Micah 2:12

I will surely assemble, O Jacob, all of thee; I will surely gather the remnant of Israel; I will put them together as the sheep of Bozrah, as the flock in the midst of their fold: they shall make great noise by reason of the multitude of men.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(12, 13) I will surely assemble . . .—With a characteristic abruptness Micah turns from the height of sin and punishment to the height of the deliverance—from Ebal to Gerizim. Israel and the remnant shall be gathered together as a goodly flock in the luxuriant pastures of Idumæan Bozrah. The Breaker shall go before them as their Saviour and Deliverer, yea, even Jehovah at their head. The return from captivity symbolised the eventual restoration of the people of God into His everlasting kingdom.

Benson Commentary

Micah 2:12-13. I will surely assemble, O Jacob, all of thee, &c. — Many commentators, connecting these verses with the preceding, interpret them as a prediction of the captivity of Israel and Judah. By assembling all of Jacob, and gathering the remnant of Israel, as a flock in the midst of their fold, they understand bringing them together into Samaria and Jerusalem, to be besieged in those cities, and thence taken out for slaughter or captivity. By the breaker being come up before them, breaking up and passing through the gate, they understand the enemies assaulting their cities, (namely, the Assyrians and Chaldeans,) breaking down their walls, and entering in and going out the gates of them, just as the citizens used to do; and by their king passing before them, his being carried into captivity along with them. By the Lord on (or, at) the head of them, they understand, God being on the side of, or prospering the Assyrians and Chaldeans in their attempts against the Israelites and Jews. Others, however, interpret these verses of the restoration of the Jewish people from captivity, and therefore understand by the breaker coming up before them, him who was to break the bonds of their captivity, or break through all obstacles that hindered their restoration, and open to them the way home. The following expressions, They have broken up, and have passed through the gate, and are gone out by it, they consider as metaphorical, describing their return, in allusion to a flock of sheep, which, as soon as a passage is opened for one to get out, do all of them follow; and that these expressions are made use of because it is said, in the foregoing verse, that they should be put or gathered together as a flock of sheep in the midst of their folds. The last clause they render, Their king shall pass before them, even the Lord on the head of them — That is, the Messiah, who is both the Lord and their King, shall lead and conduct them as their captain-general. Thus the Jewish commentators generally understand the breaker and their king of the same person, namely, the Messiah, as may be seen in Dr. Pocock on the place. Bishop Pearson cites the words of Moses Hadarson to the same purpose, in his exposition of the Sixth Article of the Creed. It may be observed further, that most of those who understand the Messiah as being meant by the breaker and their king, though they consider the promise as receiving its first accomplishment in the restoration of the Jews from Babylon, yet suppose it will receive a much more complete fulfilment in the latter days, when the general conversion of the Jews and Israelites, and their restoration to their own land, shall take place; it being very usual with the prophets, after they have denounced the destruction of the Jewish republic, to foretel their grand and spiritual deliverance; that the people might not think themselves entirely forsaken of God, before the promises made to their fathers were completed. As this passage is so extremely obscure, it has been thought best to lay both these interpretations before the reader, that he may judge which is most consistent with the words of the text.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

2:12,13 These verses may refer to the captivity of Israel and Judah. But the passage is also a prophecy of the conversion of the Jews to Christ. The Lord would not only bring them from captivity, and multiply them, but the Lord Jesus would open their way to God, by taking upon him the nature of man, and by the work of his Spirit in their hearts, breaking the fetters of Satan. Thus he has gone before, and the people follow, breaking, in his strength, through the enemies that would stop their way to heaven.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

I will surely assemble, O Jacob, all of thee; I will surely gather the remnant of Israel - God's mercy on the penitent and believing being the end of all His threatenings, the mention of it often bursts in abruptly. Christ is ever the Hope as the End of prophecy, ever before the prophets' mind. The earthquake and fire precede the still small voice of peace in Him. What seems then sudden to us, is connected in truth. The prophet had said Micah 2:10, where was not their rest and how they should be cast forth; he saith at once how they should be gathered to their everlasting rest. He had said, what promises of the false prophets would not be fulfille Micah 2:11. But, despair being the most deadly enemy of the soul, he does not take away their false hopes, without shewing them the true mercies in store for them. Jerome: "Think not," he would say, "that I am only a prophet of ill. The captivity foretold will indeed now come, and God's mercies will also come, although not in the way, which these speak of."

