Intertextuality Pair

Micah 5:2 → 1 Samuel 16:1

Allusion

Later text

Micah 5:2BSB

But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come forth for Me One to be ruler over Israel—One whose origins are of old, from the days of eternity.

Earlier text

1 Samuel 16:1BSB

Now the LORD said to Samuel, "How long are you going to mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and go. I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem, for I have selected from his sons a king for Myself."

Significance

Micah 5:2 designates "Bethlehem Ephrathah" (בֵּית לֶחֶם אֶפְרָתָה, beth lechem efratah) as the origin of the coming ruler, directly recalling 1 Samuel 16:1 where God sends Samuel "to Jesse of Bethlehem, for I have selected from his sons a king for Myself." Both texts share the deliberate choice of an insignificant location -- Micah emphasizes Bethlehem's smallness among Judah's clans, and 1 Samuel narrates the selection of the youngest son from a minor town. The allusion establishes that the future ruler will follow the same divine pattern: God chooses what is small and overlooked to accomplish His purposes, as He did when He first chose David from Bethlehem's sheepfolds.

Found via
Albert Barnes, Notes on the Bible (1834)
Reference Type
Allusion
Connection Method(s)
Longitudinal Theme — the shared feature set (Bethlehem + divine royal-election) is geographical and thematic; the shared לִי ("for me") is a common idiom, not a verbal-citation link, so the pair traces the canon's Bethlehem royal-election thread rather than a type-antitype relation.

▸ Bethlehem Ephrathah

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