Micah 1:1
1 1:1The word of the LORD that came to Micah of Moresheth in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, which he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem.
1:1 This superscription of the book functions as a title, providing the source of the message, its messenger, the time the message was delivered, and its first audience. The phrase “the word of the LORD that came to” is clearly a formula marking this book as a collection of prophetic messages. In other words, the words that follow are not merely human words; they have their ultimate origin in Israel’s covenant God, Yahweh. They are collectively known as his word. “Micah of Moresheth” identifies the one to whom God’s word comes. His name means “Who is like Yahweh?” (cf. Introduction: Author), and he lived in Moresheth, located in the hill country of southwest Judah, near the Philistine city of Gath (thus the village is sometimes known as Moresheth-gath; cf. v. 14). Moresheth is likely to be identified with modern Tell-el Judeideh, about 6 miles (10 km) southeast of Gath and about the same distance northeast of Lachish.1 This would situate the village about 25 miles (40 km) southwest of Jerusalem. There is an ancient line of interpretation identifying Moresheth with nearby Mareshah,2 but the two are distinguished in Micah 1 (vv. 1, 14, 15).
The time in which the message was delivered was during the successive reigns of three kings of Judah: Jotham (742–735 BC), Ahaz (735–715), and Hezekiah (715–687). Many of the oracles, however, seem to suggest that the period before and leading up to 701 BC is the most suitable historical context for the present collection of oracles (cf. Introduction: Date and Occasion).
The addressees of the messages were “Samaria and Jerusalem,” the capital cities of the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah, respectively. These capital cities represent their respective nations. The order of the northern kingdom first, followed by the southern kingdom, suggests the order of the arrangement of the oracles to follow in the first section (1:2–2:13). The first oracle concerns Samaria and the northern kingdom (1:2–7), while the rest deal with Jerusalem and Judah (1:8–2:13).