Texts in Conversation
The blow against Judah's ruler in Micah carries the contempt punished by Hammurabi's law against striking a superior. The insult exposes the ruler's inability to defend his authority and people, making the blow more than a physical injury.
Share:
2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Code of Hammurabi 1:212
Babylonian Legal Text
Ancient Near East
199 If he puts out the eye of a man's slave or breaks the bone of a man's slave, he shall pay half the slave's value. 200 If a man knocks out the teeth of his equal, his teeth shall be knocked out. A tooth for a tooth. 201 If he knocks out the teeth of a freed man, he shall pay one-third of a gold mina. 202 If anyone strikes the body of a man of higher rank, he shall receive sixty blows with an ox-whip in public. 203 If a free-born man strikes the body of another free-born man of equal rank, he shall pay one gold mina. 204 If a freed man strikes the body of another freed man, he shall pay ten shekels of silver.
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. 4 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.
Search:
Notes and References
“... 5:1. strike on the cheek with a rod. To be struck on the cheek is generally considered a gesture of contempt (see 1 Kings 22:24; Job 16:10). Hammurabi’s Code provides for a variety of punishments for the person who strike others on the cheek—from flogging and mutilation to stiff fines. Striking Judah’s “judge” implies both the contempt of the nations as well as the impotence of Judah’s ruler to respond. In the New Year festival (akitu) that was practiced in both Assyria and Babylon, the priest slapped the king on the cheek in a ritual that led to the king claiming he was innocent of injustice. ...”
Walton, John H.
The IVP Bible Background Commentary: Old Testament
(p. 783–784) InterVarsity Press, 2000
* 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.
Your Feedback:
Leave a Comment
Anonymous comments are welcome. All comments are subject to moderation.
User Comments
,