Judges 18:28

Translations

Modern

There was no one to deliver them, because the city was far from Sidon and had no alliance with anyone; it was in a valley near Beth-rehob. And the Danites rebuilt the city and lived there.

Traditional

And there was no deliverer, because it was far from Zidon, and they had no business with any man; and it was in the valley that lieth by Beth–rehob. And they built a city, and dwelt therein.

Literal

And there was no rescuer, because it was far from Sidon, and they had no ties with anyone. And it was in the valley that belongs to Beth-rehob. And they rebuilt the city and dwelt there.

Latin

…nullo penitus ferente præsidium, eo quod procul habitarent a Sidone, et cum nullo hominum haberent quidquam societatis ac negotii. Erat autem civitas sita in regione Rohob: quam rursum exstruentes habitaverunt in ea,

Original

Hebrew

English

There was no one to deliver them, because the city was far from Sidon and had no alliance with anyone; it was in a valley near Beth-rehob. And the Danites rebuilt the city and lived there.

Notes

Judges 18:28

Beth-rehob might have been an Aramean kingdom to the north (2 Samuel 10:6). The Danite warriors captured this defenseless city without heroism or a holy war. Dan fulfilled Jacob’s mixed blessing by abandoning the high calling of governing his people (Genesis 49:16). Instead, they became a snake by the road, a viper in the path that bites the horse’s heels so that its rider tumbles backward (Genesis 49:17).

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

Related verses

2 Samuel 10:6
When the Ammonites realized that they had become a stench to David, they hired twenty thousand Aramean foot soldiers from Beth-rehob and Zoba, as well as a thousand men from the king of Maacah and twelve thousand men from Tob.
Numbers 13:21
So they went up and spied out the land from the Wilderness of Zin as far as Rehob, toward Lebo-hamath.
Judges 18:7
So the five men departed and came to Laish, where they saw that the people were living securely, like the Sidonians, quiet and unsuspecting. There was nothing lacking in the land and no oppressive ruler. And they were far away from the Sidonians and had no alliance with anyone.
Psalm 7:2
…or they will shred my soul like a lion and tear me to pieces with no one to rescue me.
Isaiah 23:4
Be ashamed, O Sidon, the stronghold of the sea, for the sea has spoken: “I have not been in labor or given birth. I have not raised young men or brought up young women.”
Psalm 50:22
Now consider this, you who forget God, lest I tear you to pieces, with no one to rescue you:
Joshua 11:8
…and the LORD delivered them into the hand of Israel, who struck them down and pursued them all the way to Greater Sidon and Misrephoth-maim, and eastward as far as the Valley of Mizpeh. They struck them down, leaving no survivors.
Daniel 3:15–17
Now when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes, and all kinds of music, if you are ready to fall down and worship the statue I have made, very good. But if you refuse to worship, you will be thrown at once into the blazing fiery furnace. Then what god will be able to deliver you from my hands?”
Judges 18:1
In those days there was no king in Israel, and the tribe of the Danites was looking for territory to occupy. For up to that time they had not come into an inheritance among the tribes of Israel.
2 Samuel 14:6
And your maidservant had two sons who were fighting in the field with no one to separate them, and one struck the other and killed him.
Isaiah 23:12
He said, “You shall rejoice no more, O oppressed Virgin Daughter of Sidon. Get up and cross over to Cyprus—even there you will find no rest.”

Places

Beth-rehob: Aramean city and region, allied with Ammon against David Sidon: Phoenician city; home of Jezebel

Glossary

Allotment of the Land Beth-Rehob Dan (Place) Deliverance, Deliverer Eshtaol Idols, Idolatry Jeroboam Joshua, Book of Judges, Book of Laish (Place) Micah (Person) Priests and Levites Rehob (Place) Teraphim Travel Tribe of Dan

Topics

Beth-Rehob: A Place in Dan Jonathan: A Levite of Bethlehem, Who Becomes a Priest for Micah the Tribe of Dan: A Part of Tool Laish and Called It Dan Tribe of Dan: Conquests By

Judges 18:28

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