the Universe that as close on his coming it was destroyed so close on his coming it will be rebuilt‘. He
continued, ̳Take some of these felt garments for your child and after some days I will come to your house to
collect the money‘. She took some and departed. After some days the man said, ̳I will go and see how the
child is getting on‘. He came to the woman and asked, ' How is the child? ' She answered, 'Did I not tell you
that a hard fate is in store for him? Misfortune has dogged him. From the time [you left] there have been
strong winds and a whirlwind came and carried him off‘. He said to her, ' Did I not tell you at his coming [the
Temple] was destroyed and at his coming it will be rebuilt?‘ R. Abun said: Why should I learn this
from an Arab when there is an explicit text wherein it is stated, And Lebanon shall fall by a mighty one (Isa.
X, 34), which is followed by, And there shall come forth a shoot out of the stock of Jesse, and a twig shall
grow forth out of his roots (ib. XI, 1)?‖
Another reference is found in the Targums - Aramaic language documents that contained Scripture and
commentary together. They were commonly read and discussed in Y‘shua's day:
Targum Jonathan: Micah 5:2 – ―Out of thee Beit-Lechem shall Messiah go forth before Me to exercise
dominion over Israel. Whose Name has been spoken from old, from the day of eternity‖.
―Although thou (Bethlehem) art little among the thousands of Judah, out of thee, shall come forth
unto me a Judge to be Ruler in Israel, and this is the King Messiah‖. (Rabbi David Kimchi)
―O, thou Bethlehem Ephrata ... although thou art little in the thousands of Judah, out of thee shall come
forth unto me a Man, a Ruler in Israel whose goings forth are from the days of old ... that is from the Seed
of David ... who was of Bethlehem Judah‖. (Abarbanel, Mashmiah Jeshua, fol. 62, c. 2).
The Exegesis:
(1) ―Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there
came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,
(2) Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are
come to worship him.
(3) When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.
(4) And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of
them where Christ should be born.
(5) And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet, ̳But you,
Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are not the least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you shall come a
Ruler who will shepherd My people Israel‘.
(6) And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet‖. (Mat 2:1-6)
(4) ―And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of
David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:)
(5) To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.
(6) And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.
(7) And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a
manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.
(8) And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by
night.
(9) And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them:
and they were sore afraid.
(10) And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall
be to all people. (11) For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the
Lord (Y‘shua HaMashiach)‖. (Luke 2:4-11)
Has not the Scripture said that the Messiah comes from the seed of David and from the town of Bethlehem,
where David was? (John 7:42)
Y‟shua was born in Beit-Lechem, called the ―Place of Bread‖Is it not remarkable that Bethlehem in Hebrew is called ―the place of bread‖ or ―house of bread‖? And here
we find that Y‘shua, ―The Bread of Life‖, was born in this little hillside town called ―place of bread‖: ―And
Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth
on me shall never thirst‖. (John 6:35)
On the prophetic theme:
The prophecy of Micah is rather complicated concerning not just the birth of the Messiah, but also an allusion
to His fate ―...they shall smite the judge of Israel with a rod...‖ and to the final outcome of YHWH‘s plan of
salvation ―...the remnant of his brethren shall return unto the children of Israel‖.
―Now gather thyself in troops, O daughter of troops: he hath laid siege against us: they shall smite the
judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek. But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the