Micah 4-5 and the Message of Salvation of the Eighth Century Prophet

The following dissertation investigates the salvation oracles in the book of Micah. It analyzes all of the salvation oracles, including 2:12-13 and 7:11-13, but focuses especially on chapters 4-5, studying the message of these chapters, the historical and social background of these chapters, and the function of chs. 4-5 in the book as a whole. It also addresses the question of whether the book of Micah was edited to make it fit thematically the twelve Minor Prophets. This study argues for two major hypotheses concerning the origins of Micah 4-5:1) it is plausible that these oracles are nearly all from the 8th century B.C.E. prophet, with just a few verses added later in exilic and postexilic times; and 2) Sennacherib's campaign in 701 B.C.E. is a plausible setting for the pre-exilic oracles.

Many claim that these chapters present a conflict in understanding the book in terms of a situation current in 8th century B.C.E. Jerusalem. It is true that the message of chs. 4-5 is very different from the rest of the book. Unlike most of chs. 1-3 and 6-7, these oracles focus primarily on salvation rather than judgment and emphasize Judah's relationship to the nations rather than the internal social situation. However, shifting to oracles of salvation in ch. 4 does not inevitably contradict the earlier oracles of judgment in chs. 1-3; the juxtaposition may instead show that judgment is preparation for salvation. Similarly, the absence of specifics about the social situation does not necessarily mean that the unit was written in a later period. Rather it could mean that the prophet had already established what the situation was in chs. 1-3 and there was no need to mention it again in chs. 4-5. In support of a pre-exilic date for these chapters, the political situation of the 8th century makes better sense than the political situation of the 6th century for how Zion is related to the nations. In the 8th century, she is threatened with the loss of land and temple in a way that is not true in the 6th century.