Text -- Judges 18:17-31 (NET)

18:17 The five men who had gone to spy out the land broke in and stole the carved image, the ephod, the personal idols, and the metal image, while the priest was standing at the entrance to the gate with the six hundred fully armed men. 18:18 When these men broke into Micah’s house and stole the carved image, the ephod, the personal idols, and the metal image, the priest said to them, “What are you doing?” 18:19 They said to him, “Shut up! Put your hand over your mouth and come with us! You can be our adviser and priest. Wouldn’t it be better to be a priest for a whole Israelite tribe than for just one man’s family?” 18:20 The priest was happy. He took the ephod, the personal idols, and the carved image and joined the group. 18:21 They turned and went on their way, but they walked behind the children, the cattle, and their possessions. 18:22 After they had gone a good distance from Micah’s house, Micah’s neighbors gathered together and caught up with the Danites. 18:23 When they called out to the Danites, the Danites turned around and said to Micah, “Why have you gathered together?” 18:24 He said, “You stole my gods that I made, as well as this priest, and then went away. What do I have left? How can you have the audacity to say to me, ‘What do you want?’” 18:25 The Danites said to him, “Don’t say another word to us, or some very angry men will attack you, and you and your family will die.” 18:26 The Danites went on their way; when Micah realized they were too strong to resist, he turned around and went home. 18:27 Now the Danites took what Micah had made, as well as his priest, and came to Laish, where the people were undisturbed and unsuspecting. They struck them down with the sword and burned the city. 18:28 No one came to the rescue because the city was far from Sidon and they had no dealings with anyone. The city was in a valley near Beth Rehob. The Danites rebuilt the city and occupied it. 18:29 They named it Dan after their ancestor, who was one of Israel’s sons. But the city’s name used to be Laish. 18:30 The Danites worshiped the carved image. Jonathan, descendant of Gershom, son of Moses, and his descendants served as priests for the tribe of Dan until the time of the exile. 18:31 They worshiped Micah’s carved image the whole time God’s authorized shrine was in Shiloh.

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Jdg 18:17

¹ tn Heb “went up, went in there, took.”

² tn Heb “six hundred men, equipped with the weapons of war.”

NET Notes: Jdg 18:18

¹ tn Heb “These went into Micah’s house and took.”

NET Notes: Jdg 18:19

¹ tn See the note on the word “adviser” in 17:10.

² tn Heb “Is it better for you to be priest for the house of one man or for you to be priest for a tribe, for a clan in Israel?”

NET Notes: Jdg 18:20

¹ tn Heb “and went into the midst of the people.”

NET Notes: Jdg 18:21

¹ tn Heb “They turned and went and put the children, the cattle, and the possessions in front of them.”

NET Notes: Jdg 18:22

¹ tn Heb “the men who were in the houses near Micah’s house.”

NET Notes: Jdg 18:23

¹ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the Danites) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

NET Notes: Jdg 18:24

¹ tn Heb “What is this you say to me, ‘What to you?’”

NET Notes: Jdg 18:25

¹ tn Heb “bitter in spirit.” This phrase is used in 2 Sam 17:8 of David and his warriors, who are compared to a bear robbed of her cubs.

² tn Heb “and you will gather up your life and the life of your house.”

NET Notes: Jdg 18:26

¹ tn Heb “saw.”

² tn Heb “they were stronger than he.”

NET Notes: Jdg 18:27

¹ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the Danites) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

² tn The Hebrew adds “with fire.” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons, because it is redundant in English.

NET Notes: Jdg 18:28

¹ tn Heb “it.” The Hebrew pronoun is feminine singular here, referring to the “city” (a grammatically feminine singular noun) mentioned in v. 27.

² map For location see Map1 A1; JP3 F3; JP4 F3.

³ tn Heb “and a thing there was not to them with men.”

⁴ tn Heb “it.” The Hebrew pronoun is feminine singular here, referring to the “city” (a grammatically feminine singular noun) mentioned in v. 27.

⁵ tn Heb “They”; the referent (the Danites) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

NET Notes: Jdg 18:29

¹ tn Heb “They called the name of the city Dan, after the name of Dan their father, who had been born to Israel.”

NET Notes: Jdg 18:30

¹ tn Heb “erected for themselves.”

² tn Heb “son.”

³ tc Several ancient textual witnesses, including some LXX mss and the Vulgate, support the reading “Moses” (מֹשֶׁה, mosheh) here. Many Hebrew mss have a nun (נ) suspended above the name between the first two letters (מנשׁה), suggesting the name Manasseh (מְנַשֶּׁה, mÿnasheh). This is probably a scribal attempt to protect Moses’ reputation. For discussion, see G. F. Moore, Judges (ICC), 401-2.

⁴ tn Heb “sons.”

NET Notes: Jdg 18:31

¹ tn Heb “they set up for themselves.”

² tn Heb “the carved image that Micah had made.”

³ tn Heb “the house of God.”