Micah 5:1-15

THE MESSIAH AND THE MESSIANIC ERA, 1-15 (in Hebrew, Micah 4:14-5:14).

In Micah 5:1, the prophet returns once more (Micah 4:9; Micah 4:11) to the condition now present or imminent; but immediately he rises from the troublesome present to the glorious future (Micah 4:10; Micah 4:13), which he describes in Micah 5:2 ff., with a fullness and grandeur not seen anywhere else in the book. The historical background is probably the same as that presupposed in Micah 4:11-13, the invasion of Sennacherib. If so, chapter 5 presents the outlook of Micah at the time in which Isaiah uttered the remarkable Messianic prediction in Isaiah 11:1 ff.

The Hebrew of Micah 5:1 contains two plays upon words: the first between “gather in troops” and “daughter of troops,” the second between “judge” and “rod.”

Gather thyself in troops, O daughter of troops A very peculiar expression, which has been variously interpreted. If the text is correct, which is not beyond doubt, the following seems to be the most satisfactory interpretation: Jerusalem is called “daughter of troops” because wherever the prophet looks he sees people with anxious faces crowding together in terror. The troops of warriors who were accustomed to boast in their strength have turned into troops of cowards. These cowards he exhorts ironically to keep on crowding together (Jeremiah 5:7), and well they may, for the enemy has encircled the city; escape is impossible, they must prepare for the worst.

They shall smite If this is the proper translation the verse implies that the enemies’ efforts will be crowned with success. Then the oracle cannot be assigned to the same period as Micah 4:11-13. But the tense should probably be understood as a frequentative imperfect (G.-K., 107e or g), and should be translated “they smite” or, even better, “they have smitten,” again and again, and they are doing it now by laying siege to the holy city.

Smite… with a rod upon the cheek Smiting upon the cheek is a gross insult, and the expression may be used so here in the general sense “to insult” (Job 16:10; 1 Kings 22:24). The complaint of the prophet is that the enemies have been and still are insulting the representative of Jehovah ruling in Jerusalem.

Judge Equivalent to king (see Amos 2:3); “judge” is used here because of the similarity in sound of the original with the word translated “rod.” “Judge of Israel” is equivalent to “king of Judah.” 5b may contain a direct reference to the insults heaped upon Hezekiah by the representatives of Sennacherib ( Isaiah 36:37; compare Isaiah 10:7 ff.). The distress and suffering of the present are indeed great, but they will not continue forever; before the city can be taken deliverance will come.