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Jonathan Micah

Targum Jonathan to the Prophets

About this book

The Mountain of the Lord’s Sanctuary

Chapter 4

1 In the last days the mountain of the Lord’s sanctuary will stand firmly at the head of the mountains, raised above the hills. Kingdoms will turn to worship on it. 2 Many peoples will go and say, “Come, let’s climb the mountain of the Lord’s sanctuary, to the house of the Shekinah of Jacob’s God. He will teach us⁠ ways that are right before Him, and we will follow the teaching of His Torah.” For the Torah will go out from Zion, and instruction in the Lord’s word from Jerusalem.

3 He will judge between many peoples and settle matters for powerful kings forever. They will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into sickles. No people will take up weapons against another, and they will no longer train for war. 4 Each person will sit beneath the fruit of his vines and fig trees, with no one to frighten him. For this is what the Memra of the Lord of armies has decreed.

5 All the peoples⁠ will be condemned because they worshiped idols. But we will rely on the name of the Lord our God forever and ever.

The Kingdom Restored

6 At that time, says the Lord God, I will gather those driven into exile, and bring together those scattered, and those treated harshly⁠ because of My people’s sins.

7 I will make the displaced into a surviving remnant, and the scattered into a strong people. The Lord’s⁠ kingdom will be revealed over them on Mount Zion, from this time and forever.

8 And you,⁠ Messiah of Israel, hidden because of the sins of Zion’s congregation, the kingdom is destined to come to you. The former rule will return to the kingdom of Jerusalem’s congregation.

Exile and Deliverance

9 Why do you join yourself to the nations? Is there no king among you? Have your royal advisers perished? For distress and trembling have seized you like a woman’s labor pains.

10 Tremble and shake, congregation of Zion, like a woman giving birth. For you will leave the city and camp in the fields, going as far as Babylon. There you will be rescued. There the Lord will redeem you from your enemies’ power.

11 Many nations will gather against you, saying, “When will she be condemned, so that we can see Zion’s downfall?”

12 But they do not know the Lord’s secrets or understand His plans. He has brought them together like sheaves on a threshing floor.

13 Rise and strike down your enemies, congregation of Zion! I will⁠ make your people strong as iron and their survivors hard as bronze. You will strike down many peoples. You will destroy their property before the Lord, and their precious wealth before the Lord of the whole earth.

14 Now gather in troops, city under siege! They struck Israel’s judges on the cheek with a staff.

Texts in conversation

Compare Micah 4:7 and Jonathan Micah 4:7

Hebrew Bible · Targum

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Summary

In the Hebrew version of Micah, God will reign on Zion. In the Aramaic translation in Targum Jonathan, his kingdom will be revealed there, expressing its eternal existence rather than a reign that begins in the future.

Passages

Micah 4:7

Hebrew Bible
5 Though all the nations follow their respective gods, we will follow the Lord our God forever.6 “In that day,” says the Lord, “I will gather the lame and assemble the outcasts whom I injured.7 I will transform the lame into the nucleus of a new nation and those far off into a mighty nation. The Lord will reign over them on Mount Zion, from that day forward and forevermore.8 As for you, watchtower for the flock, fortress of Daughter Zion—your former dominion will be restored, the sovereignty that belongs to Daughter Jerusalem.”
740–401 BCE Read in Micah

Jonathan Micah 4:7

Targum · Targum Jonathan to the Prophets
5 All the peoples will be condemned because they worshiped idols. But we will rely on the name of the Lord our God forever and ever.6 At that time, says the Lord God, I will gather those driven into exile, and bring together those scattered, and those treated harshly because of My people’s sins.7 I will make the displaced into a surviving remnant, and the scattered into a strong people. The Lord’s kingdom will be revealed over them on Mount Zion, from this time and forever.8 And you, Messiah of Israel, hidden because of the sins of Zion’s congregation, the kingdom is destined to come to you. The former rule will return to the kingdom of Jerusalem’s congregation.

References

“... For MT “the Lord will reign”. It is the Targumist’s view that God’s reign and kingdom are eternal, and MT might be taken to imply some doubt concerning this. The kingdom of God, which has existed and always will, will be revealed to those who do not know it. See Smolar and Aberbach, Studies 132: Chilton The Glory of Israel 791. On gly in relation to divine activity, cf. the Introduction 8 2. ...”
Kevin J. Cathcart and Robert P. Gordon, The Targum of the Minor Prophets, ArBib 14 (Wilmington, DE: Michael Glazier, 1989), 120.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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Micah 4:7 and Jonathan Micah 4:7

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