Keraia
Judges 18

Judges 18:15

The Danites Take Micah’s Idols · Judges 18:14–31
Read Judges 18

Translations

Modern
So they turned aside there and went to the home of the young Levite, the house of Micah, and greeted him.
Traditional
And they turned thitherward, and came to the house of the young man the Levite, even unto the house of Micah, and saluted him.
Literal
And they turned aside there and came to the house of the young man, the Levite, to the house of Micah, and they asked of his welfare.
Latin
Et cum paululum declinassent, ingressi sunt domum adolescentis Levitæ, qui erat in domo Michæ: salutaveruntque eum verbis pacificis.

Original

Hebrew
English
So they turned aside there and went to the home of the young Levite, the house of Micah, and greeted him.

Notes

Judges 18:15

The five dishonest scouts ignored the host and went directly to their target, the young and naive Levite who lacked principles.

Judges 18:14–26

This dishonest exchange reveals the lack of integrity in everyone involved.

Judges 18:1–31

The migration of the Danites (compare Joshua 19:40–48) shows the tribe's failure to follow God's covenant and reflects Israel's decline. Micah's personal heresy (Judges 17:4–5) grew into the apostasy of the entire tribe (18:30–31). The initial covenant failure (Judges 17:19–36) led to social breakdown during the time of Jephthah and Samson (Judges 11–16). Eventually, law and order gave way to banditry and pillaging (Judges 18:27–28).

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

Levi: Son of Jacob; progenitor of the Levites Micah: A man from Ephraim who set up idolatrous worship

Glossary

Allotment of the Land Eshtaol Idols, Idolatry Jeroboam Joshua, Book of Judges, Book of Laish (Place) Micah (Person) Numbers and Numerology Priests and Levites Teraphim Travel Tribe of Dan

Topics

Dishonesty: Micah's Priest Steals his Images Jonathan: A Levite of Bethlehem, Who Becomes a Priest for Micah Salutations were Given: On Entering a House Theft and Thieves: The Spies of Laish