Judges 18:30

Translations

Modern

The Danites set up idols for themselves, and Jonathan son of Gershom, the son of Moses, and his sons were priests for the tribe of Dan until the day of the captivity of the land.

Traditional

And the children of Dan set up the graven image: and Jonathan, the son of Gershom, the son of Manasseh, he and his sons were priests to the tribe of Dan until the day of the captivity of the land.

Literal

And the sons of Dan set up for themselves the carved image. And Jonathan son of Gershom son of Moses—he and his sons were priests to the tribe of the Danite until the day of the captivity of the land.

Latin

Posueruntque sibi sculptile, et Jonathan filium Gersam filii Moysi ac filios ejus sacerdotes in tribu Dan, usque ad diem captivitatis suæ.

Original

Hebrew

English

The Danites set up idols for themselves, and Jonathan son of Gershom, the son of Moses, and his sons were priests for the tribe of Dan until the day of the captivity of the land.

Notes

Judges 18:30

The wandering Levite is now called Jonathan. He was a descendant of Moses through Gershom (Exodus 2:21–22).
The exile traditionally began with the fall of the northern kingdom in 722 BC. Considering the reference to Shiloh (Judges 18:31), the exile of the Ark from Shiloh (1 Samuel 4–6) might be relevant.

Judges 18:29–31

The city of Dan became the northernmost point of Israel's territory (for example, Judges 20:1; 2 Samuel 3:10; 1 Kings 4:25; 2 Chronicles 30:5). It remained a center of idol worship throughout its history (see 1 Kings 12:28–30; Amos 8:14).

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

1 Samuel 4:10–11
So the Philistines fought, and Israel was defeated, and each man fled to his tent. The slaughter was very great—thirty thousand foot soldiers of Israel fell.
Exodus 2:22
And she gave birth to a son, and Moses named him Gershom, saying, “I have become a foreigner in a foreign land.”
Judges 17:5
Now this man Micah had a shrine, and he made an ephod and some household idols, and ordained one of his sons as his priest.
Judges 13:1
Again the Israelites did evil in the sight of the LORD, so He delivered them into the hand of the Philistines for forty years.
Psalm 78:60–62
He abandoned the tabernacle of Shiloh, the tent He had pitched among men.
Judges 17:3
And when he had returned the eleven hundred shekels of silver to his mother, she said, “I wholly dedicate the silver to the LORD for my son’s benefit, to make a graven image and a molten idol. Therefore I will now return it to you.”
Deuteronomy 31:29
For I know that after my death you will become utterly corrupt and turn from the path I have commanded you. And in the days to come, disaster will befall you because you will do evil in the sight of the LORD to provoke Him to anger by the work of your hands.”
1 Samuel 4:2–3
The Philistines arrayed themselves against Israel, and as the battle spread, Israel was defeated by the Philistines, who struck down about four thousand men on the battlefield.
Deuteronomy 31:16
And the LORD said to Moses, “You will soon rest with your fathers, and these people will rise up and prostitute themselves with the foreign gods of the land they are entering. They will forsake Me and break the covenant I have made with them.
Deuteronomy 27:15
‘Cursed is the man who makes a carved idol or molten image—an abomination to the LORD, the work of the hands of a craftsman—and sets it up in secret.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’
Deuteronomy 17:2–7
If a man or woman among you in one of the towns that the LORD your God gives you is found doing evil in the sight of the LORD your God by transgressing His covenant
Exodus 18:3
…along with her two sons. One son was named Gershom, for Moses had said, “I have been a foreigner in a foreign land.”

People

Gershom: Son of Moses; father of Jonathan, a renegade priest Jonathan: A Levite who served as a priest for Dan Moses: Prophet who led Israel out of Egypt

Places

Dan: Israelite tribe; city in northern Israel; originally called Laish/Leshem

Glossary

Allotment of the Land Ephod (Garment) Eshtaol Gershom Idols, Idolatry Jeroboam Jonathan Joshua, Book of Judges, Book of Manasseh (Person) Micah (Person) Priests and Levites Teraphim Travel Tribe of Dan

Topics

Gershom: A Levite Jonathan: A Levite of Bethlehem, Who Becomes a Priest for Micah Manasseh: (Moses, RV) Father of Gershom the Tribe of Dan: A Part of Set up Micah's Idols in Dan

Judges 18:30

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