Best Micah Commentaries for Bible Study, Preaching, and Teaching

The best Micah commentaries are listed below. There are exegetical commentaries, scholarly and technical commentaries, as well as commentaries that are easy to understand. The “Top 10” list is based on aggregate reviews.

This list of commentaries is intended to help the reader understand and apply the author’s message in the book of Micah. They are not suggested as a replacement for prayer, the Holy Spirit, and the reader’s own diligent study of Scripture.

It is hoped that these books will aid the Christian pastor, preacher, teacher, student, as well as any Bible reader that wants to understand more about Micah.

May each reader’s aim be to glorify God in Jesus Christ; to strengthen Christ’s bride, the Church; and to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ to the lost.

After browsing the commentaries below, please also see Best Bible Commentaries: Top 50. Based on aggregate reviews.

10 Best Micah Commentaries:

Please read: The “Top 10” list below is a starting point for learning about Micah commentaries. It is not intended to be the “final word” because of its limitations.

Nevertheless, a list based on aggregate reviews is likely to point many people in the right direction to find the right resource for their purposes.

#1

A Commentary on Micah
by Bruce K. Waltke

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Micah commentary Waltke

Reviews and Accolades:

• Tremper Longman: scored 5 out of 5 stars, “the most comprehensive and insightful commentary on the book of Micah available today… he addresses both interpretation and application”

• Keith Mathison: #1 ranked commentary on Micah, “There is no contemporary commentator, however, who is more well-versed in the book of Micah than Bruce Waltke. It is a must-have for serious study of the book.”

Approach to Scripture: Evangelical

Best for: expository preachers, Bible college and seminary students, church elders and teachers, experienced Bible readers

Purpose: From the publisher: “In this masterful commentary, respected biblical scholar Bruce Waltke carefully interprets the message of the prophet Micah, building a bridge between Micah’s ancient world and our life today.

Waltke’s Commentary on Micah quickly distinguishes itself from other commentaries on this book by displaying an unprecedented exegetical thoroughness, an expert understanding of historical context, and a keen interest in illuminating the contribution of Micah to Christian theology.

Tackling hard questions about date and authorship, Waltke contends that Micah himself wrote and edited the nineteen sermons comprising the book.

Waltke’s clear analytical outline leads readers through the three cycles of Micah, each beginning with an oracle of doom and ending with an oracle of hope, decisively showing that hope wins over doom.

Learned yet amazingly accessible, combining scholarly erudition with passion for Micah’s contemporary relevance, this book will well serve teachers, pastors, and students alike.”

#2

Micah
The Minor Prophets:

An Exegetical and Expository Commentary
by Bruce Waltke

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Micah Prophets commentary McComiskey

Reviews and Accolades:

• Desiring God: #1 commentary on The Minor Prophets

• John H. Walton and Andrew E. Hill: “Helpful evangelical analysis.”

• Tremper Longman: “a good orientation to the interpretation of the book”

Approach to Scripture: Evangelical

Best for: expository preachers, Bible college and seminary students, church elders and teachers, experienced Bible readers

Purpose: From the publisher: “With their messages of doom and judgment, the Minor Prophets have not been popular subjects in the history of biblical interpretation.

Here noted evangelical scholars — such as Bruce Waltke, Tremper Longman III, F. F. Bruce, and J. Alec Motyer — remedy this neglect by offering an authoritative, evangelical treatment of the prophets.

In this edition, which now combines three volumes into one, the authors not only provide meticulous exegesis of the Hebrew text but also relate the message of the ancient prophets to contemporary life in practical and meaningful ways.”

#3

Micah
The Anchor Yale Bible Commentaries
by Francis I. Andersen and David Noel Freedman

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Micah commentary Andersen

Reviews and Accolades:

• Tremper Longman: 4 out of 5 stars, “this is the fullest treatment of the book of Micah in recent times”

• Keith Mathison: #3 ranked commentary on Micah, “worth consulting by those doing in-depth study of the book”

Best for: students, pastors, teachers, professors, and scholars with training in Hebrew who can follow a technical commentary

Purpose: From the publisher: “The Anchor Yale Bible Series, previously the Anchor Bible Series, is a renowned publishing program that for more than 50 years has produced books devoted to the latest scholarship on the Bible and biblical topics.”

