Micah 1:10

Mic 1:10 Declare ye [it] not at Gath, weep ye not at all: in the house of Aphrah roll thyself in the dust.

Ver. 10. Declare ye it not at Gath, weep ye not at all] sc. in their sight and hearing (though at home weep your fill, Mic 1:8), lest the daughters of those uncircumcised triumph, 2Sa 1:20; lest out of your tragedies they compose comedies, and ye become their music, while they revel in your ruins and make themselves merry in your misery.

In the house of Aphrah roll thyself in the dust] An elegant word play in the original; q.d. dust thyself in the house of dust. Aphrah had its name from its dustiness; as Paris is called Lutetia a lute, from its dustiness, and as Hiram called the twenty cities of Galilee given him by Solomon, Cabul, that is, dirty, or displeasing, 1Ki 9:13. Fitly was this city called Aphrah, or dusty, saith the prophet; for it shall be reduced to dust, and the inhabitants occasioned to roll themselves in the dust, in token of extreme sorrow. See Lam 2:10. Some think Apbrah is put for Ephraim; others better understand it for a particular city; either that in the tribe of Manasseh, Gideon’s city, Jdg 6:11, or that other in the tribe of Benjamin, Jos 18:23, not far from Jerusalem.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Mic 1:10-12. Declare ye it not in Gath — Lest the Philistines triumph. The words seem to be taken out of David s lamentation over Saul and Jonathan, 2Sa 1:20, where see the note. Weep ye not at all — Or, weep ye not with loud weeping, as Archbishop Newcome renders it. Do not make any loud lamentations, lest the evil tidings be spread. In the house of Aphrah roll thyself in the dust — Or, wallow in the ashes, as was commonly practised in times of great mourning. The word Aphrah signifies dust; and the prophet, it is likely, puts it here for Ophrah, a town in the tribe of Benjamin, that the name might better suit their present condition. Pass ye away, thou inhabitant of Saphir — Houbigant says that Eusebius places this city, the name of which signifies fair, or elegant, in the tribe of Judah, between Eleutheropolis and Askelon. Some think, however, that Saphir is not a proper name, and that there was no place so called in Judea; but that the clause ought to be rendered, Pass away, thou inhabitant of a delightful place, that is, Samaria, which was very pleasantly situated. The prophet here threatens the inhabitants of that place that they should go into captivity, in a way very unsuitable to their former softness and luxury, even stripped by the conquering enemy, and without so much as a covering to hide their nakedness. The inhabitant of Zaanan — A place in the tribe of Judah, called Zenan, Jos 15:37; came not forth in the mourning of Beth-ezel — “There was no burial of her dead with solemn mourning out of the precincts of her city, but she was besieged and put to the sword.” — Newcome. Or, the meaning may be, the inhabitants of Zaanan were so much concerned to provide for their own safety, that they took no notice of the mournful condition of their near neighbour Beth-ezel, which seems to have been a place near Jerusalem, termed Azal, Zec 14:5. Grotius, however, supposes Zaanan to denote Zion, and Beth-ezel to signify Beth-el, called here by another name, importing the house of separation, because it was the principal seat of idolatrous worship. He shall receive of you his standing — The standing, or encamping of an army against the city; that is, the enemy shall encamp among you, shall stand on your ground, so that you will have no opportunity of coming out to the help of your neighbours. For the inhabitant of Maroth — A town in Judea, (the same probably that is called Maarath, Jos 15:59,) waited, &c. — Or rather, as the words may be translated, Although the inhabitant of Maroth waited for good, yet evil came, &c., unto the gate of Jerusalem — Such a calamity as stopped not at Maroth, but reached even to Jerusalem. By Maroth, which signifies bitterness, or trouble, Grotius understands Ramah, or, expressed as it often is in the plural, Ramoth, a place in the tribe of Benjamin, near Beth-lehem, and not far from Jerusalem.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

10. The prophet fears the malicious joy of the heathen neighbors, which would be an insult to Jehovah. Hence he pleads with the people not to permit the news to become known in the surrounding territory.

Declare ye it not at Gath — R.V., “Tell it not in Gath.” Gath was one of the five chief cities of the Philistines (see on Amo_1:6-8; Amo_6:2). The words are found also in 2Sa_1:20; they may have become a proverbial saying.

Weep ye not at all — This is the literal rendering of the present Hebrew text; but (1) the form of the verb is unusual; (2) in all the other instances each proper noun is connected with only one verb. For these reasons many are inclined to accept as original the common LXX. reading, “weep ye not in Acco.” Acco, the later Ptolemais, was situated on the Mediterranean coast north of Mount Carmel. In this passage it would represent the heathen neighbors in the north, as Gath represents those in the south. According to Jdg_1:31, the Canaanites were not driven out from Acco. Any disaster of the Hebrews would cause them to rejoice, hence they are to be kept in ignorance. If we assume a contraction for the purpose of making the rhythm smoother or producing a more perfect paronomasia, this translation might perhaps be justified by the present Hebrew text. However, such contractions are unusual, and it may be better to suppose that the original text was accidentally altered as a result of the similarity in Hebrew between the word reproduced in English by “at all” (literally, to weep) and the original of “in Acco.” The other LXX. rendering, “in Bochim,” is less probable.

