Micah (prophet)

According to the Hebrew Bible, Micah (Hebrew: מִיכָה הַמֹּרַשְׁתִּי, Mīḵā hamMōraštī—"Micah the Morashtite”; Paleo-Hebrew: 𐤌𐤉𐤊𐤄, Mīkhāh; Koine Greek: Μιχαίας, Michaías; Biblical Aramaic: מִיכָא, Mîḵā’; Church Slavonic: Михе́й, Mikhéy; Latin: Michaeas, Micheas) was a prophet of Yahweh and is traditionally regarded as the author of the Book of Micah. He is considered one of the Twelve Minor Prophets of the Hebrew Bible and is depicted as a contemporary of the prophets Isaiah, Amos and Hosea. Micah is described as having been from Moresheth-Gath, in southwest Judah and prophesying during the reigns of kings Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah of the southern Kingdom of Judah in the 8th century BC. Micah's messages were directed chiefly toward Jerusalem. He prophesied the future destruction of Jerusalem and Samaria by the Neo-Assyrian Empire, the destruction and then future restoration of the Judean state, and he rebuked the people of Judah for dishonesty and idolatry. The formation of the Book of Micah is debated, with a consensus that its final stage occurred during the Persian period or Hellenistic period, but uncertainty remains about whether it was formed at the time or merely finalized. Micah 5:2 is interpreted by Christians as a prophecy that Bethlehem, a small village just south of Jerusalem, would be the birthplace of the Messiah.