The false prophets spoke of worldly abundance ministering to sensuality, and of unbroken security. He tells of God's mercies, but after chastisement, to "the remnant of Israel." But the restoration is complete, far beyond their then condition. He had foretold the desolation of Samaria Micah 1:6, the captivity of Judah Micah 1:16; Micah 2:4; he foretells the restoration of all Jacob, as one. The images are partly taken (as is the prophet's custom) from that first deliverance from Egypt . Then, as the image of the future growth under persecution, God multiplied His people exceedingly Exodus 1:12; then "the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud to lead them the way" Exodus 13:21; then God "brought them up" "out of the house of bondage" (see below, Micah 6:4).

But their future prison-house was to be no land of Goshen. It was to be a captivity and a dispersion at once, as Hosea had already foretold . So he speaks of them emphatically, as a great throng, "assembling I will assemble, O Jacob, all of thee; gathering I will gather the remnant of Israel." The word, which is used of the gathering of a flock or its lambs Isaiah 40:11; Isaiah 13:14, became, from Moses' prophecy (Deuteronomy 30:3-4, see Nehemiah 1:9), a received word of the gathering of Israel from the dispersion of the captivity (see below, Micah 4:6; Psalm 106:47; Psalm 107:3; Isaiah 11:12; Isaiah 43:5; Isaiah 54:7; Isaiah 56:8; Zephaniah 3:19-20; Jeremiah 23:3; Jeremiah 29:14; Jeremiah 31:8, Jeremiah 31:10; Jeremiah 32:37; Ezekiel 11:17; Ezekiel 20:34, Ezekiel 20:41; Ezekiel 28:25; Ezekiel 34:13; Ezekiel 37:21; Ezekiel 38:8; Ezekiel 39:27; Zechariah 10:10). The return of the Jews from Babylon was but a faint shadow of the fulfillment. For, ample as were the terms of the decrees of Cyrus Ezra 1:2-4 and Artaxerxes Ezra 7:13, and widely as that of Cyrus was diffused Ezra 1:1, the restoration was essentially that of Judah, that is, Judah, Benjamin and Levi : the towns, whose inhabitants returned, were those of Judah and Benjamin Ezra 2; Nehemiah 7; the towns, to which they returned, were of the two tribes.

It was not a gathering of "all Jacob;" and of the three tribes who returned, there were but few gathered, and they had not even an earthly king, nor any visible Presence of God. The words began to he fulfilled in the "many Acts 21:20 tens of thousands" who believed at our Lord's first Coming; and "all Jacob," that is, all who were Israelites indeed, "the remnant" according to the election of grace Romans 11:5, were gathered within the one fold of the Church, under One Shepherd. It shall be fully fulfilled, when, in the end, "the fullness of the Gentiles shall come in and all Israel shall be saved" Romans 11:25-26. "All Jacob" is the same as "the remnant of Israel," the true Israel which remains when the false severed itself off; all the seed-corn, when the chaff was winnowed away. So then, whereas they were now scattered, then, God saith, "I will put them together (in one fold) as the sheep of Bozrah," which abounded in sheep Isaiah 34:6, and was also a strong city of Edom ; denoting how believers should be fenced within the Church, as by a strong wall, against which the powers of darkness should not prevail, and the wolf should howl around the fold, yet be unable to enter it, and Edom and the pagan should become part of the inheritance of Christ . "As a flock in the midst of their fold," at rest , "like sheep, still and subject to their shepherd's voice. So shall these, having one faith and One Spirit, in meekness and simplicity, obey the one rule of truth. Nor shall it be a small number;" for the place where they shall be gathered shall be too narrow to contain them, as is said in Isaiah; "Give place to me, that I may dwell" Isaiah 49:20.

