Judges 18:1

The Tribe of Dan Finds an Inheritance

18:1 In those days Israel had no king. And in those days the Danite tribe was looking for a place ¹  to settle, because at that time they did not yet have a place to call their own among the tribes of Israel. ² 

Judges 18:30

18:30 The Danites worshiped ³  the carved image. Jonathan, descendant ⁴  of Gershom, son of Moses, ⁵  and his descendants ⁶  served as priests for the tribe of Dan until the time of the exile.

¹ tn Heb “an inheritance.”

² tn Heb “because there had not fallen to them by that day in the midst of the tribes of Israel an inheritance.”

³ tn Heb “erected for themselves.”

⁴ tn Heb “son.”

⁵ 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.

⁶ tn Heb “sons.”