Micah 5:2 " “But thou, Bethlehem Ephrathah, ..... whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.”

[Eliyahu613]

Bs"d

When I was searching for Micah 5:2, I saw that this verse is many times used to claim that the messiah is going to be God Himself, because he is from everlasting.

Therefore a separate topic about that.

Micah 5:2

“But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Too little to be among the clans of Judah, From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel His goings forth are from long ago, From the days of eternity.”

Holman Christian Standard Bible ” Bethlehem Ephrathah, you are small among the clans of Judah; One will come from you to be ruler over Israel for Me. His origin is from antiquity, from eternity.

New Life Version “His coming was planned long ago, from the beginning.”

Darby Translation “whose goings forth are from of old, from the days of eternity.”

American Standard Version “whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting.”

All versions of the King James: “whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.”

Amplified Bible “Whose goings forth have been from of old, from ancient days (eternity).


All the above translation say the origins of the messiah are from “everlasting” or from “eternity”, hereby implying that the messiah is God.
The Hebrew words here translated with “from everlasting” or “days of eternity” are “yamei olam”, which means literally “ancient days”.
Many Bible translations translate it like that, only the above hold on to “days of eternity”, or something with the same implications, because they want to push the wrong Christian idea that the messiah is God himself.

However, also the above translations know how to correctly translate the words “yamei olam”. We see that for instance in Micah 7:14, were the same expression “yamei olam” is used. See here how the above translate it there:


Holman Christian Standard Bible ” Let them graze in Bashan and Gilead as in ancient times.”

New Life Version “Let them eat in Bashan and Gilead as in days long ago.”

Darby Translation “let them feed in Bashan and Gilead, as in the days of old. ”

American Standard Version “let them feed in Bashan and Gilead, as in the days of old.”

King James: “let them feed in Bashan and Gilead, as in the days of old.”

New American Standard Bible “Let them feed in Bashan and Gilead As in the days of old.”

Amplified Bible “they shall feed in Bashan and Gilead, as in the days of old.”



Another place where the expression “yamei olam” is used, is in Isaiah 63:11

Holman Christian Standard Bible ” Then He remembered the days of the past, [the days] of Moses [and] his people.”

New Life Version “Then His people remembered the days long ago, the days of Moses.”

Darby Translation “But he remembered the days of old, Moses [and] his people:”

American Standard Version “Then he remembered the days of old, Moses and his people,”

King James: “Then he remembered the days of old, Moses, and his people,”

New American Standard Bible “Then His people remembered the days of old, of Moses”

Amplified Bible “Then His people [seriously] remembered the days of old, of Moses and his people”




Another place where the expression “yamei olam” is used is Amos 9:11

Holman Christian Standard Bible “In that day I will restore the fallen booth of David: I will repair its gaps,
restore its ruins, and rebuild it as in the days of old,”

New Life Version “In that day I will build again the tent of David that fell down. Yes, I will build it again from the stones that fell down. I will set it up again as it used to be.”

Darby Translation “and I will raise up its ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old:”

American Standard Version “and I will raise up its ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old;”

King James: “and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old:”

Amplified Bible “and I will raise up its ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old,”

New American Standard Bible “I will also raise up its ruins And rebuild it as in the days of old;”



Another place where the expression “yamei olam” is used is in Malachi 3:4

Holman Christian Standard Bible “And the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will please the LORD as in days of old and years gone by”

New Life Version “Then the gifts of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord, as they were in the past.”

Darby Translation “Then shall the oblation of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto J-e-h-o-v-a-h, as in the days of old, and as in former years.”

American Standard Version “Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto J-e-h-o-v-a-h, as in the days of old, and as in ancient years. ”

King James: “Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the LORD, as in the days of old, and as in former years.”

Amplified Bible “hen will the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old and as in ancient years.”

New American Standard Bible “”Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the LORD as in the days of old and as in former years.”


It should be clear by now for everybody that the expression “yamei olam” has no bearing on “days of eternity” whatsoever.


It is always translated correct, except there where Christianity wants to push it’s dogma of a divine messiah. There the translations are corrupted in order to squeeze in JC.

 

[Matthias]

The OP sits well with persons like myself who assert that Jesus of Nazareth is a human person.

Is Micah 5:2 a messianic prophecy? I believe it is (and so do those who assert that Jesus is a divine person, not a human person).

What about Judaism?

Jews for Judaism waffles on the question.

