The Bible Book

169

See also: The Fall of Jerusalem 128–31 ■ The Suffering Servant 154–55 ■ Lament for the Exiles 160–61 ■

The Birth of Jesus 180–85

bulk of its population. In 701 bce,

they came close to doing the same

to the Judean kingdom and its

capital, Jerusalem, in the south.

Micah was from Judah. Unlike

the urban aristocrat Isaiah, Micah

was a country dweller from the

village of Moresheth, southwest of

Jerusalem. Micah was aware of the

Assyrian threat to Judah, but his

main concern was the suffering

he saw in the farmsteads, villages,

and small towns of Judah, caused

not by foreign oppressors, but by

his people’s own rulers and leaders.

Inspired by God

The book that bears Micah’s name

alternates between threats of doom

and promises of God’s mercy. As a

prophet, Micah speaks not in his

own name, nor even in the name of a

WISDOM AND PROPHETS

An 1865 engraving of Micah by

Gustave Doré. The prophet reproaches

the Israelites for idolatry in the days of

Jotham and Hezekiah, kings of Judah,

and exhorts the people to repent.

The Book of the Twelve

Hosea

Joel

Amos

Obadiah

Jonah

Micah

Nahum

Habakkuk

Zephaniah

Haggai

Zechariah

Malachi

cause or of an abstract concept of

justice. Instead, he speaks to the

people on behalf of God. He has

holy visions, and is “filled” with

God’s power and spirit (Micah 3:8).

Micah paints a disturbing

picture of Judah. He describes how,

in the early hours of the morning,

people who are already rich and

powerful lie in bed plotting ways

in which to further increase their

wealth. The moment dawn breaks,

they start executing their plans,

seizing the fields and houses of

the poor and weak. Micah describes

how the women of Judah are driven

onto the streets, their children

deprived of a secure home; social

dysfunction and injustice are

rampant as the rich get away

with murder; and the poor and ❯❯

Prophesies after the rebuilding of the Jerusalem temple.

Prophesies to the Southern Kingdom, Judah.

Exhorts returned exiles to finish rebuilding Jerusalem’s temple.

Prophesies to the Northern Kingdom, Israel.

Prophesies to Israel, though he was from Judah.

Prophesies against the city of Nineveh.

Foretells the coming of a savior or Messiah.

Prophesies against the Edomites.

Dialogues with God about injustice in the world.

Prophesies a catacylsmic future Day of Judgment.

Disobeys God’s command to prophesy to the city of Nineveh.

Prophesies to Judah.

The Hebrew Bible’s 12 short

writings known as the “Minor

Prophets” were kept on a

single scroll and regarded

as one book, the Book of the

Twelve. These writings clearly

reflect the historical context

in which each prophet was

active. Hosea, Amos, and

Micah, for example, are

contemporaries of Isaiah, and

date from the 8th century

bce—a time dominated by the

threat of the Assyrian Empire,

which destroyed Israel’s

capital of Samaria in 722 bce.

Habakkuk, Zephaniah, and

Nahum prophesied just prior

to the fall of Nineveh in 612

bce. By this time, Assyria

was in decline and a renewed

Babylon now threatened the

southern Kingdom of Judah.

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