Moresheth Gath was a small town in the Shephelah, the region of low hills between the coastal plain and the mountains of Judah. It lay near the Philistine city of Gath, which likely explains its second name.
It was there that the prophet Micah was born, a contemporary of Isaiah who prophesied during the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. The Bible identifies him as being “of Moresheth” right in the first verse of the book that bears his name.
The only direct mention of the city’s full name appears in Micah 1:14, in an oracle of judgment against the cities of the Shephelah in the face of the Assyrian threat. Playing on the name, which sounds like Hebrew terms linked to a bride and to possession, the prophet announces that the city will give “parting gifts,” a sign that it would be lost.
The small place of the prophet’s origin stands in contrast to the reach of his message. Micah proclaimed both God’s judgment on injustice and the hope of the King who would be born in Bethlehem. God speaks through those who come from small and forgotten places.
