sacred pillars". The goal is stated, "so that you will no longer bow down to the work of your own hands". The chapter closes on "the nations that have not obeyed Me".
Micah 5:12
“I will cut off witchcrafts - Thou shalt seek help only in Jehovah thy God. They have had neither soothsayers, images, groves, nor high places, from the captivity to the present day.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
the work of your own hands: Carved images and sacred pillars are the next thing God removes. The verse gives the reason in its last phrase. Israel had bowed down to things it made with its own hands, and it will bow to them no longer.
Micah 5:13
“Thy graven images also will I cut off, and thy standing images out of the midst of thee,.... The former were such as were made of wood or stone; the latter statues, such as were molten or cast, and made of gold, silver, or brass; Such as the Jews sometimes worshipped, and are now found in the apostate church of Rome; but will have no place in the Christian churches, or those so called, in the latter day.”
Asherah poles: The Asherah poles were wooden symbols of the goddess Asherah, set up beside altars against the law of Deuteronomy 16:21. They will be rooted out. The cities named beside them are probably the places where that worship stood.
Micah 5:14
“And I will pluck up thy groves out of the midst of thee,.... Planted for idolatrous worship, and which the Jews in the reigns of some of their kings raised, and made use of for such purposes; see 1Ki 15:13; though contrary to the law of God, Deu 16:21; but now there should be nothing of this kind, all idolatry being rooted out of the world.”
The list of what God removes from His own people ends with judgment on the nations. The vengeance falls on those who refused to hear. The God who purges Israel of its idols also calls to account the peoples who would not listen.
Micah 5:15
“I will execute vengeance - upon the heathen - And he did so; for the empires of the Assyrians, Chaldeans, and others, the sworn enemies of the Jews, have long since been utterly destroyed.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
Micah 5:15
“Have not heard - In an unprecedented manner. Christ will give his Son either the hearts or necks of his enemies, and make them either his friends or his footstool.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)evangelical
Keep studying
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Sources for this chapter
The summary
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory; John Calvin, Commentaries; John Wesley, Notes on the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary.
The exposition
Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes; Carl Friedrich Keil, The Twelve Minor Prophets; Edward Bouverie Pusey, The Minor Prophets: A Commentary; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Micah; John Calvin, Commentaries on the Twelve Minor Prophets; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.