Keraia
Judges 17

Judges 17:2

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

Translations

Modern
…said to his mother, “The eleven hundred shekels of silver that were taken from you and about which I heard you utter a curse—I have the silver here with me; I took it.” Then his mother said, “Blessed be my son by the LORD!”
Traditional
And he said unto his mother, The eleven hundred shekels of silver that were taken from thee, about which thou cursedst, and spakest of also in mine ears, behold, the silver is with me; I took it. And his mother said, Blessed be thou of the Lord, my son.
Literal
And he said to his mother, “The thousand and a hundred shekels of silver that were taken from you, and on which you put a curse, and even saying it in my ears, here is the silver with me. I took it.” And his mother said, “Blessed is my son of YHWH!”
Latin
…qui dixit matri suæ: Mille et centum argenteos, quos separaveras tibi, et super quibus me audiente juraveras, ecce ego habeo, et apud me sunt. Cui illa respondit: Benedictus filius meus Domino.

Original

Hebrew
English
…said to his mother, “The eleven hundred shekels of silver that were taken from you and about which I heard you utter a curse—I have the silver here with me; I took it.” Then his mother said, “Blessed be my son by the LORD!”

Notes

Judges 17:2–3

  • Micah’s mother was indulgent and worshipped idols, yet she used the Lord’s name in both cursing and blessing.

  • I heard you place a curse: People believed words in curses and blessings had power, especially if the speaker had authority (compare Genesis 27; Isaiah 55:11).

  • eleven hundred shekels: This large amount was also given to Delilah (Judges 16:5). It was likely Micah’s mother’s life savings or dowry.

  • Blessed be my son by the LORD!: Micah’s mother hoped the blessing would cancel out her earlier curse.

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

Measurements

  • eleven hundred shekels of silver: About 27.6 lb (12.5 kg)

Glossary

Curse, Cursed Idols, Idolatry Judges, Book of Micah (Person) Money Changer Priests and Levites

Topics

Conscience Money: General Scriptures Concerning Conscience of Micah, After Stealing Dishonesty: Micah Steals One-Thousand One-Hundred Pieces of Silver Money: Conscience Shekel used to Weigh Silver Theft and Thieves: Micah Theft: Micah Vows of the Mother of Micah, in the Dedication of Silver for the Making of an Idol