Micah 5:7 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Micah 5:7
And the remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many people as a dew from the LORD, as the showers upon the grass, that tarrieth not for man, nor waiteth for the sons of men.
a rain (as an accumulation of drops) · preposition + noun, common masculine plural absolute
grass
עֵ֑שֶׂב'E.sev
H6212
grass (or any tender shoot) · noun, common masculine singular absolute
tarrieth
יְקַוֶּה֙ye.ka.Veh
H6960
to bind together (perhaps by twisting) · verb, piel imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
man
לְאִ֔ישׁle.'Ish
H376
a man as an individual or a male person · preposition + noun, common masculine singular absolute
waiteth
יְיַחֵ֖לye.ya.Chel
H3176
to wait · verb, piel imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
sons
לִבְנֵ֥יliv.Nei
H1121
a son (as a builder of the family name) · preposition + noun, common masculine plural construct
men
אָדָֽם'a.Dam
H120
ruddy i.e. a human being (an individual or the species · noun, common masculine singular absolute
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
Psalms 72:6 He shall come down like rain upon the mown grass: as showers that water the earth.
Isaiah 44:3 For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon th…
Micah 5:3 Therefore will he give them up, until the time that she which travaileth hath brought forth: then the remnant of his brethren shall return u…
Deuteronomy 32:2 My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the g…
Hosea 14:5 I will be as the dew unto Israel: he shall grow as the lily, and cast forth his roots as Lebanon.
Psalms 110:3 Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power, in the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning: thou hast the dew of thy yout…
Romans 10:20 But Esaias is very bold, and saith, I was found of them that sought me not; I was made manifest unto them that asked not after me.
Jeremiah 14:22 Are there any among the vanities of the Gentiles that can cause rain? or can the heavens give showers? art not thou he, O LORD our God? ther…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Micah 5:7–end
Glorious things are here spoken of the remnant of Jacob, that remnant which was raised of her that halted (Mic 4:7), and it seems to be that remnant which the Lord our God shall call (Joe 2:32), on whom the Spirit shall be poured out, the remnant that shall be saved, Rom 9:27. Note, God's people are but a remnant, a small number in comparison with the many that are left to perish, a little flock; but they are the remnant of Jacob, a people in covenant with God, and in his favour. Now concerning this remnant it is here promised,
I. That they shall be as a dew in the midst of the nations, Mic 5:7. God's church is dispersed all the world over; it is in the midst of many people, as gold in the o…
remnant of Jacob--already mentioned in Mic 5:3. It in comparative smallness stands in antithesis to the "many people." Though Israel be but a remnant amidst many nations after her restoration, yet she shall exercise the same blessed influence in quickening them spiritually that the small imperceptible dew exercises in refreshing the grass (Deu 32:2; Psa 72:6; Psa 110:3). The influence of the Jews restored from Babylon in making many Gentile proselytes is an earnest of a larger similar effect hereafter (Isa 66:19; Zac 8:13).
from the Lord--Israel's restoration and the consequent conversion of the Gentiles are solely of grace.
tarrieth not for man--entirely God's work, as independent of hu…
The remnant of Jacob - From the reign of Darius Hystaspes (Ahasuerus, husband of Esther) the Jews were greatly favored. Those who continued in Persia and Chaldea were greatly honored under the protection of Mordecai and Esther. - Calmet. But others consider this as applying to the Maccabees.
As a dew from the Lord - Even during their captivity many of the Jews were the means of spreading the knowledge of the one true God; see Dan 2:47; Dan 3:29; Dan 4:34; Dan 6:26. This may be the dew from the Lord mentioned here. When the Messiah appeared, the Gospel was preached by them; and it shall again be propagated by their future glorious restoration, Rom 11:12, Rom 11:25.
