DRAFT: A Chiastic Reconfiguration Of Micah 4 and 5

Kuruvilla Thomas
Bangalore
Published on 2 January 2024

Fig. 1

Introduction

This study treats Micah 4 & 5 as a cryptochiasmus in order to arrive at a coherent reconfiguration of the text ( see definition of cryptochiasmus in [1] ). If you wish to skip the technicalities of a chiastic parse, you may read starting from Section 4 of the Discussion section, which has the reconfigured text.

The book of Micah, for the most part, lists Samaria's and Judah's sins and the resulting punishments, but chapters 4 & 5 are predictions about a more distant future. The passage in Micah 5:2 ("But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small..."), which is paraphrased in Matthew 2:6, is a significant prophecy about Christ, and, through this parse, we can better show that this passage applies to Jesus.

Discussion

1. Presuppositions

We base our parse of Micah 4 & 5 on the assumption that it refers to 3 Periods:

1. The Period starting from the Judahites' defeat and exile to Babylon to the birth of Christ (c. 587BC-5BC), with a focus on the first 150 years and last 150 years of this Period.
2. The First Half (66AD-70AD) of the First Jewish–Roman War (66AD–73AD).
3. Christ's Millennial Reign on earth (from 2027AD).

2. Parsing the chiasmus

We will use the NIV Bible for this parse.

Parsing this chiasmus involves dividing portions of the text into three categories as above. We will call the period from the exile of the Judahites in Babylon to the birth of Christ Period 1, the siege of Jerusalem in 70 AD Period 2 and Christ's Millennial Reign Period 3.

Categorizing Micah 4 and 5

Ch 4 Vs 1-8 belong to Period 3. The glorious Millennial Reign of Christ and his Messiah.

Ch 4 Vs 9-13 belong to Period 1. The Judahites exile to Babylon, return and victory over enemies.

Ch 5 Vs 1 belongs to Period 2. From the beginning of the war to the siege of Jerusalem.

Ch 5 Vs 2a belongs to Period 1. A prediction of the birth of Christ at his First Coming. We let the paraphrase of this verse in Matthew 2:6 determine the extent of this subunit.

Ch 5 Vs 2b-15 belong to Period 3. The Millennial Reign of the coming Messiah.

Original text

We color-code the chiastic units of the original text (NIV) below for easy visual identification using: red for Period 1, blue for Period 2 and green for Period 3. We have retranslated parts of the text.

Micah 4 1 In the last days the mountain of the Lord’s temple will be established as the highest of the mountains; it will be exalted above the hills, and peoples will stream to it.
2 Many nations will come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the temple of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths.” The law will go out from Zion, the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. 3 He will judge between many peoples and will settle disputes for strong nations far and wide. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore. 4 Everyone will sit under their own vine and under their own fig tree, and no one will make them afraid, for the Lord Almighty has spoken. 5 All the nations may walk in the name of their gods, but we will walk in the name of the Lord our God for ever and ever.
6 “In that day,” declares the Lord,
“I will gather the lame; I will assemble the exiles and those I have brought to grief. 7 I will make the lame my remnant, those driven away a strong nation. The Lord will rule over them in Mount Zion from that day and forever. 8 As for you, Migdal Eder [a], Ophel of Daughter Zion [b], the former dominion will be restored to you; kingship of [c] Daughter Jerusalem.”
9 Why do you now cry aloud— have you no king? Has your ruler perished, that pain seizes you like that of a woman in labor? 10 Writhe in agony, Daughter Zion, like a woman in labor, for now you must leave the city to camp in the open field. You will go to Babylon; there you will be rescued. There the Lord will redeem you out of the hand of your enemies.
11 But now many nations are gathered against you. They say, “Let her be defiled, let our eyes gloat over Zion!” 12 But they do not know the thoughts of the Lord; they do not understand his plan, that he has gathered them like sheaves to the threshing floor. 13 “Rise and thresh, Daughter Zion, for I will give you horns of iron; I will give you hooves of bronze, and you will break to pieces many nations.” You will devote their ill-gotten gains to the Lord, their wealth to the Lord of all the earth.

