Micah 1:1-7: Yhwh Comes for Judgment

1:1 The word of the Lord

that camea to Micah of Moresheth

in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, the kings of Judah, whatb he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem.

2 Hear, you peoples, all of them!a

listen, O earth, and all that is in it;

and let the Lord Yhwh be a witness against you,b

the Lord from his holy temple.c

3 For lo, Yhwh is coming out of his place,

and comes down and treads upon the high places of the earth.

4 and the mountains will melta under him

and the valleys will burst open,b

like wax near the fire,

like waters poured down a steep place.

5 All this [is happening] for the transgression of Jacob

and for the sins of the house of Israel.

Whoa is the transgression of Jacob?

Is it not Samaria?

And who are the heights of Judah?b

Is it not Jerusalem?

6 And I will make Samaria

a heap of ruins in the open country,

for the planting of vineyards,a

and I will pour down her stones into the valley,

and uncover her foundations.

7 All her images shall be beaten to pieces,a

all her gifts shall be burned with fire,a

and all her idols I will lay waste;

for as the wages of a prostitute she [Samaria] gatheredb them,

and as the wages of a prostitute they shall again be used.

Notes on Text and Translation

1a G deprives Micah 1:1 of its character as a superscription by setting the verse within a narrative context: "And it came to pass . (?a? ????et?); cf. Jonah 1:1 G.

1b The context of the second relative particle ???? depends on how one understands the following "saw." G sees the root as absolute and referring to the kings just named: "whom he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem." But the comparable passage in Isa 2:1 suggests a reference to a preceding object, namely, "word" (cf. V, "quod videt").

2a The address to the nations is in tension with "all of them" (S: "all of you," but cf. 2 Chr 18:27). It is possible that what we have here is a "stylistic device"1 whose purpose is, on the one hand, to address the nations and, on the other hand, at the same time to shift attention to the real addressees. The latter are meant to be those in the Jerusalem community who hear the word so that then the nations can be spoken about.

2b When G translates "among you" (?? ?µ??). Yhwh is giving witness to a universal audience. But Num 5:13; Deut 19:16, and Prov 24:28 show that ?? in a construction with ? should be understood in the sense of a testimony "against" someone.2

2c G renders "holy temple" with "holy house" (??) ????? ?????, thus creating a connection to Micah 4:2 G.3

4ab G translates in v. 4aa "(the mountains) will quake," sa?e???seta?, and in v. 4b "(the valleys) will melt," ta??s??ta?, thus making the two images in v. 4b explications of v. 4aß.

5a The use of the interrogatory particle "who," making the two cities appear as personal entities, is striking (contrary to 1QpMi/S: "what?").

5b G translates "house of Judah," ????? ???da, thus creating a correspondence to "house of Israel" in v. 5aß.

6a The common translation "for planting vineyards" does not seem to make sense, because vineyards have an entirely positive connotation in the OT / HB. It is probably better to read the preposition ? as describing the purpose in the sense of "for the planting of vineyards."4 G translates "storehouse for fruits of the field," e?? ?p???f??????? ????? (cf. v. 5), using the same concept that describes disgraced Zion in Isa 1:8 G and in Micah 3:12 G ("garden-watcher's hut).5

7a The passive forms in v. 7aaß are rendered actively in G: "they cut to pieces" / "they burn." The Samaritans would then be the probable subject; they rid themselves of their idols. This may form a link to Micah 4:36 ("beating" swords into plowshares).

7b T/S avoid the change of subject and presume ?????????, "they were gathered."

Synchronic Analysis

Contextuality

The content of the opening chapter of the Micah document represents the proclamation of a judgment by Yhwh that at first applies only to Samaria but then extends to Jerusalem, or more generally to the cities and villages in the Judean hill country. It is true that the writings of the Book of the Twelve Prophets preceding the Micah document-according to the Masoretic order-are already in place, and in them the proclamation of Yhwh's judgment on the Northern Kingdom and its metropolis, Samaria, is already accompanied by a judgment on Judah (cf., e.g., Amos 2:4-5), but only in the Micah document do we find an explicit link between the two themes, ultimately resolving into an extended demonstration of the guilt of Zion and its inhabitants (Micah 3:12).

