Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Micah 1:13
O thou inhabitant of Lachish, bind the chariot to the swift beast: she [is] the beginning of the sin to the daughter of Zion: for the transgressions of Israel were found in thee.
13. Lachish ] That well-known fortified town in the Shephlah, or maritime plain, the capture of which was commemorated by Sennacherib in two bas-reliefs in his palace; comp. Isa 36:2; Isa 37:8. These small Syrian and Palestinian fortresses had to sustain repeated sieges. ‘Lachish’ and rechesh (‘swift beast’) make what is called an assonance; hence the mention of Lachish suggests the thought of harnessing the chariot for flight. The imperative is of course to be understood poetically. It would be well for Lachish if her ‘swift steeds’ could carry her far away those ‘swift steeds’ which were so violently obnoxious to Micah and his fellow-prophets (Isa 2:7; Isa 31:1).
she is the beginning of the sin ] Rather, she was the beginning of sin, i.e. the image-worship of the northern kingdom took root first of all in Lachish, and from thence spread over the rest of Judah (comp. Mic 6:16). It is remarkable that the infection of idolatry should have appeared at a bound so far from its original focus. No light can be thrown upon this.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
O thou inhabitant of Lachish, bind the chariot to the swift beast – (steed.) Lachish was always a strong city, as its name probably denoted, (probably compact. It was one of the royal cities of the Amorites, and its king one of the five, who went out to battle with Joshua Jos 10:3. It lay in the low country, Shephelah, of Judah Jos 15:33, Jos 15:39, between Adoraim and Azekah 2Ch 11:9, 2Ch 11:7 Roman miles south of Eleutheropolis (Onomasticon), and so, probably, close to the hill-country, although on the plain; partaking perhaps of the advantages of both. Rehoboam fortified it. Amaziah fled to it from the conspiracy at Jerusalem 2Ki 14:19, as a place of strength. It, with Azekah, alone remained, when Nebuchadnezzar had taken the rest, just before the capture of Jerusalem Jer 34:7. When Sennacherib took all the defensed cities of Judah, it seems to have been his last and proudest conquest, for from it he sent his contemptuous message to Hezekiah Isa 36:1-2.
The whole power of the great king seems to have been called forth to take this stronghold. The Assyrian bas-reliefs, the record of the conquests of Sennacherib, if (as the accompanying inscription is deciphered), they represent the taking of Lachish, exhibit it as a city of great extent and importance, defended by double walls with battlements and towers, and by fortified riggings. In no other sculptures were so many armed warriors drawn up in array against a besieged city. Against the fortifications had been thrown up as many as ten banks or mounts compactly built – and seven battering-rams had already been rolled up against the walls. Its situation, on the extremity probably of the plain, fitted it for a depot of cavalry. The swift steeds, to which it was bidden to bind the chariot, are mentioned as part of the magnificence of Solomon, as distinct from his ordinary horses (1Ki 4:28, English (1Ki 5:8 in Hebrew)). They were used by the posts of the king of Persia Est 8:10, Est 8:14.
They were doubtless part of the strength of the kings of Judah, the cavalry in which their statesmen trusted, instead of God. Now, its swift horses in which it prided itself should avail but to flee. Probably, it is an ideal picture. Lachish is bidden to bind its chariots to horses of the utmost speed, which should carry them far away, if their strength were equal to their swiftness. It had great need; for it was subjected under Sennacherib to the consequences of Assyrian conquest. If the Assyrian accounts relate to its capture, impalement and flaying alive were among the tortures of the captive-people; and awfully did Sennacherib, in his pride, avenge the sins against God whom he disbelieved.
She is the beginning of the sin to the daughter of Zion – Jerome: She was at the gate through which the transgressions of Israel flooded Judah. How she came first to apostatise and to be the infectress of Judah, Scripture does not tell us . She scarcely bordered on Philistia; Jerusalem lay between her and Israel. But the course of sin follows no geographical lines. It was the greater sin to Lachish that she, locally so far removed from Israels sin, was the first to import into Judah the idolatries of Israel. Scripture does not say, what seduced Lachish herself, whether the pride of military strength, or her importance, or commercial intercourse, for her swift steeds; with Egypt, the common parent of Israels and her sin. Scripture does not give the genealogy of her sin, but stamps her as the heresiarch of Judah. We know the fact from this place only, that she, apparently so removed from the occasion of sin, became, like the propagators of heresy, the authoress of evil, the cause of countless loss of souls. Beginning of sin to – , what a world of evil lies in the three words!
