Mikha 1:14

1:14 Therefore you ¹  will have to say farewell ²  to Moresheth Gath.

The residents ³  of Achzib ⁴  will be as disappointing

as a dried up well ⁵  to the kings of Israel. ⁶ 

Mikha 7:20

7:20 You will be loyal to Jacob

and extend your loyal love to Abraham, ⁷ 

which you promised on oath to our ancestors ⁸ 

in ancient times. ⁹ 

[1:14]  ¹ tn The subject of the feminine singular verb is probably Lachish.

[1:14]  ² tn Heb “you will give a dowry to”; NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV “give parting gifts to.” Lachish is compared to a father who presents wedding gifts to his daughter as she leaves her father’s home to take up residence with her husband. In similar fashion Lachish will bid farewell to Moresheth Gath, for the latter will be taken by the invader.

[1:14]  ³ tn Heb “houses.” By metonymy this refers to the people who live in them.

[1:14]  ⁴ sn The place name Achzib (אַכְזִיב, ’akhziv, “place on the dried up river”; see HALOT 45 s.v. אַכְזָב) creates a word play on the similar sounding term כָּזָב (kazav, “lie, deception”; HALOT 468 s.v. כָּזָב). Like the dried up river upon which its name was based, the city of Achzib would fail to help the kings of Israel in their time of need.

[1:14]  ⁵ tn Or “will be a deception.” The term אַכְזָב (’akhzav) is often translated “deception,” as derived from the verb I כָּזָב (“to deceive, lie”; HALOT 467-68 s.v. I כזב). However, it probably means “what is dried up,” since (1) the noun elsewhere refers to an empty well or dried river in summer (Jer 15:18; cf. Job 6:15-20) (HALOT 45 s.v. אַכְזָב); (2) the place-name “Achzib” (אַכְזִיב) literally means “place on the אַכְזָב [dried up river]” (HALOT 45 s.v. אַכְזָב); and (3) it is derived from the verb II כָּזָב (“to dry up [brook]”; Isa 58:11), which also appears in Mishnaic Hebrew and Arabic. The point of the metaphor is that Achzib will be as disappointing to the kings of Israel as a dried up spring in the summer is to a thirsty traveler in the Jordanian desert.

[1:14]  ⁶ sn Because of the enemy invasion, Achzib would not be able to deliver soldiers for the army and/or services normally rendered to the crown.

[7:20]  ⁷ tn More literally, “You will extend loyalty to Jacob, and loyal love to Abraham.

[7:20]  ⁸ tn Heb “our fathers.” The Hebrew term refers here to more distant ancestors, not immediate parents.

[7:20]  ⁹ tn Heb “which you swore [or, “pledged”] to our fathers from days of old.”