The series “vigorously pursues the goal of bringing to a wide audience the most important new ideas, the latest research findings, and the clearest possible analysis of the Bible.” See more about the Anchor Bible Commentary series.

#4

Obadiah, Jonah and Micah
Tyndale Old Testament Commentary
by Bruce Waltke

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Micah commentary Tyndale

Reviews and Accolades:

• Tremper Longman: 4 out of 5 stars, “careful scholarship presented in an engaging format for the lay reader”

• John H. Walton and Andrew E. Hill: “Brief but well-done analysis.”

Approach to Scripture: Evangelical

Best for: expository preachers, Bible college and seminary students, church elders and teachers, experienced Bible readers

Purpose: From the publisher: This series is “designed to help readers understand what the Bible actually says and what it means… [each commentary] examines the text section by section, drawing out its main themes.

It also comments on individual verses and deals with problems of interpretation. The aim throughout is to get at the true meaning of the Bible and to make its message plain to readers today.”

See more about the Tyndale Old Testament Commentary series.

#5

Joel, Micah, and Habakkuk
The Bible Speaks Today
by David Prior

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Micah commentary Prior

Reviews and Accolades:

• Keith Mathison: #2 ranked commentary on Micah, “a good introductory level commentary… highly recommended”

Best for: expository preachers, Bible college and seminary students, church elders and teachers, experienced Bible readers

Purpose: From the publisher: The “the three distinctives of The Bible Speaks Today series are (1) “BST authors are committed to a serious study of the text in its own integrity,” (2) that “expositors should not be antiquarians, living only in the remote past” but suggest application for living, and (3) “each book is intended to be both readable in style and manageable in size.” 

See more about the Bible Speaks Today commentary series.

#6

Sermons on the Book of Micah
by John Calvin

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Micah commentary John Calvin

Reviews and Accolades:

• Keith Mathison: #4 ranked commentary on Micah, “will prove especially valuable for preachers”

Best for: individual study, devotional reading, Bible studies, adult Sunday school classes

Purpose: From the publisher: “Twenty-eight sermons preached at Geneva in 1550–51. Calvin highlights the centrality of Scripture and concentrates on the doctrine of God, providence, pain, evil, and suffering.”

#7

Joel, Obadiah, Jonah, and Micah
New International Commentary on the Old Testament
by Leslie Allen

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Micah commentary Leslie Allen

Reviews and Accolades:

• Keith Mathison: #5 ranked commentary on Micah, “a slightly technical work, but it should be accessible to most pastors and laymen”

Approach to Scripture: Evangelical

Best for: expository preachers, Bible college and seminary students, church elders and teachers, experienced Bible readers

Purpose: From the publisher: “All of the NICOT volumes combine superior scholarship, an evangelical view of Scripture as the Word of God, and concern for the life of faith today.

Each volume features an extensive introduction treating the biblical book’s authorship, date, purpose, structure, and theology.

The author’s own translation of the original Hebrew and verse-by-verse commentary follow.

The commentary itself carefully balances coverage of technical matters with exposition of the biblical text’s theology and implications.” 

See more about the New International Commentary on the Old Testament series.

#8

Micah
The Forms of the Old Testament Literature
by Ehud Ben Zvi

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Micah commentary

Reviews and Accolades:

• Tremper Longman: 4 out of 5 stars, “the most comprehensive analysis of the form-critical nature of the prophet”

Best for: students, pastors, teachers, professors, and scholars with training in Hebrew who can follow a technical commentary

Purpose: From the publisher: “The Forms of the Old Testament Literature (FOTL) is a series of volumes that seeks to present, according to a standard outline and methodology, a form-critical analysis of every book or unit of the Old Testament (Hebrew Bible).

