Micheas 5:2

And hear what part of earth He was to be born in, as another prophet, Micah, foretold. He spoke thus: “And thou, Bethlehem, the land of Judah, art not the least among the princes of Judah; for out of thee shall come forth a Governor, who shall feed My people.” Now there is a village in the land of the Jews, thirty-five stadia from Jerusalem, in which Jesus Christ was born, as you can ascertain also from the registers of the taxing made under Cyrenius, your first procurator in Judæa.

“Now this king Herod, at the time when the Magi came to him from Arabia, and said they knew from a star which appeared in the heavens that a King had been born in your country, and that they had come to worship Him, learned from the elders of your people that it was thus written regarding Bethlehem in the prophet: ‘And thou, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, art by no means least among the princes of Judah; for out of thee shall go forth the leader who shall feed my people.’ Accordingly the Magi from Arabia came to Bethlehem and worshipped the Child, and presented Him with gifts, gold and frankincense, and myrrh; but returned not to Herod, being warned in a revelation after worshipping the Child in Bethlehem. …

In Micah: “And thou, Bethlehem, house of Ephrata, art not little, that thou shouldst be appointed among the thousands of Judah. Out of thee shall He come forth to me, that He may be a prince in Israel, and His goings forth from the beginning from the days of old.” Also in the Gospel: “And when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judah, in the days of Herod the king, behold, Magi came from the east to Jerusalem, saying, Where is He that is born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the east, and we have come with gifts to worship Him.”

The prophet Micah, representing Christ under the figure of a great mountain, speaks thus: “It shall come to pass in the last days, that the manifested mountain of the Lord shall be prepared on the tops of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall hasten unto it. Many nations shall go, and shall say, Come, let us go up into the mountain of the Lord, and into the house of the God of Jacob; and He will show us His way, and we will go in His paths: for out of Zion shall proceed the law, and the word of the Lord out of Jerusalem. …

5. And what is the beginning? “When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judæa, in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem.” While wise men followed under the auspices of a star, these believed not, with prophets even sounding in their ears. But wherefore doth he mention to us both the time and the place, saying, “in Bethlehem,” and “in the days of Herod the king?” And for what reason doth he add his rank also? His rank, because there was also another Herod, he who slew John: but that was a tetrarch, this a king. …

Some of them, however, being past shame, say that these things were spoken of Zerubbabel. But how can they be right? For surely “his goings forth” were not “from of old, from everlasting.” And how can that suit him which is said at the beginning, “Out of thee shall He come forth:” Zorobabel not having been born in Judæa, but in Babylon, whence also he was called Zorobabel,because he had his origin there? And as many as know the Syrians’ language know what I say.

He praises and approves the man, because he had said, “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” and yet he ought to have been blamed. Surely not; for the words are not those of an unbeliever, nor deserving blame, but praise. “How so, and in what way?” Because Nathanael had considered the writings of the Prophets more than Philip. For he had heard from the Scriptures, that Christ must come from Bethlehem, and from the village in which David was. This belief at least prevailed among the Jews, and the Prophet had proclaimed it of old, saying, “And thou, Bethlehem, art by no means the least among the princes of Judah, for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall feed My people Israel.” ( Matt. ii. 6; Mic. v. 2 .) And so when he heard that He was “from Nazareth,” he was confounded, and doubted, not finding the announcement of Philip to agree with the prediction of the Prophet.

[2.] And observe, I pray you, his manner of declining, how gentle he has made it, and in the form of a question. For he said not, “Galilee produces no good”; but how said he? “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” Philip also was very prudent; for he is not as one perplexed, angry, and annoyed, but perseveres, wishing to bring over the man, and manifesting to us from the first of his preaching the firmness which becomes an Apostle. Wherefore also Christ saith, “Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile.” So that there is such a person as a false Israelite; but this is not such an one; for his judgment, Christ saith, is impartial, he speaks nothing from favor, or from ill-feeling. Yet the Jews, when they were asked where Christ should be born, replied, “In Bethlehem” ( Matt. ii. …

2. It was in the forty-second year of the reign of Augustus and the twenty-eighth after the subjugation of Egypt and the death of Antony and Cleopatra, with whom the dynasty of the Ptolemies in Egypt came to an end, that our Saviour and Lord Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem of Judea, according to the prophecies which had been uttered concerning him. His birth took place during the first census, while Cyrenius was governor of Syria.

1. When Christ was born, according to the prophecies, in Bethlehem of Judea, at the time indicated, Herod was not a little disturbed by the enquiry of the magi who came from the east, asking where he who was born King of the Jews was to be found, for they had seen his star, and this was their reason for taking so long a journey; for they earnestly desired to worship the infant as God, for he imagined that his kingdom might be endangered; and he enquired therefore of the doctors of the law, who belonged to the Jewish nation, where they expected Christ to be born. …

Orth. So again the divine apostle, reminding us of the blessing of Judah, and pointing out how it received its fulfilment exclaims “For it is evident that our Lord sprang out of Judah.” So too the Prophet Micah and the evangelist Matthew. For the former spoke his prediction, and the latter connects the prophecy with his narrative. What is extraordinary is that he says that the open enemies of the truth plainly told Herod that the Christ is born in Bethlehem, for it is written, he says, “And thou Bethlehem in the land of Judah art not the least among the Princes of Judah for out of thee shall come a Governor who shall rule my people Israel.” Now let us subjoin what the Jews in their malignity omitted and so made the witness imperfect. …

Thus he has stated the same Christ to be of the Jews according to the flesh, and God over all as God. Similarly the prophet Isaiah writes “A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.…Surely He hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows,” and shortly afterwards he says “Who shall declare His generation?” This is spoken not of man but of God. Thus through Micah God says “Thou Bethlehem in the land of Judah art not the least among the princes of Judah, for out of thee shall come a governor that shall rule my people Israel, whose goings forth have been as of old from everlasting.” Now by saying “From thee shall come forth a ruler” he exhibits the œconomy of the incarnation; and by adding “whose goings forth have been as of old from everlasting” he declares the Godhead begotten of the Father before the ages.