MICHAH (Hebr. Mikhah, abbreviation of Mikhajah) — "Who [is] like Jahweh?" — — An Ephraimite (sometimes also called Michea) from the time of the Judges (v.). He had stolen 1,100 shekels of silver from his mother. When about to be discovered, he returned the money, which was then consecrated to divine worship. To imitate Mosaic prescriptions, M. ephod (v.), but also teraphim or household god figurines (cf. Gen. 31:19), prohibited by the Law, and established a cult which, in his intention, was not meant to be idolatrous. When a Levite from Bethlehem happened by, M. kept him in his house to serve as his priest (Judg. 17:1–13). Later, however, the Levite was compelled to move to Laish, later called Dan, at the site of modern Tell el-Qâdî, 5 km west of Bâniyâs. There he established a schismatic sanctuary for the inviting tribe (ibid. 18:1–31).
The account of M. forms one of the appendices to the Book of Judges and clearly aims to trace the Dan (v.), famous until the destruction of the Kingdom of Israel (722 B.C.). The mingling of superstitious elements with spontaneous religious feeling is explained by the author as a consequence of an abnormal period in Hebrew history (cf. Judg. 17:5; 18:1).
M. is also called the prophet Micah (v.) in the Masoretic text (cf. Mic. 1:1; Jer. 26:18 according to the qere). For other homonymous figures, about whom only the name is known, cf. 2 Kgs. 22:12; 1 Chr. 5:5; 8:34–35; 22:20; Neh. 11:17–22.
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