Judges 17:1

Micah Makes His Own Religion

17:1 There was a man named Micah from the Ephraimite hill country.

Judges 14:1-20

Samson’s Unconsummated Marriage

14:1 Samson went down to Timnah, where a Philistine girl caught his eye. ¹  14:2 When he got home, ²  he told his father and mother, “A Philistine girl in Timnah has caught my eye. ³  Now get her for my wife.” 14:3 But his father and mother said to him, “Certainly you can find a wife among your relatives or among all our ⁴  people! You should not have to go and get a wife from the uncircumcised Philistines.” ⁵  But Samson said to his father, “Get her for me, ⁶  because she is the right one for me.” ⁷  14:4 Now his father and mother did not realize this was the Lord’s doing, ⁸  because he was looking for an opportunity to stir up trouble with the Philistines ⁹  (for at that time the Philistines were ruling Israel).

14:5 Samson went down to Timnah. When he approached ¹⁰  the vineyards of Timnah, he saw a roaring young lion attacking him. ¹¹  14:6 The Lord’s spirit empowered ¹²  him and he tore the lion ¹³  in two with his bare hands ¹⁴  as easily as one would tear a young goat. But he did not tell his father or mother what he had done.

14:7 Samson continued on down to Timnah ¹⁵  and spoke to the girl. In his opinion, she was just the right one. ¹⁶  14:8 Some time later, when he went back to marry ¹⁷  her, he turned aside to see the lion’s remains. He saw ¹⁸  a swarm of bees in the lion’s carcass, as well as some honey. 14:9 He scooped it up with his hands and ate it as he walked along. When he returned ¹⁹  to his father and mother, he offered them some and they ate it. But he did not tell them he had scooped the honey out of the lion’s carcass. ²⁰ 

14:10 Then Samson’s father accompanied him to Timnah for the marriage. ²¹  Samson hosted a party ²²  there, for this was customary for bridegrooms ²³  to do. 14:11 When the Philistines saw he had no attendants, they gave him thirty groomsmen who kept him company. ²⁴  14:12 Samson said to them, “I will give you a riddle. If you really can solve it during the seven days the party lasts, ²⁵  I will give you thirty linen robes and thirty sets ²⁶  of clothes. 14:13 But if you cannot solve it, ²⁷  you will give me thirty linen robes and thirty sets of clothes.” They said to him, “Let us hear your riddle.” ²⁸  14:14 He said to them,

“Out of the one who eats came something to eat;

out of the strong one came something sweet.”

They could not solve the riddle for three days.

14:15 On the fourth ²⁹  day they said to Samson’s bride, “Trick your husband into giving the solution to the riddle. ³⁰  If you refuse, ³¹  we will burn up ³²  you and your father’s family. ³³  Did you invite us here ³⁴  to make us poor?” ³⁵  14:16 So Samson’s bride cried on his shoulder ³⁶  and said, “You must ³⁷  hate me; you do not love me! You told the young men ³⁸  a riddle, but you have not told me the solution.” He said to her, “Look, I have not even told my father or mother. Do you really expect me to tell you?” ³⁹  14:17 She cried on his shoulder ⁴⁰  until the party was almost over. ⁴¹  Finally, on the seventh day, he told her because she had nagged him so much. ⁴²  Then she told the young men the solution to the riddle. ⁴³  14:18 On the seventh day, before the sun set, the men of the city said to him,

“What is sweeter than honey?

What is stronger than a lion?”

He said to them,

“If you had not plowed with my heifer, ⁴⁴ 

you would not have solved my riddle!”

