Micah

Micah, persons in the Bible

Micah (mī`kə), in the Bible.

1 Prophet, author of the book of Micah.

2 Levite. It is also spelled Michah.

3 Ephraimite whose sacred belongings were taken from him.

4 Son of Mephibosheth. It is also spelled Micha.

5 Same as Michaiah (1.)

6 Same as Michaiah (2.)

7 Reubenite.

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Micah, book of the Bible

Micah (mī`kə), 6th of the books of the Minor Prophets of the Bible, containing the oracles of the prophet Micah, a contemporary of Isaiah whose career spanned the period c.750–c.700 B.C. The prophecy can be divided into three sections: the doom of Israel and Judah, who are to be punished for hypocritical worship, social injustice, and personal immorality; ultimate redemption; a recapitulation in different form of the same themes. The book includes a famous Messianic passage, alluded to in the Gospels of St. Matthew and St. John. Micah's prophecy of the fall of Jerusalem was recalled over a century later. In Micah, the people of Judah are taught that they have not discharged their obligation to God if they have engaged in cultic activity but neglected the poor and needy. Some oracles have been subsequently added to the original collection after the event.

Bibliography

See studies by J. L. Mays (1976), R. Smith (1984), D. R. Hillers (1984), and J. Limburg (1988). See also bibliography under Old Testament.

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Micah

(flourished 8th century BC) One of the 12 Minor Prophets in the Bible, traditional author of the book of Micah. (His prophecy is part of a larger book, The Twelve, in the Jewish canon.) He probably began to prophesy before the fall of the northern kingdom of Israel in 721 BC. Modern scholars usually attribute the book's first three chapters, which predict judgment from God on idolaters and unjust leaders, to Micah. Much of the rest, which promises the establishment of a kingdom of peace in Zion, probably dates from several centuries later.