The house of Aphrah — R.V., “Beth-le-aphrah,” which means “house of dust.” Throughout these verses the towns are selected not because of their importance, but rather because of the suggestiveness of their names. In Jos_18:23, is mentioned an Ophrah in Benjamin, and with it the place referred to here has often been identified; but since most or all of the places named by Micah seem to be located in the Shephelah, between Judah and Philistia, Beth-le-aphrah should probably be looked for in the same district. Thus far, however, no satisfactory identification has been proposed, and the various emendations suggested are equally unsatisfactory. The element Aphrah has been compared with the second element in Beto-gabra, that is, Eleutheropolis, and with the last element in the name Wady-el-Ghufr, south of the same place.

Roll thyself in the dust — R.V., “have I rolled myself.” The latter reproduces the present Hebrew text, the former follows a Masoretic suggestion. LXX. and other ancient versions read, “roll yourselves,” thus co-ordinating this verb with the other two in the verse, and this last reading may be original. The verb is found in three other places in the Old Testament, and in all three it is translated “wallow,” so that there seems no justification for rendering it here “be-sprinkle” (with dust or ashes); and such rendering would greatly weaken the thought of the prophet.

Sprinkling ashes or dust upon the head was a common symbol of mourning (2Sa_13:19; Amo_2:7); the impending calamity will be so severe that extraordinary expressions of grief are called for; instead of sprinkling dust or ashes upon their heads, they are urged to wallow in it.

Much has been said concerning the obscurity of Mic_1:10, but, as interpreted above, it seems perfectly clear and intelligible. The prophet desires that the news of the disaster should be withheld from the surrounding enemies, but, he continues, in Beth-le-aphrah, that is, within your own borders, wallow in the dust as a sign of distress and mourning.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

CRITICAL NOTES.

Mic_1:10.] The Prophet thinks now of the malicious joy of heathen neighbours. Ten places are mentioned in Mic_1:10-15 to depict what would happen in them. In most cases the things said of each city are a play upon the name of that city, a method of writing well adapted to impress the memory [Cowles].

Mic_1:11. Forth] To console others (Jer_6:25). Standing] i.e. the sustenance of the foe.

Mic_1:12. Waited] for better fortune, but in vain [Calvin].

Mic_1:13. Bind] Flee as fast as possible from the advancing enemy. Begin.] The first to introduce false gods.

Mic_1:14. Thou] Israel would renounce all claim to Mor. and give it up to the foe; and Ach. would answer to its name, and disappoint Israel’s hopes.

Mic_1:15. Heir] A new possessor, viz., the Assyrian shall occupy the place, as they expelled former inhabitants, and Israel’s glory (Adullam) shall decay.

Mic_1:16. Bald] A token of deep mourning (Job_1:20; Isa_15:2; Jer_16:6). Children] wept for, as the loss of a mother. Eagle] Not the common eagle, but the bearded or carrion vulture. Judgments in general are described, not particular definite punishments, without precise methods of accomplishment, so that the predictions embrace all the judgments against Judah which took place from the Assyrian invasion until the Roman catastrophe [Keil].

THE PROPHET’S LAMENTATION.—Mic_1:10

The calamity of God’s people and the sorrow of the Prophet were such that should be unknown to the enemy, lest he should indulge in malignant joy, and add to affliction. Hence, in language borrowed from 2Sa_1:20, they are urged to conceal distress, suppress weeping, lest the Philistines in Gath should hear.

Learn,

I. That some rejoice in the affliction of God’s people. “Declare it not,” &c. Many would be glad to see the Church in deepest misery. Strange to say that nearest neighbours are often bitterest enemies. Gath was next to the borders, but did not partake of the spirit of Judah. But God’s servants have great sympathy with his people, and constant jealousy for his honour. “Let none that wait on thee be ashamed.”

II. That God’s people cannot always hide their affliction. “Weep not,” it will be of no avail. Sometimes grief may be smothered by concealing it. At other times it is impossible to hide it. God will publish it as a discipline to his people and a warning to the world. Our afflictions must be noted by men, and under them they may be permitted to insult and reproach us. But God will defend his honour and his church. “Remember, Lord, the reproach of thy servants” (Cf. Psa_89:50; 1Pe_2:20).

III. That God’s people should humble themselves under their affliction. “Roll thyself in the dust.” If not to mourn in Gath, they may in Aphrah. Silent before the wicked, they may grieve in private. Noisy lamentation may be imprudent, but silent tears are becoming. When weeping would be the joy and laughter of God’s enemies it is often acceptable to God. From the dust we sprang, to the dust we must return, and affliction is designed to remind us of this. “O daughter of my people, gird thee with sackcloth, and wallow thyself in ashes: make thee mourning, as for an only son, most bitter lamentation.”