14:19 The Lord’s spirit empowered him. He went down to Ashkelon and murdered thirty men. He took their clothes ⁴⁵  and gave them ⁴⁶  to the men who had solved the riddle. He was furious as he went back home. ⁴⁷  14:20 Samson’s bride was then given to his best man. ⁴⁸ 

Judges 18:1-31

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 ⁴⁹  to settle, because at that time they did not yet have a place to call their own among the tribes of Israel. ⁵⁰  18:2 The Danites sent out from their whole tribe five representatives, ⁵¹  capable men ⁵²  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. ⁵³  18:3 As they approached ⁵⁴  Micah’s house, they recognized the accent ⁵⁵  of the young Levite. So they stopped ⁵⁶  there and said to him, “Who brought you here? What are you doing in this place? What is your business here?” ⁵⁷  18:4 He told them what Micah had done for him, saying, ⁵⁸  “He hired me and I became his priest.” 18:5 They said to him, “Seek a divine oracle for us, ⁵⁹  so we can know if we will be successful on our mission.” ⁶⁰  18:6 The priest said to them, “Go with confidence. ⁶¹  The Lord will be with you on your mission.” ⁶² 

18:7 So the five men journeyed on ⁶³  and arrived in Laish. They noticed that the people there ⁶⁴  were living securely, like the Sidonians do, ⁶⁵  undisturbed and unsuspecting. No conqueror was troubling them in any way. ⁶⁶  They lived far from the Sidonians and had no dealings with anyone. ⁶⁷  18:8 When the Danites returned to their tribe ⁶⁸  in Zorah and Eshtaol, their kinsmen ⁶⁹  asked them, “How did it go?” ⁷⁰  18:9 They said, “Come on, let’s attack them, ⁷¹  for ⁷²  we saw their land and it is very good. You seem lethargic, ⁷³  but don’t hesitate ⁷⁴  to invade and conquer ⁷⁵  the land. 18:10 When you invade, ⁷⁶  you will encounter ⁷⁷  unsuspecting people. The land is wide! ⁷⁸  God is handing it over to you – a place that lacks nothing on earth!” ⁷⁹ 

18:11 So six hundred Danites, fully armed, set out from Zorah and Eshtaol. ⁸⁰  18:12 They went up and camped in Kiriath Jearim in Judah. (To this day that place is called Camp of Dan. ⁸¹  It is west ⁸²  of Kiriath Jearim.) 18:13 From there they traveled through the Ephraimite hill country and arrived at Micah’s house. 18:14 The five men who had gone to spy out the land of Laish ⁸³  said to their kinsmen, ⁸⁴  “Do you realize that inside these houses are an ephod, some personal idols, a carved image, and a metal image? Decide now what you want to do.” 18:15 They stopped ⁸⁵  there, went inside the young Levite’s house (which belonged to Micah), ⁸⁶  and asked him how he was doing. ⁸⁷  18:16 Meanwhile the six hundred Danites, fully armed, stood at the entrance to the gate. ⁸⁸  18:17 The five men who had gone to spy out the land broke in and stole ⁸⁹  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. ⁹⁰  18:18 When these men broke into Micah’s house and stole ⁹¹  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 ⁹²  and priest. Wouldn’t it be better to be a priest for a whole Israelite tribe than for just one man’s family?” ⁹³  18:20 The priest was happy. He took the ephod, the personal idols, and the carved image and joined the group. ⁹⁴ 

18:21 They turned and went on their way, but they walked behind the children, the cattle, and their possessions. ⁹⁵  18:22 After they had gone a good distance from Micah’s house, Micah’s neighbors ⁹⁶  gathered together and caught up with the Danites. 18:23 When they called out to the Danites, the Danites ⁹⁷  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?’” ⁹⁸  18:25 The Danites said to him, “Don’t say another word to us, or some very angry men ⁹⁹  will attack you, and you and your family will die.” ¹⁰⁰  18:26 The Danites went on their way; when Micah realized ¹⁰¹  they were too strong to resist, ¹⁰²  he turned around and went home.