They shall make great noise - (it is the same word as our hum, "the hum of men,") by reason of the multitude of men He explains his image, as does Ezekiel EZechariah 34:31, "And ye are My flock, the flock of My pasture; men are ye; I, your God, saith the Lord God: and Ezekiel 36:38, As a flock of holy things, as the flock of Jerusalem in her solemn feasts; so shall the waste cities be full of a flock of men and they shall know that I am the Lord." So many shall they be, that throughout the whole world they shall make a great and public sound in praising God, filling Heaven and the green pastures of Paradise with a mighty hum of praise;" as John saw "a great multitude which no man could number" Revelation 7:9, "with one united voice praising the Good Shepherd, who smoothed for them all rugged places, and evened them by His Own Steps, Himself the Guide of their way and the Gate of Paradise, as He saith, 'I am the Door;' through whom bursting through and going before, being also the Door of the way, the flock of believers shall break through It. But this Shepherd is their Lord and King" . Not their King only, but the Lord God; so that this, too, bears witness that Christ is God.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

12. A sudden transition from threats to the promise of a glorious restoration. Compare a similar transition in Ho 1:9, 10. Jehovah, too, prophesies of good things to come, but not like the false prophets, "of wine and strong drink" (Mic 2:11). After I have sent you into captivity as I have just threatened, I will thence assemble you again (compare Mic 4:6, 7).

all of thee—The restoration from Babylon was partial. Therefore that here meant must be still future, when "all Israel shall be saved" (Ro 11:26). The restoration from "Babylon" (specified (Mic 4:10) is the type of the future one.

Jacob … Israel—the ten tribes' kingdom (Ho 12:2) and Judah (2Ch 19:8; 21:2, 4).

remnant—the elect remnant, which shall survive the previous calamities of Judah, and from which the nation is to spring into new life (Isa 6:13; 10:20-22).

as the sheep of Bozrah—a region famed for its rich pastures (compare 2Ki 3:4). Gesenius for Bozrah translates, "sheepfold." But thus there will be tautology unless the next clause be translated, "in the midst of their pasture." English Version is more favored by the Hebrew.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

There are three different interpretations of this verse, of which it is hard to say which is most agreeable to the intent of this scripture; I will propose all three, and leave each reader to choose for himself. First, Some will that these words be a continuation of the false prophet’s preaching prosperity and good days. So the words are a promise made to them contradictory to the menaces of the Lord by Micah; he foretold all would end in destruction; the false prophet foretells the assembling of all the seed of Jacob into their land and cities, and bringing back the remnant of the captive Israelites carried away by Tiglath-pileser, and their safety in their own fold as the flock of Bozrah, and should make great noise of joy and rejoicing in their multitudes. All which, spoken by the false prophet, Micah refutes in the 13th verse. Secondly, Others make it an evangelical promise of the restitution of Israel by the Messiah, and many Jews agree with Christian expositors herein, though, the Jews refer it to a temporal restitution, not yet fulfilled: the Christians refer it to a spiritual, partly fulfilled, yet more fully to be accomplished hereafter; and suitably to this hypothesis they interpret all the passages of this text and the 13th verse; both which will very fairly bear the sense by these put upon them, and may be the mystical sense of the words, but we, who inquire into the literal meaning, think it advisable not to swell the volume by long digressions. A third opinion ought to be considered ere we can choose which we shall adhere to. Now the third opinion, in expounding the text, makes it a commination or dreadful threat against this people, and thus suits it:

I, i.e. God, offended with them. Will surely assemble; by his providence will cause to come together.

O Jacob; he calls to the house of Israel to consider it.

All of thee; all who were fleeing, upon hope of what their false prophets promise, to return to their own land and cities.

I will surely gather the remnant of Israel; the same thing in little different words, repeated to assure us the truth of the thing.

I will put them together; all that remain of the ten tribes (for some were before carried away by Tiglath-pileser) shall most assuredly be gathered together, that they may all be in one covey covered with the Assyrian net.

As the sheep of Bozrah; in multitudes like those flocks.

As the flock in the midst of their fold; whence none of the sheep can get out and make their escape: so should this people be enclosed and taken.

They shall make great noise of cries and lamentation for their distresses and lost condition.

