Micah is book 33 of the 39 books of the Old Testament and belongs to the Minor Prophets section. See how it fits with the rest in our guide to all 66 books of the Bible.
Quick facts
- Section
- Old Testament · Minor Prophets
- Genre
- Prophecy: poetic oracles of judgment and hope
- Author (traditional)
- Micah of Moresheth, a town in the Judean foothills (Micah 1:1).
- Other views on authorship
- Most scholars attribute chapters 1–3 to Micah, with debate over how much of chapters 4–7 comes from him or from later prophets in his tradition.
- Date (traditional)
- About 735–700 BC, under Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah of Judah.
- Other views on dating
- Micah's ministry in the late 8th century BC; the book completed during or after the exile.
- Chapters
- 7
- Verses
- 105
- Reading time
- About 14 minutes (2,887 words in the BSB)
What is Micah about?
Micah was a contemporary of Isaiah, but while Isaiah moved in royal circles in Jerusalem, Micah came from a farming town and saw how city elites seized fields and houses from ordinary families. He warned that Samaria would become a heap of rubble and that even Jerusalem would be ploughed like a field.
The book alternates between doom and hope. After condemning rulers who 'tear the skin' off their people and prophets who preach for pay, Micah pictures nations streaming to God's mountain, beating swords into ploughshares. He promises a ruler from small Bethlehem who will shepherd his flock in God's strength.
Chapter 6 stages a courtroom in which God asks his people what he has done to weary them, and answers their question about sacrifices with the famous summary of true religion. The book ends with a confession and a hymn: who is a God like you, who forgives and casts sins into the depths of the sea? The prophet's own name means 'Who is like the LORD?'
Outline of Micah
| ChaptersCh. | Section |
|---|---|
| 1–3 | Judgment on Samaria and Jerusalem Lament over coming ruin; woe to land-grabbers, corrupt rulers and false prophets. |
| 4–5 | Hope for Zion Nations come to learn God's ways; a ruler from Bethlehem brings peace. |
| 6:1–7:7 | God's lawsuit What the LORD requires; dishonest scales and a society without trust. |
| 7:8–20 | Confidence and forgiveness The prophet waits for God, who pardons sin and keeps his promises to Abraham and Jacob. |
Key themes
- What God requires. Micah 6:8 sums up the prophets: act justly, love mercy and walk humbly with God (see Micah 6:8).
- Justice against greed. Micah targets those who plan evil in bed and seize fields by morning. God sees economic oppression.
- The ruler from Bethlehem. A shepherd-king will come from David's little hometown. Matthew cites this when telling the nativity story.
- A forgiving God. The book closes by celebrating God who does not stay angry forever but delights in steadfast love.
Key people and places
- Micah — Prophet from the rural town of Moresheth.
- Hezekiah — King of Judah who, according to Jeremiah 26, heeded Micah's warning.
- The ruler from Bethlehem — Promised shepherd-king of David's line.
Places: Moresheth, Samaria, Jerusalem (Zion), Bethlehem Ephrathah, Assyria.
Key verses in Micah
Quoted from the Berean Standard Bible (BSB).
“Then He will judge between many peoples and arbitrate for strong nations far and wide. Then they will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will no longer take up the sword against nation, nor will they train anymore for war.”
“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come forth for Me One to be ruler over Israel — One whose origins are of old, from the days of eternity.”
“He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you but to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?”
“Who is a God like You, who pardons iniquity and passes over the transgression of the remnant of His inheritance— who does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in loving devotion? He will again have compassion on us; He will vanquish our iniquities. You will cast out all our sins into the depths of the sea.”
How Micah fits the big story
Micah prophesied in the same era as Isaiah, Hosea and Amos, as Assyria destroyed the northern kingdom (2 Kings 17) and threatened Judah. A century later, elders saved Jeremiah's life by recalling that Hezekiah had listened to Micah (Jeremiah 26:18–19). His promise of a ruler from Bethlehem, the hometown of David, is quoted in Matthew 2 when the wise men seek the newborn Jesus. His closing praise of God's faithfulness to Abraham and Jacob links back to Genesis.
How to read Micah
At 2 chapters a day you can read Micah in 4 days. Read the book in three movements, each beginning with 'Hear' (1:2, 3:1, 6:1), and notice how every section of judgment is followed by hope.