18:27 Now the Danites ¹⁰³  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. ¹⁰⁴  18:28 No one came to the rescue because the city ¹⁰⁵  was far from Sidon ¹⁰⁶  and they had no dealings with anyone. ¹⁰⁷  The city ¹⁰⁸  was in a valley near Beth Rehob. The Danites ¹⁰⁹  rebuilt the city and occupied it. 18:29 They named it Dan after their ancestor, who was one of Israel’s sons. ¹¹⁰  But the city’s name used to be Laish. 18:30 The Danites worshiped ¹¹¹  the carved image. Jonathan, descendant ¹¹²  of Gershom, son of Moses, ¹¹³  and his descendants ¹¹⁴  served as priests for the tribe of Dan until the time of the exile. 18:31 They worshiped ¹¹⁵  Micah’s carved image ¹¹⁶  the whole time God’s authorized shrine ¹¹⁷  was in Shiloh.

[14:1]  ¹ tn Heb “and he saw a woman in Timnah, one of the daughters of the Philistines.”

[14:2]  ¹ tn Heb “and he went up.”

[14:2]  ² tn Heb “I have seen a woman in Timnah, one of the daughters of the Philistines.”

[14:3]  ¹ tn Heb “my.” The singular may seem strange, since the introduction to the quotation attributes the words to his father and mother. But Samson’s father apparently speaks for both himself and his wife. However, the Lucianic recension of the LXX and the Syriac Peshitta have a second person pronoun here (“you”), and this may represent the original reading.

[14:3]  ² tn Heb “Is there not among the daughters of your brothers or among all my people a woman that you have to go to get a wife among the uncircumcised Philistines?”

[14:3]  ³ tn “Her” is first in the Hebrew word order for emphasis. Samson wanted this Philistine girl, no one else. See C. F. Burney, Judges, 357.

[14:3]  ⁴ tn Heb “because she is right in my eyes.”

[14:4]  ¹ tn Heb “this was from the LORD.”

[14:4]  ² tn Heb “for an opportunity he was seeking from the Philistines.”

[14:5]  ¹ tc The MT reads, “Samson went down with his father and mother to Timnah. When they approached…” Verse 6b states that Samson did not tell his parents about his encounter with the lion (vv. 5b-6a), but v. 5a gives the impression they would have seen the entire episode. One could assume that Samson separated from his parents prior to the lion’s attack, but the Hebrew text does not indicate this. It seems more likely that the words “with his father and his mother” were accidentally copied into the text, perhaps under the influence of v. 4a, where the same phrase appears. An original singular verb (“he approached”) may have been changed to the plural form (“they approached”) after the words “his father and his mother” were accidentally added to the text.

[14:5]  ² tn Heb “and look, a young lion of the lions was roaring to meet him.”

[14:6]  ¹ tn Heb “rushed on.”

[14:6]  ² tn Heb “him” or “it”; the referent (the lion) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[14:6]  ³ tn Heb “and there was nothing in his hand.”

[14:7]  ¹ tn Heb “He went down.”

[14:7]  ² tn Heb “She was the right one in the eyes of Samson.”

[14:8]  ¹ tn Heb “get.”

[14:8]  ² tn Heb “and look, a swarm of bees…”

[14:9]  ¹ tn Heb “went.” Samson apparently went home to his parents before going to Timnah for the marriage. Seeing and tasting the honey appears to encourage Manoah to go with his son to Timnah. Perhaps both Samson and his father viewed the honey as a good omen of future blessing. Possibly Samson considered it a symbol of sexual pleasure or an aphrodisiac. Note the use of honey imagery in Song 4:11 and 5:1.

[14:9]  ² sn Touching the carcass of a dead animal undoubtedly violated Samson’s Nazirite status. See Num 6:6.

[14:10]  ¹ tn Heb “And his father went down to the woman.”

[14:10]  ² tn Or “[wedding] feast.”

[14:10]  ³ tn Heb “the young men.”

[14:11]  ¹ tn Heb “When they saw him, they gave him thirty companions and they were with him.” Instead of כִּרְאוֹתָם (kir’otam, “when they saw”) some ancient witnesses (e.g., some mss of the LXX) assume the reading בְּיִרְאָתָם (bÿyir’atam, “because they feared”).

[14:12]  ¹ tn Heb “If you really can tell it to me [during] the seven days of the feast and you find [its answer].”