Retranslation notes for Micah 4
[a] vs 8 "Migdal Eder" instead of "watchtower of the flock"
[b] vs 8 "Ophel" instead of "stronghold”
[b] vs 8 "of" instead of "will come to”


Micah 5 1 Marshal your troops now, city of troops. A siege is laid against us. They strike Israel’s judge [a] on the cheek with a rod.
2a “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel.
2b His goings forth are from of old, from ancient times [b].”
3 Surely he will abandon them [c] until the time when she who is in labor bears a son, and the rest of his brothers return to join the Israelites.
4 He will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. And they will live securely, for then his greatness will reach to the ends of the earth.
5 And he will be our peace when the Assyrians enter [d] our land and march through our fortresses. We will raise against them seven shepherds, even eight commanders, 6 who will rule the land of Assyria with the sword, the land of Nimrod with drawn sword. He will deliver us from the Assyrians when they enter [e] our land and march across our borders.
7 The remnant of Jacob will be in the midst of many peoples like dew from the Lord, like showers on the grass, which do not wait for anyone or depend on man. 8 The remnant of Jacob will be among the nations, in the midst of many peoples, like a lion among the beasts of the forest, like a young lion among flocks of sheep, which mauls and mangles as it goes, and no one can rescue. 9 Your hand will be lifted up in triumph over your enemies, and all your foes will be destroyed.
10 “In that day,” declares the Lord,
“I will destroy your horses from among you and demolish your chariots. 11 I will destroy the fortifications [f] of your land and tear down all your strongholds. 12 I will destroy your witchcraft and you will no longer cast spells. 13 I will destroy your idols and your sacred stones from among you; you will no longer bow down to the work of your hands. 14 I will uproot from among you your standing images. I will demolish [g] your cities. 15 I will take vengeance in anger and wrath on the nations that have not obeyed me.”

Retranslation notes for Micah 5
[a] vs 1 "Marshal your troops now, city of troops. A siege is laid against us. They strike Israel’s judge" instead of "Marshal your troops now, city of troops, for a siege is laid against us. They will strike Israel’s ruler"
[b] vs 2 ". His goings forth are from of old, from ancient times" instead of ", whose origins are from of old, from ancient times”
[c] vs 3 "Surely he will abandon them" instead of "Therefore Israel will be abandoned”
[d] vs 5 "enter" instead of "invade”
[e] vs 6 "enter" instead of "invade”
[f] vs 11 "fortifications" instead of "cities”
[g] vs 14 "standing images. I will demolish" instead of "Asherah poles when I demolish”

3. Building the reconfigured text

From this parse, it appears that Micah 4 & 5 form a cryptochiasmus as below:

A1   Ch 4 Vs 1-8 Period 3. Millennial Reign of Christ
  B1   Ch 4 Vs 9-13 Period 1. Exile to Babylon, return and victory over enemies
    X   Ch 5 Vs 1 Period 2. Siege of Jerusalem
  B2   Ch 5 Vs 2a Period 1. Prediction of the First Coming of Christ
A2   Ch 5 Vs 2b-15 Period 3. The Millennial Reign of the coming Messiah.

We now reconstruct the passages in the right order based on the chiastic structure above and based on the ordering rules of a cryptochiasmus [1].

We lead with central pivot point 'X'. The corresponding subunits (For example; subunit A1 corresponds to A2) are placed contiguously to form units (For example, A1,A2 is a unit ) so that we get a list of such units.

The sequence selected for rearrangement is:

X  [A1,A2]  [B1,B2]        (1)

Translating (1) into verse numbers, we get:

Ch 5 Vs 1  [Ch 4 Vs 1-8,Ch 5 Vs 2b-15]   [Ch 4 Vs 9-13, Ch 5 Vs 2a]        (2)

We arrive at the reconfigured passage in the next section by rearranging the verses so they are in sequence (2).

