Micah 5:2 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Micah 5:2
But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.
hence (the ox's head being the first letter of the alph… · preposition + noun, common both genders plural construct
Judah
יְהוּדָ֔הye.hu.Dah
H3063
Jehudah (or Judah) · proper noun, a place name
forth
יֵצֵ֔אye.Tze'
H3318
to go (causatively · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
ruler
מוֹשֵׁ֖לmo.Shel
H4910
to rule · verb, qal active participle, masculine singular absolute
Israel
בְּיִשְׂרָאֵ֑לbe.Yis.ra.'El
H3478
Jisrael · preposition + proper noun, a place name
forth
וּמוֹצָאֹתָ֥יוu.mo.tza.'o.Tav
H4163
a family descent · conjunction + noun, common feminine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
old
מִקֶּ֖דֶםmi.Ke.dem
H6924
the front · preposition + noun, common masculine singular absolute
everlasting
מִימֵ֥יmi.Mei
H3117
a day (as the warm hours) · preposition + noun, common masculine plural construct
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Matthew 2:6 And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule…
John 7:42 Hath not the scripture said, That Christ cometh of the seed of David, and out of the town of Bethlehem, where David was?
Isaiah 9:6-7 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful,…
Luke 1:31-33 And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.
Genesis 49:10 The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the pe…
Psalms 90:2 Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art G…
Isaiah 11:1 And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:
Zechariah 9:9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lo…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Micah 5:1-6
Here, as before, we have,
I. The abasement and distress of Zion, Mic 5:1. The Jewish nation, for many years before the captivity, dwindled, and fell into disgrace: Now gather thyself in troops, O daughter of troops! It is either a summons to Zion's enemies, that had troops at their service, to come and do their worst against her (God will suffer them to do it), or a challenge to Zion's friends, that had troops too at command, to come and do their best for her; Let them gather in troops, yet it shall be to no purpose; for, says the prophet, in the name of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, He has laid siege against us; the king of Assyria has, the king of Babylon has, and we know not which way to…
Beth-lehem Ephratah-- (Gen 48:7), or, Beth-lehem Judah; so called to distinguish it from Beth-lehem in Zebulun. It is a few miles southwest of Jerusalem. Beth-lehem means "the house of bread"; Ephratah means "fruitful": both names referring to the fertility of the region.
though thou be little among--though thou be scarcely large enough to be reckoned among, &c. It was insignificant in size and population; so that in Jos 15:21, &c., it is not enumerated among the cities of Judah; nor in the list in Neh 11:25, &c. Under Rehoboam it became a city: Ch2 11:6, "He built Beth-lehem." Mat 2:6 seems to contradict Micah, "thou art not the least," But really he, by an independent testimony of the Sp…
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.
Whose goings forth have been from of old - In every age, from the foundation of the world, there has been some manifestation of the Messiah. He was the hope, as he was the salvation, of the world, from…
The Church Fathers
The text says, "His origin is from the beginning," the beginning, that is, according to the promises made to Abraham and David.
Further, the same prophet foretold even the place in which Christ was to be born: "But you, O Bethlehem Eph'rathah, who are little among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose origin is from old, from ancient days."
It was another prophet, again, who pointed out the place where he would be born. For Micah said, "And you, Bethlehem, the land of Judah, are by no means the least among the princes of Judah. For out of you will come the leader who will shepherd my people, Israel: and his going forth is from the beginning, from the days of eternity." He revealed his existence before all ages. When he said "there will come the leader who will shepherd my people, Israel," he revealed Christ's birth in the flesh.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Augustus — The cognomen of the first Roman emperor, C. Julius Caesar Octavianus, during whose reign Christ was born (Luke 2:1). His decree that “all the world should be taxed” was the divinely ordered occasion…
Bethlehem — House of bread. (1.) A city in the “hill country” of Judah. It was originally called Ephrath (Gen. 35:16, 19; 48:7; Ruth 4:11). It was also called Beth-lehem Ephratah (Micah 5:2), Beth-lehem-judah (1…
Ephratah — Fruitful. (1.) The second wife of Caleb, the son of Hezron, mother of Hur, and grandmother of Caleb, who was one of those that were sent to spy the land (1 Chr. 2:19, 50). (2.) The ancient name of…
Governor — (1.) Heb. nagid, a prominent, conspicuous person, whatever his capacity: as, chief of the royal palace (2 Chr. 28:7; comp. 1 Kings 4:6), chief of the temple (1 Chr. 9:11; Jer. 20:1), the leader of…
