Micah 5
2 But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.

To us Christians, this seems to make clear that the Messiah will be born in Bethlehem of Judah (as opposed to the town of Bethlehem in Zebulon). However, this is obviously not how the Jews interpret this passage.

A Jew I know offered this explanation of the Jewish understanding of Micah 5:2, and how it "refutes" the Christian interpretation:

The only reason I can find about Bethlehem being masculine in Micah is that Micah, when speaking of Bethlehem, is keeping the inhabitants of Bethlehem in mind, thus (like in Spanish using "ellos") using the masculine form.

Does anyone else know why there would be such a difference?

ChristTeen287

I don't understand how Micah could be prophesying in the future (using future tense in the prophesy) and yet be refering to an event that happened centuries before his time. also, the scribes and Magi and other learned in Hebrew prophesy understood this prophecy to mean a birthplace. Afterall, there was some contention whether he was the Messiah, since he was supposed to be from Nazareth, not Bethlehem.

I asked the same questions (regarding the past events, since King Boaz lived hundreds of years before Micah), but got a very confused answer, which I why I posted this.

I think I've sorted it out, but this guy's replies are very contradictory.

I have no idea how this "Bethlehem of Ephrata...little among the thousands of Judah" could possibly be interpreted as King Boaz.

ChristTeen287

Look up the meaning of these two words - what the words themselves mean. If you are going to deal with prophecy then you must deal with Hebrew word-play - otherise it is best to leave it alone.

I will give you a hint to start you off...

"beth = a container, a house, a 'house' as in a family genealogy, it was also a 'house' as used in astronomy to designate something related to a star cluster as for example the constellation Orion (the House of Orion) or in the first few sentences of Genesis He-the-gods creates (from no-thing to something) all experiences of mind (spiritual) and sensation (earth) and this act is the generation of his 'house’ (sons).

In ancient languages words were much more expansive then they are today in such as English. Today - the meaning of words has become restrictive and concrete - forcing us to string out more words to say something. The meaning of ancient Hebrew words is pinned down by - context - in what context is the word used? and therefore a sentence or words in a sentence may have more than one meaning depending upon the context - or another context which may be just as valid. In order to translate at all, the translator must restrict the meaning to the most physical or restricted use of the word.

Another hint - you are looking for a verb. The root of every noun - is a verb - an action. And one last hint - it is in masculine gender - so what we are talking about is an item of the intellect - the mind (the difference of thinking about a car or actually being in a car).

There are resources on the net but you will have to look for them.

Your Jewish friend is not familiar with Moses Maimonides, "From Moses to Moses - there has been none like Moses." so he has no clue regarding the reading of Hebrew prophecy. On the other hand, your discussion with him, is like two blind men - each arguing who can ‘see’ better. Probably your best bet is to pick up the book “Moses Maimonides - The Guide for The Perplexed” otherwise you will cement within yourself some mistaken belief as to the meaning of these thinks - and that will become a ‘tenet’ of your faith.

One last hint... all prophecy given before the historical event of Jesus Christ looks forward to that event of Christ(and So Micah saw a pre-figure of Christ within the event of King Boaz) and all prophecy after Christ (including the book of Revelations) looks back upon the event of Christ.

Hey - I thought I would be honest with you and see if I could interest you in some research.