4. Micah 4 & 5 Reconfigured

The First Half (66AD-70AD) of the First Jewish–Roman War (66AD–73AD) (Ch 5 Vs 1)



Christ's Millennial Reign on earth (from 2027AD) (Ch 4 Vs 1-8,Ch 5 Vs 2b-15)

Chiasmus 1: Israel's political and spiritual leadership of the world


Chiasmus 2: The Messiah defeats the Beast and reigns over the world


Chiasmus 3: Israel is rid of idol worship and Hostile nations are punished



From the Judahites' Exile to Babylon to the Birth of Christ (c. 587BC-5BC) (Ch 4 Vs 9-13, Ch 5 Vs 2a)

5. A Commentary on the Reconfigured Text

5.1 The First Half (66AD-70AD) of the First Jewish–Roman War (66AD–73AD) (Ch 5 Vs 1)

This Period is structured as a chiasmus. The pivot, X [5:1b], predicts the Roman siege of Jerusalem at the midpoint (70AD) of the First Jewish–Roman War. The subunits, A1 [5:1a] and A2 [5:1c], are regarding the beginning of the war (66AD).

Subunit A1: The beginning of the war (66AD) (5:1a)

Chapter 5 1a Marshal your troops now, city of troops.

During the first half of the First Jewish–Roman War, Jerusalem was defended by bands of irregular troops (a "city of troops") who sometimes worked at odds with each other. These troops were marshalled to defend Jerusalem after a raid on the city by the Roman governor Gessius Florus at the start of the war (see [2] for more details on this war).

Pivot X: The siege of Jerusalem at the midpoint of the war (70AD) (5:1b)

Chapter 5 1b A siege is laid against us.

The Roman commander Titus moved to besiege Jerusalem in the spring of 70AD with 4 legions (see also Luke 21:20). By the summer of 70AD, the Romans breached the walls of Jerusalem, and by Sep. 70AD they conquered the city and extirpated it.

Subunit A2: The beginning of the war (66AD) (5:1c)

Chapter 5 1c They strike Israel’s judge on the cheek with a rod.

At the start of the war in 66AD, the Roman governor, Gessius Florus arrested and crucified numerous Judahite leaders, and plundered the Jewish Temple. The Judahites' king had just abandoned his people, so this passage refers to Gessius Florus' punishment of their leader, the high priest ('judge').

Paul, when he was struck on the mouth in front of the Sanhedrin, made a similar prediction in Acts 23:3 - "God will strike you, you whitewashed wall! You sit there to judge me according to the law, yet you yourself violate the law by commanding that I be struck!". Though Paul apologized for his outburst against the high priest of God's temple, his prediction still stood.

5.2 Christ's Millennial Reign on earth (from 2027AD) (Ch 4 Vs 1-8, Ch 5 Vs 2b-15)

This Period is structured as a series of 3 chiasmi.

Chiasmus 1: Israel's political and spiritual leadership of the world

The passage below (4:1-7) is structured as a chiasmus. The pivot, X [4:3-4], indicates that Christ will bring peace on earth during his reign. The subunits, A1 [4:1-2] and A2 [4:5-7], indicate that Israel will be a source of spiritual leadership for the world.

Subunit A1: Israel is a spiritual leader to the world (4:1-2)

Chapter 4 1 In the last days the mountain of the Lord’s temple will be established as the highest of the mountains; it will be exalted above the hills, and peoples will stream to it.
2 Many nations will come and say,
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the temple of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths.” The law will go out from Zion, the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

During the Millennial Reign of Christ, Jerusalem, the capital of the reconstituted Israel, will be a spiritual mountain towering above all nations and institutions around it ("mountain" is figurative here). Jerusalem, the seat of power of the coming Messiah, will be a highly regarded source of Godly wisdom and law for the world (see also Isaiah 60:3, Jer. 3:17). ( Note that 4:1-3 is the same as Isaiah 2:2-4.)