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Mic 1:13
Bind the chariot to the swift beast
Be quick
These words are addressed to the inhabitants of Lachish.
Our subject is promptitude in action.
I. Be quick in your material engagements. The distinction between the secular and the spiritual is not real but fictitious. A man should be quick in all his legitimate temporal engagements, whatever they may be. By quickness is not meant the hurry of confusion, but adroit expertness, skilful promptitude. As Shakespeare said, What the wise do quickly, is not done rashly.
1. The quicker you are the more you will accomplish. An expert man will accomplish more in an hour than a slow man in a day.
2. The quicker you are, the better for your faculties. The quick movement of the limb is healthier than the slow; the quick action of the mental faculties is more invigorating than the slow. As a rule, the quick man is in every way healthier and happier than the slow.
3. The quicker you are, the more valuable you are in the market of the world. The skilful man who cultivates the habit of quickness and despatch increases his commercial value every day.
II. Be quick in your intellectual pursuits. You have an enormous amount of mental work to do, if you act up to your duty, and discharge your mission in life.
1. The quicker you are, the more you will attain. The more fields of truth you will traverse, the more fruits you will gather from the tree of knowledge. Some men in their studies move like elephants, and only traverse a small space. Others, like eagles, sweep continents in a day. The quick eye will see what escapes the dull eye, the quick ear will catch voices unheard by the slow of hearing.
2. The quicker you are, the better for your faculties. It is the brisk walker that best strengthens his limbs, the brisk fighter that wins the greatest victories. It is by quick action that the steel is polished and that weapons are sharpened. Intellectual quickness whets the faculties, makes them keen, agile, and apt. Bind the chariot to the swift beast.
III. Be quick in your spiritual affairs.
1. Morally you have a work to do for your own soul. The work is great and urgent.
2. Morally you have a work to do for others. There are souls around you demanding your most earnest efforts, etc.
(1) Be quick; the work must be done during your life here, if ever done.
(2) Be quick; your life here is very short and uncertain.
(3) Be quick; the longer you delay the more difficult it is to do. (Homilist.)
Promptitude in action
An officer of high rank in the British Army relates how he won the first step of the ladder to recognition and promotion, He was then a young sub-lieutenant of engineers in Ceylon. One morning, while at a quiet game in the amusement room, unaware that any duty was being neglected, the governor of the island saw him. What are you doing here, youngster? said his chief. I thought you would have been at Negombo by this time! What to do there, sir? What! Have you not received your orders? Go to the quartermaster-general at once. But it was nearly one oclock before the young fellow could find that officer. When found, his instructions were to proceed to Negombo, an old fort twenty-three miles north, make a plan of the barracks there, and note various important details. But the sub-lieutenant was vexed; for that evening he was obliged to attend a dinner party at the Government House, and there was not much time to spare. However, he saddled his Arab horse, that could do almost anything except fly, and covered the twenty-three miles in two hours. Next, field book and tape line in hand, he made the necessary measurements and calculations, sketching plans, and writing down facts and figures. Having drafted an accurate report, he remounted his faithful steed, and was back in Colombo before the dinner hour. Walking in quietly with the other guests, the governor saw him, and exclaimed: You here, sir! What were your orders? Why are you not attending to them? Be off at once! My orders were to go to Negombo, sir, replied the young officer, repeating the instructions. Then, what do you mean by neglecting them? I have not, was the answer. The report is finished, and will be laid before you tomorrow morning. The governor showed his delight by the glow of satisfaction on his face. He detailed the matter to his staff, dwelling on the smart and accurate obedience manifested, and from that day the young man rose steadily in his profession. (Sunday companion.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 13. Inhabitant of Lachish] This city was in the tribe of Judah, Jos 15:39, and was taken by Sennacherib when he was coming against Jerusalem, 2Kg 18:13, &c., and it is supposed that he wished to reduce this city first, that, possessing it, he might prevent Hezekiah’s receiving any help from Egypt.
