Micah [key], 6th of the books of the Minor Prophets of the Bible, containing the oracles of the prophet Micah, a contemporary of Isaiah whose career spanned the period c.750–c.700 b.c. The prophecy can be divided into three sections: the doom of Israel and Judah, who are to be punished for hypocritical worship, social injustice, and personal immorality; ultimate redemption; a recapitulation in different form of the same themes. The book includes a famous Messianic passage, alluded to in the Gospels of St. Matthew and St. John. Micah's prophecy of the fall of Jerusalem was recalled over a century later. In Micah, the people of Judah are taught that they have not discharged their obligation to God if they have engaged in cultic activity but neglected the poor and needy. Some oracles have been subsequently added to the original collection after the event.
See studies by J. L. Mays (1976), R. Smith (1984), D. R. Hillers (1984), and J. Limburg (1988). See also bibliography under Old Testament.
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