"J)'/)p.'' ns yer. 6. Of wine and of strong tt\ke Botsrah e.s e.n nppello.tive, meaning drink. Concerning temporal blessings, "fold," in ngrcement ,vith the Vulgate, dwelli:>[: on God's promises of material qua•i gregem in 011ili, and Chl\ldee, CtS well prosp,rity (Lev. xxvi. 4, eto.; Dent. xxviii. ns Aquila and Symn1achus. The parallelism 4. 11) in order to encourage the grandees in in the following words seems to favour this Felf-indulr;ence. Re shall even be the view. The LXX. reads differently, render- prophet of this people. Such a one is the ing, ,., 61..C,Jm, "in trouble." Thus, too, the only prophet to whom the grea.t men, the Syriao. Aa the 11.ook in the midst of their rcprescntati l'08 of" this people,'' will listen. fold; rather, as a flock in the midst of ilA pasture. They shall make great noise, eto. Vere. 12, IS.-§ 8. Promw of reswration Like a numerous flock bleating in its fold, and deliveranoe. so shall the returned Israelites be, prosperous and hnppy, celebrating their salvation with Ver. 12.-Tbe prophet, without any pre- praise and exultation (oomp. Ezek. xxxiv. face, introduces abruptly a promise of re- 31). Septuagint, 'E(<L\oiiv1"cz1 ll lw6pcf,,r.,.,, storation after exile, a type of the triumph "They she.II leap forth from among of Messiah. Some commentators, indeed, men," which St. Jerome explains e.s mean- regArd tbis and the following verse as the ing that the repentant Israelites shall Jang-uage of the false prophets; others, as a ri.ie above worldly things o.nd aspire to d,·nunciation of punishment, not a promise heaven. of deli veranoe; others, as a late interpo- Ver. 13.-The breaker is oome (gone) up lation. But the style is entirely Micah's before them. Micah depicts Israel's re- ( comp. eh. iv. 6, 7), the promise is a true demption under the figure of release from one, and such-like sudden transitions are captivity. The passage is clearly Messianic, common in the prophetical books (comp. and can neither be considered an interpola- e.g. Isa. iv. 2-6; Hos. i. 10; :ri. 9; Amos tion nor tortured in to e. declaration of the ix. 11) : so that we need not resort to the siege and ruin of Samaria or Jerusalem. hypothesis that some oonnecting link bas "One that breaketh •• is a liberator, e. leader drorped out of the text, or that the clanse that overcomes e.11 obstacles which oppose is misplaced; and we a.re fully justified Israel's return. There may be an allusion in in considering the paragraph e.s inserted the first instance to a human leader, such as here in its right position, and as predic- Zerubbabel, in analogy with Moses and tive of the restoration of the Jews after Joshua in old time, but the real conqueror captivity. Micah would seem to imply-I intended is generally regarded as Messiah. nm not, indeed, us one of the false prophets The Breaker-up is supposed to be a title of who promise yon earthly good without the Messiah well known to the Jews (see regard to your moral fitness for receiving Pusey ; and Pearson, • Exposition of the God's bounty; neither e.m I one who bas Creed,' art. vii., note y1). This interpreta- no message but of woe and calamity ; I, too, tion is rejected by Professor Driver (Ez- predict safration and happiness for a remnant posiwr, April, 1887), who considers the of you after yon have been tried by defeat " breaker-up " to be '' either a leader or a and exile. I will surely a.asemble. This detachment of men, whose duty it was to presupposes dispersion among the heathen, break up walls or other obstacles opposing such as is foretold in eh. i. 8, etc. ; ii. 4, etc. the progress of au army." Bnt is not this 0 J'acob, all of thee. The promise extends to introduce an e.genoy unknown to these to the whole nation, whether called Jacob times? Was there any special body of men or Israel, e.s eh. i. 5; but still only e. trained and maintained for this partioulo.r remnant, i.e. that portion of the nation duty? This "breaker-up,'' according to which should make a good use of adversity, Dr. Driver's conception, "advances before nnd turn to the Lord with sincere repent- them, breaking tbrougli the gates of the anoe (comp. Isa. L 20, etc. ; J er. xx:x:i. 8; prison in which the people are confined; they Ezek. =xiv. 11, etc.; Zeph. iii. 12, etc.). follow, marching forth triumphantly through Some see in the term "relDllant" an allu• this open way; their king, with Jehovah at sion to the people that were left in the his side (Ps. ex. 5), beads the victorious northern kingdom after the fall of Samaria. proce:;sion (Exod. xiii. 21 ; Isa. Iii. 12)." As the sheep of llozra.h. There were two or They have broken up; broken forth, or more towns so named~ne in Bidon, for through. Tlio captives co-operate with wl,icl, eee note on .A.mos i. 12; end another, tlieir leader. Rave passed through the gate, J,,,,d. Buzrah, on the south border of the etc. The prophet speaks of a solemn, Il:.un•u. This is mentioned in Jer. xlviii. regular removal, like the Exodus from 24, ::i.e one of the cities of Moab, e. district Egypt, which no human power can oppose. cele1,ratoo. for illl flocks (2 Kings iii. 4); Their king. The same e.s Jehovah in the hence "sheep of Bozrah" may have become next clause (Isa. :u:xiii. 22). He shall 8 proverbial saying, &ny commentators lead the host, aa he headed the lsraeliie, CH. D. 1-13.] THE BOOK OF MICAH. 21
when they left the house of bondage (Excel. xiii. 21). The prediction may look I hewhich St. Paul seems to contemplate when writes, •• And so all Israel shall 11e.ved" be forward to the final ge.ihering of Israel, (Rom. :a:i. 26).