She is the beginning of the sin] This seems to intimate that Lachish was the first city in Judah which received the idolatrous worship of Israel.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Lachish; a very strong fortress on the confines of Judah towards the kingdom of the ten tribes, and which, as it did to the last stand out against Sennacherib, so it is very probable they did boast of their strength and valour.
Bind the chariot to the swift beast; either to flee from the sword of the enemy, and to seek safety in-another country, forsaking their own; or else by way of derision, You will be besieged and cooped up by the Assyrian, and then you may harness your horses or mules to carry you in chariots about your own streets; or else the prophet foretells Sennacheribs commanding post-chariots to carry his messengers to summon Jerusalem to yield up all to him.
She Lachish, is the beginning of the sin to the daughter of Zion; from thence idolatry spread itself into Judah and Jerusalem. Lachish, nearest to idolatrous Israel, took the infection of them, and conveyed it to Judah, or Jerusalem, here called
the daughter of Zion.
For the transgressions, not only the idolatry, but other sins also,
of Israel, of the ten tribes,
were found in thee; thou didst receive and worship the same idols that Samaria did.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
13. “Bind the chariot tothe swift steed,” in order by a hasty flight to escapethe invading foe. Compare Note, see on Isa36:2, on “Lachish,” at which Sennacherib fixed hisheadquarters (2Ki 18:14; 2Ki 18:17;Jer 34:7).
she is the beginning of thesin to . . . ZionLachish was the first of the cities of Judah,according to this passage, to introduce the worship of false gods,imitating what Jeroboam had introduced in Israel. As lying near theborder of the north kingdom, Lachish was first to be infected by itsidolatry, which thence spread to Jerusalem.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
O thou inhabitant of Lachish, bind the chariot to the swift beast,…. Horses, camels, dromedaries, or mules. Some u render the word swift horse or horses, post horses; others dromedaries w; and some mules x the two latter seem more especially to be meant, either dromedaries, as the word is translated in 1Ki 4:28; which is a very swift creature: Isidore says y the dromedary is one sort of camels, of a lesser stature, yet swifter, from whence it has its name, and is used to go more than a hundred miles a day; this is thought to be what the Jews z call a flying camel; which the gloss says is a sort of camels that are as swift in running as a bird that flies; they are lighter made than a camel, and go at a much greater rate; whereas a camel goes at the rate of thirty miles a day, the dromedary will perform a journey of one hundred and twenty miles in a day; they make use of them in the Indies for going post, and expresses frequently perform a journey of eight hundred miles upon them in the space of a week a: this may serve the better to illustrate Jer 2:23; and improve the note there: but whether these were used in chariots I do not find; only Bochart b takes notice of a kind of camel, that has, like the dromedary, two humps on its back, which the Arabians call “bochet”, and put to chariots: or else mules are meant, for by comparing the above text in 1Ki 4:28 with 2Ch 9:24, it looks as if “mules” were there intended; and so the word here used is rendered in Es 8:10; and by their being there said to be used for posts to ride on expresses, it up pears to be a swift creature. Aelianus c makes mention of mules in India of a red colour, very famous for running; and mules were used in the Olympic games, and many riders of them got the victory; and that these were used in chariots, there is no doubt to be made of it: Homer d speaks of mules drawing a four wheeled chariot; so Pausanias e of mules yoked together, and drawing a chariot, instead of horses; and the Septuagint version of Isa 66:20; instead of “in litters and on mules”, renders it, “in litters” or carriages “of mules”: but, be they one or the other that are here meant, they were creatures well known, and being swift were used in chariots, to which they were bound and fastened in order to draw them, and which we call “putting to”; this the inhabitants of Lachish f are bid to do, in order to make their escape, and flee as fast as they could from the enemy, advancing to besiege them; as they were besieged by the army of Sennacherib, before he came to Jerusalem,
2Ch 32:1. Or these words may be spoken in an ironical and sarcastic way, that whereas they had abounded in horses and chariots, and frequently rode about their streets in them, now let them make use of them, and get away if they could; and may suggest, that, instead of riding in these, they should be obliged to walk on foot into captivity. Lachish was a city in the tribe of Judah, in the times of Jerom g; it was a village seven miles from Eleutheropolis, as you go to Daroma or the south;
she [is] the beginning of the sin to the daughter of Zion; lying upon the borders of the ten tribes, as Lachish did, it was the first of the cities of Judah that gave into the idolatry of Jeroboam, the worshipping of the calves; and from thence it spread itself to Zion and Jerusalem; and, being a ringleader in this sin, should be punished for it: though some think this refers to their conspiracy with the citizens of Jerusalem against King Amaziah, and the murder of him in this place, now punished for it, 2Ki 14:18;
for the transgressions of Israel were found in thee; not only their idolatry, but all other sins, with which it abounded; it was a very wicked place, and therefore no wonder it was given up to destruction. The Targum is,
“for the transgressors of Israel were found in thee.”
