Exegesis Of Micah 6.1-8

Exegesis Of Micah 6.1-8

Steven Foster

23 May 1994

Micah 6:1-8 (Exegesis)
I. Historical Background
The book of Micah was written by the prophet Micah. Tucker states that the name Micah is "a shortened form of the name Micaiah" (632) and means "who is like Yahweh?" (Hill 343). "Etymologically the name is an expression of praise to the God who is incomparable" (Tucker 633). Harris documents in his article on "Micah" that this name is attributed to six people in the Old Testament, including the canonical prophet from Moresheth (646).

The superscription in the book of Micah (1:1) acknowledges its author: "the word of the Lord which came to Micah of Moresheth . . ." (NASB). It is not certain whether the prophet lived in Moresheth or whether he lived in Jerusalem and was named after the town from which he came, but Craigie believes the latter is more probable (Old Testament 190). Micah was probably not a professional prophet who was paid for his services since he criticizes prophets who "divine for money" (Mic. 3:11 NASB) or "tailor their message according to how they are treated (v. 5)" (LaSor et al. 357). According to Helmbold, "Micah was a man of courage, conviction, and rare personal faith . . . [whose] main concern was the social injustice prevalent in his day" (214-15). Unger states that according to Pseudo-Epiphanius, Micah rebuked Jehoram for his impieties and was therefore "thrown from a precipice and buried at Morathi, in his own country, near the cemetery of Enakim" (848). After much historical study, Bright concluded that "we know little of Micah save that he came from the village of Moresheth-gath in southwestern Judah (Micah 1:1), and that his ministry began approximately when Isaiah's did and continued into the reign of Hezekiah (cf. Jer. 26:16-19)" (293).

Almost universally, chapters 1-3 have been accepted as genuine oracles of Micah, but some questions have arisen over the time frame of the speeches in chapters 4-7, primarily because of a reference to Babylon....