GREAT CITIES AND GREAT RUIN.—Mic_1:11-16

Whether the following places be figurative or real, they set forth the greatness of the calamity which falls upon them by their names, qualities, and condition.

I. Great cities are often guilty of great sins. Proximity and commercial intercourse corrupt. Popular sins spring from certain ranks and certain places. Each has its special sin, and all are involved in idolatry and its miseries.

II. In the punishment of great cities God deals to each its due. Each city of Judah received its due. Saphir with its beauty would be clothed with shame; Zaanan with its flocks and population would be the encampment of the enemy, and unable to sympathize with Beth-ezel, its nearest neighbour. The inhabitants of Maroth would expect good and receive evil; Lachish would be strong only to flee, “like a brook that fails and deceives; her inheritance (Mareshah) inherited; herself taking refuge in dens and caves of the earth, yet even there found and bereft of her glory.” God weighs truly the responsibilities of each, and foremost in privileges will be foremost in punishment for the neglect of those privileges.

III. No earthly power can ward off the punishment of great cities. It may be lawful to defend ourselves in danger; but against God’s fierce anger none can prevail.

1. Human helps will be in vain. Maroth waited anxiously for good, but were disappointed (Mic_1:12). Beauty and strength, splendid positions and large populations, will not succour those who trust to them. Men who hope in sin will find bitterness in the end; and this bitterness may only be the beginning of a greator calamity. “Unto the gate of Jerusalem.”

2. Flight cannot save (Mic_1:13). Lachish had chariots and swift beasts, but where are they now? Shut up in the hand of the enemy, and unable to escape. “The horse is prepared against the day of battle, but safety is of the Lord.”

3. Presents cannot bribe. Lachish would send gifts to some town or country in Gath to purchase aid against the invader, but would be disappointed. Wicked men employ any means rather than seek God in trouble. They might learn from those whose sins are written on their foreheads, and whose name and nature are a lie. “The houses of Achzib shall be a lie to the king of Israel.”

4. Great distance will not secure. Adullam was the remotest border to Assyria (Mic_1:15). Distance, if such there be, can never exempt from God’s judgments. He will find out and chastise the guilty wherever they be. Christ is the only security, and heaven the only abiding inheritance. Secure those blessings from which no enemy can drive you.

IV. Universal mourning results from the ruin of great cities. The body of the people, the mother cities, are called upon to mourn. The people will be taken captive and diminished, or if left behind will be weakened and despised. Sin in the end will turn mirth into bitterness, deprive of liberty, plunge into misery and everlasting lamentation. “And in that day did the Lord God of Hosts call to weeping, and to mourning, and to baldness, and to girding with sackcloth.”

THE INHABITANT OF MAROTH.—Mic_1:12

This refers to the invasion of the Assyrian, the rod of God’s anger. He had subdued and ravaged Israel, and now entered Judah. The Prophet laments the horrors of the scene, and describes the effects of them upon the places in the line of march. Maroth was very interior, and situated nigh Jerusalem; and probably the inhabitants thought on that account they were safer than those who lived on the borders. This may remind us of the disappointments of life, the source of calamity, and the season of deliverance. They “waited carefully for good;” but in vain: “evil came.” Is such a disappointment a strange or unusual thing? What is there in life that is not uncertain, and does not expose the hope resting upon it? Is it Substance? Health? Children? Friends? Does the Scripture only cry, “All is vanity;” and, “Cease from man whose breath is in his nostrils”? Does not all history, observation, and experience tell us the same? Let the young, and all, be sober in expectation of earthly things. It is the way to escape the surprise and anguish of disappointment. Make the Lord your hope. He will not deceive us: he cannot fail us. “Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.” See also the source of calamity. “Evil came down from the Lord.” This seems strange when we are assured that “every good and every perfect gift” comes down from him. Micah speaks of natural evil, or the evil of suffering. And what calamity is there that Scripture has not ascribed to God? A storm at sea? “He breaketh the ships of Tarshish.” Barrenness of soil? “He turneth a fruitful land into barrenness.” The loss of connections? “Lover and friend hast thou put far from me.” We oftener connect war with the follies and passions of men than other evils; but he has “created the waster to destroy.” Never view sufferings, public or private, personal or relative, abstractedly from God. Let not the instruments lead us to overlook his agency. They could have no power at all against us except it was given them from above. But how does this evil come from him? Some view mercy as separate from justice; and others justice as separate from mercy: one of these partial views genders presumption, the other despair. Extremes should be avoided in considering God as the righteous governor and the tender father. Everything in his present administration is adapted to show the union of holiness and goodness, to awaken fear and hope. The evils he sends are the effects of sin; the fruits to take away sin. We deserve them and need them; the one shows that we have no right to murmur, the other that we have no reason to complain. Cheerful submission is required; but this can only be given when we see the relation that affliction has to our desert and improvement. Mark also the time of deliverance. Though God saves his people he may permit destruction to draw very nigh. In this case he could have hindered the calamity at the frontier, but evil came “unto the gate of Jerusalem.” So far, but no farther, did the insulting foe come. Here were his proud waves stayed. Here his power and triumph ended. Hezekiah conquered him on his knees, and the Lord put his bridle into his jaws and drew him back. The angel made a great slaughter in the camp that night, showing that God can not only deliver in the greatest straits, but that he frequently does not interfere till the evil has reached its extremity. The delay is not abandonment. He waits to be gracious, and the season in which he will appear will display his glory and draw forth our praise. It is often darkest just before the break of day. “In the mount it shall be seen” [Jay].

