But you (Bethlehem) Ephrathah, the least of the clans of Judah, from you will come for me a future ruler of Israel whose origins go back to the distant past, to the days of old. (Mic 5:1)
וְאַתָּ֞ה בֵּֽית־לֶ֣חֶם אֶפְרָ֗תָה צָעִיר֙ לִֽהְיוֹת֙ בְּאַלְפֵ֣י יְהוּדָ֔ה מִמְּךָ֙ לִ֣י יֵצֵ֔א לִֽהְיֹ֥ות מוֹשֵׁ֖ל בְּיִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל וּמוֹצָאֹתָ֥יו מִקֶּ֖דֶם מִימֵ֥י עוֹלָֽם׃
Et tu Bethlehem Ephrata parvulus es in millibus Iuda: ex te mihi egredietur qui sit dominator in Israel, et egressus eius ab initio, a diebus æternitatis.
Καὶ σύ, Βηθλεεμ οἶκος τοῦ Εφραθα, ὀλιγοστὸς εἶ τοῦ εἶναι ἐν χιλιάσιν Ιουδα· ἐκ σοῦ μοι ἐξελεύσεται τοῦ εἶναι εἰς ἄρχοντα ἐν τῷ Ισραηλ, καὶ αἱ ἔξοδοι αὐτοῦ ἀπʼ ἀρχῆς ἐξ ἡμερῶν αἰῶνος.
Origin (מוֹצָאָה môṣʽāâ), this noun comes from the root יצא, which in Hebrew is used to describe various forms of “exit,” “going out,” “departure from a place,” or “leading out.” The noun môṣʽāâ has the same semantic range as the verb, which is linked to the great tradition of the Exodus, “the exodus from Egyptian bondage,” but it also means “source,” “sunrise,” “origin.”
In today’s first reading (Micah 5:1-4), this root appears twice in the first sentence: “But you (Bethlehem) Ephrathah, the least of the clans of Judah, from you will come for me a future ruler of Israel whose origins go back to the distant past, to the days of old” (Micah 5:2). As we observe, the prophecy concerns Bethlehem, from which “comes forth (יצא),” meaning the ruler of all Israel will be born there, even though Bethlehem is one of the smallest among the tribes of Judah. What is surprising, however, is the connection between this “coming forth,” or birth in time, and the true origin of the One who will be born in Bethlehem: “His origin (יצא) goes back to the distant past, to the days of old” The One who will come forth from Bethlehem will actually come forth from “the days of eternity.” The prophecy of Micah not only reveals the place of the Messiah’s birth but also discloses His true origin (מוֹצָאָה môṣʽāâ).
