The Book of Judges

⭑ Berean Study Bible :: World English Bible Catholic ⭑

- Chapter 18 -

In those days there was no king in Israel, and the tribe of the Danites was looking for territory to occupy. For up to that time they had not come into an inheritance among the tribes of Israel.

So the Danites sent out five men from their clans, men of valor from Zorah and Eshtaol, to spy out the land and explore it. “Go and explore the land,” they told them. The men entered the hill country of Ephraim and came to the house of Micah, where they spent the night.

And while they were near Micah’s house, they recognized the voice of the young Levite; so they went over and asked him, “Who brought you here? What are you doing in this place? Why are you here?”

“Micah has done this and that for me,” he replied, “and he has hired me to be his priest.”

Then they said to him, “Please inquire of God to determine whether we will have a successful journey.”

And the priest told them, “Go in peace. The LORD is watching over your journey.”

So the five men departed and came to Laish, where they saw that the people were living securely, like the Sidonians, tranquil and unsuspecting. There was nothing lacking in the land and no oppressive ruler. And they were far away from the Sidonians and had no alliance with anyone.

When the men returned to Zorah and Eshtaol, their brothers asked them, “What did you find?”

They answered, “Come on, let us go up against them, for we have seen the land, and it is very good. Why would you fail to act? Do not hesitate to go there and take possession of the land!

When you enter, you will come to an unsuspecting people and a spacious land, for God has delivered it into your hand. It is a place where nothing on earth is lacking.”

So six hundred Danites departed from Zorah and Eshtaol, armed with weapons of war.

They went up and camped at Kiriath-jearim in Judah. That is why the place west of Kiriath-jearim is called Mahaneh-dan

(a)

to this day.

And from there they traveled to the hill country of Ephraim and came to Micah’s house.

The Danites Take Micah’s Idols

Then the five men who had gone to spy out the land of Laish said to their brothers, “Did you know that one of these houses has an ephod, household gods, a graven image, and a molten idol? Now think about what you should do.”

So they turned aside there and went to the home of the young Levite, the house of Micah, and greeted him.

The six hundred Danites stood at the entrance of the gate, armed with their weapons of war.

And the five men who had gone to spy out the land went inside and took the graven image, the ephod, the household idols, and the molten idol, while the priest stood at the entrance of the gate with the six hundred armed men.

When they entered Micah’s house and took the graven image, the ephod, the household idols, and the molten idol, the priest said to them, “What are you doing?”

“Be quiet,” they told him. “Put your hand over your mouth and come with us and be a father and a priest to us. Is it better for you to be a priest for the house of one person or a priest for a tribe and family in Israel?”

So the priest was glad and took the ephod, the household idols, and the graven image, and went with the people.

Putting their small children, their livestock, and their possessions in front of them, they turned and departed.

After they were some distance from Micah’s house, the men in the houses near Micah’s house mobilized and overtook the Danites.

When they called out after them, the Danites turned to face them and said to Micah, “What is the matter with you that you have called out such a company?”

He replied, “You took the gods I had made, and my priest, and went away. What else do I have? How can you say to me, ‘What is the matter with you?’”

The Danites said to him, “Do not raise your voice against us, or angry men will attack you, and you and your family will lose your lives.”

So the Danites went on their way, and Micah turned to go back home, because he saw that they were too strong for him.

After they had taken Micah’s idols and his priest, they went to Laish, to a tranquil and unsuspecting people, and they struck them with their swords and burned down the city.

There was no one to deliver them, because the city was far from Sidon and had no alliance with anyone; it was in a valley near Beth-rehob. And the Danites rebuilt the city and lived there.

They named it Dan, after their forefather Dan, who was born to Israel—though the city was formerly named Laish.

The Danites set up idols for themselves, and Jonathan son of Gershom, the son of Moses,(b) and his sons were priests for the tribe of Dan until the day of the captivity of the land.

So they set up for themselves Micah’s graven image, and it was there the whole time the house of God was in Shiloh.

Footnotes

(a)18:12 Mahaneh-dan means camp of Dan.

(b)18:30 Some Hebrew and LXX manuscripts and Vulgate; other Hebrew and LXX manuscripts the son of Manasseh

In those days there was no king in Israel. In those days the tribe of the Danites sought an inheritance to dwell in; for to that day, their inheritance had not fallen to them among the tribes of Israel.