HOMILETIC HINTS AND OUTLINES

Mic_1:10. To be indifferent to the honour of God, and to have no sorrow at reproach being brought on the cause of religion through the fall of its professors, is the mark of the carnal, unregenerate mind [Fausset].

Mic_1:11. Selfish men are often so taken up with their own sorrows that they have no sympathy for others. “The inhabitant of Zaanan came not forth in the mourning of Beth-ezel.”

Mic_1:13. Beginning of sin. What a world of evil lies in the three words! [Pusey]. To be the first occasion and chief stumbling-block in a land’s defection brings on exemplary judgment [Hutcheson].

Mic_1:14. Learn—I. That in trouble men often flee to human help. Treaties, presents, and bribes are all tried rather than God. II. That God warns men against trusting to human help.

1. By their own experience.

2. By the experience of others. “The houses of Achzib” might have taught wisdom, for they are “a lie.” III. The failure of all human helps is conspicuous. They are known by their names, natures, and results. They deceive, they are “a lie.”

Mic_1:15. All possessions, houses, lands, and families are insecure when God is provoked—may be taken from us, and another may be the heir to them. “I will bring an heir unto thee.”

The glory of Israel.

1. Religious privileges are the glory of a nation.

2. This glory may depart through a nation’s sin. When religious ordinances are neglected or abused, and God is provoked, they cannot ward off judgment. A nation’s glory may then be laid in the dust.

Mic_1:16.

1. The signs of sorrow. Baldness, enlarged baldness. In other cases baldness forbidden Israel, but in sorrow for sin they were called to it (Isa_22:12). As the eagle, which not only loses its feathers, but its beauty, swiftness, and courage with them.

2. The causes of sorrow. The captivity of children. Indulgent fathers may become parricides, not parents. “Those who give themselves up to luxury are at least given up to miserable slavery. When a man makes his children effeminate he makes for himself grief and heart-pangs” [Lange].

ILLUSTRATIONS TO CHAPTER 1

Mic_1:10-16. God’s providences illustrate his word. Nations are punished for their sins. “History is a practical comment upon revelation, and revelation is a sure key to many parts of history.”

This passage of Micah (Mic_1:10-16) is to be compared with that noble one in Isaiah (Isa_10:28-32), where the Prophet describes the panic which spreads from one town to another near Jerusalem, when the Assyrian army under Sennacherib invaded Judah, and took all its fenced cities (Isa_36:1). Micah continues the prophetic description of Isaiah. Isaiah represents the panic, alarm, and havoc produced in the days of Hezekiah by the Assyrian army under Sennacherib invading Jerusalem from the north-east. Micah represents his career to the south-west, even to Lachish, mentioned by both the prophets (See Mic_1:13).

We know from Jeremiah (Jer_26:18) that the prophetic warnings and reproofs of Micah wrought powerfully on the mind of the good king Hezekiah; and that for a time the judgments impending over Jerusalem were averted by his repentance. Similar results appear to have been produced on him by the cheering voice of Isaiah, who completed the work of Micah, by inspiring the king with faith and hope; and God blessed the work of the two prophets, and the prayers of the penitent king, who at first had faltered (See 2Ki_18:14-16), by delivering him and his people, and by destroying the army of Sennacherib, when it returned from Egypt in triumph, beneath the walls of Jerusalem. (See above, on Isa_37:36.) [Wordsworth.]

The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.

1:10-15 The cities listed were in the lowlands of southwestern Judah’s coastal areas. The sequence may represent the Assyrian army’s march down the coastal plain and from there into Judah’s heartland in 703–701 BC.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Which was a city near to Jerusalem, Josh. 18:23, there called Ophrah, and signifieth dust: therefore he willeth them to mourn and roll themselves in the dust, for their dusty city.