Linking the fates of Samaria and JerusalemOne might accordingly suppose that in the present context of the (Hebrew) Book of the Twelve the Micah document takes up the theme of Samaria that was already treated in Hosea and Amos and now links it to the theme of Zion, so that Yhwh's judgment on the Northern Kingdom finds its continuation in a judgment on the Southern Kingdom and Zion, its metropolis. The superscription to the Micah document also reflects such a joining of the themes of Samaria and Zion (cf. Micah 1:1). Moreover, that very superscription corresponds closely, both in form and content, to the superscriptions of Hosea, Amos, and Zephaniah. And it links with their chronology to the extent that it describes a period of time when Micah appeared, connects it to Amos's activity, and parallels it to that of Hosea. From that the question also arises whether the Micah document in its present form was and is meant to be read not only in the context-or even more precisely, in continuity-with those three documents.

Correspondence with the book of IsaiahIn addition, the theme of Zion (cf. especially Micah 4 // Isa 2) links the Micah document closely to the book of Isaiah, something further underscored by the agreements in form and content between the superscriptions of Micah and Isaiah (cf. Micah 1:1; Isa 1:1 / 2:1). The chronologies of the two books make Micah appear as a younger contemporary of Isaiah. Besides these correspondences there are striking internal lines of agreement (e.g., the themes of trial, sin, and judgment) between Micah 1 and Isa 1. Likewise Micah's prophetic sign-act in v. 8 pointedly shows that he is acting in analogy to Isaiah in Isaiah 20:2. Thus, the prophet Micah reveals himself to be a kind of "second Isaiah" not only on the basis of their similar prophecies but also through analogous sign-act.

Yhwh theophany Finally, Yhwh's judgment is enacted in the form of an impressively described Yhwh theophany that, because of its effect on the natural world, assumes quasi-universal features. Thus, to the extent that the judgment on Samaria and Jerusalem also impacts the world of all nations, the question arises whether by means of Micah 1 the Micah document speaks even to the theme of judgment of the nations (cf. Micah 1:2). This theme makes its appearance especially in the preceding Jonah document. Not least the key word combination "to your holy temple" (Jonah 2:5) and "from his holy temple" (Micah 1:2) favors this, so that the Yhwh theophany described in Micah 1 seems like an answer to Jonah's urgent prayer. It appears that with this, together with the frame in Micah 1:2 and 5:14, describing an alternative attitude on the part of the nations, the Micah document seeks to respond to the problem formulated in the Jonah document, namely, what the appropriate attitude of the nations in light of Yhwh's threatened judgment should be.

Micah 1 introduces a series of key words and motifs that will reappear in the course of the Micah document. These include, for example, "heights" (Micah 1:3), which-in parallel to "the transgression of Jacob"-are apparently to be understood as pointing to the sins of Judah (Micah 1:5) so that, ultimately, in Micah 3:12 Mount Zion itself remains only an overgrown "height." Likewise the key words "ruins" and "open country," which describe the destruction of Samaria in Micah 1:6, reappear in the description of the laying waste of Zion in Micah 3:12. Here is another reflection of the transition described above, from judgment of Samaria to judgment of Jerusalem.

If we presume the correctness of such a synchronic reading of the Micah document in the present context of the Book of the Twelve, then this document reflects an extension of Yhwh's universal judgment. Thus, after Samaria and the Northern Kingdom of Israel, even Zion itself is not spared. However, it appears that, as documented especially by the second part of the Micah document (Micah 4-7), Zion, unlike Samaria, still has a great future before it, so that the judgment on Zion is ultimately nothing but a purification. That purifying judgment is linked to a perspective on the nations that already rang...