Fundamentally exegetical, each volume examines the structure, genre, setting, and intention of the biblical literature in question.

The series also endeavors to study the history behind the form-critical discussion of the material, to bring consistency to the terminology for the genres and formulas of the biblical literature, and to expose the exegetical procedure in such a way as to enable students and pastors to engage in their own analysis and interpretation.”

#9

Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah
New American Commentary
by K. Barker and W. Bailey

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Micah commentary

Approach to Scripture: Evangelical

Best for: expository preachers, Bible college and seminary students, church elders and teachers, experienced Bible readers

Purpose: From the publisher: “The New American Commentary is introduced to bridge the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.”

This “series has been designed primarily to enable pastors, teachers, and students to read the Bible with clarity and proclaim it with power.”

See more about the New American Commentary series.

#10

Micah
Micah-Malachi, Word Biblical Commentary
by Ralph L. Smith

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Micah commentary Smith

Approach to Scripture: Evangelical

Best for: expository preachers, Bible college and seminary students, church elders and teachers, experienced Bible readers

Purpose: From the publisher: “WBC series delivers the best in biblical scholarship, from the leading scholars who share a commitment to Scripture as divine revelation.

It emphasizes a thorough analysis of textual, linguistic, structural, and theological evidence.

The result is judicious and balanced insight into the meanings of the text in the framework of biblical theology.” 

See more about the Word Biblical Commentary series.

More Book of Micah Commentaries for Christian Ministry

Please read: Why are the Micah commentaries below not in the “Top 10”? It’s not because they have received poor reviews or because people haven’t found them helpful. The reasons vary:

  • Some are relatively new and haven’t been widely reviewed, read, or used yet.
  • Others haven’t been widely distributed, so it is difficult to get enough information to aggregate.
  • Still others may be outdated in relation to biblical scholarship or out of print and difficult to acquire.

The “Top 10” list is reviewed annually. Readers are encouraged to consider the volumes in this section before making a purchase. These 10 are not in any particular order.


Hosea, Amos, Micah
NIV Application Commentary
by Gary V. Smith

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Micah  commentary Smith

Approach to Scripture: Evangelical

Best for: expository preachers, Bible college and seminary students, church elders and teachers, experienced Bible readers

Purpose: From the General Editor: The primary goal of the NIV Application Commentary Series is to help you with the difficult but vital task of bringing an ancient message into a modern context.

The series not only focuses on application as a finished product but also helps you think through the process of moving from the original meaning of a passage to its contemporary significance.”

See more about the NIV Application Commentary series.


Jonah and Micah
Reformed Expositional Commentary
by Richard D. Phillips

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Micah commentary Phillips

Approach to Scripture: Evangelical

Best for: individual study, devotional reading, Bible studies, adult Sunday school classes

Purpose: The REC series has “four fundamental commitments. First, these commentaries aim to be biblical… Second, these commentaries are unashamedly doctrinal… Third, these commentaries are redemptive-historical… Fourth, these commentaries are practical…” All authors are “pastor-scholars.”

See more about the Reformed Expository Commentary series.


The Minor Prophets
by Charles L. Feinberg

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Micah commentary Feinberg

Approach to Scripture: Evangelical

Best for: individual study, devotional reading, Bible studies, adult Sunday school classes

Purpose: From the publisher: “A comprehensive commentary on all twelve of the minor prophets Free of footnotes and devotional in style.”


Micah
Two Horizons Old Testament Commentary
by Stephen G. Dempster

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Micah commentary Dempster

Interview: See Best Bible Commentaries’ interview with Stephen G. Dempster on this volume

Best for: expository preachers, Bible college and seminary students, church elders and teachers, experienced Bible readers

Purpose: From the publisher: “Two features distinguish The Two Horizons Old Testament Commentary series: theological exegesis and theological reflection…

The result is a paragraph-by-paragraph engagement with the text that is deliberately theological in focus.”