By reason of the multitude of men; such great multitudes cooped up, shall hideously lament. their own condition, like multitudes that suffer shipwreck together: all this God will bring upon them by the multitude of the Assyrian soldiers which come up against them.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

I will surely assemble, O Jacob, all of thee,.... These words are either the words of the false prophet continued, that prophesied of wine and strong drink, as Aben Ezra; promising great plenty and prosperity, and that the remnant of the ten tribes carried captive by Tiglathpileser should be returned, and they should all live together in safety and plenty, and rejoice because of their numbers: or else they are a denunciation of threatenings and judgments, as Kimchi; that the Israelites should be gathered indeed together, but as sheep for the slaughter, even those that remained, not as yet carried captive; these should be shut up, and closely besieged in their cities, and make a noise, and cry for fear of their enemies, and because of the great number of them: or rather they are a comfortable promise of the gathering of the people of Israel in the times of the Messiah, in the last days the Gospel dispensation, even all of Jacob, all the then posterity of Israel; for then "all Israel shall be saved", Romans 11:26; and this is introduced, though abruptly, as often such promises are, for the comfort of the Lord's people, amidst sorrowful and sad tidings brought to the people in general: I will surely gather the remnant of Israel; the remnant according to the election of grace, whom the Lord will reserve for himself, those that are left of them in the latter day; these shall be gathered effectually by the grace of God unto Jesus, the true Messiah, they shall now seek after; and into his church, to join themselves to his people, embracing his Gospel, and submitting to his ordinances; when there shall be "one fold" for Jews and Gentiles, and "one Shepherd" over them, the Lord Jesus Christ, John 10:16;

I will put them together as the sheep of Bozrah; a place famous for flocks and pastures; signifying that they should be took care of by the great and good Shepherd, have a good fold, and good pastures provided for them, where they should feed comfortably together, in great unity and affection:

as the flock in the midst of their fold; lying down safely, and resting quietly; see Ezekiel 34:13;

they shall make great noise by reason of the multitude of men: a joyful noise, because of their own numbers being increased with men like a flock, and so numerous, that the place will be too strait for them; and because of the number of good and faithful shepherds under Christ, to feed and protect them, even pastors after God's own heart, given them to feed them with knowledge and understanding, Jeremiah 3:15.

Geneva Study Bible

I will surely assemble, O Jacob, {o} all of thee; I will surely gather the remnant of Israel; I will put them together as the sheep of Bozrah, as the flock in the midst of their fold: they shall make great noise by reason of the multitude of men.

(o) To destroy you.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

12. I will surely assemble …] Some commentators think that this and the next verse represent one of the flattering oracles of the false prophets; but the style is precisely that of the true prophets, and indeed of Micah himself (see Micah 4:6-7). There is a question, however, whether the verses are not misplaced; whether their present position is not due to a later editor, rather than to Micah himself. There are no doubt very abrupt transitions in prophecy; but this is exceptionally difficult, as the tone and style of Micah 2:12-13 is so entirely different from that which precedes.

O Jacob, all of thee] Not merely a part of the nation; not merely the ten tribes, or the others, but the whole of Israel (‘Jacob’ as in Micah 1:5). And yet only ‘the remnant of Israel;’ enough, but only just enough, to form the nucleus of a nobler Israel (comp. Isaiah 10:20-21). The promise is therefore for those who shall come out of the trial repentant and purified. See the parallel passages, Jeremiah 31:8, Ezekiel 34:11-14.

as the sheep of Bozrah, &c.] Rather, as sheep into a fold, as a flock in the midst of its pasture.

