20160128 Thursday, January 28 2016
Micah 05: Why Is Bethlehem Called Ephratah?

by Wayne Blank
See also 1 Year Holy Bible Reading Plan

"But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting"

"Ephratah" is the English-language rendering of the Hebrew word, pronounced ehf-raw-thaw, that means fruitful. The root word is also found in the Hebrew name Ephraim. The Israelite patriarch Joseph (see Joseph's Sheaves and Stars Dreams Fulfilled) named his sons according to his own melancholy life experience i.e. to him, Manasseh (which means to forget) meant to forget his actual ancestry and homeland, and Ephraim meant to become fruitful where he then lived.

"41:51 And Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh: For God, said he, hath made me forget all my toil, and all my father's house.

41:52 And the name of the second called he Ephraim: For God hath caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction." (Genesis 41:51-52 KJV)

"Ephratah" was used as a name, and a term, for the mothers of those who would produce the human Messianic line of the LORD (see (see The Identity Of The LORD God and The LORD God Our Saviour). Some are lesser-known, while perhaps Ruth is the most famous (see Ruth: Building The House Of Israel).

"4:1 The sons of Judah; Pharez, Hezron, and Carmi, and Hur, and Shobal. 4:2 And Reaiah the son of Shobal begat Jahath; and Jahath begat Ahumai, and Lahad. These are the families of the Zorathites. 4:3 And these were of the father of Etam; Jezreel, and Ishma, and Idbash: and the name of their sister was Hazelelponi: 4:4 And Penuel the father of Gedor, and Ezer the father of Hushah. These are the sons of Hur, the firstborn of Ephratah, the father of Bethlehem." (1 Chronicles 4:1-4 KJV)

"4:11 And all the people that were in the gate, and the elders, said, We are witnesses. The LORD make the woman that is come into thine house like Rachel and like Leah, which two did build the house of Israel: and do thou worthily in Ephratah, and be famous in Bethlehem: 4:12 And let thy house be like the house of Pharez, whom Tamar bare unto Judah, of the seed which the LORD shall give thee of this young woman." (Ruth 4:11-12 KJV)

"132:6 Lo, we heard of it at Ephratah: we found it in the fields of the wood. 132:7 We will go into his tabernacles: we will worship at his footstool. 132:8 Arise, O LORD, into thy rest; thou, and the ark of thy strength. 132:9 Let thy priests be clothed with righteousness; and let thy saints shout for joy. 132:10 For thy servant David's sake turn not away the face of thine anointed. 132:11 The LORD hath sworn in truth unto David; he will not turn from it; Of the fruit of thy body will I set upon thy throne." (Psalm 132:6-11 KJV)

The true prophets of the LORD were not word harlots that spoke whatever "politically correct" religious or political garbage that the people demanded. They were feared and hated because they spoke the Truth (see Why Were The Prophets Of Truth Hated?), including the warning that the corrupt nations need to repent because the LORD is coming to do away with their rebellious countries and their make-believe Satanic religions (see The Politics And Religion Of The Lost Ten Tribes and Is Iniquity Liberal Or Conservative?).

That included Micah, a true prophet of the LORD who told the people what they needed to hear, not what they lusted to hear.

"5:1 Now gather thyself in troops, O daughter of troops: he hath laid siege against us: they shall smite the judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek.

5:2 But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.

5:3 Therefore will he give them up, until the time that she which travaileth hath brought forth: then the remnant of his brethren shall return unto the children of Israel. 5:4 And he shall stand and feed in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God; and they shall abide: for now shall he be great unto the ends of the earth. 5:5 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.

5:6 And they shall waste the land of Assyria with the sword, and the land of Nimrod in the entrances thereof: thus shall he deliver us from the Assyrian, when he cometh into our land, and when he treadeth within our borders.

5:7 And the remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many people as a dew from the LORD, as the showers upon the grass, that tarrieth not for man, nor waiteth for the sons of men. 5:8 And the remnant of Jacob shall be among the Gentiles in the midst of many people as a lion among the beasts of the forest, as a young lion among the flocks of sheep: who, if he go through, both treadeth down, and teareth in pieces, and none can deliver. 5:9 Thine hand shall be lifted up upon thine adversaries, and all thine enemies shall be cut off.

5:10 And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD, that I will cut off thy horses out of the midst of thee, and I will destroy thy chariots: 5:11 And I will cut off the cities of thy land, and throw down all thy strong holds: 5:12 And I will cut off witchcrafts out of thine hand; and thou shalt have no more soothsayers: 5:13 Thy graven images also will I cut off, and thy standing images out of the midst of thee; and thou shalt no more worship the work of thine hands. 5:14 And I will pluck up thy groves out of the midst of thee: so will I destroy thy cities. 5:15 And I will execute vengeance in anger and fury upon the heathen, such as they have not heard." (Micah 5:1-15 KJV)

Fact Finder: What does the Word of God actually say about Mary, the mother of the Messiah?
See What Does The Bible Really Say About Mary?