But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
Too little to be among the clans of Judah,
From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel.
His goings forth are from long ago, from the days of old.
NASB 1995, marginal reading partially adopted
Too little to be among the clans of Judah,
From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel.
His goings forth are from long ago, from the days of old.”
NASB, 1995, marginal reading partially adopted
Interpretive question: To what does “His goings forth are from long ago, from the days of old” refer.
Option 1: Refers to the establishment of the Davidic Covenant and its fulfillment in the incarnation
The going forth in line 3 is said to be from Bethlehem and refers to the incarnation. The “goings forth from long ago” in line 4 refer to the predictions of the incarnation in the Davidic covenant. Daniel Timmer argues that “of old” could refer to the establishment of the Davidic covenant (Gen. 49:8–12; Ps. 89:19; Amos 9:11; Neh. 12:46).[1] Barker also notes, “a Hebrew expression equivalent to ‘from of old’ (miqqedem) occurs in 7:20 (mîmê qedem, ‘in days long ago’), and … one almost identical to ‘from ancient times’ … (mîmê ʿôlām) occurs in 7:14 (kîmê ʿôlām, ‘as in days long ago’).”[2] The phrase in 7:14 is probably looking back to the time of David and Solomon while 7:20 is looking back to the Abrahamic covenant. Thus, these phrases in Micah do not refer to eternity but to historical events.
Option 2: Refers to an eternal going forth that continued throughout the Old Testament and culminated in the incarnation
This interpretation would adopt the reading in the main text of the nasb: “His goings forth are from long ago, from the days of eternity.” Keil and Delitzsch propose that this refers to the eternal origin of the Son combined with His going forth as the angel of Yhwh from the patriarchal times. They observe that the “goings forth” in line 4 of the verse are plural. The continued historical “goings forth” account for the plural.[3]
Option 3: Refers to the eternal generation of the Son from the Father
This interpretation would also adopt the reading in the main text of the nasb. In this view, the going forth from Bethlehem (line 3) is paralleled by “goings forth” (from God) from eternity (line 4). Perhaps the plural “goings forth” can be accounted for by the fact that this procession from the Father is eternal. Though it may be argued that this view does not fit the context well, chapter 4 has already combined the idea of Yhwh reigning from Zion with the restoration of the Davidic kingship. Micah’s contemporary, Isaiah, prophesied of God with us, and a careful reading of Isaiah should lead to the conclusion that the ultimate Davidic king is Yhwh. Thus, for a text to highlight both the Davidic humanity and deity of the future ruler is not out of place.
This is direct speech from Yhwh, so the fact that this saying may not have been fully understood by Micah or his readers does not mean that God was not revealing these truths through Micah—truths which would become clearer later. While this passage does not prove the eternal generation of the Son, it may entail it once that doctrine is understood from elsewhere in the canon.
Interpretation Adopted: Refers to preincarnate goings forth that continued throughout the Old Testament and culminated at the incarnation
Line 3 refers to the incarnation of the Messiah in Bethlehem. From Bethlehem will go forth a ruler in Israel. While the translation of line 4 “from the days of eternity” (nasb main text) is linguistically defensible, the parallel phrases in 7:14 and 7:20 cannot be interpreted in that way. It is best, therefore, to understand the goings forth as “from the days of old.” The observations of option 1 are valid on these points. However, option 1 does not account for the plural “goings forth” in line 4.
Line 4 says that before the going forth from Bethlehem in the incarnation, the Messiah had already been going forth repeatedly. This is the insight of option 2. This interpretation is reinforced by Micah 5:5-6, which returns to the issue of the Assyrian invasion. The One who will come after the exile will, long before His going forth from Bethlehem, bring peace and deliverance to Israel from the Assyrian. These verses explain the plural “His goings forth are from long ago, from the days of old.” Even before the incarnation, the Messiah was going forth on behalf of His people.
View 3 is plausible; it is the view I was initially inclined towards. However, the fact that Micah 7:14, 20 refers to historical events (not to eternity) with phrases parallel to those in line 4 points to that line to refer to historical events as well, rather than to the eternal begetting of the Son. Micah 5:5-6’s reference to a historical, preincarnate deliverance of Israel by the Messianic king is another contextual factor that leads the interpreter toward understanding “from long ago” and “from the days of old” historically rather than as a reference to eternity.
All of the proposed views are theologically correct. The question is which of them is taught in this verse.
[1] Daniel C. Timmer, Obadiah, Jonah and Micah, Tyndale Old Testament Commentary (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 2021) 178.
[2] Kenneth Barker and Waylon Bailey, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, New American Commentary (Nashville: B&H, 1998).
[3] Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch. Commentary on the Old Testament (Reprinted; Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1996), 10:324-25.