[14:12]  ² tn Heb “changes.”

[14:13]  ¹ tn Heb “you are unable to tell me.”

[14:13]  ² tn Heb “Give your riddle so we can hear it.”

[14:15]  ¹ tc The MT reads “seventh.” In Hebrew there is a difference of only one letter between the words רְבִיעִי (rÿvi’i, “fourth”) and שְׁבִיעִי (shÿvi’i, “seventh”). Some ancient textual witnesses (e.g., LXX and the Syriac Peshitta) read “fourth,” here, which certainly harmonizes better with the preceding verse (cf. “for three days”) and with v. 17. Another option is to change שְׁלֹשֶׁת (shÿloshet, “three”) at the end of v. 14 to שֵׁשֶׁת (sheshet, “six”), but the resulting scenario does not account as well for v. 17, which implies the bride had been hounding Samson for more than one day.

[14:15]  ² tn Heb “Entice your husband so that he might tell us the riddle.”

[14:15]  ³ tn Heb “lest.”

[14:15]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew text expands the statement: “burn up with fire.” The words “with fire” are redundant in English and have been omitted from the translation for stylistic reasons.

[14:15]  ⁵ tn Heb “house.”

[14:15]  ⁶ tc The translation assumes the Hebrew form הֲלֹם (halom, “here,” attested in five Hebrew mss and supported by the Targum), instead of the inexplicable הֲלֹא (halo’), a negative particle with interrogative particle prefixed to it.

[14:15]  ⁷ tn For discussion of this difficult form, see C. F. Burney, Judges, 364.

[14:16]  ¹ tn Heb “on him.”

[14:16]  ² tn Heb “only”; or “simply.”

[14:16]  ³ tn Heb “the sons of my people.”

[14:16]  ⁴ tn Heb “Should I tell you?”

[14:17]  ¹ tn Heb “on him.”

[14:17]  ² tn Heb “the seven days [during] which they held the party.” This does not mean she cried for the entire seven days; v. 15 indicates otherwise. She cried for the remainder of the seven day period, beginning on the fourth day.

[14:17]  ³ tn Heb “because she forced him.”

[14:17]  ⁴ tn Heb “she told the riddle to the sons of her people.”

[14:18]  ¹ sn Plowed with my heifer. This statement emphasizes that the Philistines had utilized a source of information which should have been off-limits to them. Heifers were used in plowing (Hos 10:11), but one typically used one’s own farm animals, not another man’s.

[14:19]  ¹ tn Heb “equipment”; or “gear.”

[14:19]  ² tn Heb “changes [of clothes].”

[14:19]  ³ tn Heb “he went up to his father’s house.”

[14:20]  ¹ tn Heb “to his companion who had been his attendant.”

[18:1]  ¹ tn Heb “an inheritance.”

[18:1]  ² tn Heb “because there had not fallen to them by that day in the midst of the tribes of Israel an inheritance.”

[18:2]  ¹ tn Heb “The Danites sent from their tribe five men, from their borders.”

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

[18:2]  ³ tn Heb “They came to the Ephraimite hill country, to Micah’s house, and spent the night there.”

[18:3]  ¹ tn Or “When they were near.”

[18:3]  ² 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]  ³ tn Heb “turned aside.”

[18:3]  ⁴ tn Heb “What [is there] to you here?”

[18:4]  ¹ 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.

[18:5]  ¹ tn Heb “Ask God.”

[18:5]  ² tn Heb “so we can know if our way on which we are going will be successful.”

[18:6]  ¹ tn Heb “in peace.”

[18:6]  ² tn Heb “In front of the LORD is your way in which you are going.”

[18:7]  ¹ tn Or “went.”

[18:7]  ² tn Heb “who were in its midst.”

[18:7]  ³ tn Heb “according to the custom of the Sidonians.”

[18:7]  ⁴ tn Heb “and there was no one humiliating anything in the land, one taking possession [by] force.”