Pivot X: Christ and his Messiah's reign brings peace on earth (4:3-4)

Chapter 4 3 He will judge between many peoples and will settle disputes for strong nations far and wide. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore. 4 Everyone will sit under their own vine and under their own fig tree, and no one will make them afraid, for the Lord Almighty has spoken.

Christ, through his Messiah, will be judge over international disputes and so will be de facto ruler of the world. There will be no more cause for war or even for arming and preparing for war, because Christ will have complete control over world affairs - this will be a period of true peace on earth ("They will beat their swords into plowshares...") (see also Isa. 11:6). The proverbial expression, "Everyone will sit under their own vine...", indicates a golden age of peace and prosperity (cf. 1 Kings 4:25).

Subunit A2: Israel is a spiritual leader to the world (4:5-7)

Chapter 4 5 All the nations may walk in the name of their gods, but we will walk in the name of the Lord our God for ever and ever.

Even at this time, there will be people outside Israel who choose to worship other gods (see Rev. 22:15). But, unlike ancient Israel, the reconstituted Israel will remain faithful to its God and so set an example to the rest of the world forever.

Chapter 4 6 “In that day,” declares the Lord,
“I will gather the lame; I will assemble the exiles and those I have brought to grief. 7 I will make the lame my remnant, those driven away a strong nation. The Lord will rule over them in Mount Zion from that day and forever.

The Israelites have been spiritually blind ("lame"), exiled from God's nation, and brought to grief over the millennia for the waywardness of their forefathers. A remnant of the Israelites - those deemed worthy of being called God's people (cf. Isaiah 10:21,22) - will be reunited into the new Israel at the start of the Millennial Reign. They will now only worship the Lord God, and He will be their king forever.

Chiasmus 2: The Messiah defeats the Beast and reigns over the world

The passage below in 4:8, 5:2b-9 is arranged in the form of a two-unit chiasmus:

A1 4:8 Kingship is restored to the line of David
  B1 5:2b-4 The Messiah will rule over Israel and the world
    X 5:5-6 The Messiah defeats the Beast Army
  B2 5:7-8 The Messiah will rule over Israel and the world
A2 5:9 Kingship is restored to the line of David


Subunit A1: Kingship is restored to the line of David (4:8)

Chapter 4 8 As for you, Migdal Eder, Ophel of Daughter Zion, the former dominion will be restored to you; kingship of Daughter Jerusalem.”

Kingship will be restored to the ancient royal line of David through the Millennial Reign of Christ and his Messiah, both of whom are descendants of David (Matt. 1:1-16, Isa. 11:1). 'Migdal Eder', which means 'watchtower of the flock', was a tower close to David's city, Bethlehem (see 1 Samuel 16:1). 'Ophel of Zion', which means 'stronghold of Zion', was a fortified section of Jerusalem (Zion is called "daughter" to indicate that it is a beautiful city, as comely as a young woman - cf. Zech. 9:9). Both 'Migdal Eder' and 'Ophel of Daughter Zion' represent the royal bloodline of David, and the meanings of the names - 'watchtower of the flock' and 'stronghold of beautiful Zion' - allude to the primary duties of Christ and his Messiah: shepherd and king (Isaiah 9:6).

Subunit B1: The Messiah will rule over Israel and the world (5:2b-4)

Chapter 5 2b His goings forth are from of old, from ancient times.”

The coming Messiah, Archangel Michael, as chief angel and as the 'prince' responsible for the Israelites (Daniel 12:1), has made several previous excursions into the human realm ("goings forth") from ancient times, for example, as the angel who gave Daniel the prophecy in Daniel 10-12 [5].