u “ad equos velocissimos”, Pagninus; “equo veloci”, Montanus; “angariis sc. equis”, Junius Tremellius, Piscator. w “Dromadibus”, Vatablus. So Elias. x “Mulis”, so some in Piscator “ad mulum celerem”, Burkius. y Origin. l. 12. c. 1. p. 102. z T. Bab. Maccot, fol. 5. 1. a See Harris’s Voyages and Travels, vol. 1. p. 469. b Hierozoic. par. 1. l. 2. c. 4. col. 87. c De Animal. l. 16. c. 9. d Iliad. 24. l. 324. e Eliac. prior, sive l. 5. p. 302. So Suetonius in Vit. Jul. Caesar. c. 31. “mulis ad vehiculum junctis”. f There is a likeness in sound between and . g De locis Hebr. fol. 92. M.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
And the judgment will not even stop at Jerusalem, but will spread still further over the land. This spreading is depicted in Mic 1:13-15 in the same manner as before. Mic 1:13. “Harness the horse to the chariot, O inhabitress of Lachish! It was the beginning of sin to the daughter Zion, that the iniquities of Israel were found in her. Mic 1:14. Therefore wilt thou give dismissal-presents to Moresheth-gath (i.e., the betrothed of Gath); the houses of Achzib (lying fountain) become a lying brook for Israel’s kings. Mic 1:15. I will still bring thee the heir, O inhabitress of Mareshah (hereditary city); the nobility of Israel will come to Adullam. Mic 1:16. Make thyself bald, and shave thyself upon the sons of thy delights: spread out thy baldness like the eagle; for they have wandered away from thee.” The inhabitants of Lachish, a fortified city in the Shephelah, to the west of Eleutheropolis, preserved in the ruins of Um Lakis (see at Jos 10:3), are to harness the horses to the chariot ( rekhesh , a runner; see at 1Ki 5:8: the word is used as ringing with lakhsh ), namely, to flee as rapidly as possible before the advancing foe. , . . “to bind … the horse to the chariot,” answering to the Latin currum jungere equis. Upon this city will the judgment fall with especial severity, because it has grievously sinned. It was the beginning of sin to the daughter of Zion, i.e., to the population of Jerusalem; it was the first to grant admission to the iniquities of Israel, i.e., to the idolatry of the image-worship of the ten tribes (for , see Mic 1:5 and Amo 3:14), which penetrated even to the capital. Nothing more is known of this, as the historical books contain no account of it. For this reason, namely, because the sin of Israel found admission into Jerusalem, she (the daughter Zion) will be obliged to renounce Moresheth-gath. This is the thought of Mic 1:14, the drapery of which rests upon the resemblance in sound between Moresheth and m e ‘orasah , the betrothed (Deu 22:23). Shilluchm , dismissal, denotes anything belonging to a man, which he dismisses or gives up for a time, or for ever. It is applied in Exo 18:2 to the sending away of wife and children to the father-in-law for a time; and in 1Ki 9:16 to a dowry, or the present which a father gives to his daughter when she is married and leaves his house. The meaning “divorce,” i.e., sepher k e rthuth (Deu 24:1, Deu 24:3), has been arbitrarily forced upon the word. The meaning is not to be determined from shilleach in Jer 3:8, as Hitzig supposes, but from 1Ki 9:16, where the same expression occurs, except that it is construed with , which makes no material difference. For signifies to give to a person, either to lay upon him or to hand to him; , to give to him. The object given by Zion to Moresheth as a parting present is not mentioned, but it is really the city itself; for the meaning is simply this: Zion will be obliged to relinquish all further claim to Moresheth, to give it up to the enemy. Moresheth is not an appellative, as the old translators suppose, but the proper name of Micah’s home; and Gath is a more precise definition of its situation – “by Gath,” viz., the well-known Philistian capital, analogous to Bethlehem-Judah in Jdg 17:7-9; Jdg 19:1, or Abel-maim (Abel by the water) in 2Ch 16:4. According to Jerome (comm. in Mich. Prol.), Morasthi, qui usque hodie juxta Eleutheropolin, urbem Palaestinae, haud grandis est viculus (cf. Robinson, Pal. ii. p. 423). The context does not admit of our taking the word in an appellative sense, “possession of Gath,” since the prophet does not mean to say that Judah will have to give up to the enemy a place belonging to Gath, but rather that it will have to give up the cities of its own possession. For, as Maurer correctly observes, “when the enemy is at the gate, men think of defending the kingdom, not of enlarging it.” But if the addition of the term Gath is not merely intended to define the situation of Moresheth with greater minuteness, or to distinguish it from other places of the same name, and if the play upon words in Moresheth was intended to point to a closer relation to Gath, the thought expressed could only be, that the place situated in the neighbourhood of Gath had frequently been taken by the Philistines, or claimed as their property, and not that they were in actual possession of Gath at this time.
