Micah 5:2

Micah 5:2

But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.

a. ASV: But thou, Beth-lehem Ephrathah, which art little to be among the thousands of thouJudah, out of thee shall one come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting.

b. YLT: And thou, Beth-Lehem Ephratah, Little to be among the chiefs of Judah! From thee to Me he cometh forth -- to be ruler in Israel, And his comings forth are of old, From the days of antiquity.

c. Amplified Bible Classic: But you, Bethlehem Ephratah, you are little to be among the clans of Judah; [yet] out of you shall One come forth for Me Who is to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth have been from of old, from ancient days (eternity).

d. Septuagint [In some versions of the Septuagint Micah 5:2 is Micah 5:1]: And thou, Bethleem, house of Ephratha, art few in number to be [reckoned] among the thousands of Juda; [yet] out of thee shall one come forth to me, to be a ruler of Israel; and his goings forth were from the beginning, [even] from eternity.

e. Stone Edition Torah/Prophets/Writings [In Jewish versions of Micah, Micah 5:2 is Micah 5:1]: Bethlehem, Ephratah, you are too small to be among the thousands of Judah, but from you someone will emerge for Me to be a ruler over Israel; and his origins will be from early times, form days of old.

1. “But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, a.

b. [But] thou [Strong: 859 'attah at-taw' or (shortened); aatta {at-taw'}; or wath {ath}; feminine (irregular) sometimes nattiy {at-tee'}; plural masculine attem {at- tem'}; feminine atten {at-ten'}; or oattenah {at-tay'naw}; or fattennah {at-tane'-naw}; a primitive pronoun of the second person; thou and thee, or (plural) ye and you:--thee, thou, ye, you.]

c. Bethlehem [Strong: 1035 Bêyth Lechem, bayth leh'-khem; from H1004 and H3899; house of bread; Beth-Lechem, a place in Palestine:—Bethlehem.]

d. Ephratah [Strong: 672 ʼEphrâth, ef-rawth'; or אֶפְרָתָה ʼEphrâthâh; from H6509; fruitfulness; Ephrath, another name for Bethlehem;:—once (Psalm 132:6) perhaps for Ephraim; also of an Israelitish woman; Ephrath, Ephratah.]

e. [though] thou be [Strong: 1961 hayah haw-yaw a primitive root (Compare 1933); to exist, i.e. be or become, come to pass (always emphatic, and not a mere copula or auxiliary):--beacon, X altogether, be(-come), accomplished, committed, like), break, cause, come (to pass), do, faint, fall, + follow, happen, X have, last, pertain, quit (one-)self, require, X use.]

f. little [Strong: 6810 tsâʻîyr, tsaw-eer'; or צָעוֹר tsâʻôwr; from H6819; little; (in number) few; (in age) young, (in value) ignoble:—least, little (one), small (one), young(-er, -est).]

g. [among the] thousands [Strong: 505 ʼeleph, eh'-lef; prop, the same as H504; hence (the ox's head being the first letter of the alphabet, and this eventually used as a numeral) a thousand:—thousand.]

h. [of] Judah [Strong: 3063 Yᵉhûwdâh, yeh-hoo-daw'; from H3034; celebrated; Jehudah (or Judah), the name of five Israelites; also of the tribe descended from the first, and of its territory:—Judah.]

2. “...yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel…”

b. [yet] out of thee [Strong: 4480 min min or minniy {min-nee'}; or minney (constructive plural) {min-nay'}; (Isaiah 30:11); for 4482; properly, a part of; hence (prepositionally), from or out of in many senses (as follows):--above, after, among, at, because of, by (reason of), from (among), in, X neither, X nor, (out) of, over, since, X then, through, X whether, with.]

c. [shall he] come forth [unto me] [Strong: 3318 yâtsâʼ, yaw-tsaw'; a primitive root; to go (causatively, bring) out, in a great variety of applications, literally and figuratively, direct and proxim.:—× after, appear, × assuredly, bear out, × begotten, break out, bring forth (out, up), carry out, come (abroad, out, thereat, without), be condemned, depart(-ing, -ure), draw forth, in the end, escape, exact, fail, fall (out), fetch forth (out), get away (forth, hence, out), (able to, cause to, let) go abroad (forth, on, out), going out, grow, have forth (out), issue out, lay (lie) out, lead out, pluck out, proceed, pull out, put away, be risen, × scarce, send with commandment, shoot forth, spread, spring out, stand out, × still, × surely, take forth (out), at any time, × to (and fro), utter.]

