Micah 1:1

1 The LORD gave this message to Micah of Moresheth during the years when Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah were kings of Judah. The visions he saw concerned both Samaria and Jerusalem.

Micah 1:1 Meaning and Commentary

Micah 1:1

The word of the Lord that came to Micah the Morasthite
So called, either from Mareshah, mentioned ( Micah 1:15 ) ; and was a city in the tribe of Judah, ( Joshua 15:44 ) ; as the Targum, Jarchi, Kimchi, and Zacutus ^F9; or rather from Moresheth, from which Moreshethgath, ( Micah 1:14 ) ; is distinguished; which Jerom ^F11 says was in his time a small village in the land of Palestine, near Eleutheropolis. Some think these two cities to be one and the same; but they appear to be different from the account of Jerom ^F12 elsewhere. The Arabic version reads it, Micah the son of Morathi; so Cyril, in his commentary on this place, mentions it as the sense of some, that Morathi was the father of the prophet; which can by no means be assented to: in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, [and] Hezekiah, kings of Judah;
by which it appears that he was contemporary with Isaiah, Hoses, and Amos, though they began to prophesy somewhat sooner than he, even in the days of Uzziah; very probably he conversed with these prophets, especially Isaiah, with whom he agrees in many things; his style is like his, and sometimes uses the same phrases: he, being of the tribe of Judah, only mentions the kings of that nation most known to him; though he prophesied against Israel, and in the days of Zachariah, Shallum, Menahem, Pekahiah, Pekah, and Hoshea: which he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem;
in the vision of prophecy; Samaria was the metropolis of the ten tribes of Israel, and is put for them all; as Jerusalem was of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, and is put for them Samaria is mentioned first, because it was the head of the greatest body of people; and as it was the first in transgression, it was the first in punishment.

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FOOTNOTES:

F9 Juchashin, fol. 12. 1.
F11 Prolog. in Mic.
F12 Epitaph. Paulae, ut supra. (tom. 1. operum, fol. 60. A. B.)

Micah 1:1 In-Context

1 The LORD gave this message to Micah of Moresheth during the years when Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah were kings of Judah. The visions he saw concerned both Samaria and Jerusalem.

2 Attention! Let all the people of the world listen! Let the earth and everything in it hear. The Sovereign LORD is making accusations against you; the Lord speaks from his holy Temple.

3 Look! The LORD is coming! He leaves his throne in heaven and tramples the heights of the earth.

4 The mountains melt beneath his feet and flow into the valleys like wax in a fire, like water pouring down a hill.

5 And why is this happening? Because of the rebellion of Israel — yes, the sins of the whole nation. Who is to blame for Israel’s rebellion? Samaria, its capital city! Where is the center of idolatry in Judah? In Jerusalem, its capital!