The children of Dan sent five men of their family from their whole number, men of valor, from Zorah and from Eshtaol, to spy out the land and to search it. They said to them, “Go, explore the land!” They came to the hill country of Ephraim, to the house of Micah, and lodged there.

When they were by the house of Micah, they knew the voice of the young man the Levite; so they went over there and said to him, “Who brought you here? What do you do in this place? What do you have here?”

He said to them, “Thus and thus has Micah dealt with me, and he has hired me, and I have become his priest.”

They said to him, “Please ask counsel of God, that we may know whether our way which we go shall be prosperous.”

The priest said to them, “Go in peace. Your way in which you go is before the LORD.”

Then the five men departed and came to Laish and saw the people who were there, how they lived in safety, in the way of the Sidonians, quiet and secure; for there was no one in the land possessing authority, that might put them to shame in anything, and they were far from the Sidonians, and had no dealings with anyone else.

They came to their brothers at Zorah and Eshtaol; and their brothers asked them, “What do you say?”

They said, “Arise, and let’s go up against them; for we have seen the land, and behold, it is very good. Do you stand still? Don’t be slothful to go and to enter in to possess the land.

When you go, you will come to an unsuspecting people, and the land is large; for God has given it into your hand, a place where there is no lack of anything that is in the earth.”

The family of the Danites set out from Zorah and Eshtaol with six hundred men armed with weapons of war.

They went up and encamped in Kiriath Jearim in Judah. Therefore they call that place Mahaneh Dan to this day. Behold, it is behind Kiriath Jearim.

They passed from there to the hill country of Ephraim, and came to the house of Micah.

The Danites Take Micah’s Idols

Then the five men who went to spy out the country of Laish answered and said to their brothers, “Do you know that there is in these houses an ephod, and teraphim,(a) and a carved image, and a molten image? Now therefore consider what you have to do.”

They went over there and came to the house of the young Levite man, even to the house of Micah, and asked him how he was doing.

The six hundred men armed with their weapons of war, who were of the children of Dan, stood by the entrance of the gate.

The five men who went to spy out the land went up, and came in there, and took the engraved image, the ephod, the teraphim, and the molten image; and the priest stood by the entrance of the gate with the six hundred men armed with weapons of war.

When these went into Micah’s house, and took the engraved image, the ephod, the teraphim, and the molten image, the priest said to them, “What are you doing?”

They said to him, “Hold your peace, put your hand on your mouth, and go with us. Be a father and a priest to us. Is it better for you to be priest to the house of one man, or to be priest to a tribe and a family in Israel?”

The priest’s heart was glad, and he took the ephod, the teraphim, and the engraved image, and went with the people.

So they turned and departed, and put the little ones, the livestock, and the goods before them.

When they were a good way from the house of Micah, the men who were in the houses near Micah’s house gathered together and overtook the children of Dan.

As they called to the children of Dan, they turned their faces, and said to Micah, “What ails you, that you come with such a company?”

He said, “You have taken away my gods which I made, and the priest, and have gone away! What more do I have? How can you ask me, ‘What ails you?’”

The children of Dan said to him, “Don’t let your voice be heard among us, lest angry fellows fall on you, and you lose your life, with the lives of your household.”

The children of Dan went their way; and when Micah saw that they were too strong for him, he turned and went back to his house.

They took that which Micah had made, and the priest whom he had, and came to Laish, to a people quiet and unsuspecting, and struck them with the edge of the sword; then they burned the city with fire.

There was no deliverer, because it was far from Sidon, and they had no dealings with anyone else; and it was in the valley that lies by Beth Rehob. They built the city and lived in it.

They called the name of the city Dan, after the name of Dan their father, who was born to Israel; however the name of the city used to be Laish.

The children of Dan set up for themselves the engraved image; and Jonathan, the son of Gershom, the son of Moses, and his sons were priests to the tribe of the Danites until the day of the captivity of the land.

So they set up for themselves Micah’s engraved image which he made, and it remained all the time that God’s house was in Shiloh.

Footnotes

(a)18:14 teraphim were household idols that may have been associated with inheritance rights to the household property.