Micah 5:2

How was micah called by god
What is the main message of the book of micah
When was the book of micah written

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Adoration of the Kings, by Gerard David (The National Gallery)

“He has shown all you people what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8)

During the reign of kings Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah of Judah, the prophet Micah (740–670 BC) gave Israel one of the best-known prophecies concerning the birth of the Messiah:

“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.” (Micah 5:2)

This famous declaration that the Messiah will come from Bethlehem is the very verse that the chief priests and scribes quoted to King Herod when the Magi were trying to determine where this ruler over Israel would be born.

Herod ultimately tried to kill every newborn male in Bethlehem when his devious efforts to locate the baby Yeshua (Jesus), King of Israel, failed. (Matthew 2)

The Magi in the House of Herod, by James Tissot (Brooklyn Museum)

Although Micah

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Micah (prophet)

Prophet in Judaism

Not to be confused with Micaiah or Micah's Idol.

According to the Hebrew Bible, Micah (Hebrew: מִיכָה הַמֹּרַשְׁתִּיMīḵā hamMōraštī "Micah the Morashtite"), also known as Micheas,^[1] was a prophet in the Bible and is the author of the Book of Micah. He is considered one of the Twelve Minor Prophets of the Hebrew Bible and was a contemporary of the prophets Isaiah, Amos and Hosea. Micah was from Moresheth-Gath, in southwest Judah. He prophesied during the reigns of kings Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah of Judah.

Micah's messages were directed chiefly toward Jerusalem. He prophesied the future destruction of Jerusalem and Samaria, the destruction and then future restoration of the Judean state, and he rebuked the people of Judah for dishonesty and idolatry.

Micah 5:2 is interpreted by Christians as a prophecy that Bethlehem, a small village just south of Jerusalem, would be the birthplace of the Messiah.

Biblical narrative

Micah was active in the Kingdom of Judah from before the fall of Israel in 722 BC and experience

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Although known to us as simply Micah, his Hebrew name was Michayahu (or Michaia for short). It means “Who is like Yahweh” and interestingly, the prophet seems to hint at his own name in the Biblical book that also bears his name with the phrase “Who is a God like You?” in Micah 7:18. The Greek form of his name is Michaias but in Latin it’s Micha from which we get the modern English derivation.

Though not much is known about Micah’s personal life we do know that he was a great defender of the poor which has earned him the moniker “the poor people’s prophet”. He ministered to both the northern and southern kingdoms of Israel in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah whose combined reigns spanned from c. 751-687 BC meaning he was a contemporary of the prophets Isaiah and Hosea as well as the rural prophet Amos.

“A time of prosperity had hardened the rich, who were oppressing the poor to the extent of denying them justice in the courts.”

Karen H. Jobes

In fact, similar to Amos, Micah was also a country prophet. He hailed from a Judean village called Moresheth, which app