Lest the Philistines our enemies rejoice at our destruction.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Declare ye it not at Gath--on the borders of Judea, one of the five cities of the Philistines, who would exult at the calamity of the Hebrews (Sa2 1:20). Gratify not those who exult over the falls of the Israel of God.

weep ye not at all--Do not betray your inward sorrow by outward weeping, within the cognizance of the enemy, lest they should exult at it. RELAND translates, "Weep not in Acco," that is, Ptolemais, now St. Jean d'Acre, near the foot of Mount Carmel; allotted to Asher, but never occupied by that tribe (Jdg 1:31); Acco's inhabitants would, therefore, like Gath's, rejoice at Israel's disaster. Thus the parallelism is best carried out in all the three clauses of the verse, and there is a similar play on sounds in each, in the Hebrew Gath, resembling in sound the Hebrew for "declare"; Acco, resembling the Hebrew for "weep"; and Aphrah, meaning "dust." While the Hebrews were not to expose their misery to foreigners, they ought to bewail it in their own cities, for example, Aphrah or Ophrah (Jos 18:23; Sa1 13:17), in the tribe of Benjamin. To "roll in the dust" marked deep sorrow (Jer 6:26; Eze 27:30).

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 10. Declare ye it not at Gath] Do not let this prediction be known among the Philistines, else they will glory over you.

House of Aphrah] Or, Beth-aphrah. This place is mentioned Jos 18:23, as in the tribe of Benjamin. There is a paronomasia, or play on words, here: בבית לעפרה עפר bebeith leaphrah aphar, "Roll thyself in the dust in the house of dust."

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

The Prophet seems here to be inconsistent with himself: for he first describes the calamity that was to be evident to all; but now he commands silence, lest the report should reach the enemies. But there is here nothing contradictory; for the evil itself could not be hid, since the whole kingdom of Israel would be desolated, the cities demolished or burnt, the whole country spoiled and laid waste, and then the enemies would enter the borders of Judah: and when Jerusalem should have been nearly taken how could it have been concealed? No, this could not have been. There is no wonder then that the Prophet had referred here to a solemn mourning. But he now speaks of the feeling of those who were desirous of hiding their own disgrace, especially from their enemies and aliens: for it is an indignity which greatly vexes us, when enemies taunt us, and upbraid us in our misfortunes; when no hope remains, we at least wish to perish in secret, so that no reproach and disgrace should accompany our death; for dishonor is often harder to be borne, and wounds us more grievously, than any other evil. The Prophet then means that the Israelites would not only be miserable, but would also be subject to the reproaches and taunts of their enemies. We indeed know that the Philistine were inveterate in their hatred to the people of God; and we know that they ever took occasion to upbraid them with their evils and calamities.

This then is the meaning of the Prophet, when he says, In Gath declare it not, by weeping weep not; as though he said, “Though extreme evils shall come upon you, yet seek to perish in silence; for you will find that your enemies will gape for the opportunity to cut you with their taunts, when they shall see you thus miserable. He then forbids the people’s calamities to be told in Gath; for the Philistine usually desired nothing more than the opportunity to torment the people of God with reproaches.

It now follows, In the house of Aphrah, in dust roll thyself There is here an alliteration which cannot be conveyed in Latin: for עפרה, ophre, means dusty, and עפר, opher, is dust. That city attained its name from its situation, because the country where it was, was full of dust; as if a city were called Lutosa, muddy or full of clay; and indeed many think that Lutetia (Paris) had hence derived its name. And he says, Roll thyself in dust, in the house full of dust; as though he had said that the name would be now most suitable, for the ruin of the city would constrain all neighboring cities to be in mourning to cast themselves in the dust; So great would be the extremity of their evils.

But we must ever bear in mind the object of the Prophet: for he here rouses the Israelites as it were with the sharpest goads, who entertained no just idea of the dreadfulness of God’s vengeance, but were ever deaf to all threatening. The Prophet then shows that the execution of this vengeance which he denounced was ready at hand; and he himself not only mourned, but called others also to mourning. He speaks of the whole country, as we shall see by what follows. I shall quickly run over the whole of this chapter; for there is no need of long explanation, as you will find.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(10) Declare ye it not at Gath.—The prophet lets his lament flow after the strain of David’s elegy, “Tell it not in Gath, publish it not in the streets of Askelon.” In this passage the parallelism seems to require the name of a town where the English Version has “at all.” But the Hebrew word thus represented may, by the addition of a letter which has dropped out of the text, be rendered “in Accho,” or Ptolemais, now called Acca. The LXX. translation οἱ ἐν Γεθ, μὴ μεγαλύνεσθε οἱ ἐν Ακιμ, μὴ (=οἱ ὲν ἈΚεὶ μή), accords with this reading. The parallelism is thus maintained, and the thought is completed: “Mention not the trouble in our enemies’ cities; bewail it in our own.”

