MICAH
MICAH 359
Laish, which they took without difficulty; and in a new town built on the site of the old the set up a temple of their own in charge of Micah’s Levite, who thus became the ancestor of the Danite priesthood.
How long this priesthood lasted is not known. The note of time (18*) is of little help. If ‘the day of the captivity of the land’ (18%) is not a late editorial addition, it will probably denote the times of the Philistine wars under Eli; but if it is, the conquest of Galilee (2 Καὶ 1539) by Tiglath-pileser in B.C. ὭΣ See art. JUDGES (BOOK OF), in vol. ii.
. 818 f.
Ῥ 2. (πρὸ in 1 Ch 83: Ὲ [Β Μεχιά, A Μιχά] 9% 4“ [Β Μειχά, A Μιχά]; xp, RV Mica, in 25 9%) A son of Merib-baal (or Mephibosheth), and grandson of Jonathan. The name occurs alike in the general Benjamite poucalo (1 Ch 855 85), and in the specific one of the house of Saul (1 Ch 9* 4), The allusion in 2S 913(8Β Mexd, A Μιχά) is probably a late gene- alogical gloss to remind the reader of the line of descent notwithstanding such passages as 2S 2159, 3. The name and head of the chief famity of the Uzziel branch of the Kohathite Levites, aecording to the arrangement for public service attributed to David in 1 Ch 23” (B Mecxds, A Μιχά). The name is repeated in 1 Ch 24*- 35 (B Med, A Μιχά) in the classification of the Levites according to their duties. 4 A name occurring in the genealogy of Reuben (1 Ch 5°) as that of an ancestor of Beerah, the chief of the Reubenites carried into captivit, by Tiglath-pileser. 5. A contemporary of Josia and the father of Abdon, 2 Ch 34° (B Mecxalas, A Μιχαίας), who is called Achbor son of Micaiah in 2 Καὶ 22 6, A Simeonite, father of Ozias, one of the three rulers of Bethulia in the story of Judith ‘Jth 6"). To the same tribe belonged Judith her- self (93) (B Μειχά, A Μιχά), and probably the other rulers, with the majority of the population of the district ; and warrant for confidence in the anti- quarian accuracy of the author of Jth, and for the assumption of a Simeonite settlement in the north, may be found in Gn 497, 2 Ch 15° 345, 7. See next article. R. W. Moss.
MICAH (%m>'p Jg 174; in pause 3329 2 Ch 177; shortened 72> Jer 9618 and a>» Mic 11 ;=‘ who is like J”?’ [ef. Ex 15", and ὕπο in Nu 13%}}.—A
roper name of very frequent occurrence in the
T (see preceding article). The best-known men who bore this name are—1. Micah of Mt. Ephraim, who appointed a Levite to minister as priest before the image (7i5x) which his mother had caused to be made from 1100 shekels of silver. See the pre- ceding article, No. 14. 2. Mica(ia)h ben-Imlah, a man of kindred spirit with Elijah, who, at the moment when Rab of Israel desired to secure the alliance of Jehoshaphat of Judah against the Syrians, predicted, in opposition to the prophet Zedekiah, the unfortunate issue of the campaign
and the death of Ahab, and ranged himself as |
a true prophet of J” over against the lying prophets Ἰ 22); in tracing the attitude of Mica(ia)h ben-Imlah to the cireumstance that Ahab favoured the worship of the Tyrian Baal in Israel—a practice which appeared to Mica(ia)h ὙΠ tle with Israel’s belonging to J”. On the reference prob- ably intended in 1 K 228 o>2 oy ayo to the open- ing words of Mic, see Kénig, Linleit. in d. AT, p. 330. See, further, MICAIAH, No. 3.
8. MICAH (B Mecyulas, A Mexaids) THE PROPHET, —of Moresheth (wh. see), the younger contemporary of Isaiah, after whom one of the writings in the Dodekapropheton is named, the 6th in the Heb. order but the 3rd in the Greek.
i. The Contents and Unity of the Book.—There ean be no doubt that the prophecies collected in
One will hardly be wrong |
the book which bears his name proceed only in part from Micah, for alike in contents and style they are totally diverse in character.
(a) The first three chapters, apart from 2", present no difficulty. The prophet begins with announcing the Divine judgment, which accom- plishes itself in two acts, namely, upon Samaria and upon Judah, although, of course, the judg- ment upon Judah forms the central point of his message. Then chs. 2 and 3 state the reasons for the judgment denounced upon Judah in 1, and it is especially against the ruling classes in Jeru- salem that Micah utters his reproaches. The verses 2'*4 are quite foreign to this line of thought, for they presuppose the Exile, and Seep Hembelves with the restoration of the
peop e
(6) To these denunciations of judgment in chs. 1-3 we have the counterpart in chs. 4-5, which open a glimpse into the Messianic time. Against their composition by Micah there are the following objections: (1) The strange conjunction of the Messianic hopes of 4'" with the threatenings of 3"; (2) the circumstance that mutually exclusive views present themselves (cf. 45 8 with v.%, 41-8 with v.44, 5! with v.“-), and that frequently a connexion can be established only by very arti- ficial methods (cf. 44 with v.5, 48 with v.%, 41-18 with v.14 58); (3) the dependence upon trains of ideas which did not become current till after the time of Micah (cf. 4-85 with Ezk 38 f.), as well as the BreSTEDOSINE of relations which were strange to Micah’s era (cf. 45:8 [2!-] 518.) If there are any words of Micah at all in chs. 4-5, these can include no more than 4% 1 5918,