Bible Word Study
מִיכָה
Mîykâh · Micah, the name of seven Israelites
מִיכָה
Micah, the name of seven Israelites
Definition
מִיכָה (Micah) is a proper name borne by seven distinct individuals in the Old Testament. The most prominent is the prophet Micah, author of the Book of Micah, who prophesied judgment and hope to Judah and Israel in the 8th century BC (Micah 1:1). Another significant figure is Micah of Ephraim, whose story in Judges 17-18 involves household idols and a Levite priest, illustrating the spiritual chaos of that era. Other individuals include a son of Merib-baal (Mephibosheth) in 1 Chronicles 8:34-35 and a Reubenite in 1 Chronicles 5:5.
Biblical Usage
The name appears 29 times across Judges, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Jeremiah, and the Book of Micah. In Judges 17-18, it refers to the Ephraimite who established a private shrine with idols and a Levite. In the prophetic books, it exclusively denotes the prophet Micah (e.g., Micah 1:1, Jeremiah 26:18). The usage in Chronicles is genealogical, listing various historical figures.
Etymology
מִיכָה is a shortened form of the name מִיכָיָה (Mîkāyâh, H4320), meaning 'Who is like Yahweh?' The name is a rhetorical question exalting God's incomparable nature. It shares the same root elements as the longer form and names like Michael (מִיכָאֵל).
Semantic Range
The name Micah, meaning 'Who is like Yahweh?', is itself a theological declaration of God's unique sovereignty and incomparability. The prophet Micah's message powerfully balances God's judgment for social injustice and idolatry with the promise of a future messianic ruler from Bethlehem (Micah 5:2). His story in Judges 17-18 serves as a stark object lesson in the dangers of syncretism and religious autonomy outside God's law. In ancient Israel, names were often meaningful statements of faith or circumstance. Bearing a name like Micah, which praises Yahweh, identified an individual or family with the God of Israel. The narrative in Judges 17-18 reflects the fluid, personal nature of religious practice in the pre-monarchical period, where domestic shrines and privately hired priests were common in the absence of centralized worship. מִיכָיָה (Mîkāyâh, H4320) — The longer, full form of the name Micah, used for several other individuals, including the prophet who opposed Ahab (1 Kings 22:8).
Word Details
How this works
Definitions are from the Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon (BDB, 1906, public domain). Concordance and morphology data are from the OSHB (Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible).
Full methodology & sources →References
- Abbott-Smith, G. (1921) A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament. Edinburgh: T&T Clark. [Public Domain]
- Brown, F., Driver, S.R. and Briggs, C.A. (1906) A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament. Oxford: Clarendon Press. [Public Domain]
- Tyndale House, Cambridge (n.d.) Tyndale Brief lexicon of Extended Strongs for Greek (TBESG). STEPBible. Available at: https://www.stepbible.org. [CC BY 4.0]
- Tyndale House, Cambridge (n.d.) Translators Formatted full LSJ (TFLSJ). STEPBible. Available at: https://www.stepbible.org. [CC BY 4.0]
- Thayer, J.H. (1889) A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament. [Public Domain]
- Gesenius, W. (1846) Gesenius' Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon to the Old Testament. [Public Domain]
- Dodson, J. (2010) Greek Lexicon. Biblical Humanities. [CC0]