MICAH THE MORASTHITE. — Unlike Joel, who identifies himself by his father’s name, Micah introduces his personality with reference to his native village, Moresheth-gath, which was situated in the lowland district of Judah. The name — a shortened form of Micaiah, meaning “Who is like Jehovah” — was no... [ Continue Reading ]
HEAR, ALL YE PEOPLE. — The three-fold repetition of the appeal, “Hear ye,” seems to mark three divisions in the book: 1. “Hear, all ye people” (Micah 1:2); 2. “Hear, I pray you, O heads of Jacob” (Micah 3:1); 3. Hear ye now what the Lord saith” (Micah 6:1). FROM HIS HOLY TEMPLE — _i.e._, from heave... [ Continue Reading ]
THE MOUNTAINS SHALL BE MOLTEN. — The manifestations of the presence of God are taken from the description of the giving of the Law, when “the hills melted like wax at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the Lord of the whole earth” (Psalms 97:5). Dean Stanley refers the imagery to the memor... [ Continue Reading ]
THE TRANSGRESSION OF JACOB... THE SINS OF THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL. — The corruption of the country came from the capital cities. Samaria, on her hill, set an example of idolatry, drunkenness, and all the evils of a most profligate society; and even Jerusalem, the city “set on an hill,” gave a home in th... [ Continue Reading ]
SAMARIA AS AN HEAP OF THE FIELD. — Samaria was to be reduced to what it had been before the days of Ahab; the palatial city of the kings of the northern kingdom should return to the normal condition of a vineyard, which it had before Shemer sold it to Omri. The fruitfulness of its vines suggests one... [ Continue Reading ]
AND ALL THE HIRES THEREOF. — The falling away of Israel from her loyalty to God is compared generally by the prophets to a wife deserting her husband; and these “hires” are the offerings made to the shrines of the idols to which the Israelites forsaking Jehovah had transferred their worship. All the... [ Continue Reading ]
DRAGONS... OWLS. — Literally, _jackals and ostriches._ They are selected by reason of the dismal howls and screeches they make during the night.... [ Continue Reading ]
HER WOUND IS INCURABLE. — The state of Samaria is incurable: she is doomed: the destroyer is approaching — nay, he comes near, even to Jerusalem. The outlying towns are described as shuddering at the invader’s advance, but Jerusalem itself is spared.... [ Continue Reading ]
DECLARE YE IT NOT AT GATH. — The prophet lets his lament flow after the strain of David’s elegy, “Tell it not in Gath, publish it not in the streets of Askelon.” In this passage the parallelism seems to require the name of a town where the English Version has “at all.” But the Hebrew word thus repre... [ Continue Reading ]
SAPHIR... ZAANAN. — The sites of these cities, like that of Aphrah, are a matter of conjecture. They were probably south-west of Jerusalem, the prophet following the march of the invading army. THE INHABITANT OF ZAANAN CAME NOT FORTH — _i.e.,_ they remained in their city through fear of the enemy.... [ Continue Reading ]
WAITED CAREFULLY. — There are various ways of arriving at the interpretation of the words, but the result is the same. The people of Maroth were in distress; they were grieved at the spoiling of their property; they longed for good, but evil was the Lord’s decree against Jerusalem.... [ Continue Reading ]
BIND THE CHARIOT TO THE SWIFT BEAST — _i.e.,_ make haste to escape with thy goods. Lachish was the most important of the cities enumerated. It was fortified by Rehoboam, and was sought as a refuge by Amaziah from the conspiracy formed against him in Jerusalem. After the capture of the Holy City by N... [ Continue Reading ]
GIVE PRESENTS — _i.e.,_ thou shalt cease to give to Moresheth-gath the protection due from a husband to a wife: thou shalt give her a bill of divorce. The Hebrew word means either the presents sent _with_ a daughter or the dismissal sent _to_ a wife. ACHZIB. — A town on the sea-coast between Accho... [ Continue Reading ]
YET WILL I BRING AN HEIR. — Rather, _the possessor,_ one who shall take it by force — _i.e.,_ Sennacherib. MARESHAH was a city in the plain of Judah, near the prophet’s native place, Moresheth-gath. It was fortified by Rehoboam, and became the scene of Asa’s victory over the immense host of Zerah t... [ Continue Reading ]
MAKE THEE BALD. — Joel appeals to the land of Judah to go into deep mourning by reason of the loss of her children, slain in war or carried into captivity. The shaving of the head as a token of grief was common amongst Eastern nations, and is distinct from the idolatrous custom of cutting the hair i... [ Continue Reading ]