Judges 17:12

17:12 Micah paid ¹  the Levite; the young man became his priest and lived in Micah’s house.

Judges 18:22

18:22 After they had gone a good distance from Micah’s house, Micah’s neighbors ²  gathered together and caught up with the Danites.

Judges 18:13

18:13 From there they traveled through the Ephraimite hill country and arrived at Micah’s house.

Judges 18:4

18:4 He told them what Micah had done for him, saying, ³  “He hired me and I became his priest.”

Judges 18:15

18:15 They stopped ⁴  there, went inside the young Levite’s house (which belonged to Micah), ⁵  and asked him how he was doing. ⁶ 

Judges 17:5

17:5 Now this man Micah owned a shrine. ⁷  He made an ephod ⁸  and some personal idols and hired one of his sons to serve as a priest. ⁹ 

Judges 17:8-9

17:8 This man left the town of Bethlehem in Judah to find another place to live. He came to the Ephraimite hill country and made his way to Micah’s house. ¹⁰  17:9 Micah said to him, “Where do you come from?” He replied, “I am a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah. I am looking for a new place to live.” ¹¹ 

Judges 17:13

17:13 Micah said, “Now I know God will make me rich, ¹²  because I have this Levite as my priest.”

Judges 18:18

18:18 When these men broke into Micah’s house and stole ¹³  the carved image, the ephod, the personal idols, and the metal image, the priest said to them, “What are you doing?”

Judges 18:26

18:26 The Danites went on their way; when Micah realized ¹⁴  they were too strong to resist, ¹⁵  he turned around and went home.

Judges 18:31

18:31 They worshiped ¹⁶  Micah’s carved image ¹⁷  the whole time God’s authorized shrine ¹⁸  was in Shiloh.

Judges 17:10

17:10 Micah said to him, “Stay with me. Become my adviser ¹⁹  and priest. I will give you ten pieces of silver per year, plus clothes and food.” ²⁰ 

Judges 18:2-3

18:2 The Danites sent out from their whole tribe five representatives, ²¹  capable men ²²  from Zorah and Eshtaol, to spy out the land and explore it. They said to them, “Go, explore the land.” They came to the Ephraimite hill country and spent the night at Micah’s house. ²³  18:3 As they approached ²⁴  Micah’s house, they recognized the accent ²⁵  of the young Levite. So they stopped ²⁶  there and said to him, “Who brought you here? What are you doing in this place? What is your business here?” ²⁷ 

Judges 18:27

18:27 Now the Danites ²⁸  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. ²⁹ 

[17:12]  ¹ tn Heb “filled the hand of.”

[18:22]  ² tn Heb “the men who were in the houses near Micah’s house.”

[18:4]  ³ tn Heb “He said to them, ‘Such and such Micah has done for me.’” Though the statement is introduced and presented, at least in part, as a direct quotation (note especially “for me”), the phrase “such and such” appears to be the narrator’s condensed version of what the Levite really said.

[18:15]  ⁴ tn Heb “turned aside.”

[18:15]  ⁵ tn Heb “Micah’s house.”

[18:15]  ⁶ tn Heb “they asked him concerning peace.”

[17:5]  ⁵ tn Heb “house of God.”

[17:5]  ⁶ sn Here an ephod probably refers to a priestly garment (cf. Exod 28:4-6).

[17:5]  ⁷ tn Heb “and he filled the hand of one of his sons and he became his priest.”

[17:8]  ⁶ tn Heb “He came to the Ephraimite hill country, to Micah’s house, making his way.”

[17:9]  ⁷ tn Heb “And I am going to reside in a place I can find.”

[17:13]  ⁸ tn Heb “do good for me.”

[18:18]  ⁹ tn Heb “These went into Micah’s house and took.”

[18:26]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “saw.”

[18:26]  ¹¹ tn Heb “they were stronger than he.”

[18:31]  ¹¹ tn Heb “they set up for themselves.”

[18:31]  ¹² tn Heb “the carved image that Micah had made.”

[18:31]  ¹³ tn Heb “the house of God.”

[17:10]  ¹² 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]  ¹³ 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.

[18:2]  ¹³ tn Heb “The Danites sent from their tribe five men, from their borders.”

[18:2]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “men, sons of strength.”

[18:2]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “They came to the Ephraimite hill country, to Micah’s house, and spent the night there.”

[18:3]  ¹⁴ tn Or “When they were near.”

[18:3]  ¹⁵ 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]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “turned aside.”

[18:3]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “What [is there] to you here?”

[18:27]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the Danites) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:27]  ¹⁶ tn The Hebrew adds “with fire.” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons, because it is redundant in English.