Judges 18:6

The Danites Settle in Laish · Judges 18:1–13
Read Judges 18

Translations

Modern
And the priest told them, “Go in peace. The LORD is watching over your journey.”
Traditional
And the priest said unto them, Go in peace: before the Lord is your way wherein ye go.
Literal
And the priest said to them, “Go in peace. Before YHWH is your way in which you are going.”
Latin
Qui respondit eis: Ite in pace: Dominus respicit viam vestram, et iter quo pergitis.

Original

Hebrew
English
And the priest told them, “Go in peace. The LORD is watching over your journey.”

Notes

The Lord had promised Dan land in the southwest, but they had not taken it (see Judges 1:34; Joshua 19:40–48). Now they sought God's blessing from a hired priest. This priest's "blessing," like Micah's mother's (Judges 17:2), sounded religious but had no basis in Israel's covenant with the Lord.

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).

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

Glossary

Allotment of the Land Eshtaol Idols, Idolatry Jeroboam Joshua, Book of Judges, Book of Micah (Person) Priests and Levites Travel Tribe of Dan Zorah, Zorathite

Topics

Armies: March in Ranks of Laish Jonathan: A Levite of Bethlehem, Who Becomes a Priest for Micah Reconnoissance: Laish