~0years prior
Years before: birthplace foretold
Micah names Bethlehem as the Messiah's birthplace centuries in advance.
Debated
The story
Micah 5:2 (c. 700 BC) names Bethlehem as the origin of a coming ruler 'whose origins are from of old.' The Gospels (Matthew 2, Luke 2) place Jesus' birth there. Dating Micah to the 8th century BC, that is roughly 700 years before the claimed fulfillment.
How we count
Dating of Micah is traditional/scholarly; the prophecy→fulfillment link is a faith claim.
Sources
- Micah 5:2; Matthew 2:1–6
See our full methodology on the How we count page.