[18:7]  ⁵ tc Heb “and a thing there was not to them with men.” Codex Alexandrinus (A) of the LXX and Symmachus read “Syria” here rather than the MT’s “men.” This reading presupposes a Hebrew Vorlage אֲרָם (’aram, “Aram,” i.e., Arameans) rather than the MT reading אָדָם (’adam). This reading is possibly to be preferred over the MT.

[18:8]  ¹ tn Heb “They came to their brothers.”

[18:8]  ² tn Heb “brothers.”

[18:8]  ³ tn Heb “What you?”

[18:9]  ¹ tn Heb “Arise, and let us go up against them.”

[18:9]  ² tc Codex Alexandrinus (A) of the LXX adds “we entered and walked around in the land as far as Laish and.”

[18:9]  ³ tn Heb “But you are inactive.”

[18:9]  ⁴ tn Or “be lazy.”

[18:9]  ⁵ tn Heb “to go”; “to enter”; “to possess.”

[18:10]  ¹ tn Heb “When you enter.”

[18:10]  ² tn Heb “you will come to.”

[18:10]  ³ tn Heb “broad of hands,” an idiom meaning “wide on both sides.”

[18:10]  ⁴ tn Heb “a place where there is no lack of anything that is in the earth.”

[18:11]  ¹ tn Heb “They journeyed from there, from the tribe of the Danites, from Zorah and from Eshtaol, six hundred men, equipped with weapons of war.”

[18:12]  ¹ tn Or “Mahaneh Dan”; the Hebrew term “Mahaneh” means “camp [of].” Many English versions retain the transliterated Hebrew expression, but cf. CEV “Dan’s Camp.”

[18:12]  ² tn Heb “behind.”

[18:14]  ¹ tc Codex Alexandrinus (A) of the LXX lacks the phrase “of Laish.”

[18:14]  ² tn Heb “brothers.”

[18:15]  ¹ tn Heb “turned aside.”

[18:15]  ² tn Heb “Micah’s house.”

[18:15]  ³ tn Heb “they asked him concerning peace.”

[18:16]  ¹ tn Heb “And the six hundred men, equipped with the weapons of war…from the sons of Dan.”

[18:17]  ¹ tn Heb “went up, went in there, took.”

[18:17]  ² tn Heb “six hundred men, equipped with the weapons of war.”

[18:18]  ¹ tn Heb “These went into Micah’s house and took.”

[18:19]  ¹ tn See the note on the word “adviser” in 17:10.

[18:19]  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?”

[18:20]  ¹ tn Heb “and went into the midst of the people.”

[18:21]  ¹ tn Heb “They turned and went and put the children, the cattle, and the possessions in front of them.”

[18:22]  ¹ tn Heb “the men who were in the houses near Micah’s house.”

[18:23]  ¹ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the Danites) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:24]  ¹ tn Heb “What is this you say to me, ‘What to you?’”

[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.

[18:25]  ² tn Heb “and you will gather up your life and the life of your house.”

[18:26]  ¹ tn Heb “saw.”

[18:26]  ² tn Heb “they were stronger than he.”

[18:27]  ¹ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the Danites) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:27]  ² tn The Hebrew adds “with fire.” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons, because it is redundant in English.

[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.

[18:28]  ² map For location see Map1 A1; JP3 F3; JP4 F3.

[18:28]  ³ tn Heb “and a thing there was not to them with men.”

[18:28]  ⁴ tn Heb “it.” The Hebrew pronoun is feminine singular here, referring to the “city” (a grammatically feminine singular noun) mentioned in v. 27.

[18:28]  ⁵ tn Heb “They”; the referent (the Danites) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[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.”

[18:30]  ¹ tn Heb “erected for themselves.”

[18:30]  ² tn Heb “son.”

[18:30]  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.

[18:30]  ⁴ tn Heb “sons.”

[18:31]  ¹ tn Heb “they set up for themselves.”

[18:31]  ² tn Heb “the carved image that Micah had made.”

[18:31]  ³ tn Heb “the house of God.”