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Judges 17

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Micah Steals and Restores the Silver 1–4

1
And there was a man of the hill-country of Ephraim, whose name was Micah.
2
And he said unto his mother, The eleven hundred pieces of silver that were taken from thee, about which thou didst utter a curse, and didst also speak it in mine ears, behold, the silver is with me; I took it. And his mother said, Blessed be my son of Jehovah. ​
3
And he restored the eleven hundred pieces of silver to his mother; and his mother said, I verily dedicate the silver unto Jehovah from my hand for my son, to make a graven image and a molten image: now therefore I will restore it unto thee. ​
4
And when he restored the money unto his mother, his mother took two hundred pieces of silver, and gave them to the founder, who made thereof a graven image and a molten image: and it was in the house of Micah.

Micah Establishes a Private Shrine 5–6

5
And the man Micah had a house of gods, and he made an ephod, and teraphim, and consecrated one of his sons, who became his priest. ​
6
In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes. ​

Micah Hires a Wandering Levite 7–13

7
And there was a young man out of Beth-lehem-judah, of the family of Judah, who was a Levite; and he sojourned there. ​
8
And the man departed out of the city, out of Beth-lehem-judah, to sojourn where he could find a place, and he came to the hill-country of Ephraim to the house of Micah, as he journeyed.
9
And Micah said unto him, Whence comest thou? And he said unto him, I am a Levite of Beth-lehem-judah, and I go to sojourn where I may find a place.
10
And Micah said unto him, Dwell with me, and be unto me a father and a priest, and I will give thee ten pieces of silver by the year, and a suit of apparel, and thy victuals. So the Levite went in. ​
11
And the Levite was content to dwell with the man; and the young man was unto him as one of his sons.
12
And Micah consecrated the Levite, and the young man became his priest, and was in the house of Micah. ​
13
Then said Micah, Now know I that Jehovah will do me good, seeing I have a Levite to my priest. ​

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

Study Notes for Judges 17

Verse 2

cursedst — Alah is a sworn curse spoken against the thief; Micah gives the silver back after hearing it, and his mother answers, 'Blessed be thou of the LORD.' The sum, eleven hundred, is the amount each Philistine lord promised Delilah in 16:5. The mother speaks of it as dedicated in v.3.

Verse 3

wholly dedicated the silver unto the LORD — The verb qadash, to set apart, is doubled for emphasis. The purpose is 'a graven image and a molten image', what Ex 20:4 forbids as 'any graven image' and Ex 34:17 as 'molten gods'. The silver is dedicated 'unto the LORD' and spent on what he had forbidden.

Verse 5

an house of gods — The Hebrew reads beth elohim, a private shrine. The 'ephod' is the priest's garment (Ex 28:6), and the 'teraphim' are household figures, the 'images' Rachel took from her father (Gen 31:19). 'Consecrated' is literally 'filled the hand' (Ex 28:41), done here for a son, though the priesthood belonged to Aaron and his sons (Ex 28:1).

Verse 6

no king in Israel — The refrain returns in 18:1, 19:1 and 21:25. 'Right in his own eyes' is the standard Moses had set aside: 'every man whatsoever is right in his own eyes' (Deut 12:8). The verse introduces what follows, a man who makes his own shrine, priest and worship.

Verse 7

a Levite — 'Sojourned' is gur, to live as a resident stranger. Levites held no tribal land but were given cities (Josh 21), and Bethlehem of Judah is not among them. Deut 12:19 had commanded Israel: 'Take heed to thyself that thou forsake not the Levite as long as thou livest upon the earth.'

Verse 10

a father and a priest — Micah offers 'ten shekels of silver by the year', clothing and food. 'Father' is a title of counsel and standing, as Joseph says God 'hath made me a father to Pharaoh' (Gen 45:8). The Danites use the same words to him in 18:19, 'be to us a father and a priest'.

Verse 12

Micah consecrated the Levite — The phrase is 'filled the hand', as of the son in v.5 (cf. Ex 28:41). Micah replaces his son with a Levite, the tribe set apart for the LORD's service, yet the priest's office was given to Aaron's house (Ex 28:1), and the appointment comes from Micah's own hand.

Verse 13

the LORD will do me good — Yatab, to do good. Micah speaks the name of the LORD while he holds an ephod, teraphim and an image (vv.3–5), and counts a Levite's presence as the guarantee. The LORD's own house stood at Shiloh during the same years (18:31).