Mary — Hebrew Miriam. (1.) The wife of Joseph, the mother of Jesus, called the “Virgin Mary,” though never so designated in Scripture (Matt. 2:11; Acts 1:14). Little is known of her personal history. Her…
Messiah — (Heb. mashiah), in all the thirty-nine instances of its occurring in the Old Testament, is rendered by the LXX. “Christos.” It means anointed. Thus priests (Ex. 28:41; 40:15; Num. 3:3), prophets (1…
Micah, Book of — The sixth in order of the so-called minor prophets. The superscription to this book states that the prophet exercised his office in the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah. If we reckon from the…
Nativity of Christ — The birth of our Lord took place at the time and place predicted by the prophets (Gen. 49:10; Isa. 7:14; Jer. 31:15; Micah 5:2; Hag. 2:6-9; Dan. 9:24, 25). Joseph and Mary were providentially led to…
Nazareth — Separated, generally supposed to be the Greek form of the Hebrew netser, a “shoot” or “sprout.” Some, however, think that the name of the city must be connected with the name of the hill behind it,…
Prophecy — Or prediction, was one of the functions of the prophet. It has been defined as a “miracle of knowledge, a declaration or description or representation of something future, beyond the power of human…
But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah,.... But though Jerusalem should be besieged and taken, and the land of Judea laid waste, yet, before all this should be, the Messiah should be born in Bethlehem, of which this is a prophecy, as is evident from Matthew 2:4; the place is called by both the names it went by, to point it out the more distinctly, and with the greater certainty, Genesis 35:19; the former signifies "the house of bread", and a proper place for Christ to be born in, who is the bread of life; and it has the name of the latter from its fruitfulness, being a place of pasture, and as we find it was at the time of our Lord's birth; for near it shepherds were then watching over their flocks; a…
Micah 5:1-2
1. Now gather thyself in troops, O daughter of troops: he hath laid siege against us: they shall smite the judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek.
1. [140] Nunc colligas te (vel, obsidione cingeris, ut alii vertunt) filia congregationis (hoc est, turmae;) obsidionem posuit contra nos; in virga percutient ad maxillam judicem Israel.
2. But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.
2. Et tu Beth-lehem Ephrata, parva ad essendum (ut ita loquar) inter millia Jehudah; ex te mihi egredietur ad essendum dominat…
The previous announcement of the glory to which Zion is eventually to attain, is now completed by the announcement of the birth of the great Ruler, who through His government will lead Israel to this, the goal of its divine calling. Mic 5:2. "And thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, too small to be among the thousands of Judah, out of thee will He come forth to me who will be Ruler over Israel; and His goings forth are from the olden time, from the days of eternity." The ואתּה, with which this new section of the proclamation of salvation opens, corresponds to the ואתּה in Mic 4:8. Its former government is to return to Zion (Mic 4:8), and out of little Bethlehem is the possessor of this government to pr…
Ephrathah was the ancient name of Bethlehem (Gen 35:16; Ruth 4:11), David’s birthplace. In the future, an even more significant ruler than David would arise from there (Matt 2:5-6; John 7:42). The future king’s activities would stretch from the distant past (Hebrew qedem; cp. Deut 33:27; Prov 8:22-23; Isa 37:26) into a still future time, suggesting a divine-human being.
Rashi on Micah 5:2
Therefore, He shall deliver them until the time a woman in confinement gives birth—He shall deliver them into the hands of their enemies until the coming of the time that Zion has felt the pangs of labor and borne her children; Zion, which is now seized by the pangs of labor, is now called a woman in confinement. [I.e., now the labor pains will cease and the redemption will come about.] 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 (Yoma 10b, Sanh. 98b). But, according to its simple meaning, this is the structure as I explained.
and the rest of his brothers—The brothers of the King Mess…
Thousands — (Micah 5:2), another name for “families” or “clans” (see Num. 1:16; 10:4; Josh. 22:14, 21). Several “thousands” or “families” made up a “tribe.”
Bethlehem · .Birthplace of Jesus — .Birthplace of Jesus
Christ Is God · As Eternal — As Eternal
Christ, The King · Foretold — Foretold
Ephratah · .The ancient name of Beth-lehem- — .The ancient name of Beth-lehem-
Eternity · God inhabits — God inhabits
Prophecies Respecting Christ · His being born in Bethlehem of Judea — His being born in Bethlehem of Judea
Providence Of God, The · Connected with the use of means — Connected with the use of means
Quotations And Allusions · IN THE NEW TESTAMENT FROM, AND TO, THE OLD TESTAMENT — IN THE NEW TESTAMENT FROM, AND TO, THE OLD TESTAMENT
Titles And Names Of Christ · Ruler of Israel — Ruler of Israel
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
