MORESHETH

(Moʹresh·eth), Moresheth-gath [possession of Gath].

Apparently the home of the prophet Micah. (Jer. 26:18; Mic. 1:1) Tell el-Judeideh, about twenty-two miles (35 kilometers) SW of Jerusalem and about the same distance NE of Gath, has been suggested as a possible identification. The composite name Moresheth-gath (Mic. 1:14) implies that the city was in some way associated with Gath. Perhaps it was at times dominated by that Philistine city, since the Philistines controlled places other than their five major cities (Gath being one of the five).—1 Sam. 6:18; 27:5.

Some view Micah 1:14 as a play on the name “Moresheth” (“possession”). The Hebrew term for “parting gifts” in this text signifies a person or possession that is temporarily or permanently given up or sent away. Accordingly, Zion (Mic. 1:13) would lose this city, Moresheth itself constituting the “parting gifts.”