V. The style of Jlicah is rich, full, and musical — as nervous, vehement, and bold, in many sections, as llo- sea, and as abrujit, too, in transitions from menace to mercy. He i)rescnts, at the same time, no little resem- blance to Isaiah in grandeur of thought, in richness and variety of imagery, and in roimdness and catlcnce of parallelism. The similarity of their subjects may ac- count for many resemblances in language with the lat- ter proplict, whicli were almost unavoidal)le (comp. Mic. i, 2 with Isa. i, 2 : Mic ii, 2 with Isa. v, « ; Mic. ii, 6, 1 1 ■with Isa. XXX, 10; IMic. ii, 12 with Is.i. x, 20-22; Mic. vi, 6-8 with Isa. i, 11-17). The diction of Micah is vigorous and forcible, sometimes obscure from the ab- ruptness of its transitions, but varied and rich in figures derived from the pastoral (i, 8; ii, 12; v, 4, o, 7, 8; vii.
14) and rural life of the lowland country (i, 6; iii, 12; iv, 3, 12, 13; vi, 15), whose vines, and olives, and fig- trees were celebrated (1 Chron. xxvii, 27, 28), and sup- ply the prophet with so many striking allusions (i, 6 ; iv, 3, 4; vi, 15; vii, 1, 4) as to suggest that, like Amos, he may have been either a herdsman or a vine-dresser, who had heard the howling of the jackals (i,8; A.Yers. '•dragons") as he watched his tlocks or his vines by night, and had seen the lions slaughtering the sheep (v, 8). The sudden changes are frequently hidden from the English reader, because our version interprets as well as translates; the sim])le connective 1 being often rendered by some logical term, as " therefore" (i, 6), " then" (iii, 7), " but" (iv, 1), " notwithstanding" (vii, 13), etc. Con- cise and pointed questions are put suddenly ; persons are changed rapidly; the people are spoken of, and then in a moment spoken to; the nation is addressed now as a unit, and now edged appeals are directed to individuals. The language is quite pure anti classical — intcrco\irse with northern countries had not yet debased it. An under-tone of deep earnestness pervades the book; ev- erywhere are discerned the workings of an intensely honorable and patriotic soul. i\Iicah is successful in the use of the dialogue, and liis prophecies arc penetrated by the purest spirit of morality and piety (see especially vi, 6-8; and vii, 1-10).
One peculiarity which Micah has in common with Isaiah is the frequent use of paronomasia; in i, 10-15 there is a succession of instances of this figure in the plays upon words suggested by the various places enu- merated (comp. also ii, 4), which it is impossible to transfer to English, though Ewald has attempted to render them into German {Propheten des A. B.\, 329, 330). In these verses there is also vivid grouping, as jjlace after place is challenged along the line of the con- queror's march. Each town is seen to carry its doom in its ver\' name. That doom is told in many ways — either to them or of them ; either in the i)n)iihct's name or as a divine burden ; either as an event about to come or as a judgment which will certainly overtake them. Perhaps in vii, 18 there is an allusion to the meaning of the prophet's own name. The divine name which appears with greatest frequency is, as is usual with the prophets, Jehovah; but we also meet with Adonai and Adonai Jehovah (i, 2), also "the Lord of the whole earth" (iv, 13), and '• Jehovah of hosts" (iv, 4). Elohim is used distinctively of the divine .is opposed to the hu- man in iii, 7. Allusions to the past history of the ]icople are found in many ])laces. There are also several expres- sions which are found in the ;Mosaic writings, tliough it might be rash to say that ^licah takes tliem directly from the Pentateuch. Nor would we endorse all the instances in which, as Caspari atlirms, later iiro]ihets, as Jeremiah and Ezekicl, Habakkidi and Zephaniah, have adopted the language of Jlicah {Miclia, p. 449, etc.). The poetic vigor of the opening scene, an<l of the dra- matic dialogue sustained throughout tlic last two chap- ters, has already been noticed.
A'l. Commentaries. — The following are the especial exegctical helps on the whole book alone, to a lew of the most important of which we prefix an asterisk: Ephrem Syrus, K.rphinatio (in 0pp. v, 272) : Tlieophy- lact, Ciimmititiiriiis ( in 0pp. vol. iv) ; Luther, Cnmmenta- riiis (ed. Theodore, Vitemb. 1542, 8vo; also in hisll'or*'*, both (ierm. and Lat.); Brentz, Comnu-ntaria (in 0pp. vol. iv) : (ierlach, Commentarius (Aug. Vind. 1524, 8vo) ; Bibliander, Commentarius (Tigur. 1534, 8vo) ; Phrygio, Commentarius (Argent, 15.38, 8vo): CWhy, Comnxntai-y (Lond. 1551, 1591, 8vo) ; Chytneus. I'.jpiieatio [indud. Neh,] (Vitemb, l.'»t)5,8vo); I)raconis,/>;^//w/«« [includ. Joel and Zech.] (Vitemb. 1565. 8vo): Graxar, Cummen- iarins (Salmant, 1570, 8vo); Selnccker, Annurckuntitn (Leips. 1578. 4to^; Bang. /'oh//i/;» trias [includ, Jonah and Kuth] (llafn, 1631, 8vo): (iraver, K.rpositlo tJen. 1619, 16(i4, 4to); "^Pocock, Commentary (Oxf 1677, fol,; also in IPojAvs) ; Van Toll, VUleyfjiMje (Utrecht, 1709,
MICAIAH
217
MICAIAH
4to) ; Schnurrer, Animadversiones (Tubing. 1783, 4to); Bauer, Animadrersiones [onchap.i,ii] (Altorf, 1790, 4to) ; Grosschopif, Uebersetzung (Jena, 1798, 8vo) ; *Justi, Er- Iduterung (Leips. 1799, 8vo) ; *Hartmanii, Erldutenmg (Lemgo,1800,8vo) ; Wolf, TTf'T,-^ nn30 (Dessau, 1805, 8vo); Q\\Qm2xm,Illu&truth> (Hall. IS-fi, -ito) ; *Caspari, Micha del- Morasthiter (^Nlarb. 1.S5J, Hvo) ; Roorda, Com- mentnrius (Leyd. 1869, 8vo). See Pkophets, Minor.