”Was there a prediction that the Messiah will be born in Bethlehem?

Answer: This verse refers to the Messiah, a descendant of David. Since David came from Bethlehem, Micah’s prophecy speaks of Bethlehem as the Messiah’s place of origin. …”

(Gerald Sigal, “Will Messiah be born in Bethlehem?”)

Will Messiah will be born in Bethlehem?

Was there a prediction that said that the Messiah will be born in Bethlehem? Let's find out in this interesting post by Gerald Sigal.

jewsforjudaism.org

 

[Matthias]

The linked article documents that Rabbi Rashi and Rabbi Kimchi identified Micah 5:2 as a messianic prophecy. (Of course neither one of them believed Jesus is the prophesied messiah.)

(K.B. Vogelman, “Micah’s Unique Bethlehem Prophecy”)

Micah's Unique Bethlehem Prophecy | The Odds

Prophecies throughout the Scriptures foretell many things about the Messiah. Only one prophesy specifies the location from where he would come forth – Bethlehem Ephrathah.

theodds.website

 

[Matthias]

“Ancient Rabbis’ View of Micah 5:2

But a careful search reveals the rabbis who lived before Christ was born believed Micah 5:2 referred to the Messiah. For example, in an Aramaic translation of Micah 5:2 called Jonathan Targum, we read this translation,

’And you, O Bethlehem Ephrath, you who were too small to be numbered among the thousands of the House of Judah, from you shall come forth before Me the Messiah, to exercise dominion over Israel, he whose name was mentioned before, from the days of creation.’

This is an Aramaic translation and commentary of Micah 5:2 by Rabbi Jonathan ben Uziel (first century B.C.). In reality, this is a paraphrase. Notice that in the process, he revealed that he believed the prophecy referred to the Messiah, who would be born in Bethlehem. But he also modified the end of the verse. He may have struggled with the idea the Messiah would be an eternal being.

Alfred Edersheim (A.D. 1825 - 1889) was a Jew who believed in Jesus Christ and became a follower of Him. He was educated at a Hebrew school and the University of Vienna. He wrote a book named ‘The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah’. In it he wrote,

’As shown by the rendering of the Targum Jonathan, the prediction in Micah v.2 was at the time universally understood as pointing to Bethlehem, as the birthplace of the Messiah. That such was the general expectation, appears from the Talmud, where in an imaginary conversation between an Arab and a Jew, Bethlehem is authoritatively named as Messiah’s birthplace.’

That is, before Christ was born the Jewish rabbis believed Micah 5:2 was about the Messiah. The Messiah would be born in Bethlehem Ephratha.

Later in his book he stated,

’The well-known passage, Micah v.2, is admittedly Messianic. So in the Targum, in the Pirqe de R. Eliez. c.3, and by later Rabbis.’

The Targum Palestine also states this about Micah 5:2.

’Out of thee Bethlehem shall Messiah go forth before me to exercise dominion over Israel.’

Clearly the translators of the Targum Palestine believed that Micah 5:2 referred to the Messiah, and not the birth pangs of a woman and the hardship of Israel prior to the arrival of the Romans.

After Christ appeared, a rabbi from the Medieval period named David Qimhi (1160-1235 A.D.), also called Radak, wrote this about Micah 5:2,

’It will be said in the Messianic age that his “origins are from old, from ancient times … from Bethlehem,” means that he will be of the House of David, because there is a long period of time between David and the Messiah-King; and he is el (God), which is how he is “from old, from ancient times.’

Risto Santato states in his book “The Messiah in the Old Testament in the Light of Rabbinical Writings”,

’The Rabbis praised Radak’s understanding of spiritual matters and said that without his insight into Scripture, “there is no correct biblical exegesis.”’

Even though rabbis today highly respect rabbi David Qimhi believed that the Messianic age has its origin in Bethlehem and that the Messiah would be God Himself, they do not accept that Jesus is the Messiah.”

Jewish Rabbis Believed Micah 5:2 Is About the Messiah

You will find that the Jewish Rabbis believed Micah 5:2 Is about the Messiah. Quotes are provided and footnoted.

www.neverthirsty.org

This should be of interest to you @PanInVietnam. My only caution to you would be to keep in mind the bias of the author of the article.

The fundamental point is a simple one: even before the Jewish man whom many of his contemporaries in the first century believed is the promised Messiah was born, Jews believed that Micah 5:2:is a prophecy about the Messiah.