Micah 5 Footnotes

5:2 Ephrathah was a clan that was part of the tribe of Judah (Ru 1:2; 4:11; 1Sm 17:12); it may have received its name from Caleb’s second wife (1Ch 2:19). Bethlehem was the main town in Ephrathah’s small territory, and the two became associated in order to distinguish the place from another Bethlehem in the north. Bethlehem was David’s hometown (1Sm 16:4-13), and therefore, Micah spoke of a coming ruler who would be in David’s line. This ruler’s “origin is from antiquity, from ancient times” (Mic 5:2).Thus, it is likely that this prophecy does refer to the Messiah’s origins or descent from David and to his birthplace in Bethlehem. The name Bethlehem means “house of bread,” a fitting name for the birthplace of him who said, “I am the bread of life” (Jn 6:35,48).

5:3 The woman who gives birth most probably refers to the mother of the Messiah. Micah called Israel without a king “like a woman in labor” (4:9), but here he distinguished between Israel and the woman and had just referred to the birth of the Messiah.

5:4-6 These verses await fulfillment at the second coming of Christ. The mention of Assyria seems at first glance to shift the focus back to Micah’s own day. The Lord did save Jerusalem from the Assyrian Sennacherib, but the end of v. 6 says that the Messiah (“he”) will deliver the nation from Assyria. Micah mentioned “the land of Nimrod” in addition to Assyria, a designation that meant he had something broader than just Assyria in mind. In Genesis, Nimrod was viewed as the founder of both Babylonia and Assyria (Gn 10:8-12). Micah viewed Assyria, the major world power of his day, as symbolic of all the kingdoms of the world (Zch 10:11). Even so, the Messiah will deliver Israel in the last days from all the powers that come against it.