In addition, we believe Archangel Michael had a previous incarnation as Melchizedek around the time of Abraham (see Gen. 14:18–20), and we support this idea by synthesizing several texts:

• Hebrews 7:3, if treated literally, indicates that Melchizedek had no parents and did not die (that is, he was a divine being who took on a human form for a time - see also Hebrews 7:8,16).
• Pseudepigraphic 2 Enoch seems to support this interpretation, with its legend of Melchizedek's antediluvian miraculous "birth" and later translation to heaven.
• Qumran pesher 11QMelch implies that Melchizedek is Michael and casts him as an eschatological messianic figure.
• In Psalm 110, the 4th verse, which relates Christ to Melchizedek, acts as a segue and chiastic pivot between the stanzas predicting the reign of Christ (vs 1-3) and his Messiah (vs 5-7), implying that Melchizedek is the coming Messiah.
• Melchizedek's identity as Michael explains the greatness attributed to this enigmatic figure (Heb. 7, Psalm 110:4).

The Melchizedek of old was king of Jerusalem (Melchizedek renamed Salem to Jerusalem), and his names, "King of Righteousness" (Melchizedek) and "King of Peace" (King of Salem) (see Heb. 7:2), resemble the coming Messiah's titles, Righteous Judge (Rev 19:11, Isa. 11:3-5) and Prince of Peace (Isa. 9:7). Abraham, the forefather of the Israelites, acknowledged him as priest when he gave Melchizedek a tithe (see Gen. 14:18-20, Heb. 7:4-10), and the coming Messiah will also be a priest of Israel. So kingship and priesthood were united in Melchizedek, separated during the Davidic and Aaronic reign, and will be united again in Jesus and the coming Messiah.

Chapter 5 3 Surely he will abandon them until the time when she who is in labor bears a son, and the rest of his brothers return to join the Israelites.

The coming Messiah, who was a guardian angel of the Israelites, abandoned the Northern Tribes (c 722BC) because of their waywardness, but now will once again lead them. The 'woman in labor' is a sign in the heavens (Rev. 12:1,2) indicating the imminent start of the coming Messiah's Millennial Reign on earth, as we have shown in the parse of Revelation 12 [3]. A few years after the sign, the Israelites, who are scattered around the world, will gather into the New Israel.

Chapter 5 4 He will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. And they will live securely, for then his greatness will reach to the ends of the earth.

The coming Messiah will shepherd the Israelites and reign for God and Christ. The people of Israel will live in safety, because their king controls the earth.

Pivot X: The Messiah defeats the Beast Army (5:5-6)

Chapter 5 5 And he will be our peace when the Assyrians enter our land and march through our fortresses.
We will raise against them seven shepherds, even eight commanders, 6 who will rule the land of Assyria with the sword, the land of Nimrod with drawn sword.
He will deliver us from the Assyrians when they enter our land and march across our borders.

Note the chiastic structure of this passage (vs. 5,6): the pivot, "We will raise... Nimrod with drawn sword", predicts that Israel will control "Assyria", and the surrounding subunits foretell the repulse of the "Assyrian" attack by the Messiah.

Who are these "Assyrians"? As we have proposed in our analysis of Daniel (see appendix of our parse of Daniel 8 [4]), powerful Satanic bloodlines, descendants of Nimrod, were the primary source of strength for Assyria and Babylon, and this power was transferred to other empires like Greece and Rome through the movement of these bloodlines. The empires that hosted the bloodline families were also the headquarters from which Satan controlled the world. So "Assyria" here refers to the empire that inherits the title of Satan's capital at the start of the Millennial Reign - the Beast Empire of Rev. 13,17.

The Beast army will attack the New Israel at the start of the Millennial Reign, but the Israelites need not fear, because God's Messiah will be with them ("he will be our peace"), and he will defeat the Beast army at the borders of the New Israel with divine assistance (Rev 19:17-21, Ezekiel 39). After their defeat, the 7 nations that make up this Beast will be controlled from the New Israel through representatives of the coming Messiah, through 7 "shepherds" and 8 "commanders" (see also Obadiah 1:21).