The grass, that tarrieth no…
The Church Fathers
(Verse 7 onwards) And the remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many peoples, like dew from the Lord, like showers on the grass, which do not wait for man or delay for the sons of men. And the remnant of Jacob shall be among the nations, in the midst of many peoples, like a lion among the beasts of the forest, like a young lion among the flocks of sheep, who, if it goes through, treads down and tears in pieces, and there is none to deliver. Your hand shall be lifted up over your adversaries, and all your enemies shall be cut off. And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord, that I will cut off thy horses out of the midst of thee, and I will destroy thy chariots: And I will cut off the cities of thy land, and throw down all thy strongholds: And I will cut off witchcrafts out of thine hand; and thou shalt have no more soothsayers: Thy graven images also will I cut off, and thy standing images out of the midst of thee; and thou shalt no more worship the work of thine hands. And I will pluck up thy groves out of the midst of thee: so will I destroy thy cities. And I will execute vengeance in anger and fury upon the heathen, such as they have not heard. LXX: And the remnant of Jacob shall be among the Gentiles, in the midst of many people, as a dew from the LORD, as the showers upon the grass, that tarrieth not for man, nor waiteth for the sons of men. And the remnant of Jacob shall be among the Gentiles, in the midst of many people, as a lion among the beasts of the forest, as a young lion among the flocks of sheep: who, if he go through, both treadeth down, and teareth in pieces, and none can deliver. Thine hand shall be lifted up upon thine adversaries, and all thine enemies shall be cut off. And it shall be in that day, says the Lord, I will kill your horses from your midst, and I will destroy your chariots, and I will overthrow the cities of your land: and I will take away all your fortresses. And I will take away your sorceries from your hand, and those who speak, they shall not be in you: and I will destroy your carved images, and your statues from your midst, and you shall no longer worship the works of your hands. And I will cut down your groves from your midst, and I will demolish your cities, and I will execute vengeance in anger and fury upon the nations, because they did not listen. When Assyria comes upon our land and rises upon our…
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
Grass · Illustrative: (Refreshed by dew and showers,) of the saints refreshed by grace — Illustrative: (Refreshed by dew and showers,) of the saints refreshed by grace
Righteous · . — .
Saints, Compared To · Dew and showers — Dew and showers
Zeal, Religious · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
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).
And the remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many people,.... The Jews, who will be converted in the latter day, the remnant of them according to the election of grace, as well as all true Israelites, whether Jews or Gentiles, the Lord's chosen and peculiar people; who, though but a small number in comparison of others, and mean and contemptible in the eyes of men, are such as God has made a reserve of for himself; and these, though not of the world, yet are in the world, and will be in the several parts of it, but a distinct people from it, and of no account in it; nevertheless will be visible in it, and wonderfully preserved in the midst of it: and will be
as a dew from the Lord; bot…
Micah 5:7-8
7. And the remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many people as a dew from the Lord, as the showers upon the grass, that tarrieth not for man, nor waiteth for the sons of men.
7. Et erit residuum Jacobin gentibus, in medio populorum multorum (vel, magnorum,) sicut ros a Jehova, sicut stillae super herbam, quae non expectat hominem, neque sperat in filiis hominum.
8. And the remnant of Jacob shall be among the Gentiles in the midst of many people as a lion among the beasts of the forest, as a young lion among the flocks of sheep: who, if he go through, both treadeth down, and teareth in pieces, and none can deliver.
8. Et erit residuum Jacob in gentibus, in medio populoru…
But the Messiah will prove Himself to be peace to His people, not only by the fact that He protects and saves it from the attacks of the imperial power represented by Asshur, but also by the fact that He endows His rescuing people with the power to overcome their enemies, both spiritually and bodily also. Mic 5:7. "And the remnant of Jacob will be in the midst of many nations like dew from Jehovah, like drops of rain upon grass, which tarrieth not for man, nor waiteth for children of men. Mic 5:8. And the remnant of Jacob will be among the nations, in the midst of many nations, like the lion among the beasts of the forest, like the young lion among the flocks of sheep; which, when it goes th…
God’s purpose was not to create another nation like all the other nations (Exod 19:4-6; Num 23:9; Jer 7:23), but to have his own people who would walk in his ways and be holy as he is holy (Lev 11:45). In that day (Mic 5:10), God will rule a redeemed and purified people, healed of violence and the ravages of war.
5:7 The remnant are those whom God’s grace preserved to be the foundation of his new people (Ezra 9:8-15; Neh 1:2). • Dew and rain are gifts from the Lord; no person can prevent his sending them.
Rashi on Micah 5:7
like a lion among the beasts of the forest—So will their king rule over all.
which treads down and tears in pieces Heb. רָמַס. This is the lion’s treading down [an animal] when he [the lion] is hungry and eating it in its place. Tearing (טָרַף) is when he carries the prey to his den for his cubs and his lionesses.
