This article is contributed by Ray Konig, the author of Jesus the Messiah, Jesus the Prophet, Jesus the Miracle Worker, and 100 Fulfilled Bible Prophecies.
By Ray Konig
Published: December 2, 2002
Revised: January 10, 2025
Every year, during the Christmas season, Christian churches revisit Micah 5:2, which they view as an Old Testament prophecy that foretold that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem.
For many Christians, Micah 5:2 is a remarkable prophecy that eliminated all other cities, towns, and villages -- throughout world -- as the place where the promised Messiah would be born.
For many Christians, this passage gave people an additional way to identify the true Messiah, that he would be someone who was born in Bethlehem, which is a small town on the outskirts of Jerusalem, within the region of Judah, in the southern part of Israel.
This prophecy was recorded by the prophet Micah, about 2,700 years ago, which is about 700 years before Jesus was born:
2 But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, being small among the clans of Judah, out of you one will come out to me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings out are from of old, from ancient times. (Micah 5:2, WEB)
Matthew, the apostle who wrote the New Testament's Gospel of Matthew, quotes Micah 5:2 and cites it as being fulfilled when Jesus was born in Bethlehem about 2,000 years ago (Matthew 2:6).
But, for many critics, including atheists, skeptics, and other people who do not share the Christian view, Matthew was wrong, the Christians are wrong, and Micah 5:2 is not a prophecy about the Messiah being born in Bethlehem, and it is not fulfilled by Jesus.
Let's take a look at some of the views that critics have, explain their shortcomings, and then explain why Micah 5:2 is in fact a prophecy that the Messiah would be born in the town of Bethlehem.
For one, many critics believe that the reference to Bethlehem Ephrathah does not point to the physical location of the town of Bethlehem, but to a person named Bethlehem, whose mother was named Ephrathah.
The critics have an interesting point here. There was in fact a person named Bethlehem, who did in fact have a mother named Ephrathah (1 Chronicles 4:4).
But this point becomes less interesting when we remember that many cities, towns, and villages -- throughout the land of Israel -- were in fact named after people. In fact, Israel was named after a person.
The town of Bethlehem appears to have been named after the person named Bethlehem. And, Ephrathah, according to Ruth 4:11, is either an ancient name for the town of Bethlehem, or a name for the area that includes the town of Bethlehem.
By using the phrase, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Micah is making it clear that he is referring to the Bethlehem in the region of Judah, in southern Israel, as opposed to another town named Bethlehem in northern Israel.
By the time of Micah, about 2,700 years ago, the town of Bethlehem in Judah had been established for many centuries. It was the birthplace of David, about 3,000 years ago. And, David, who was ancient Israel's greatest king, is the subject of many Old Testament prophecies that foretold that the Messiah would be an extraordinary descendant of David, that the Messiah would be a son born to the House of David.
These details provide additional support for the view that Micah 5:2 is a prophecy about the Messiah.
Another shortcoming of the views that critics have for Micah 5:2 involves the broader context in which the prophecy was given.
For one, that broader context makes it clear that Micah 5:2 is speaking about the town of Bethlehem, as in a physical location, rather than the long-deceased person named Bethlehem, who might have lived about 3,400 years ago.
We can begin to take a look at this broader context by simply including one additional verse to Micah's prophecy:
1 Now you shall gather yourself in troops, daughter of troops. He has laid siege against us. They will strike the judge of Israel with a rod on the cheek.
2 But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, being small among the clans of Judah, out of you one will come out to me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings out are from of old, from ancient times. (Micah 5:1-2, WEB)
In verse 1, Micah is referring to the city of Jerusalem as the daughter of troops. Jerusalem was the seat of power for the Kingdom of Judah, which included much of southern Israel. Jerusalem was the city from which the House of David reigned as kings.
Also, in verse 1, Micah is referring to Jerusalem a second time, as the site in which a siege would soon take place.
For background, during the time of Micah, about 2,700 years ago, Israel was divided into two kingdoms -- the Kingdom of Judah and the Northern Kingdom of Israel. The Assyrians ruled a great empire and would invade, conquer and destroy the Northern Kingdom of Israel. And, they soon would invade Jerusalem, humiliate the king (Hezekiah), and force Judah to pay tribute to the Assyrian Empire.
This is the siege that Micah is predicting in Micah 5:1. And with this background, we see that Micah, undeniably, is talking about a physical location -- Jerusalem -- as being the daughter of troops, and as being the location in which the siege would soon take place.
With this background, we can see that Micah is contrasting the large powerful city of Jerusalem, in verse 1, with the small humble town of Bethlehem, in verse 2.
In other words, he is referring to Bethlehem the town, not Bethlehem the person, because he is contrasting Jerusalem, as a physical location, with Bethlehem, as a physical location.
Another key point that critics remarkably have overlooked or underplayed, throughout the ages, is the ease and extent to which Micah 5:2 functions as a Messianic prophecy.
Let's take a look at the Messianic aspects of Micah's prophecy by again expanding the context to include more verses:
1 Now you shall gather yourself in troops, daughter of troops. He has laid siege against us. They will strike the judge of Israel with a rod on the cheek.
2 But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, being small among the clans of Judah, out of you one will come out to me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings out are from of old, from ancient times.
3 Therefore he will abandon them until the time that she who is in labor gives birth. Then the rest of his brothers will return to the children of Israel.
4 He shall stand, and shall shepherd in the strength of Yahweh, in the majesty of the name of Yahweh his God: and they will live, for then he will be great to the ends of the earth. (Micah 5:1-4, WEB)
As you can see, in verse 4, there is talk about a worldwide impact, that he will be great to the ends of the earth. This promise of a worldwide impact is unmistakably Messianic. It is the Messiah who is to have a worldwide dominion and a worldwide spiritual impact.
We see this in more than a dozen prophecies before, during, and after the time of Micah, throughout the Old Testament. It is the Messiah, not any other person in the Bible, who is the subject of Bible prophecies about achieving a worldwide impact.
As explained in more detail in my book, Jesus the Messiah, by Ray Konig, the promise that the Messiah would have a worldwide dominion is present in Psalm 72:8,11,17; Isaiah 11:9-10; Micah 5:4; Daniel 7:14; Zechariah 9:10, and the promise that he would have a worldwide spiritual impact is present in Genesis 22:18, 26:4, 28:14, 49:10; Psalm 22:27, 72:17; Isaiah 11:9-10, 42:1,6, 49:6, 52:15; Micah 5:4; Zechariah 9:10.
It is remarkable that critics of the Christian view have managed to overlook the connections that Micah 5:1-4 shares with more than a dozen other prophecies that also speak of the Messiah as having a worldwide impact. But, here we are.
Micah 5:2 is not isolated prophecy, as many critics mistakenly think. It is part of a broader prophecy in Micah 5:1-4, and it shares undeniable connections with more than a dozen other Messianic prophecies.
Micah 5:1-4 is a remarkable prophecy that correctly predicted that the Messiah would be born in the town of Bethlehem, in Judah, and that he would achieve a worldwide impact.
When Micah wrote his prophecy about 2,700 years ago, he the correctly identified the one and only place in the world in which the Messiah would be born.
When Matthew wrote his Gospel about 2,000 years ago, he correctly identified the one and only person from Bethlehem who would ever achieve a worldwide impact, through the spread of Christianity, which today is far and away the world's most widespread religion.
See also: The Messiah would be born in Bethlehem
© 2002, 2025 Ray Konig.
Ray Konig is the author of Jesus the Messiah, Jesus the Prophet, Jesus the Miracle Worker, and 100 Fulfilled Bible Prophecies.
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