Judges 17:10

17:10 Micah said to him, “Stay with me. Become my adviser ¹  and priest. I will give you ten pieces of silver per year, plus clothes and food.” ² 

Judges 17:2

17:2 He said to his mother, “You know ³  the eleven hundred pieces of silver which were stolen ⁴  from you, about which I heard you pronounce a curse? Look here, I have the silver. I stole ⁵  it, but now I am giving it back to you.” ⁶  His mother said, “May the Lord reward ⁷  you, my son!”

Judges 6:21

6:21 The Lord’s messenger touched the meat and the unleavened bread with the tip of his staff. ⁸  Fire flared up from the rock and consumed the meat and unleavened bread. The Lord’s messenger then disappeared. ⁹ 

Judges 8:8-9

8:8 He went up from there to Penuel and made the same request. ¹⁰  The men of Penuel responded the same way the men of Succoth had. ¹¹  8:9 He also threatened ¹²  the men of Penuel, warning, ¹³  “When I return victoriously, ¹⁴  I will tear down this tower.”

Judges 13:14

13:14 She should not drink ¹⁵  anything that the grapevine produces. She must not drink wine or beer, and she must not eat any food that will make her ritually unclean. ¹⁶  She should obey everything I commanded her to do.”

Matthew 23:9

23:9 And call no one your ‘father’ on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven.

¹ tn Heb “father.” “Father” is here a title of honor that suggests the priest will give advice and protect the interests of the family, primarily by divining God’s will in matters, perhaps through the use of the ephod. (See R. G. Boling, Judges [AB], 257; also Gen 45:8, where Joseph, who was a diviner and interpreter of dreams, is called Pharaoh’s “father,” and 2 Kgs 6:21; 13:14, where a prophet is referred to as a “father.” Note also 2 Kgs 8:9, where a king identifies himself as a prophet’s “son.” One of a prophet’s main functions was to communicate divine oracles. Cf. 2 Kgs 8:9ff.; 13:14-19).

² tn The Hebrew text expands with the phrase: “and the Levite went.” This only makes sense if taken with “to live” in the next verse. Apparently “the Levite went” and “the Levite agreed” are alternative readings which have been juxtaposed in the text.

³ tn The words “You know” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

⁴ tn Heb “taken.”

⁵ tn Heb “took.”

⁶ tn In the Hebrew text the statement, “but now I am giving it back to you,” appears at the end of v. 3 and is spoken by the mother. But v. 4 indicates that she did not give the money back to her son. Unless the statement is spoken by the woman to the LORD, it appears to be misplaced and fits much better in v. 2. It may have been accidentally omitted from a manuscript, written in the margin, and then later inserted in the wrong place in another manuscript.

⁷ tn Traditionally, “bless.”

⁸ tn Heb “extended the tip of the staff which was in his hand and touched the meat and unleavened bread.”

⁹ tn Heb “went from his eyes.”

¹⁰ tn Heb “and spoke to them in the same way.”

¹¹ tn Heb “The men of Penuel answered him just as the men of Succoth answered.”

¹² tn Heb “said to.” The translation “threatened” is interpretive, but is clearly indicated by the context.

¹³ tn Heb “saying.”

¹⁴ tn Or “safely.” Heb “in peace.”

¹⁵ tn Heb “eat.”

¹⁶ tn Heb “eat anything unclean.” Certain foods were regarded as ritually “unclean” (see Lev 11). Eating such food made one ritually “contaminated.”