Keraia
Judges 17

Judges 17:1

Micah’s Idolatry · Judges 17:1–13
Read Judges 17

Translations

Modern
Now a man named Micah from the hill country of Ephraim
Traditional
And there was a man of mount Ephraim, whose name was Micah.
Literal
And there was a man from the hill country of Ephraim, and his name was Micah.
Latin
Fuit eo tempore vir quidam de monte Ephraim nomine Michas,

Original

Hebrew
English
Now a man named Micah from the hill country of Ephraim

Notes

Judges 17:1

  • Micah is a shortened name meaning “Who is like the Lord?” It emphasizes the difference between the Lord and a carved image or idol.

  • The hill country of Ephraim was a natural gathering place in central Israel (Judges 17:7–8; 18:2, 13; 19:1, 16).

Judges 17:1–21:25

These two epilogues (Judges 17–18 and 19–21) show that inspired but unstructured leadership cannot last. As society moved toward chaos and civil war, the phrase, In those days there was no king in Israel appears four times. The phrase, everyone did what was right in his own eyes is added twice (Judges 17:6; 18:1; 19:1; 21:25). The era of inspired leadership declined and ended in disorder. Something important was missing.

Theme notes and profiles

Social Chaos in Judges

People

Ephraim: Second son of Joseph, and a tribe of Israel Micah: A man from Ephraim who set up idolatrous worship

Glossary

Curse, Cursed Ephraim, Tribe of Idols, Idolatry Judges, Book of Micah (Person) Priests and Levites

Topics

Micah: An Ephraimite: His Robbery and Idolatry