Micah.docx

Journal for Semitics , 2017

This article is an examination of Micah’s theory of justice within the overall context of his oracles of judgements. While there are competing perspectives in the justice of judgement in the book of Micah, particularly in relation to the extent of judgement, this article concerns itself with the interrelatedness and connection between sin and judgement. The judgements envisioned in Micah’s oracles are provoked by the violations of the traditional moral and social solidarities resulting from the Covenant, which formed the basis of society. As an egalitarian society, the social blueprint of Yahweh’s Torah for Israel advocated special concern for weak and vulnerable individuals as fundamental. The gift of Torah inaugurated Israel as a community meant to personify Yahweh’s justice. However, increasing injustice profoundly jeopardized this witness to God’s healing agenda. For failing to uphold justice the perpetrators are liable and the judgements constitute justice. This justice may not necessarily be corrective in quality but punitive. The article therefore examines briefly the background, structure, and approaches to the book of Micah, analyses a unit of judgement oracle (3:1–12), and concludes by synthesising Micah’s theory of justice within the overall context of his oracles of judgements.

2018

WHO IS A GOD LIKE YOU? MICAH’S MESSAGE OF YAHWEH’S JUSTICE AND MERCY FOR MCCARTHY BAPTIST CHURCH OF ST. JOSEPH, MISSOURI Jeremiah Matthew Bradford, D.Min. The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, May 2018 Faculty Supervisor: Dr. Miguel Echevarria This project offers a chapter-by-chapter exposition of the prophet Micah with a view to biblical theology. Chapter 1 seeks to define biblical theology and how it will help in understanding Micah. The first chapter also strives to gain a basic grasp of the book and the contemporary church’s need for it. Chapters 2 through 8 contain the expositions. The headings seek to follow the natural divisions of the text. The thread, or theme, that runs throughout the book is that Yahweh must confront and punish the sin of his people, yet his love and covenant are greater than human evil. Because of the nation’s sin, God will send his punishment in the form of defeat and exile. However, God will raise up a new David who will accomplish a new exodus fo...

2017

The celebrated call of Micah “to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God” (Mic 6:8), strikes a fierce blow against the nation of Judah which has, according to the prophet, comprehensively failed in its obligation to walk in the ways of YHWH. At the heart of this accusation is the evidence of oppression, corruption, and false prophecy which demonstrates a rejection of God’s justice and thus a betrayal of YHWH’s covenant with them. This much is well attested, and many scholars have noted significant points of correlation between the details of Micah’s complaint and the covenant requirements as laid out in Exodus 20:1-17, Leviticus 19:9-18 and 25:1-55 in particular. In his 1988 commentary, Bruce Waltke made a similar comparison between Micah’s understanding of mishpat and the Covenant Code as recorded in Exodus 21:1-23:19, although he did not explore the connection in specific detail. Others have also noted isolated points of crossover between these texts, but Waltke’s suggestion that the parallel is more comprehensive, as well as his implication that this may be deliberate, has not been fully developed. The thesis of this paper is that there is indeed a profitable comparison to be made between these two texts, both of which begin with confrontations of idolatry before setting out to define YHWH’s mishpat (Ex 21:1 cf. Mic 3:1, 8-9), according to closely corresponding themes. This paper will present the results of this comparative study and offer reflections on the extent to which this indicates a conscious interaction between the texts and whether this provides evidence of a sophisticated covenant ideology in the Book of Micah.

In this paper, I will first briefly look at Micah and his broader agenda and the rhythm of the book. Then I will study where chapter 5 fits in, being the culmination of the promise of a restoration from the previous chapter. I then move to consider Micah as a "prophet of doom" and what this pattern of hope and doom in the book reveals about the theology of the prophet and also the implications this has in considering the composition of the text. I then consider what redemption is for Micah, especially in chapter 5. Finally, I look more deeply at the Messianic prophecies and how they're the highpoint of the chapter and the book, and the way this mysterious passage has been applied through the centuries since then in Scripture and tradition to different rulers.

Micah 6:1-8: The Drama of Salvation within a Courtroom Love Song Perhaps like many other Christian readers of the Old Testament, I initially approached this present study of Micah 6:1-8 through the lens of my memory of Micah 6:8, a verse justly thought of as one of the highest points in both the history of ethical thought and Judeo-Christian writings by modern scholars, 1 and as an apt microcosm of all 613 Torah commandments in the Talmud. 2 The consensus among scholars of this passage is that this verse is the concluding "sentence" of a divine court drama that was taking place between YHWH and Israel. However, opinions vary much on the date of Micah 6:1-8's composition, and this factors into the themes which certain scholars choose to emphasize in the text. One more recent trend in Micah scholarship, in response to the stalemate of dating and composition arguments within Micah studies, is to approach the book as a canonical unit, and look for elements of its integration. 3 In this paper, I hope to give an abbreviated survey of Micah scholarship before then unpacking the courtroom drama of Micah 6:1-8, examining the characters, genres, and biblical themes therein.

Verbum et Ecclesia, 2003

It is argued in this article that Micah 7:8-20 forms an apt conclusion to the book of Micah. As was the case with Micah 1, the concluding section also focusses on Yahweh and his dealings with the people of the earth. There is a universal tendency to be detected in this section as well. An important aspect to notice� is� the liturgical nature of chapters six and seven, especially 7:8-20. There is a vagueness, almost a timelessness, imbuing this section. This could be intended allowing later generations of believers to apply these words to� their� own� circumstances. With Micah 7:8-20 as the concluding section of the book, one is left with a sense of well-roundedness, of completeness. The collection of oracles attributed� to Micah in general has a sombre tone. For this very reason Micah� 7:8-20� seems� to� change� the mood. It breathes hope into a negative atmosphere of judgment. It ends with a strong emphasis on the power of Yahweh, the power of forgiveness.