John Calvin Commentary Micah 1:10

"Tell it not in Gath, weep not at all: at Beth-le-aphrah have I rolled myself in the dust." — Micah 1:10 (ASV)

The Prophet seems here to be inconsistent with himself: for he first describes the calamity that would be evident to all; but now he commands silence, lest the report reach the enemies.

But there is nothing contradictory here. The evil itself could not be hidden, since the whole kingdom of Israel would be desolated, the cities demolished or burned, the whole country plundered and laid waste, and then the enemies would enter the borders of Judah. And when Jerusalem was nearly taken, how could it have been concealed?

No, this could not have been. It is no wonder then that the Prophet referred here to a solemn mourning. But he now speaks of the feeling of those who desired to hide their own disgrace, especially from their enemies and foreigners.

It is an indignity that greatly vexes us when enemies taunt us and reproach us for our misfortunes. When no hope remains, we at least wish to perish in secret, so that no reproach and disgrace accompany our death, because dishonor is often harder to bear and wounds us more grievously than any other evil.

The Prophet then means that the Israelites would not only be miserable but would also be subject to the reproaches and taunts of their enemies. We indeed know that the Philistines were inveterate in their hatred for the people of God, and we know that they always took opportunity to reproach them for their misfortunes and calamities.

This then is the meaning of the Prophet, when he says, In Gath declare it not, by weeping weep not; as if he said, “Though extreme evils will come upon you, yet seek to perish in silence; because you will find that your enemies will be eager for the opportunity to cut you with their taunts when they see you so miserable.” He then forbids the people’s calamities to be told in Gath, because the Philistines usually desired nothing more than the opportunity to torment the people of God with reproaches.

It now follows: In the house of Aphrah, in dust roll yourself. There is an alliteration here that cannot be conveyed in Latin: for עפרה, ophre, means dusty, and עפר, opher, is dust. That city received its name from its situation, because the country where it was located was full of dust; as if a city were called Lutosa, muddy or full of clay, and indeed many think that Lutetia (Paris) derived its name from this.

And he says, Roll yourself in dust, in the house full of dust; as if he had said that the name would now be most suitable, because the ruin of the city would compel all neighboring cities to be in mourning, to cast themselves in the dust. So great would be the extremity of their calamities.

But we must always bear in mind the Prophet’s objective, because he here rouses the Israelites, as it were, with the sharpest goads, who had no proper idea of the dreadfulness of God’s vengeance but were always deaf to all threats.

The Prophet then shows that the execution of this vengeance, which he announced, was near at hand; and he himself not only mourned but also called others to mourning. He speaks of the whole country, as we will see from what follows. I will quickly go over this whole chapter, because there is no need for a long explanation, as you will find.