Authentic prophetism confronts the unjust authorities

Exegetical analysis of Micah 3,1-8

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.7213/2175-1838.15.003.DS05

Abstract

In general, the constituted civil and religious powers are in dispute for the control of the people. When they unite, most of the time, they become responsible for carrying out disastrous actions that deeply shake the social structures. Micah presents us with the culmination of the exploitation, violence and oppression of the people by their princes and chiefs. To do this, he uses verbs that belong to the vocabulary of social oppression in the Old Testament, describing the antisocial behavior of the leaders as well as the nature of their crimes. The weak and least favored are the ones who suffer the consequences the most. Micah, as a prophet and peasant leader, would have been an eyewitness to the political and religious brutality that plagued God's people. The plight of the victims of violence is the manifest cause for God to take up their defense and protection. The present reflection, made from diachronic and synchronic approaches, allows to reach the literal meaning of the text and to see the actuality of its message.

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Author Biographies

Luiz Alexandre Rossi, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Paraná (PUCPR)

Pós-doutorado em História Antiga pela UNICAMP e em Teologia pelo Fuller Theological Seminary. Doutorado em Ciências da Religião pela Universidade Metodista de São Paulo. Mestrado em Teologia pelo Instituto Superior Evangélico de Estudos Teológicos (ISEDET), graduação em Teologia pelo Seminário Teológico de Londrina. Experiência na área de Exegese do Antigo Testamento, atuando principalmente nos seguintes temas: Espiritualidade e política em Jeremias, Esdras e Neemias, Teologia e sociedade de consumo, Arqueologia da guerra e do exército no antigo Oriente Próximo.

Leonardo Agostini Fernandes, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio)

Pós-Doutorado (Teologia Bíblica).

Published

2023-12-06

How to Cite

Rossi, L. A., & Fernandes, L. A. (2023). Authentic prophetism confronts the unjust authorities: Exegetical analysis of Micah 3,1-8. Pistis Praxis, 15(3). https://doi.org/10.7213/2175-1838.15.003.DS05