The play upon words in the second clause of the verse also points to the loss of places in Judaea: “the houses of Achzib will become Achzab to the kings of Israel.” , a lie, for , is a stream which dries up in the hot season, and deceives the expectation of the traveller that he shall find water (Jer 15:18; cf. Job 6:15.). Achzib, a city in the plain of Judah, whose name has been preserved in the ruins of Kussabeh, to the south-west of Beit-Jibrin (see at Jos 15:44). The houses of Achzib are mentioned, because they are, properly speaking, to be compared to the contents of the river’s bed, whereas the ground on which they stood, with the wall that surrounded them, answered to the river’s bed itself (Hitzig), so that the words do not denote the loss or destruction of the houses so much as the loss of the city itself. The “kings of Israel” are not the kings of Samaria and Judah, for Achzib belonged to the kingdom of Judah alone, but the kings of Judah who followed one another (cf. Jer 19:13); so that the plural is to be understood as relating to the monarchy of Israel (Judah). Mareshah will also pass into other hands. This is affirmed in the words, “I will bring the heir to thee again” ( for , as in 1Ki 21:29). The first heir of Mareshah was the Israelites, who received the city, which had been previously occupied by the Canaanites, for their possession on the conquest of the land. The second heir will be the enemy, into whose possession the land is now to pass. Mareshah, also in the lowland of Judah, has been preserved, so far as the name is concerned, in the ruins of Marash (see at Jos 15:44, and Tobler, Dritte Wanderung, pp. 129, 142-3). To the north of this was Adullam (see at Jos 12:15), which has not yet been discovered, but which Tobler (p. 151) erroneously seeks for in Bet Dula . Micah mentions it simply on account of the cave there (1Sa 22:1), as a place of refuge, to which the great and glorious of Israel would flee (“the glory of Israel,” as in Isa 5:13). The description is rounded off in Mic 1:16, by returning to the thought that Zion would mourn deeply over the carrying away of the people, with which it had first set out in Mic 1:8. In Zion is addressed as the mother of the people. , to shave smooth, and , to cut off the hair, are synonyms, which are here combined to strengthen the meaning. The children of thy delights, in whom thou hast thy pleasure, are the members of the nation. Shaving the head bald, or shaving a bald place, was a sing of mourning, which had been handed down as a traditional custom in Israel, in spite of the prohibition in Deu 14:1 (see at Lev 19:28). The bald place is to be made to spread out like that of a nesher , i.e., not the true eagle, but the vulture, which was also commonly classed in the eagle family, – either the bearded vulture, vultur barbatus (see Oedmann, Verm. Samml. i. p. 54ff.), or more probably the carrion vulture, vultur percnopterus L. , common in Egypt, and also in Palestine, which has the front part of the head completely bald, and only a few hairs at the back of the head, so that a bald place may very well be attributed to it (see Hasselquist, Reise, p. 286ff.). The words cannot possibly be understood as referring to the yearly moulting of the eagle itself.
