The following is abstracted from a chapter in my unpublished book The Structure of Scripture. The whole chapter will be sent to anyone requesting it. Contact me at elmerphd21@hotmail.com.
At first pass, it would seem that the only scholarly agreement possible on this book is in regard to its chaotic structure. Ralph Smith, in his discussion on this book, uses it as an appropriate time to repeat comments by many earlier scholars regarding the shapeless ramblings of the prophets in general and Micah in particular. And Lelsie Allen adds that “Micah is a blatant example of this seeming jumble.”
This, though, is not to say that scholars have entirely given up on the attempt to discern an organizational plan. Unfortunately, even those who see a clear overall pattern to the book disagree with one another, and this disagreement begins with confusion over the individual section divisions.
The Individual Sections
Just about every possible pairing of chapters has been seen for the major divisions of Micah except for the present proposal: Micah 1-3; 4; and 5-7. Since practically all of the section divisions proposed in the past result from clean breaks along present chapter divisions, the working assumption is that these seven units represent the lowest common denominator that needs to be considered for the structure of Micah.
Chapter 1 deals with the coming day of destruction for Samaria and Jerusalem. The inclusio “Moresheth...kings of Judah/Israel” at 1:1 and 1:14 roughly defines the limits of this section. If the lament in verses 8-16 is treated as a sub-unit within this chapter, it can be seen to be bracketed with two expressions of grief described in animal similes (“like jackals...like the daughter of an ostrich” in 1:8, and “like an eagle” in 1:16). There is much support in the scholarly literature for the unity of this chapter.
Chapter 2 has as its literary centerpiece a denunciation of prattling prophets bounded by repeated references in 2:6 and 2:11 to “preach(er).” The two flanking units, 2:1-5 and 2:12-13, contrast, respectively, the fates of two minorities in Israel: the sinful economic elite and the saved remnant.
Chapter 3 concerns the sins of the leaders of Israel. It is well recognized that its first and last sub-sections (vv. 1-4 and 9-12, respectively) are parallel in thought and form and begin in a similar fashion:
“And I said: Hear, you heads of Jacob and rulers of the house of Israel! Is it not for you to know justice?” – Micah 3:1
“Hear this, you heads of the house of Jacob and rulers of the house of Israel, who abhor justice and pervert all equity” – Micah 3:9
Sandwiched between these two units is a center section (vv. 5-8) proclaiming judgment against the false prophets. Whereas “justice” appears at the start of the first and third units, this word occurs at the end of the middle section. Appropriately, the word “evil” is located near the beginning (3:2) and conclusion (3:11) of this chapter.
Chapter 4 is characterized by (a) the repeated word “nations” (6x), with the first and last appearances as part of the phrase “many nations” (verses 2,11) and (b) the six-fold appearance of “Zion,” whose coming glory is predicted. The center unit, 4:6-12, is identified by the contrasting gatherings at its beginning and end (the verbs “gather” and “assemble” appear in 4:6 and 4:11-12, respectively). The units on either side consist of contrasting clauses describing the present pitiful condition of Israel and its future glory. There are rough parallels between these two units with their mix of agricultural and metalworking imagery in 4:3 and 4:12-13. The sovereign reign of God over the entire earth in vv. 1-4 and 13 frames this section.
Chapter 5 has as its overriding theme God's use of Israel to carry out His vengeance against the Gentile nations. “Land/earth” appears six times in this chapter. David Clark, after including v. 1 in the previous subsection, splits the remainder of the chapter into two parts: the future ruler (vv. 2-5) and the nation's future characteristics (vv. 5-15).
Chapter 6 again presents God's case against Israel, with the appropriate phrase “His/my people” as an inclusio (verses 2,16). Allen views the first eight verses as one unit similar to a covenant lawsuit. His division into 6:1-8 and 6:9-16 has literary support from the opening calls to “hear” at 6:1-2 and 6:9, and the contrasting “walks” which close these sections:
“walk humbly with your God” Micah 6:8
“you have walked in their [Omri and Ahab's] counsels” Micah 6:16
Chapter 7 stands apart from the other sections in that it contains the prophet's personal prayer to God for salvation. The word “day” appears seven times in this chapter. Vocabulary unique, within Micah, to this section includes “sea” (3x) and “father(s)” (2x). This chapter is usually subdivided into two smaller units with the break after vv. 6 or 7.
Andersen and Freedman divide ch. 7 into four sections that alternate in mood from negative to positive.
A. Lament (7:1-6)
B. Song of confidence (7:7-12)
A'. Humiliation (and later triumph) of Zion (7:13-17)
B'. Reaffirmation of the ancient covenant (7:18-20)
Elsewhere, however, these authors hint at a chiastic arrangement for Micah 7:1-7.
