Judges 17

There was a man from the hill country of Ephraim whose name was Micah.

1And there was a man of mount Ephraim, whose name was Micah.

NoteMicah's name is a shortened form of the Hebrew Micayehu, "Who is like the LORD?" The longer form is used of him in verses 1 and 4 of the Hebrew text, then the short form for the rest of the chapter.

2He said to his mother, "The eleven hundred pieces of silver that were taken from you, the silver you called down a curse about, and I heard you say it, look, I have that silver. I took it." His mother said, "May the LORD bless you, my son."

2And he said unto his mother, The eleven hundred shekels of silver that were taken from thee, about which thou cursedst, and spakest of also in mine ears, behold, the silver is with me; I took it. And his mother said, Blessed be thou of the LORD, my son.

NoteA shekel was a weight, not a coin; coined money did not yet exist. A shekel of silver was roughly 11–12 grams, so eleven hundred shekels is on the order of 28 pounds of silver, an enormous sum. Verse 10 shows a live-in priest being hired for ten shekels a year. When something was stolen and the thief unknown, the victim could pronounce a public curse on whoever had taken it, calling down harm on the culprit. The curse was thought to work whether or not the thief was named, which is why Micah, having heard it, speaks up. His mother's blessing is meant to cancel it.

3When he had given the eleven hundred pieces of silver back to his mother, she said, "I now set this silver apart for the LORD, giving it from my own hand for my son, to have a carved image and a cast metal image made. So I am giving it back to you."

3And when he had restored the eleven hundred shekels of silver to his mother, his mother said, I had wholly dedicated the silver unto the LORD from my hand for my son, to make a graven image and a molten image: now therefore I will restore it unto thee.

Note"Set apart for the LORD" translates a word for dedicating property to a deity, putting it beyond ordinary use. The two objects are named by how they were made: one carved (from wood or stone, possibly overlaid with metal) and one cast in molten metal. The Hebrew phrase can be read as two separate images or as a single carved core plated with cast metal; the text does not settle it.

4But he gave the silver back to his mother anyway. She took two hundred pieces of it and gave them to a silversmith, who made them into a carved image and a cast metal image. They were kept in Micah's house.

4Yet he restored the money unto his mother; and his mother took two hundred shekels of silver, and gave them to the founder, who made thereof a graven image and a molten image: and they were in the house of Micah.

NoteOnly two hundred of the eleven hundred shekels actually go to the silversmith. The narrator states this without comment, leaving what happened to the rest unexplained.

5This man Micah had a shrine for gods. He made an ephod and household idols, and he set apart one of his sons to serve as his priest.

5And the man Micah had an house of gods, and made an ephod, and teraphim, and consecrated one of his sons, who became his priest.

Note"A shrine for gods" renders a Hebrew phrase that can equally mean "a house of God" or "a house of gods" (a private sanctuary, in contrast to a national one. An ephod was a priestly garment or vestment; in some passages it is also the object handled when seeking a yes-or-no answer from God, so the word covers both the clothing and its use in inquiry. "Household idols" translates teraphim, small figures kept in the home. They appear elsewhere in connection with divination and with family property claims; their exact form and size are not described. "Set apart to serve as priest" translates a Hebrew idiom, "filled his hand") the standard phrase for installing someone in priestly office. Micah performs it himself on his own son, though elsewhere in the law priesthood belongs to Aaron's descendants.

6In those days Israel had no king. Everyone did whatever seemed right to him.

6In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes.

NoteThis sentence is the book's refrain for the period before Israel had kings; it recurs at 18:1, 19:1 and 21:25. "Right in his own eyes" is a Hebrew way of saying each man judged for himself what to do, with no authority above him.

7There was a young man from Bethlehem in Judah, of the clan of Judah, who was a Levite. He had been living there as an outsider.

7And there was a young man out of Bethlehemjudah of the family of Judah, who was a Levite, and he sojourned there.

NoteThe Levites were the tribe assigned to religious duties and given no territory of their own; they lived scattered in towns among the other tribes and depended on offerings and on the hospitality of their hosts. That is why this young man is traveling to find a place. "Bethlehem in Judah" is specified to distinguish it from another Bethlehem in the territory of Zebulun, in the north. Calling him "of the clan of Judah" while also calling him a Levite is odd, since the two are different tribes; the phrase may mean he was reckoned as living within Judah's clan territory rather than descended from Judah. The text is not clear. "Living there as an outsider" translates a term for a resident alien, someone dwelling long-term in a place where he had no ancestral land or kinship rights, and so no legal standing of his own.

8This man left the town of Bethlehem in Judah to find somewhere else to settle. As he traveled, he came to the hill country of Ephraim, to Micah's house.

8And the man departed out of the city from Bethlehemjudah to sojourn where he could find a place: and he came to mount Ephraim to the house of Micah, as he journeyed.

9Micah asked him, "Where do you come from?" He answered, "I am a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah, and I am going to settle wherever I can find a place."

9And Micah said unto him, Whence comest thou? And he said unto him, I am a Levite of Bethlehemjudah, and I go to sojourn where I may find a place.

10Micah said to him, "Stay with me. Be a father and a priest to me. I will give you ten pieces of silver a year, a set of clothes, and your food." So the Levite went in.

10And Micah said unto him, Dwell with me, and be unto me a father and a priest, and I will give thee ten shekels of silver by the year, and a suit of apparel, and thy victuals. So the Levite went in.

Note"Father" here is a title of respect for a priest or adviser, not a claim about age, the man is young enough to be called Micah's son a verse later. Ten shekels of silver a year, with clothing and board, sets the whole annual wage at less than one percent of the silver mentioned in verse 2.

11The Levite was willing to stay with the man, and the young man became like one of Micah's own sons to him.

11And the Levite was content to dwell with the man; and the young man was unto him as one of his sons.

12Micah set the Levite apart for the work, and the young man became his priest and lived in Micah's house.

12And Micah consecrated the Levite; and the young man became his priest, and was in the house of Micah.

NoteAgain the Hebrew idiom "filled his hand": Micah installs the Levite in office himself, as he had installed his son in verse 5.

13Then Micah said, "Now I know the LORD will treat me well, because I have a Levite as my priest."

13Then said Micah, Now know I that the LORD will do me good, seeing I have a Levite to my priest.