d. [that is] to be [Strong: 1961 hayah haw-yaw a primitive root (Compare 1933); to exist, i.e. be or become, come to pass (always emphatic, and not a mere copula or auxiliary):--beacon, X altogether, be(-come), accomplished, committed, like), break, cause, come (to pass), do, faint, fall, + follow, happen, X have, last, pertain, quit (one-)self, require, X use.]

e. ruler [Strong: 4910 mâshal, maw-shal'; a primitive root; to rule:—(have, make to have) dominion, governor, × indeed, reign, (bear, cause to, have) rule(-ing, -r), have power.]

f. [in] Israel [Strong: 3478 Yisrâʼêl, yis-raw-ale'; from H8280 and H410; he will rule as God; Jisraël, a symbolical name of Jacob; also (typically) of his posterity:—Israel.]

This is a prophetic utterance that declares the Messiah will come out of Bethlehem and fulfilled of course in the birth of Jesus.

1). Matthew 2:1-6 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,

2:2 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.

2:3 When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.

2:4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born.

2:5 And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet,

2:6 And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.

2). It is interesting here that all of the Jewish leaders in Israel knew that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem citing the Scripture in Micah. The twist in this of course comes after the family came back from Egypt, fully intending to move back to Bethlehem where they lived before fleeing into Egypt, Joseph was warned in a dream to go back to Nazareth, Mary’s home town.

a). Matthew 2:19-23  But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeareth in a dream to Joseph in Egypt,

2:20 Saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel: for they are dead which sought the young child's life.

2:21 And he arose, and took the young child and his mother, and came into the land of Israel.

2:22 But when he heard that Archelaus did reign in Judaea in the room of his father Herod, he was afraid to go thither: notwithstanding, being warned of God in a dream, he turned aside into the parts of Galilee:

2:23 And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene.

3). This move back to Nazareth would throw a monkey wrench in the thinking of the Jewish leaders causing them to doubt whether Jesus was the Messiah. A powerful example of this is shown in the gospel of John, when Jesus was in Jerusalem at the Feast Tabernacles.

a). John 7:37-43 In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.

7:38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.

7:39 (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)

7:40 Many of the people therefore, when they heard this saying, said, Of a truth this is the Prophet.

7:41 Others said, This is the Christ. But some said, Shall Christ come out of Galilee?

7:42 Hath not the scripture said, That Christ cometh of the seed of David, and out of the town of Bethlehem, where David was?

7:43 So there was a division among the people because of him.

4). I can’t help but think that surely somebody did a little deeper bit of questioning and found out that although Jesus lived in Nazareth for most of his life, he was born in Bethlehem and lived there a short time after he was born.

2. “…whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.”

a. whose goings forth [Strong: 4163  môwtsâʼâh, mo-tsaw-aw'; feminine of H4161; (marg.; compare H6675) a family descent; also a sewer:—draught house; going forth.]

b. [have been] from old [Strong: 6924 qedem, keh'-dem; or קֵדְמָה qêdᵉmâh; from H6923; the front, of place (absolutely, the fore part, relatively the East) or time (antiquity); often used adverbially (before, anciently, eastward):—aforetime, ancient (time), before, east (end, part, side, -ward), eternal, × ever(-lasting), forward, old, past.]

c. from [Strong: 3117 yôwm, yome; from an unused root meaning to be hot; a day (as the warm hours), whether literal (from sunrise to sunset, or from one sunset to the next), or figurative (a space of time defined by an associated term), (often used adverb):—age, always, chronicals, continually(-ance), daily, ((birth-), each, to) day, (now a, two) days (agone), elder, × end, evening, (for) ever(-lasting, -more), × full, life, as (so) long as (... live), (even) now, old, outlived, perpetually, presently, remaineth, ×required, season, × since, space, then, (process of) time, as at other times, in trouble, weather, (as) when, (a, the, within a) while (that), × whole ( age), (full) year(-ly), younger.]

d. everlasting [Strong: 5769 ʻôwlâm, o-lawm'; or עֹלָם ʻôlâm; from H5956; properly, concealed, i.e. the vanishing point; generally, time out of mind (past or future), i.e. (practically) eternity; frequentatively, adverbial (especially with prepositional prefix) always:—alway(-s), ancient (time), any more, continuance, eternal, (for, (n-)) ever(-lasting, -more, of old), lasting, long (time), (of) old (time), perpetual, at any time, (beginning of the) world (+without end).]

1). From the eternal past, from everlasting, this is the description given to the one who is to be ruler in Israel, the Christ Jesus. The description clearly says He has existed from eternity past, from everlasting. This description is also only given to Almighty God.

a). Psalm 90:1, 2 Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations.

90:2 Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.