Prophecy 27 of 30 · Birth
Bethlehem, whose origins are from of old
From little Bethlehem Ephrathah comes a ruler in Israel "whose goings forth are from of old, from ancient days".
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Hebrew · Leningrad Codexעִבְרִית
1וְאַתָּ֞ה בֵּֽית־לֶ֣חֶם אֶפְרָ֗תָה צָעִיר֙ לִֽהְיוֹת֙ בְּאַלְפֵ֣י יְהוּדָ֔ה מִמְּךָ֙ לִ֣י יֵצֵ֔א לִֽהְי֥וֹת מוֹשֵׁ֖ל בְּיִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל וּמוֹצָאֹתָ֥יו מִקֶּ֖דֶם מִימֵ֥י עוֹלָֽם׃ve'atta bet-lechem efrata tza'ir lihyot be'alfe yehuda mimmekha li yetze lihyot moshel beyisra'el umotza'otav mikkedem mime olam
JPS 1917 · Jewish translation
1But thou, Beth-lehem Ephrathah, Which art little to be among the thousands of Judah, Out of thee shall one come forth unto Me that is to be ruler in Israel; Whose goings forth are from of old, from ancient days.
World Messianic Bible
2But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, being small among the clans of Judah, out of you one will come out to me who is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings out are from of old, from ancient times.But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, being small among the clans of Judah, out of you one will come out to me who is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings out are from of old, from ancient times.
Micah 5:1 in Hebrew numbering; Micah 5:2 in English Bibles. Transliteration simplified. Read the whole chapter
Fulfilment · New CovenantWMB
Matthew 2:4-6 Gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he asked them where the Messiah would be born. They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for this is written through the prophet, ‘You Bethlehem, land of Judah, are in no way least among the princes of Judah; for out of you shall come a governor who shall shepherd my people, Israel.’”
John 7:42 Hasn’t the Scripture said that the Messiah comes of the offspring of David, and from Bethlehem, the village where David was?”
How rabbinic tradition reads it
Targum Jonathan: "from you the Messiah will come forth before me". In Matthew the chief priests and scribes answer Herod with this verse.
Why Messianic Jews read it as Yeshua
The ruler comes from David's town, and his origins are "from ancient days", before Bethlehem. Yeshua was born in Bethlehem (Matthew 2, Luke 2).
Look at the text for yourself
Read Micah 5:1 slowly, in the Hebrew and the JPS translation above. Then ask the question the Ethiopian official asked: "Who is the prophet talking about?"
Sources
- Targum Jonathan on Micah 5:1
- Hebrew: Westminster Leningrad Codex (public domain), via OpenScriptures. English: JPS 1917; World Messianic Bible (public domain).