Catch-Words
Stringing together these individual pearls is a chain constructed of key words and phrases which appear at the end of one section and the start of the succeeding section. (Smith)
Chapter 1
sin/transgression (1:13) & iniquity/evil (2:1)
house(1:14 & 2:2)
Chapter 2
head (2:13 & 3:1)
Jacob/Israel (2:12 & 3:1)
Chapter 3
head (3:11 & 4:1)
mountain of the house (3:12 & 4:1)
Zion/Jerusalem (3:12) & Jerusalem/Zion (4:2)
Chapter 4
O, daughter of... (4:14 & 5:1)
Chapter 5
hear (5:15 & 6:1)
Chapter 6
make but not drink wine (6:15) & glean but not eat fruit (7:1)
Chapter 7
Parallel Cycles
There is one additional manner in which the seven sections of Micah relate to one another. The first three chapters deal with a progressively smaller audience: Samaria & Jerusalem, the house of Jacob, and the leaders of Judah, respectively. This same pattern is repeated in the last three chapters of Micah, addressed to: Israel and the nations, the people of Israel, and the prophet Micah. Micah 4 thus stands in the center of this literary construction, made even more clear when the themes of all the individual sections are taken into consideration.
The Structure of Micah
I. Cycle 1 (Micah 1-3)
A. Judgment against Samaria and Jerusalem (ch. 1)
B. The Sins of the House of Jacob (ch. 2)
C. Israel's Sinful Leaders (ch. 3)
II. The Day of Yahweh (Micah 4)
I'. Cycle 2 (Micah 5-7)
A. Judgment against the Nations (ch. 5)
B. The Sins of Yahweh's People (ch. 6)
C. Micah the Repentant Prophet (ch. 7)
Of the six calls to attention in the book, three appear in Cycle 1 and three in Cycle 2. In addition, there are a number of verbal and thematic parallels between the corresponding sub-units of both cycles.
Cycle 1
Even those who see a multiple authorship to the book assign the first three chapters to the prophet Micah because of their similar tone. Language employed within Micah only in these chapters includes “high places” (1:3,5; 3:12) and the pair “Jacob/Israel” (1:5; 2:12; 3:1,8,9). Similar statements appear near the start and end of this cycle:
“Therefore I will make Samaria a heap in the field, a place for planting vineyards; and I will pour down her stones into the valley, and uncover her foundations.” (1:6)
“Therefore because of you Zion shall be plowed as a field: Jerusalem shall become a heap of ruins, and the mountain of the house a wooded height.” (3:12)
Cycle 2
“Shepherd / feed” is found only in Cycle 2 (5:4-6; 7:14) where it acts as a unifying device; the latter verse is a prayer that God would fulfill the promises made in the former passage. Similarly, the phrase “the LORD his/our God” appears near the borders of this cycle (at 5:4 and 7:17). Other than Jacob, early patriarchs are mentioned in Cycle 2 exclusively: Nimrod in 5:6, Moses and Aaron in 6:4, and Abraham in 7:20. By contrast, none of the eight occurrences of “Jerusalem” or nine appearances of “Zion” in Micah appears here. There is also an interesting pattern to the frequency of “Yahweh” usages in Cycle 2: three times in Section A, seven times in B, and three times in C. Close to the exact center of Cycle 2 is Micah 6:8, labeled “the greatest saying of the Old Testament.” (Andersen and Freedman)
Micah 4
The center of the proposed structure in Fig. 1 is ch. 4, which starts with the familiar prophetic oracles also found in Isaiah 4:2-4 – “one of the best known pericopes in the OT” in the opinion of Ralph Smith. The phrase “Yahweh of hosts” appears in Micah only at the end of this key passage. Allen sees the universal lordship of Yahweh to be one of Micah's premier themes, with prominent statements at the beginning and end of ch. 4 to support this contention.
There is also a special symmetry to the catch-words previously shown to connect Micah 4 to its flanking chapters. “Mountain of the house” appears in 3:12 and 4:1, underscoring the stark contrast between the events described in these two passages: Jerusalem's utter destruction versus its eventual rise to world prominence.
Inclusions for the Whole Book
A number of factors involving the opening and closing verses of the book serve as unifying forces for the whole:
1. There is a play on Micah's name (“Who is like Yahweh?”) in 7:18 which, together with 1:1, may said to function as a grand inclusio for the entire book.
2. Andersen and Freedman note that the questions regarding sin appearing in 1:5,7 are finally answered in 7:18.
3. Marks ponders whether there might be some purposeful relationship between the “hymnal introit” of 1:2-4 which opens the book and the “quasi-liturgical” vv. 7:8-20 which close it.
4. According to Smith, “The most prominent theme in Micah is judgment. Judgment is coming (1:2-4) and has come (7:7-20).”
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