If we inquire still further as to the fulfilment of the prophecy concerning Judah (Mic 1:8-16), it cannot be referred, or speaking more correctly, it must not be restricted, to the Assyrian invasion, as Theod., Cyril, Marck, and others suppose. For the carrying away of Judah, which is hinted at in Mic 1:11, and clearly expressed in Mic 1:16, was not effected by the Assyrians, but by the Chaldeans; and that Micah himself did not expect this judgment from the Assyrians, but from Babel, is perfectly obvious from Mic 4:10, where he mentions Babel as the place to which Judah was to be carried into exile. At the same time, we must not exclude the Assyrian oppression altogether; for Sennacherib had not only already conquered the greater part of Judah, and penetrated to the very gates of Jerusalem (2Ki 18:13-14, 2Ki 18:19; Isaiah 36:1-38:22), but would have destroyed the kingdom of Judah, as his predecessor Shalmaneser had destroyed the kingdom of Israel, if the Lord had not heard the prayer of His servant Hezekiah, and miraculously destroyed Sennacherib’s army before the walls of Jerusalem. Micah prophesies throughout this chapter, not of certain distinct judgment, but of judgment in general, without any special allusions to the way in which it would be realized; so that the proclamation embraces all the judgments that have fallen upon Judah from the Assyrian invasion down to the Roman catastrophe.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
By bidding the citizens of Lachish to tie their chariots to dromedaries he intimates that it would not be not safe for them to remain in their city, and that nothing would be better for them than to flee elsewhere and to carry away their substance. “Think,” he says, “of flight, and of the quickest flight.” The word רכש, recash, which I render dromedary or camel, is of an uncertain meaning among the Hebrews; some render it swift horses: but we understand the Prophet’s meaning; for he intimates that there would be no time for flight, except they made great haste, for the enemies would come upon them quickly.
And he then subjoins that that city had been the beginning of sin to the Jews; for though he names here the daughter of Zion, he still includes, by taking a part for it the whole, all the Jews. And why he says that Lachish had been the beginning of sin to the citizens of Jerusalem, we may collect from the next clauses, In thee, he says, were found the transgressions of Israel. The citizens of Lachish were then, no doubt, the first who had embraced the corruptions of Jeroboam, and had thus departed from the pure worship of God. When, therefore, contagion had entered that city, it crept, by degrees, into neighboring places, until at length, as we find, the whole kingdom of Judah had become corrupt: and this is what the Prophet repeats more fully in other places. It was not then without reason that he denounces desolation here on the citizens of Lachish; for they had been the authors of sin to their own kindred. However alienated the ten tribes had become from pure faith and pure worship, the kingdom of Judah remained still upright, until Lachish opened the door to ungodly superstitions; and then its superstitions spread through the whole of Judea. She therefore suffered the punishment which she deserved, when she was drawn away into distant exile, or, at least, when she could not otherwise escape from danger, than by fleeing into some fear country, and that very swiftly. She is the beginning, he says, of sin to the daughter of Zion How so? For in thee — (it is more emphatical when the Prophet turns his discourse to Lachish itself) — in thee, he says, were found the transgressions of Israel. It follows —
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(13) Bind the chariot to the swift beasti.e., make haste to escape with thy goods. Lachish was the most important of the cities enumerated. It was fortified by Rehoboam, and was sought as a refuge by Amaziah from the conspiracy formed against him in Jerusalem. After the capture of the Holy City by Nebuchadnezzar, Lachish alone remained, with Azekah, of the defenced cities of Judah. It appears, from its position as a border city, to have been the channel for introducing into the kingdom of Judah the idolatry set up by Jeroboam in Israel.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
13. Lachish The modern Tel-el-Hesy, in the Shephelah, sixteen miles east of Gaza, in a slightly northerly direction; at one time it was a city of considerable importance (Jos 15:39; Jer 34:7). The play is between the name of the city and the word translated “swift beast” (R.V., “steed”). Lachish is exhorted to flee as swiftly as possible, for the retribution about to overtake her will be exceptionally severe.
Beginning of the sin The prophet makes Lachish responsible for the corruption and idolatry of Judah.
