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Bible Dictionaries
Micah
Bridgeway Bible Dictionary
or The best known of several Micahs in the Bible story is the prophet whose book is part of the Old Testament (Micah 1:1; Jeremiah 26:18). (For details of this Micah see MICAH, BOOK OF).
Another prophet had a variation of the same name, Micaiah. He lived in the time of King Ahab of Israel, and Ahab hated him. Whereas the other court prophets said only those things that pleased Ahab, Micaiah spoke the truth, whether Ahab liked it or not (1 Kings 22:5-9). When he told Ahab that a coming battle would bring defeat, Ahab threw him into prison. The outcome proved (as Micaiah had asserted) that he spoke the truth and that the other prophets were liars (1 Kings 22:13-36).
An earlier Micah lived in the time covered by the book of Judges. He was a thief and an idol worshipper whom his mother made priest of her household shrine. But Micah did not come from the priestly tribe, so when a Levite happened to visit his house, Micah made him priest instead (Judges 17). After some time, representatives of the tribe of Dan stopped at Micah’s house while on a journey north in search of a new tribal homeland (Judges 18:1-6). When the Danites later moved north to settle, they again visited Micah. On this occasion they raided his shrine, robbed him of his images, and threatened him with death when he resisted (Judges 18:11-26). They then continued their journey and established Micah’s idolatrous religion in their new homeland (Judges 18:27; Judges 18:31).
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Fleming, Don. Entry for 'Micah'. Bridgeway Bible Dictionary. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/bbd/m/micah.html. 2004.