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

10. Declare ye it not …] ‘May we at least be spared the sight of the malicious joy of our envious neighbours!’ Here begins a series of paronomasias, which however are far from indicating a playful mood in the prophet. Most of them refer to Judæan towns in the prophet’s own neighbourhood. He could not possibly jest about the fate of his friends! No; he is in sober earnest, and sees (like Isaiah in Isa_10:30) a pre-ordained correspondence between names and fortunes (comp. the familiar phrase ‘his name shall be called’ = ‘he shall be’). It is not always easy to catch his allusions, nor to reproduce them when caught. Some idea of the general effect is given by M. Reuss in the following imitation, ‘N’allez pas le dire à Dijon! N’allez pas pleurer à Plœrmel! Pars, Paris! Chartres, attèle ton char!’

at Gath] Alluding to 2Sa_1:20. The substance of the power of Gath had passed away (Amo_6:2). Like Ashdod (see Amo_1:8), it seems not to have recovered from the severe blow inflicted by Uzziah (2Ch_26:6). But its name was still a symbol of bitter hostility.

weep ye not at all] Or, in Acco weep ye not (another reading). According to Jdg_1:31, the Canaanites were not driven out of Acco. Thus Acco (the later Ptolemais) would be the representative of the Canaanites or Phœnicians of the north. The choice of the town would be dictated (as the Hebrew suggests) by the love of paronomasia. The Sept. has οἱ Ἐνακείμ; but we should probably read οἱ ἐν Ἀκή (μ came from the following μή; and η and ει are often confounded).

in the house of Aphrah] Rather, in Beth-le-aphrah (i.e. House of dust). There was a town of the tribe of Benjamin called Ophrah, Jos_18:23. Most, if not all, however, of the other eight towns appear to lie in the Shephélah, i.e. the ‘low country’ between Joppa and Gaza; probably therefore the Benjamite Ophrah is not here intended. It may be asked, Why does the prophet single out the Shephélah? Isaiah, in a strictly parallel passage (Isa_10:28-32), mentions an altogether different region as suffering from the invasion? The answer is, that the prophet has the feelings (if we may say so) of a provincial. The ‘low country’ was even less able than Aiath, Migron, Michmash, &c., to oppose the rapid movements of the Assyrians.

roll thyself in] Rather, besprinkle thyself with. So Tamar, as a sign of mourning, ‘put ashes upon her head,’ 2Sa_13:19. But the reading of the Hebrew text is preferable to that of the margin and of A. V., viz. ‘I have besprinkled myself with.’

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Declare ye it not at Gath,.... A city of the Philistines, put for all the rest: the phrase is borrowed from Sa2 1:20; where the reason is given, and holds good here as there; and the sense is, not that the destruction of Israel, or the invasion of Judea, or the besieging of Jerusalem, could be hid from the Philistines; but that it was a thing desirable, was it possible, since it would be matter of rejoicing to them, and that would be an aggravation of the distress of Israel and Judah:

weep ye not at all; that is, before the Philistines, or such like enemies, lest they should laugh and scoff at you; though they had reason to weep, and did and ought to weep in secret; yet, as much as in them lay, it would be right to forbear it openly, because of the insults and reproach of the enemy. The learned Reland (f) suspects that it should be read, "weep not in Acco": which was another city in Palestine, to the north from the enemy, as Gath was to the south; and observes, that there is a like play on words (g) in the words, as in the places after mentioned. Acco is the same with Ptolemais, Act 21:7; See Gill on Act 21:7. It had this name from Ptolemy Lagus king of Egypt, who enlarged it, and called it after his own name; but Mr, Maundrell (h) observes,

"now, since it hath been in the possession of the Turks, it has, according to the example of many other cities in Turkey, cast off its Greek, and recovered some semblance of its old Hebrew name again, being called Acca, or Acra. As to its situation (he says) it enjoys all possible advantages, both of sea and land; on its north and east sides it is compassed with a spacious and fertile plain; on the west it is washed by the Mediterranean sea; and on the south by a large bay, extending from the city as far as Mount Carmel;''

in the house of Aphrah roll thyself in the dust; as mourners used to do, sit in the dust, or cover their heads with it, or wallow in it; this is allowed to be done privately, in houses or in towns distinct from the Philistines, as Aphrah or Ophrah was, which was in the tribe of Benjamin, Jos 18:23; called here "Aphrah", to make it better agree with "Aphar", dust, to which the allusion is: and it may be rendered, "in the house of dust roll thyself in the dust"; having respect to the condition houses would be in at this time, mere heaps of dust and rubbish, so that they would find enough easily to roll themselves in. Here is a double reading; the "Keri", or marginal reading, which the Masora directs to, and we follow, is, "roll thyself": but the "Cetib", or writing, is, "I have rolled myself" (i); and so are the words of the prophet, who before says he wailed and howled, and went stripped and naked; here he says, as a further token of his sorrow, that he rolled himself in dust, and as an example for Israel to do the like. This place was a village in the times of Jerom (k) and was called Effrem; it was five miles from Bethel to the east.

(f) Palestina Illustrata, tom. 2. p. 534, 535. (g) . (h) Journey from Aleppo, &c. p. 54. (i) "volutavi me", De Dieu. (k) De locis Hebr. fol. 88. H.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Tell it not in Gath - Gath had probably now ceased to be; at least, to be of any account . It shows how David’s elegy lived in the hearts of Judah, that his words are used as a proverb, (just as we do now, in whose ears it is yearly read), when, as with us, its original application was probably lost. True, Gath, reduced itself, might rejoice the more maliciously over the sufferings of Judah. But David mentions it as a chief seat of Philistine strength ; now its strength was gone.

