Commentary on Joel Amos Obadiah Jonah Micah and Nahum John Calvin
MINOR PROPHETS
refrain from mourning unfeignedly for them. And the Prophet does here these two things, --- he shows the fraternal love which he entertained for the children of Israel, as they were his kindred, and a part of the chosen people, --- and he also discharges his own duty; for this lamentation was, as it were, the mirror in which he sets before them the vengeance of God towards men so extremely torpid. He therefore exhibits to them this representation, that they might perceive that God was by no means trifling with men, when he thus denounced punishment on the wicked and such as were apostates.
Moreover, he speaks not of a common lamentation, but says, I will wail and howl, and then, I will go spoiled The word {,}אנושהshulal, some take as meaning one out of his mind or insane, as though he said, ``I shall be now as one not possessed of a sound mind.'' But as this metaphor is rather unnatural, I prefer the sense of being spoiled; for it was the custom with mourners, as it is well known, to tear and to throw away their garments from them. I will then go spoiled and naked; and also, I will make wailing, not like that of men, but like the wailing of dragons: I will mourn, he says, as the ostriches are wont to do. In short, the Prophet by these forms of speech intimates, that the coming evil would by no means be of an ordinary kind: for if he adopted the usual manner of men, he could not have set forth the dreadfulness of God's vengeance that was impending.
He afterwards subjoins, that the wounds vault be grievous; but he speaks as of what was present, Grievous, he says, are the wounds Grievous means properly full of grief; others render it desperate or incurable, but it is a meaning which suits not this place; for {,}אנושהanushe, means what we express in French by douloureuse.
The wounds, then, are full of grief: for it came, (something is understood; it may suitably be referred to the enemy, or, what is more approved, to the slaughter) ---
It came then, that is, the slaughter, 144 to Judah; it has reached to the gate of my people, even to Jerusalem itself. He says first, to Judah, speaking of the land; and then he confines it to the cities; for when the gates are closed up against enemies, they are forced to stop. But the Prophet says, that the cities would be no hindrance to the enemies to approach the very gates and even the chief city of Judah, that is, Jerusalem; and this, we know, was fulfilled. It is the same then as though he said that the whole kingdom of Israel would be so laid waste, that their enemies would not he content with victory, but would proceed farther and besiege the holy city: and this Sennacherib did. For after having subverted the kingdom of Israel, as though it was not enough to draw the ten tribes into exile, he resolved to take possession of the kingdom of Judah; and Jerusalem, as Isaiah says, was left as a tent. We hence see that the threatening of the Prophet Micah were not in vain. It now follows ---
Micah 1:10
10. Declare ye it not at Gath, weep ye not at all: in the house of Aphrah roll thyself in the dust.
144Or rather the stroke before mentioned; for the true reading is no doubt {,{מכתהher wound or her stroke, in the singular. Though there are but two MSS. which have this reading, yet the previous participle noun, ,{}אנושה being singular, and the following verbs or participles being in the same number, favor this supposition. The corresponding word in the Septuagint is also in the singular number --- {ἡ} {πληγη} {ἀυτης}, her stroke, stripe or scourge. --- Ed.