Pulpit Commentary

Verses 12, 13 - § 8. Promise of restorations and deliverance. Verse 12. - The prophet, without any preface, introduces abruptly a promise of restoration after exile, a type of the triumph of Messiah. Some commentators, indeed, regard this and the following verso as the language of the false prophets; others, as a denunciation of punishment, not a promise of deliverance; others, as a late interpolation. But the style is entirely Micah's (comp. Micah 4:6, 7), the promise is a true one, and such like sudden transitions are common in the prophetical books (comp. e.g. Isaiah 4:2-6; Hosea 1:10; Hosea 11:9; Amos 9:11); so that we need not resort to the hypothesis that some connecting link has dropped out of the text, or that the clause is misplaced; and we are fully justified in considering the paragraph as inserted here in its right position, and as predictive of the restoration of the Jews after captivity. Micah would seem to imply - I am not, indeed, as one of the false prophets who promise you earthly good without regard to your moral fitness for receiving God's bounty; neither am I one who has no message but of woe and calamity; I, too, predict salvation and happiness for a remnant of you after you have been tried by defeat and exile. I will surely assemble. This presupposes dispersion among the heathen, such as is foretold in Micah 1:8, etc.; Micah 2:4, etc. O Jacob, all of thee. The promise extends to the whole nation, whether called Jacob or Israel, as Micah 1:5; but still only a remnant, i.e. that portion of the nation which should make a good use of adversity, and turn to the Lord with sincere repentance (comp. Isaiah 10:20, etc.; Jeremiah 31:8; Ezekiel 34:11, etc.; Zephaniah 3:12,. etc.). Some see in the term "remnant" an allusion to the people that were left in the northern kingdom after the fall of Samaria. As the sheep of Bozrah. There were two or more towns so named - one in Sidon, for which see note on Amos 1:12; and another, hod. Buzrah, on the south border of the Hauran. This is mentioned in Jeremiah 48:24, as one of the cities of Moab, a district celebrated for its flocks (2 Kings 3:4); hence "sheep of Bozrah" may have become a proverbial saying. Many commentators take Botsrah as an appellative, meaning "fold," in agreement with the Vulgate, quasi gregem in ovili, and Chaldee, as well as Aquila and Symmachus. The parallelism in the following words seems to favour this view. The LXX. reads differently, rendering, ἐν θλίψει, "in trouble." Thus, too, the Syriac. As the flock in the midst of their fold; rather, as a flock in the midst of its pasture. They shall make great noise, etc. Like a numerous flock bleating in its fold, so shall the returned Israelites be, prosperous and happy, celebrating their salvation with praise and exultation (comp. Ezekiel 34:31). Septuagint, Ἐξαλοῦνται ἐξ ἀνθρώπων, "They shall leap forth from among men," which St. Jerome explains as meaning that the repentant Israelites shall rise above worldly things and aspire to heaven. Micah 2:12