See more about the Two Horizons Bible commentary series.


Micah
Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Revised
by Thomas E. McComiskey

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Micah commentary Expositor's

Approach to Scripture: Evangelical

Best for: expository preachers, Bible college and seminary students, church elders and teachers, experienced Bible readers

Purpose: From the publisher: “Written primarily by expositors for expositors…its stance is that of a scholarly evangelicalism committed to the divine inspiration, complete trustworthiness, and full authority of the Bible… the chief principle followed in this commentary is the grammatico-historical.”

See more about the Expositor’s Bible Commentary series.


Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah
Abingdon Old Testament Commentary
by Daniel J. Simundson

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Micah commentary Simundson

Best for: expository preachers, Bible college and seminary students, church elders and teachers, experienced Bible readers

Purpose: From the publisher: “The Abingdon Old Testament Commentaries series offers compact, critical commentaries on all the books of the Old Testament.

In addition to providing fundamental information on and insights into Old Testament writings, these commentaries exemplify the tasks and procedures of careful, critical exegesis so as to assist students of the Old Testament in coming to an informed engagement of the biblical texts themselves.

These commentaries are written with special attention to the needs and interests of theology students, but they will also be useful for students in upper-level college or university settings, as well as for pastors and other church leaders.”

See more about Abingdon commentaries.


Micah
A Continental Commentary
by Hans Walter Wolff

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Micah commentary Wolff

Best for: students, pastors, teachers, professors, and scholars with training in Hebrew who can follow a technical commentary

Purpose: From the publisher: “Each book in the Continental Commentary Series includes comprehensive introductory material, including an explanation of narrative themes, an overview of the historical and cultural context, an analysis of textual traditions, and an evaluation of recent literature.”

See more about the Continental Commentary series.


Micah
The Old Testament Library
by Daniel L. Smith-Christopher

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Micah commentary Smith-Christopher

Interview: See Best Bible Commentaries’ interview with Daniel Smith-Christopher on this volume

Best for: expository preachers, Bible college and seminary students, church elders and teachers, experienced Bible readers

Purpose: From the publisher: “The Old Testament Library provides fresh and authoritative treatments of important aspects of Old Testament study through commentaries and general surveys. The contributors are scholars of international standing.”

See more about the Old Testament Library commentary series.


Micah
Hermeneia
by Emeritus Delbert R Hillers and Paul D Hanson

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Micah commentary Dillers

Best for: students, pastors, teachers, professors, and scholars with training in Hebrew who can follow a technical commentary

Purpose: From the publisher: “The Hermeneia commentary series seeks to offer authoritative interpretation of the earliest texts of the biblical books…

The name Hermeneia, from the Greek, has a rich background in the history of biblical interpretation as a term for the detailed, systematic exposition of a scriptural work. Hermeneia is designed for the serious student of the Bible…

The editors of Hermeneia impose no systematic-theological perspective upon the series (directly, or indirectly by selection of authors).”

See more about the Hermeneia Bible commentary series.


Classic Micah Commentaries

Minor Prophets
Ironside Expository Commentaries
by H.A. Ironside

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Minor Prophets commentary Ironside

Best for: individual study, devotional reading, Bible studies, adult Sunday school classes

Purpose: H.A. Ironside (1876-1951) was an internationally acclaimed Bible teacher and preacher, as well as the author of more than sixty books.

His writings include addresses or commentaries on the entire New Testament, all of the Old Testament prophetic books, and a great many volumes on other biblical topics.

For eighteen of his fifty years of ministry, Dr. Ironside was pastor of the historic Moody Memorial Church in Chicago, Ill.


The Minor Prophets
Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture
edited by Alberto Ferreiro

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Minor Prophets Ancient Christian commentary

Best for: individual study, devotional reading, Bible studies, adult Sunday school classes

Purpose: See more about the Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture series.


Also see:

Compare 75 different commentary series on the Bible Commentary Series Comparison Chart

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