Daughter of Zion A personification of Jerusalem and its inhabitants, standing here probably in the wider sense of Judah. The last clause seems to imply that in some way the corruption of Israel had been transplanted to Lachish, and from there in turn to Judah; or, perhaps, that corruption similar to that of Israel was found in Lachish. Certainty on this point cannot be had. If the former is the proper interpretation, nothing is known of how all this came about.
It is difficult to determine who is addressed in 14a; following so closely upon the mention of Lachish, one would naturally suppose that the words are intended for it; but did Moresheth-gath ever belong to Lachish? If the text is correct, it seems more satisfactory to interpret the words as addressed to Judah. It will be compelled to give up to the enemy Moresheth-gath (see p. 356). The play is upon Moresheth and the Hebrew word Me’orasah (Deu 22:23), “betrothed,” though the latter does not occur here. It suggested, however, the word translated “presents” (R.V., “a parting gift”). This word is used in 1Ki 9:16, to denote the marriage portion given by the father to his daughter when she is married and leaves his home; in general it “denotes anything belonging to a man which he dismisses or gives up for a time, or forever.” In the latter sense the word is used here. Some suppose Moresheth to be addressed, and they change the text so as to read, “Therefore parting gifts shall be given to thee, O Moresheth-gath.”
Achzib Mentioned again in Jos 15:44, along with Mareshah; it may be the same as Chezib (Gen 38:5) and Cozeba (1Ch 4:22). It is probably to be identified with the modern Ain-Kezbeh, about eight miles north-northeast of Beit-Jibrin, in the Shephelah. For “the houses of Achzib” we might read “the two Beth-Achzib,” and this is favored by some writers. The second Achzib is thought to be identical with the one mentioned in Jos 19:29; Jdg 1:31, and situated in the territory of Asher; which is identified with the modern Ez-zib, on the coast between Acco and Tyre. The ordinary translation is to be preferred, since in a list of towns in Judah a city in the far north is out of place.
Lie R.V., “deceitful thing.” The Hebrew word, akhzabh, is applied, in Jer 15:18, to a stream that dries up during the hot season, and thus deceives the traveler, who expects to refresh himself with its water (compare also Job 6:15).
Kings of Israel Since the lament is concerning Judah, one would naturally expect “kings” or “king of Judah,” unless, on the basis of Mic 1:9, it is assumed that Micah expected the calamity to fall upon the north and south simultaneously. In that case “Israel” might be used of the whole people and “kings” of the monarchs of both Israel and Judah; they would find no refuge in Achzib, either because it is in ruin or because it is occupied by the enemy. If this is the right interpretation the translation “the two Achzib” becomes more probable; the king of Judah flees to the one in the south, the king of Israel to that in the north. Others take “Israel” to be equivalent to “Judah”; but this use of “Israel” is late and would point to a date subsequent to the eighth century B.C. Besides, Judah having but one ruler, what would “kings of Judah” mean? In reply it has been said, (1) that “kings” is equivalent to “dynasty,” and that the use of this term is perfectly justified, because when one king suffers the entire dynasty, represented in his person, suffers; (2) that after the prediction of the fall of the northern kingdom (Mic 1:6-7) “Israel” might be applied to Judah, for the latter was, after the destruction of Samaria, the sole representative of the nation Israel. To most students this reasoning will appear inconclusive, and it may be best to admit that much uncertainty remains.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Mic 1:13 O thou inhabitant of Lachish, bind the chariot to the swift beast: she [is] the beginning of the sin to the daughter of Zion: for the transgressions of Israel were found in thee.
Ver. 13. O thou inhabitant of Lachish, bind the chariot to the swift beast ] To the camel or dromedary, saith Calvin, which is a very swift beast (we call a slow body dromedary, per antiphrasin ), or to the post horses Aniariis, as Junius; he means, Make haste away. Salmaneser is already at Samaria, and Sennacherib will be ere long at Lachish, Isa 36:2 . Hannibal ad portas, Hannbal at the gates, begone with all possible speed; haste, haste, haste.
She is the beginning of sin to the daughter of Zion
For the transgressions of Israel were found in thee
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
inhabitant = inhabitress.
