Ephraim7 wrote:
In Micah 5:1, Rashi's commentary cites Psalm 118:22 and comments it's about Moshiach. "the Messiah, son of David, and so Scripture says (Ps. 118:22)." Can someone please tell me why Rashi comes to this conclusion?
Michah / Micah 5:1 says that the messiah will be descended from King David who was from Bethlehem.  "And you, Bethlehem Ephrathah-you should have been the lowest of the clans of Judah-from you [he] shall emerge for Me, to be a ruler over Israel; and his origin is from of old, from days of yore."

Thus Rashi says "from you shall emerge for Me: the Messiah, son of David, and so Scripture says (Ps. 118:22): “The stone the builders had rejected became a cornerstone.”

Rashi, having discussed that the messiah will be descended from King David, now explains that David was rejected as a child -- but became the cornerstone of the Jewish people.  David not only came from a lowly clan of Judah (one of the most powerful tribes), but he was himself rejected as a child.   He was thought by some, including his own father, to be a product of his mother, Nitzevet's, adultery.   See T'hillim / Psalm 69.    He was treated poorly by his own family, made to eat by himself, watch sheep by himself in the hopes he would be killed:  "
there came a lion and also a bear, and carried off a lamb from the flock."  Shmuel Alef / 1 Samuel 17:34.   (Siftei Kohen, Vayeishev).

So David was rejected, but eventually he became the King of Israel, the cornerstone of the Jewish people -- and the ancestor to the eventual messiah.   All future rightful kings would come from his line.  That is why Rashi connects the prophecy of Michah / Micah 5:1 to T'hillim / Psalm 118:22.

סופי

And everything that Sarah tells you, listen to her voice. Bereshit (Genesis) 21:12
Last Edited By: Sophiee1 Wed, 27-Jan-16 14:27:18. Edited 2 times.