The blaspheming of the enemies of God is the sorest part of His chastisements. Whence David prays “let not mine enemies exult over me” Psa 25:2; and the sons of Korah, “With a sword in my bones, mine enemies reproach me, while they say daily unto me, where is thy God?” Psa 42:10; and Ethan; “Thou hast made all his enemies to rejoice. Remember, Lord, the reproach of Thy servant” Psa 89:42, Psa 89:50 - wherewith Thine enemies have reproached, O Lord, wherewith they have reproached the footsteps of Thine anointed. It is hard to part with home, with country, to see all desolate, which one ever loved. But far, far above all, is it, if, in the disgrace and desolation, God’s honor seems to be injured. The Jewish people was then God’s only home on earth. If it could be extinguished, who remained to honor Him? Victories over them seemed to their pagan neighbors to be victories over Him. He seemed to be dishonored without, because they had first dishonored Him within. Sore is it to the Christian, to see God’s cause hindered, His kingdom narrowed, the empire of infidelity advanced. Sorer in one way, because he knows the price of souls, for whom Jesus died. But the world is now the Church’s home. “The holy church throughout all the world doth acknowledge Thee!” Then, it was girt in within a few miles of territory, and sad indeed it must have been to the prophet, to see this too hemmed in. Tell it not in Gath, to the sons of those who, of old, defied God.

Weep not at all - (Literally, weeping, weep not). Weeping is the stillest expression of grief. We speak of “weeping in silence.” Yet this also was too visible a token of grief. Their weeping would be the joy and laughter of God’s enemies.

In the house of Aphrah - (probably, In Beth-leaphrah) roll thyself in the dust (Better, as the text, I roll myself in dust). The prophet chose unusual names, such as would associate themselves with the meanings which he wished to convey, so that thence forth the name itself might recall the prophecy. As if we were to say, “In Ashe I roll myself in ashes.” - There was an Aphrah near Jerusalem . It is more likely that Micah should refer to this, than to the Ophrah in Benjamin Jos 18:23; 1Sa 13:17. He showed them, in his own person, how they should mourn, retired out of sight and hidden, as it were, in the dust. Jer. Rup.: “Whatever grief your heart may have, let your face have no tears; go not forth, but, in the house of dust, sprinkle thyself with the ashes of its ruins.”

All the places thenceforth spoken of were in Judah, whose sorrow and desolation are repeated in all. It is one varied history of sorrow: The names of her cities, whether in themselves called from some gifts of God, as Shaphir, (beautiful; we have Fairford, Fairfield, Fairburn, Fairlight,) or contrariwise from some defect, Maroth, Bitterness (probably from brackish water) Achzib, lying, (doubtless from a winter-torrent which in summer failed) suggest, either in contrast or by themselves, some note of evil and woe. It is Judah’s history in all, given in different traits; her “beauty” turned into shame; herself free neither to go forth nor to “abide;” looking for good and finding evil; the strong (Lachish) strong only to flee; like a brook that fails and deceives; her inheritance (Mareshah) inherited; herself, taking refuge in dens and caves of the earth, yet even there found, and bereft of her glory. Whence, in the end, without naming Judah, the prophet sums up her sorrows with one call to mourning.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Geth. Amongst the Philistines, lest they rejoice at your calamity. (Challoner) (2 Kings i. 20., and Amos iii. 9.) (Calmet) --- Tell not these calamities, which I foresee, among your enemies, lest they rejoice. But lament in your own houses, which shall be filled with dust. St. Jerome prays for the light of the Holy Ghost to understand this passage. (Worthington) --- Weep ye not. Keep in your tears, that you may not give your enemies an occasion of exulting over you: but in your own houses, or in your house of dust, your earthly habitation, sprinkle yourselves with dust, and put on the habit of penitents. Some take the house of dust (in Hebrew Haphra) to be the proper name of a city. (Challoner) --- With tears. Hebrew, "at all," (Protestants; Haydock) "in Acco," or Ptolemais, (Reland) or Bochim, (Haydock) a place near Jerusalem, Judges ii. 1. But no reference to this place, or to "the Enakim," (who appear in some copies of the Septuagint) seems to be made. --- Of dust. Samaria, ver. 6. (Calmet)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Declare ye it not at Gath; do what you can to keep your griefs to yourselves, let them not be public, that the Philistines, your bitter enemies, should know how sad it is with you and rejoice at it. Gath was a principal city of the Philistines, and though this only is mentioned the rest are understood: such phrase you have 2Sa 1:20. Weep ye not at all; you that are of Israel or Judah, make no public weeping, that your cries and tears should inform your enemies in Palestine how deplorable your state is, let not your griefs be their joys.