Subunit B2: The Messiah will rule over Israel and the world (5:7-8)

Chapter 5 7 The remnant of Jacob will be in the midst of many peoples like dew from the Lord, like showers on the grass, which do not wait for anyone or depend on man. 8 The remnant of Jacob will be among the nations, in the midst of many peoples, like a lion among the beasts of the forest, like a young lion among flocks of sheep, which mauls and mangles as it goes, and no one can rescue.

Some of the Israelites will be dispersed among other countries to help control and lead them. This Israelite hegemony cannot be reined in by the other nations, just as dew or rain from God cannot be controlled by humans. These Israelites will help the Messiah rule the nations of the earth with a 'scepter of iron' (Psalm 2:9); they will be like lions, "mauling" anyone who is hostile or refuses to obey.

Subunit A2: Kingship is restored to the line of David (5:9)

Chapter 5 9 Your hand will be lifted up in triumph over your enemies, and all your foes will be destroyed.

All the Messiah's enemies, including any other contenders to the throne of the New Jerusalem, will be defeated. ( This passage continues from 4:8 in the corresponding subunit A1.)

Chiasmus 3: Israel is rid of idol worship and Hostile Nations are punished

The passage below (5:10-15) is structured as a chiasmus. The pivot, X [5:12-14a], indicates that the Israelites will no longer worship idols. The subunits, A1 [5:10-11] and A2 [5:14b-15], predict that nations hostile to God will be disarmed and punished.

Subunit A1: Hostile nations are disarmed and punished (5:10-11)

Chapter 5 10 “In that day,” declares the Lord,
“I will destroy your horses from among you and demolish your chariots. 11 I will destroy the fortifications of your land and tear down all your strongholds.

God will destroy the weaponry ('horses' and 'chariots') and defences ('fortifications', 'strongholds') of nations hostile to God. ( We believe this subunit is addressed to the nations that have disobeyed God based on the corresponding Subunit A2 below.)

Pivot X: The Israelites turn away from idol worship (5:12-14a)

Chapter 5 12 I will destroy your witchcraft and you will no longer cast spells. 13 I will destroy your idols and your sacred stones from among you; you will no longer bow down to the work of your hands. 14a I will uproot from among you your standing images.

The descendants of the Northern Tribes will stubbornly worship idols and demon gods up to a few years before the Millennial Reign; for the God of Israel had hardened their hearts against Himself because of the unfaithfulness of their forefathers. However, at the start of the Millennial Reign, God will turn them away from their idolatry and witchcraft; He will suddenly and permanently turn them back to worshipping Him (Ezekiel 37).

Subunit A2: Hostile nations are disarmed and punished (5:14b-15)

Chapter 5 14b I will demolish your cities. 15 I will take vengeance in anger and wrath on the nations that have not obeyed me.”

God, in His wrath, will punish the nations that have disobeyed Him during the reign of the Beast, and will devastate their cities.

5.3 From the Judahites' Exile to Babylon to the Birth of Christ (c. 587BC-5BC) (Ch 4 Vs 9-13, Ch 5 Vs 2a)

This Period is arranged in the form of a two-unit chiasmus:

A1 4:9 The Judahites lose their king (c. 587BC)
  B1 4:10 Judah is devastated (c 587BC-444BC)
    X 4:11-12 God arranges for Judah's victory (c 166BC)
  B2 4:13-14 Judah is resurgent (c 166BC-5BC)
A2 5:2a The Judahites get a king (5BC)


Subunit A1: The Judahites lose their king (c. 587BC) (4:9)

Chapter 4 9 Why do you now cry aloud— have you no king? Has your ruler perished, that pain seizes you like that of a woman in labor?

We take this passage to refer to Nebuchadnezzar's defeat of Zedekiah, the last king of the Judahites (c. 587BC). Zedekiah was taken prisoner ("have you no king?") (see 2 Kings 25:5-7) and he later died in exile.

