Translations
Original
Notes
ephod: See study note on Judges 8:27.
household idols: Compare Genesis 31:19–32; 2 Kings 23:24; Zechariah 10:2. The Bible criticizes the powerlessness of these personal gods. Micah making his son his personal priest was very unusual: The father was supposed to lead the family's religious activities (Deuteronomy 6:7; Job 1:5), only Aaron's descendants could be priests (Exodus 28:1–29:37; 30:30–33; 40:12–15), and priests served all of Israel, not just one family.
We do not know what Micah’s mother did with the other 900 shekels. Perhaps she used them to pay for the shrine (literally house of gods).
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.
People
Micah: A man from Ephraim who set up idolatrous worship
Glossary
Ephod (Garment) Idols, Idolatry Judges, Book of Micah (Person) Priests and Levites Teraphim
Topics
Ephod: A Sacred Vestment Worn by the High Priest: Made by Gideon, Became an Idolatrous Snare to Israel Idolatry: Micah Idolatry: Objects of, Worshipped in Private Houses Polytheism: General Scriptures Concerning Teraphim used by Micah, Stolen by the Danites The Ephod for the High Priest used by Idolatrous Priests