In the house of Aphrah: we render it as a proper name of some city or town; though of no great note, yet we meet with one, 1Sa 13:23, in the tribe of Benjamin; a second we find in Manasseh’s lot, and was the place where Gideon’s father dwelt, Jdg 6:11; these towns were somewhat remote from the Philistines, and there the prophet does direct then, to weep with the greatest expressions of it, and to keep it private from the Philistines. Others account the word to be a common name denoting

dust, and so give the sense, in the house of dust roll thyself in dust. Roll thyself, or, I have rolled myself, viz. in compassion to the miserable Israelites, or as a pattern to which they shall conform; so the word as written, but as by direction of the Masorets it is read, and as there it is rendered,

roll thyself, it directs and foretells; it foretells what they shall do at last, and directs what they should do at present. They shall be brought to sit, nay, to wallow in the dust, and in foresight of this it would become them to sit in the dust now.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Vers. 10-15. The judgment on Judah is exemplified by the fate of certain of its cities, whose names the prophet connects with their punishment in a series of paronomasias.

Declare ye it not at Gath. This phrase from David"s elegy over Saul (2Sa_1:20) had become a proverbial saying, deprecating the malicious joy of their hostile neighbours over the misfortunes that befell them. Gath is mentioned as the seat of the Philistines, the constant and powerful enemy of Judah. (For its situation, see note on Amo_6:2) The paronomasias in this passage, which seem to modern ears artificial and puerile, are paralleled in many writings both Hebrew and classic, and were natural to a people who looked for mystical meaning in words and names. Thus Gath is taken to signify "Tell town," and the clause is, "In Tell town tell it not." Weep ye not at all; Vulgate, lacrymis ne ploretis; i.e. "weep in silence," or "hide your tears," that the enemy may not know your grief. As in cash of the other clauses a town is mentioned, some editors would here read, "In Acco ("Weep town") weep not! Acco being the later Ptolemais, the modern St. Jean d"Acre, and taken here to represent another foreign city which would rejoice at Judah"s misfortunes. (see Jud 1:31) The Septuagint alone of all the versions seems to countenance this reading, by translating, Oi Enakei anoikodomeite , "Ye Enakim, do not rebuild," which has been resolved into oi en Akeim , supposed to be an error for oi en Aci . The objections against this reading may be seen in Keil and Pusey. There is a play on the words in both these clauses (as in the following five verses), which is not seen in the English Version, begath al taggidu, and bako al tibeku. Knabenbauer imitates the paronomasia in Latin, "Cannis ne canite; Anconae ne angamini;" Ewald and Schegg in German, "In Molln meldet nicht; in Weinsberg. weinet nicht;" Reuss in French, "N"allez pas le dire a Dijon! N"allez pas pleurer a Ploermel!" In these puns, as we should call them, the prophet is far, indeed, from jesting. "He sees," says Dr. Cheyne, "like Isaiah, in Isa_10:30, a preordained correspondence between names and fortunes;" and he wishes to impress this on his countrymen, that the judgment may not come upon them unwarned. In the house of Aphrah; better, at Beth-le-Aphrah, i.e. "House of dust;" Vulgate, in domo pulveris. The site of Aphrah is unknown. Some identify it with Ophrah in Benjamin, (Jos_18:23) four miles northeast of Bethel; others, with Ophrah in Philistia. (1Ch_4:14) Host of the towns named below lie in the Shephelah. Keil notes that the word is pointed with pathach here for the sake of the paronomasia. Roll thyself in the dust; sprinkle dust upon thyself. This was a common sign of mourning. (comp. 2Sa_13:19 Jer_6:26) The Hebrew text (in contradistinction to the margin, Keri) gives, "I roll myself," or "I have besprinkled myself," the prophet identifying himself with the people. But as in all the subsequent passages, not what the prophet does, but what the inhabitants do, is the point impressed, the reading of the Keri is hem to be preferred. Vulgate, pulvere vos conspergite. The Septuagint has an inexplicable rendering, kata gelwta ghn katapasasye , "against laughter sprinkle earth," which Brenton translates, "sprinkle dust in the place of your laughter." With this section (vers. 10-15) should be compared Isa_10:28-32, which describes the alarm occasioned by Sennacherib"s invasion of Judah from the northeast, as Micah represents his progress to the southwest.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Declare ye it not - Lest the Philistines triumph. Weep ye not - Make no public weeping. Aphrah - This was farther from the Philistines. Roll thyself - Express thy sorrow.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

Do not declare it in Gath—lest the Philistines rejoice about us.

in the houses of Aphrah—This is Ophrah of the Abiezrites (Jud. 6:11).

wallow in the dust Heb. הִתְפַּלָּשִׁי, a play on words with the name Philistia (פְּלֶשֶת). Similarly, (verse 11) “You inhabitant of Shafir, with your private parts exposed.” Similarly, (verse 11) “The inhabitant of Zanaan has not gone forth.” In all of these, the language of the lamentation is according to the name of the city. wallow Heb. הִתְפַּלָּשִׁי, roll. According to the context, cover yourself with dust.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.