The Meaning of Micah 5:5 Explained

Micah 5:5

KJV: And this man shall be the peace, when the Assyrian shall come into our land: and when he shall tread in our palaces, then shall we raise against him seven shepherds, and eight principal men.

YLT: And this one hath been peace, Asshur! when he doth come into our land, And when he doth tread in our palaces, We have raised against him seven shepherds, And eight anointed of man.

Darby: And this man shall be Peace. When the Assyrian shall come into our land, and when he shall tread in our palaces, then shall we raise against him seven shepherds, and eight princes of men.

ASV: And this man'shall be our peace. When the Assyrian shall come into our land, and when he shall tread in our palaces, then shall we raise against him seven shepherds, and eight principal men.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And this [man] shall be the peace,  when the Assyrian  shall come  into our land:  and when he shall tread  in our palaces,  then shall we raise  against him seven  shepherds,  and eight  principal  men. 

What does Micah 5:5 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Assyria was the main threat to the Israelites in Micah"s day, but this prophecy predicts Israel"s victory over the Assyrians. This did not happen in the history of Israel; Assyria defeated the Northern Kingdom and most of the Southern Kingdom. Thus this prophecy must continue the vision of the distant future that God gave Micah ( Micah 4:1 to Micah 5:5 a). When future Assyrians, representative of Israel"s enemies (cf. Micah 7:12; Isaiah 11:11; Zechariah 10:10), again invade the Promised Land and break down its mansions (cf. Zechariah 12:9; Zechariah 14:2-3), the Israelites will rise up against them. The expression "seven ... and eight" means the same as "three ... and four," a phrase that occurs often in Amos (cf. Amos 1:3; et al.). It implies completeness and then some. The Israelites will have more than enough leaders to defeat their enemy then.

Context Summary

Micah 5:1-15 - The Deliverer From Bethlehem
This name for Bethlehem recalls Genesis 48:7. Though insignificant in size she would outshine her compeers, because of Messiah's birth, Matthew 2:6. As man, our Lord comes from David's city; but as Son of God, His goings forth are from eternity. Though the Jewish flock rejected Him, He is the Shepherd of men. He is great to the ends of the earth, and has made peace by the blood of His Cross. What though the Assyrian, whether ancient or modern, threaten us, shepherds and princes shall be raised up as delivers, Micah 5:5. The ranks of the democracy hold within themselves unbounded stores of leadership. God's people refresh the world like dew, and are lionlike in strength and courage, Micah 5:8. Horses, chariots, and walled cities, are classed with witchcrafts, etc., because they weaned away the trust of God's people. "Thou shalt no more worship the work of thy hands." [source]

Chapter Summary: Micah 5

1  The birth of Christ
4  His kingdom
8  His conquest

What do the individual words in Micah 5:5 mean?

And shall be this [One] peace Assyria when comes into our land and when he treads in our palaces and we will raise against him Seven shepherds and eight princely men
וְהָיָ֥ה זֶ֖ה שָׁל֑וֹם אַשּׁ֣וּר ׀ כִּֽי־ יָב֣וֹא בְאַרְצֵ֗נוּ וְכִ֤י יִדְרֹךְ֙ בְּאַרְמְנֹתֵ֔ינוּ וַהֲקֵמֹ֤נוּ עָלָיו֙ שִׁבְעָ֣ה רֹעִ֔ים וּשְׁמֹנָ֖ה נְסִיכֵ֥י אָדָֽם

וְהָיָ֥ה  And  shall  be 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אֶהְיֶה 
Sense: to be, become, come to pass, exist, happen, fall out.
זֶ֖ה  this  [One] 
Parse: Pronoun, masculine singular
Root: זֶה  
Sense: this, this one, here, which, this … that, the one … the other, another, such.
שָׁל֑וֹם  peace 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: שָׁלֹום  
Sense: completeness, soundness, welfare, peace.
אַשּׁ֣וּר ׀  Assyria 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: אַשּׁוּר  
Sense: the second son of Shem, eponymous ancestor of the Assyrians.
יָב֣וֹא  comes 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: בֹּוא 
Sense: to go in, enter, come, go, come in.
בְאַרְצֵ֗נוּ  into  our  land 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, feminine singular construct, first person common plural
Root: אֶרֶץ  
Sense: land, earth.
וְכִ֤י  and  when 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Conjunction
Root: כִּי 
Sense: that, for, because, when, as though, as, because that, but, then, certainly, except, surely, since.
יִדְרֹךְ֙  he  treads 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: דָּרַךְ  
Sense: to tread, bend, lead, march.
בְּאַרְמְנֹתֵ֔ינוּ  in  our  palaces 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine plural construct, first person common plural
Root: אַרְמֹון  
Sense: citadel, palace, fortress.
וַהֲקֵמֹ֤נוּ  and  we  will  raise 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Hifil, Conjunctive perfect, first person common plural
Root: קוּם 
Sense: to rise, arise, stand, rise up, stand up.
עָלָיו֙  against  him 
Parse: Preposition, third person masculine singular
Root: עַל 
Sense: upon, on the ground of, according to, on account of, on behalf of, concerning, beside, in addition to, together with, beyond, above, over, by, on to, towards, to, against.
שִׁבְעָ֣ה  Seven 
Parse: Number, masculine singular
Root: שֶׁבַע  
Sense: seven (cardinal number).
רֹעִ֔ים  shepherds 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine plural
Root: רָעָה 
Sense: to pasture, tend, graze, feed.
וּשְׁמֹנָ֖ה  and  eight 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Number, masculine singular
Root: שְׁמֹנֶה  
Sense: eight, eighth.
נְסִיכֵ֥י  princely 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: נָסִיךְ 
Sense: poured out, libation, molten image, one anointed.
אָדָֽם  men 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: אָדָם 
Sense: man, mankind.