There are two prophets that have the name of Micah in the Old Testament.
The earlier one prophesied during the time of Ahab in the northern kingdom.
His name was spelled Micaiah; he was the son of Imlah.
Ahab’s dates as king were approximately 874-852 BC. Please note I Kings 22:8-28;
II Chronicles 18:3-27.
The latter prophet was the Minor Prophet, Micah. This Micah was from Moresheth (740-690 BC). See Micah 1:1. The name of the writer of the canonical book of Micah is shorter because the received Hebrew text represents the shorter version of the Hebrew form. This shorter form was developed in the latter part of 700 BC.
Micah’s name means “Who is like Yahweh?”, when considering God’s wonderful ability to forgive. For God’s name as Yahweh or YHWH, see Exodus 3:14.
To identify himself by his town points out that Micah was outside of Jerusalem. Yet he still helped to shape the policies as well as the character of Israel. When Micah uses the name ‘Israel’, he is using it to refer to both Judah and Israel; that is, Israel refer to the northern kingdom.
