Texts in Conversation
Micah 5:1 describes a future ruler from Bethlehem with ancient origins, but doesn't identify them. The Aramaic translation in Targum Jonathan interprets this as a reference to a future Messiah, following a common pattern in the Targums that include messianic expectations in prophetic texts.
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Micah 5:1
Hebrew Bible
1 But now slash yourself, daughter surrounded by soldiers! We are besieged! With a scepter they strike Israel’s ruler on the side of his face. 2 (5:1) As for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, seemingly insignificant among the clans of Judah—from you a king will emerge who will rule over Israel on my behalf, one whose origins are in the distant past. 3 So the Lord will hand the people of Israel over to their enemies until the time when the woman in labor gives birth. Then the rest of the king’s countrymen will return to be reunited with the people of Israel.
Date: 6th Century B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
Source
Jonathan Micah 5:1
Targum
1 As for you, Bethlehem Ephrath, you were too little to be numbered among the tribes of the house of Judah. From you before me the Messiah will go out to be a servant, a servant of rulership over Israel, whose name has been spoken from the beginning, from days of antiquity. 2 So the Lord will hand the people of Israel over to their enemies until the time when the woman in labor gives birth. Then the rest of the king’s countrymen will return to be reunited with the people of Israel. 3 He will assume his post and shepherd the people by the Lord’s strength, by the sovereign authority of the Lord his God. They will live securely, for at that time he will be honored even in the distant regions of the earth.
Date: 200-300 C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
Source
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Notes and References
"... There is no extant evidence that Micah 5:1 was alluded to or quoted in ancient Judaism. Yet we observed above that Targum Micah 5:1 attached Messianic import to the quotation. When considering the import of this Messianic reference, Targum Micah 4:8 should also be considered, since it is the other place in Targum Micah that the term [messiah] is inserted. Notice that the Targum is an expansion of the Masoretic Text ..."
Willitts, Joel
Matthew’s Messianic Shepherd-King: In Search of "the Lost Sheep of the House of Israel"
(p. 111) De Gruyter, 2007
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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