Coke's Commentary on the Holy Bible · Micah 第1章

Micah 1:2. Let the Lord God be witness, &c.— "I call the Almighty to witness, that I have forewarned you of the judgments hanging over your heads, and which will inevitably fall upon you, unless you speedily repent; and the Almighty himself will become a witness against you, and convince you of your sins, in such a manner, that you shall not be able to deny the charge." This sublime and elevated beginning indicates the importance of what he was about to say, and the lively impression which was made upon him by the sins of Israel, and the misfortunes about to fall upon them.

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Micah 1:3. For, behold, the Lord cometh, &c.— He pictures out to us the Lord as a mighty conqueror, marching forth from his royal palace to reduce his enemies. The prophet in this whole description manifestly alludes to God's descent on mount Sinai. See Exodus 19:16-18. Deuteronomy 4:11-12; Deuteronomy 32:13.Psalms 18:8; Psalms 18:8; Psalms 18:50.

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Micah 1:4. The valleys shall be cleft— Shall be dissolved like water, &c. Houbigant.

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Micah 1:5. What is the transgression of Jacob?— Who [makes] transgression in Jacob? Is it not Samaria? And who the high-places of Judah? Is it not Jerusalem? But Houbigant prefers the translation of the LXX, and reads the latter words, What is the sin of Judah? by which means the two clauses aptly correspond to each other. The transgression, and sin, mean, the cause of sin and transgression, which Samaria and Jerusalem gave, as the whole nation followed their ill example.

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Micah 1:7. And all the hires thereof— The love-presents, &c. The meaning is, "As your temples have been enriched with the presents offered by these shameless idol worshippers, to their riches shall return into the hands of the Assyrians, who shall make the like use of them in the temples of their gods."

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Micah 1:8. I will wail and howl— "I will sympathize with my countrymen in their calamities; I will dress myself in the habit of mourning, and, like those who bewail the dead, go without my upper garment; in order to denote the naked condition to which the ten tribes shall be reduced by their enemies." Instead of dragons and owls, some read jackalls and ostriches; and a modern traveller assures us, that he has often heard the ostriches groan, as if they were in the greatest agonies; which is beautifully alluded to in this passage. See Dr. Shaw's Travels, p. 455.

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Micah 1:9. For her wound is incurable— "The desolation of the ten tribes cannot be prevented, because they persist in their impieties; therefore no relief can be applied: it must terminate in their destruction. At the same time, one aggravating circumstance attends it, as being the forerunner of those evils which will come upon Jerusalem, whose gates Sennacherib will attempt to force, in order to make himself master of that city, and the whole kingdom of Judah." See Calmet.

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Micah 1:10. In the house of Aphrah roll, &c.— Roll thyself in dust, in the very house of Aphrah, or dust. The word עפרה aphrah, has here a double sense; for it denotes the city of Aphrah, or Aphron, in the tribe of Judah, which Sennacherib was about to lay waste, for this and what follows respect the kingdom of Judah; and it explains what immediately precedes in the ninth verse, that the stroke was come even to the gate of Jerusalem, the neighbouring cities being laid waste by Sennacherib. See Houbigant.

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Micah 1:11. Pass ye away, &c.— Take care thou that inhabitest Saphir [a city in the tribe of Judah] to pass away naked and in disgrace. The inhabitants of Zaanan [another city in the tribe of Judah] shall not go forth to the mourning: Bethezel shall be taken away from you, while itself shall stand. By Beth-ezel is meant Jerusalem, to which Ezel was near, as appears from Zechariah 14:5. But there is a twofold meaning given to the word אצל Ezel, which denotes separation, the prophet signifying that no aid could be expected from Jerusalem, because Jerusalem should fear for itself, and because the Syrian army should separate it from the city of Saphir, which is here addressed. The meaning of the last clause is, that though Jerusalem itself should stand or continue, yet no assistance should be obtained from it See Houbigant.

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Micah 1:12. For the inhabitant of Maroth waited, &c.— For she who dwelleth in Maroth is sick even to death; because evil came down, &c. See 2 Kings 20:1. A reason is here given why Beth-ezel, or Jerusalem, could not assist Saphir; because she herself was sick, and about to perish, unless God should deliver her by miracle, as he did, by destroying the Assyrian army. Jerusalem is called the inhabitant of Maroth, or of rebellion, by a similar use of words with that in the preceding verse; Jerusalem is therefore sick unto death, because the Lord hath brought the calamity even to her gate. See Houbigant. In the next verse the prophet foretels the siege of the city of Lachish. The first clause should be rendered, O thou inhabitant of Lachish, the chariot is bound to the horses: thou art the beginning, &c.

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Micah 1:14. Therefore shalt thou give presents— Therefore shalt thou send presents against Mareshah to Gath the house of a lie, that thou mayest deceive the kings of Israel. Lachish and Mareshah were two cities in the tribe of Judah. The sacred history is silent why Lachish, when it was besieged, should send gifts to Gath. Perhaps Lachish implored the help of Gath, and promised help to the people of Gath in return, when delivered from the siege, to assist them in the taking of Mareshah from the kings of Israel or of Judah. Therefore it is added, to deceive the kings of Israel. See Houbigant.

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