Judges 17:7

Translations

Modern

And there was a young Levite from Bethlehem in Judah who had been residing within the clan of Judah.

Traditional

And there was a young man out of Beth–lehem–judah of the family of Judah, who was a Levite, and he sojourned there.

Literal

And there was a young man from Bethlehem in Judah, from the family of Judah, and he was a Levite, and he was staying there.

Latin

Fuit quoque alter adolescens de Bethlehem Juda, ex cognatione ejus: eratque ipse Levites, et habitabat ibi.

Original

Hebrew

English

And there was a young Levite from Bethlehem in Judah who had been residing within the clan of Judah.

Notes

Judges 17:7–8

This Levite does not fit typical biblical categories. Some Levites were priests, while others served in the temple (compare Numbers 3–4). Levites lived throughout Israel (Genesis 49:5–7; Joshua 21). This young man, likely a descendant of Gershom (Judges 18:30; see Exodus 2:21–22), lived in Judah but not in a Levitical town. He was searching for a new place to live.

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

Related verses

Ruth 1:1–2
In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land. And a certain man from Bethlehem in Judah, with his wife and two sons, went to reside in the land of Moab.
Matthew 2:1
After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem,
Micah 5:2
But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come forth for Me One to be ruler over Israel—One whose origins are of old, from the days of eternity.
Matthew 2:5–6
“In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:
Judges 19:1–2
Now in those days, when there was no king in Israel, a Levite who lived in the remote hill country of Ephraim took for himself a concubine from Bethlehem in Judah.
Genesis 35:19
So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem).
Joshua 19:15
It also included Kattath, Nahalal, Shimron, Idalah, and Bethlehem. There were twelve cities, along with their villages.

People

Judah: Israelite tribe, kingdom, and province Levi: Son of Jacob; progenitor of the Levites

Places

Bethlehem: City of David's birth and Jesus' birth

Glossary

Bethlehem Idols, Idolatry Jonathan Judges, Book of Micah (Person) Priests and Levites

Topics

Bethlehem: A City Southwest of Jerusalem Bethlehem: A City Southwest of Jerusalem: And Beth-Lehem-Judah Christian Minister: Jonathan Jonathan: A Levite of Bethlehem, Who Becomes a Priest for Micah

Judges 17:7

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