SUMMARY
God’s anger turns from the north to the south, because the infection of sin has spread to JudahJudah was the name of Jacob's fourth son and one of the 12 tribes. More
ANALYSIS
Judah will not be spared the punishments that God will bring on Israel, for the same reasons – the “wound” of sin has spread from Samaria to Jerusalem (1:9), but also the beginning of sin is internal to Judah as well (Lachish being something of a “second city” in Judah).
The prophet displays deep familiarity with towns outside of Jerusalem and makes puns on the names of several towns which the Assyrians destroyed only a couple of decades after Samaria was plundered. “In Bethleaphrah (house of dust), roll yourself in dust”; “The inhabitants of Zaanan (going out) will not escape/go out”; “The inhabitants of Marot (bitterness) hope for something good/tasty”; “Harness to the chariot teams of horses (larekesh) inhabitants of Lachish.” The assonance of meaning and rhyming of phonemes would be like, “The City of Brotherly Love (Philadelphia) will become the City of the Hateful Shove” (Wolff, 1981). These carefully crafted wordplays were intended to popularize Micah’s message and make for easy memorization. Moreover, the specifically named cities helped personalize the message for those Judeans outside of Jerusalem.