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

In Micah 2:12, Micah 2:13 there follows, altogether without introduction, the promise of the future reassembling of the people from their dispersion. Micah 2:12. "I will assemble, assemble thee all together, O Jacob; gather together, gather together the remnant of Israel; I will bring him together like the sheep of Bozrah, like a flock in the midst of their pasture: they will be noisy with men. Micah 2:13. The breaker through comes up before them; they break through, and pass along through the gate, and go out by it; and their King goes before them, and Jehovah at their head." Micah is indeed not a prophet, prophesying lies of wine and strong drink; nevertheless he also has salvation to proclaim, only not for the morally corrupt people of his own time. They will be banished out of the land; but the captivity and dispersion are not at an end. For the remnant of Israel, for the nation when sifted and refined by the judgments, the time will come when the Lord will assemble them again, miraculously multiply them, and redeem them as their King, and lead them home. The sudden and abrupt transition from threatening to promise, just as in Hosea 2:2; Hosea 6:1; Hosea 11:9, has given rise to this mistaken supposition, that Micah 2:12, Micah 2:13 contain a prophecy uttered by the lying prophets mentioned in Micah 2:10 (Abenezra, Mich., Ewald, etc.). But this supposition founders not only on the שׁארית ישׂראל, inasmuch as the gathering together of the remnant of Israel presupposes the carrying away into exile, but also on the entire contents of these verses. Micah could not possibly introduce a false prophet as speaking in the name of Jehovah, and saying, "I will gather;" such a man would at the most have said, "Jehovah will gather." Nor could he have put a true prophecy like that contained in Micah 2:12, Micah 2:13 into the mouth of such a man. For this reason, not only Hengstenberg, Caspari, and Umbreit, but even Maurer and Hitzig, have rejected this assumption; and the latter observes, among other things, quite correctly, that "the idea expressed here is one common to the true prophets (see Hosea 2:2), which Micah himself also utters in Micah 4:6." The emphasis lies upon the assembling, and hence אאסף and אקבּץ are strengthened by infinitive absolutes. But the assembling together presuppose a dispersion among the heathen, such as Micha has threatened in Micah 1:11, Micah 1:16; Micah 2:4. And the Lord will gather together all Jacob, not merely a portion, and yet only the remnant of Israel. This involves the thought, that the whole nation of the twelve tribes, or of the two kingdoms, will be reduced to a remnant by the judgment. Jacob and Israel are identical epithets applied to the whole nation, as in Micah 1:5, and the two clauses of the verse are synonymous, so that יעקב כּלּך coincides in actual fact with שׁאתית ישׂראל. The further description rests upon the fact of the leading of Israel out of Egypt, which is to be renewed in all that is essential at a future time. The following clauses also predict the miraculous multiplication of the remnant of Israel (see Hosea 2:1-2; Jeremiah 31:10), as experienced by the people in the olden time under the oppression of Egypt (Exodus 1:12). The comparison to the flock of Bozrah presupposes that Bozrah's wealth in flocks was well known. Now, as the wealth of the Moabites in flocks of sheep is very evident from 2 Kings 3:4, many have understood by בּצרה not the Edomitish Bozrah, but the Moabitish Bostra (e.g., Hengstenberg). Others, again, take botsrâh as an appellative noun in the sense of hurdle or fold (see Hitzig, Caspari, and Dietrich in Ges. Lex. after the Chaldee). But there is not sufficient ground for either. The Bostra situated in the Hauran does not occur at all in the Old Testament, not even in Jeremiah 48:24, and the appellative meaning of the word is simply postulated for this particular passage. That the Edomites were also rich in flocks of sheep is evident from Isaiah 24:6, where the massacre which Jehovah will inflict upon Edom and Bozrah is described as a sacrificial slaughtering of lambs, he-goats, rams, and oxen; a description which presupposes the wealth of Bozrah in natural flocks. The comparison which follows, "like a flock in the midst of its pasture," belongs to the last verse, and refers to the multiplication, and to the noise made by a densely packed and numerous flock. The same tumult will be made by the assembled Israelites on account of the multitude of men. For the article in הדּברו, which is already determined by the suffix, see at Joshua 7:21. In Joshua 7:13 the redemption of Israel out of exile is depicted under the figure of liberation from captivity. Was Egypt a slave-house (Micah 6:4; cf. Exodus 20:2); so is exile a prison with walls and gates, which must be broken through. הפּריץ, the breaker through, who goes before them, is not Jehovah, but, as the counterpart of Moses the leader of Israel out of Egypt, the captain appointed by God for His people, answering to the head which they are said to choose for themselves in Hosea 2:2, a second Moses, viz., Zerubbabel, and in the highest sense Christ, who opens the prison-doors, and redeems the captives of Zion (vid., Isaiah 42:7). Led by him, they break through the walls, and march through the gate, and go out through it out of the prison. "The three verbs, they break through, they march through, they go out, describe in a pictorial manner progress which cannot be stopped by any human power" (Hengstenberg). Their King Jehovah goes before them at their head (the last two clauses of the verse are synonymous). Just as Jehovah went before Israel as the angel of the Lord in the pillar of cloud and fire at the exodus from Egypt (Exodus 13:21), so at the future redemption of the people of God will Jehovah go before them as King, and lead the procession (see Isaiah 52:12).

The fulfilment of this prophecy commenced with the gathering together of Israel to its God and King by the preaching of the gospel, and will be completed at some future time when the Lord shall redeem Israel, which is now pining in dispersion, out of the fetters of its unbelief and life of sin. We must not exclude all allusion to the deliverance of the Jewish nation out of the earthly Babylon by Cyrus; at the same time, it is only in its typical significance that this comes into consideration at all, - namely, as a preliminary stage and pledge of the redemption to be effected by Christ out of the spiritual Babylon of this world.