Judges 17:11-12

17:11 So the Levite agreed to stay with the man; the young man was like a son to Micah. ¹  17:12 Micah paid ²  the Levite; the young man became his priest and lived in Micah’s house.

Judges 18:15

18:15 They stopped ³  there, went inside the young Levite’s house (which belonged to Micah), ⁴  and asked him how he was doing. ⁵ 

Judges 17:13

17:13 Micah said, “Now I know God will make me rich, ⁶  because I have this Levite as my priest.”

Judges 20:4

20:4 The Levite, ⁷  the husband of the murdered woman, spoke up, “I and my concubine stopped in ⁸  Gibeah in the territory of Benjamin ⁹  to spend the night.

Judges 17:10

17:10 Micah said to him, “Stay with me. Become my adviser ¹⁰  and priest. I will give you ten pieces of silver per year, plus clothes and food.” ¹¹ 

Judges 18:3

18:3 As they approached ¹²  Micah’s house, they recognized the accent ¹³  of the young Levite. So they stopped ¹⁴  there and said to him, “Who brought you here? What are you doing in this place? What is your business here?” ¹⁵ 

[17:11]  ¹ tn Heb “the young man became like one of his sons.”

[17:12]  ² tn Heb “filled the hand of.”

[18:15]  ³ tn Heb “turned aside.”

[18:15]  ⁴ tn Heb “Micah’s house.”

[18:15]  ⁵ tn Heb “they asked him concerning peace.”

[17:13]  ⁴ tn Heb “do good for me.”

[20:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “The man, the Levite.”

[20:4]  ⁶ tn Heb “came to.”

[20:4]  ⁷ tn Heb “which belongs to Benjamin.”

[17:10]  ⁶ 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).

[17:10]  ⁷ 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.

[18:3]  ⁷ tn Or “When they were near.”

[18:3]  ⁸ tn Heb “voice.” This probably means that “his speech was Judahite [i.e., southern] like their own, not Israelite [i.e., northern]” (R. G. Boling, Judges [AB], 263).

[18:3]  ⁹ tn Heb “turned aside.”

[18:3]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “What [is there] to you here?”