Musings on Micah and mothers

The name Micah means: “who is like the Lord”. The Introduction to Micah in the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible tells me that this “is not a question but an exclamation underscoring the incomparability of the God of Israel.” Is not this a recurring theme of the Holy Book?

Micah’s relative proximity to the Christian era has me wondering about the state of thought that led up to the coming of the Messiah. The Introduction in the NRSV gives much history of the period. I find it rather dazzling.

Just lately I have been impressed by the inclusion of the name of the mothers of new kings, e.g. in 1^st and 2^nd Kings and 1^st and 2^nd Chronicles.

The first example is from I Kings 14:21 --

           And Rehoboam the son of Solomon reigned in Judah. Rehoboam was forty and one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city which the LORD did choose out of all the tribes of Israel, to put his name there. And his mother’s name was Naamah an Ammonitess.

In like manner, we are given Moses’ mother’s name in Leviticus 24:11 --

           And the Israelitish woman’s son blasphemed the name of the Lord, and cursed. And they brought him unto Moses: (and his mother’s name was Shelomith, the daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan:)

Aha! Here we see not only the mother’s name but also the mother’s father’s name also, and sometimes that of his tribe; in Moses’ case the mother is Shelomith, and her father is Dibri of the tribe of Dan.

Now we have a clue here – “Dan” is found in the Glossary chapter of Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures (p. 583:26) --

DAN (Jacob’s son). Animal magnetism; so-called mortal mind controlling mortal mind; error, working out the design of error; one belief preying upon another.

Not a good CV!

The entry at I Kings 14: 21 in Dummelow’s A Commentary on the Holy Bible gives me a healthy clue.

           His mother’s name] the name of the mother of each succeeding king (see I Kings 15:10, 22:42; 2 Kings 8:25 etc,) is expressly mentioned because of the position which the queen dowager occupied: see on 2:19.

And I Kings 2:19

Rose to meet her] the queen dowager occupied a very important position at the court of the kings of Israel: cp. I Kings 15:13 and Jeremiah 13:18.

Dummelow says at Jer. 13:1

The date of this prophecy is shown pretty clearly by the word ‘queen’ (v. 18), which means queen-mother, namely, Nehushta, mother of Jehoiachin. The queen-mother had always a high position, and in Jehoiachin’s case this would be specially so, owing to his tender years.

And Jer. 13:13,

...The kings practised polygamy; hence the high position taken by the queen-mother…

Relative Bible Lens from the Christian Science Bible Lesson for October 21-27, 2024, subject: Probation After Death --

The book of Hosea is the first of the 12 Minor Prophets (followed by the writings of Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi). Minor doesn’t denote importance but rather brevity of content in contrast to the Major Prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel). A commentary notes that “each of these short books gives a glimpse into the spiritual landscape and history of Israel, challenging the status quo through prophets called to speak on God’s behalf.”

Joyce Voysey

Ed. I like the idea that the minor prophets offers  “a glimpse into the spiritual landscape”!