Lachish . . . swift beast. Note the Figure of speech Paronomasia (App-6). Hebrew. larekesh . . . lakish = [bind the chariot] to the horse, O inhabitress of Horse-town,
Lachish. Now Ummtum Lakis, or Tell el Hesy. See notes on 2Ki 14:19; 2Ki 19:8.
she. Evidently Samaria. Compare verses: Mic 5:9; Mic 6:16.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Lachish: Jos 15:39, 2Ki 18:13, 2Ki 18:14, 2Ki 18:17, 2Ch 11:9, 2Ch 32:9, Isa 37:8
bind: Gen 19:17, Isa 10:31, Jer 4:29
she: Exo 32:21, 1Ki 13:33, 1Ki 13:34, 1Ki 14:16, 1Ki 16:31, Rev 2:14, Rev 2:20, Rev 18:1-5
for: 2Ki 8:18, 2Ki 16:3, 2Ki 16:4, Jer 3:8, Eze 23:11
Reciprocal: Jos 10:3 – Lachish Jos 10:31 – Lachish 1Ki 4:28 – dromedaries 1Ki 18:44 – Prepare 2Ki 9:21 – Make ready 2Ki 14:19 – fled to Lachish 2Ki 19:8 – Lachish Job 39:10 – General Isa 30:16 – for we will Jer 34:7 – Lachish Hos 10:8 – the sin
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Mic 1:13. The swift beast refers to the horse which is a swift animal and can draw a chariot with speed. The purpose of binding the chariot to this beast was to try to escape from the foe. This does not mean that any citys inhabitants could actually escape the foe, for God had decreed that all were to become captives. The statement is a prediction that when the invasion came the unhappy citizens would wish to flee away for safety. She is the beginning of the sin to the daughter of Zion. The pronoun she stands for the city of Lachish, a place of Importance south of Jerusalem. According to 2Ki 18:14; 2Ki 18:17 and 2Ch 11:5; 2Ch 11:9, Lachish was among the first cities to take up with the corruptions of Jeroboam, leader of the revolt of the ten tribes from the government in Jerusalem. Such is the meaning of the italicized clause, and it also explains the statement, the transgressions of Israel were found in thee.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Mic 1:13-15. O thou inhabitant of Lachish This was a strong fortress in the tribe of Judah: see Jos 15:39. Bind the chariot to the swift beast In order to flee from the approaching enemy. Lachish was one of the first cities that Sennacherib besieged, when he invaded Judea. She is the beginning of the sin to the daughter of Zion She was the first among the cities of Judah which practised those idolatries which the kings and people of Israel had begun. Therefore shalt thou give presents to Moresheth-gath Or, to Moresheth of Gath; that is, to the Philistines of that country, either to defend thee against the enemy, or to receive thee under their protection. The houses of Achzib shall be a lie to the kings of Israel The word Achzib signifies a lie. There was a town of that name in the tribe of Judah, mentioned Jos 15:44. This place, the prophet here foretels, will answer its name, and disappoint the kings of Israel that depended upon its strength and assistance: see 2Ch 21:3; and 2Ch 28:19. Israel is sometimes used for Judah, and so it may probably be taken here. Yet will I bring an heir unto thee, O inhabitant of Mareshah This was another town belonging to Judah, mentioned Jos 15:44. The name signifies an inheritance; so here, by way of allusion, it is said, that a new heir or master should come and take possession of it, namely, a conquering enemy. He shall come unto Adullam the glory of Israel Or, The glory of Israel shall come to Adullam; the Assyrians, whom Israel once gloried in as their ally, shall come to Adullam. This was a town in Judah not far from Lachish: see Jos 15:35. Some think the meaning of this clause is, that the chief men of Israel should be forced to hide themselves from their enemies in the cave of Adullam, as David did when he fled from Saul, 1 Samuel 23.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
1:13 O thou inhabitant of Lachish, bind the chariot to the {n} swift beast: she {o} [is] the beginning of the sin to the daughter of Zion: for the transgressions of Israel were found in thee.
(n) To flee away: for Sennacherib laid siege first to that city, and remained there when he sent his captains and army against Jerusalem.
(o) You first received the idolatry of Jeroboam, and so infected Jerusalem.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Sarcastically, Micah urged the people of Lachish (Heb. lakish), a town known for its horses, to hitch a team (Heb. rekesh) of horses to a chariot to escape from the enemy. They would not be able to escape, however, because Lachish had led Jerusalem, as horses lead a chariot, into the sin of idolatry.