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Bible chapter guide
Micah 5
'But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose goings forth are from of old.' He will shepherd his flock in the strength of the LORD and be their peace.
Summary written for the Labs; read the chapter itself for the full text.
See it in the Labs
- adventAdvent week 1: Promise · The road to BethlehemOpen
- Bethlehem and the Birth of JesusIn Herod's Jerusalem · Bethlehem and the Birth of JesusOpen
- Bethlehem and the Birth of JesusAt the house · Bethlehem and the Birth of JesusOpen
- Bethlehem and the Birth of JesusJourney · Bethlehem and the Birth of JesusOpen
- The Bible Time MapMicah · The Bible Time MapOpen
- adventAdvent week 4: Magi · The road to BethlehemOpen
- adventAdvent week 2: Journey · The road to BethlehemOpen
- The Bible Time MapBethlehem · The Bible Time MapOpen
- Places of JesusBethlehem · Places of JesusOpen
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How sure can we be?
- Textually stated
Micah names Bethlehem Ephrathah, small among the clans of Judah, as the place from which a ruler in Israel will come.
- Textually stated
In Matthew, the chief priests and scribes answer Herod with Micah's words: the Christ is to be born in Bethlehem of Judea.
- Strongly supported
Jewish readers also heard Micah 5:2 as a promise of the Messiah: the Aramaic Targum of the Prophets says outright that the one who comes forth from Bethlehem is “the Messiah”.
Targum Jonathan to Micah 5:1 (Hebrew numbering). It was written down in the early centuries AD, later than the Gospels, though it keeps older readings.
- Plausible
The village was small: perhaps a few hundred people, at most about a thousand.