Subunit B1: Judah is devastated (c 587BC-444BC) (4:10)

Chapter 4 10a Writhe in agony, Daughter Zion, like a woman in labor, for now you must leave the city to camp in the open field.
You will go to Babylon; there you will be rescued. There the Lord will redeem you out of the hand of your enemies

After he defeated the Judahites, Nebuchadnezzar took most of them into exile to Babylon (2 Kings 25:11-12). Around 70 years later, the Persian leader Cyrus conquered Babylon with God's help (539BC) and released the Judahites from captivity (Ezra 1:1-4). The gradual return of the Judahites to their homeland was completed around 444BC in the time of Nehemiah.

Pivot X: God arranges for Judah's victory (c 166BC) (4:11-12)

Chapter 4 11 But now many nations are gathered against you. They say, “Let her be defiled, let our eyes gloat over Zion!”

After their return from Babylon, the Judahites were frequently harassed by powerful neighbours for several centuries (see Daniel 11). Eventually, under the Maccabees, the Judahites defeated their primary oppressor, the mighty Seleucids under emperor Antiochus Epiphanes (166BC), and they rebuilt Jerusalem and its temple (1 Maccabees 4). The surrounding nations felt threatened by the resurgent Judahites and conspired to destroy them (1 Maccabees 5:1,2).

Chapter 4 12 But they do not know the thoughts of the Lord; they do not understand his plan, that he has gathered them like sheaves to the threshing floor.

God played a role in inciting these nations to scheme against His own people (He "gathered them like sheaves") - God set them up for defeat at the hands of the Judahites (the Judahites will "rise and thresh" - vs 13) so that His plans may be fulfilled. ( Similarly, God will incite the Beast army to attack the New Israel in Period 3 - see Ezekiel 39:2)

Subunit B2: Judah is resurgent (c 166BC-5BC) (4:13-14)

Chapter 4 13 “Rise and thresh, Daughter Zion, for I will give you horns of iron; I will give you hooves of bronze, and you will break to pieces many nations.” You will devote their ill-gotten gains to the Lord, their wealth to the Lord of all the earth.

The Judahites, led by the Maccabees, invaded and plundered the surrounding nations that had conspired against them - Idumea, Ammon, Galilee, etc. (1 Maccabees 5). The Maccabees then founded the Hasmonean dynasty (140 BC-37BC), and during its reign the Judahite kingdom expanded into the neighbouring regions like Samaria, Galilee, Iturea, Perea, and Idumea. The Judahites retrieved some of the land and property that had been taken from them by their enemies and dedicated it to God (see 1 Maccabees 15:32,33). The Judahites remained semi-autonomous during the succeeding Herodian Kingdom under which Christ was born.

Subunit A2: The Judahites get a king (5BC) (5:2a)

Chapter 5 2a “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel.

Jesus, a descendant of David, was born in the little town of Bethlehem Ephrathah, the place of David's clan (see Luke 2:3,4). Although Christ was not a physical king in Period 1, he will rule over Israel (and the world) through his Messiah during the Millennial Reign in Period 3. ( Note that when Herod asked the chief priests and scribes where the Messiah would be born, they paraphrased this verse to him - Matt. 2:4-6.)

So the narrative of this Period, that began with the loss of a Judahite king (4:9), signalling the end of the reign of David's line, concludes with this prophecy about Christ, who will, through his Messiah, restore the Davidic line to power forever (see 1 Samuel 7:16, Isaiah 9:6).

Conclusion

This prophecy highlights the importance of good leadership. The kings of Judea who led the people away from God caused the miseries of exile of Period 1, and the corruption of the Pharisees resulted in the devastation of the Judahites in Period 2. However, the Godly zeal of the Maccabees in Period 1 led to independence for the Judahites, and Christ's Reign in Period 3 will bring peace, prosperity and honour for Israel.

References

[1] A Definition of Cryptochiasmus
[2] A Chiastic Reconfiguration Of "The 70 Weeks Of Daniel"
[3] A Chiastic Reconfiguration Of Revelation 12
[4] A Chiastic Reconfiguration Of Daniel 8
[5] A Chiastic Reconfiguration Of Daniel 10-12. Part 2: Daniel 11-12





* First version published on 17 December 2019.