Judges 17
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
III. Further Stories of the Tribes of Dan and Benjamin
Chapter 17
Micah and the Levite. 1 There was a man from the mountain region of Ephraim whose name was Micah. 2 [a]He said to his mother, “The eleven hundred pieces of silver that were taken from you, about which you pronounced a curse and even said it in my hearing—I have that silver. I took it. So now I will restore it to you.” Then his mother said, “May my son be blessed by the Lord!” 3 When he restored the eleven hundred pieces of silver to his mother, she said, “I consecrate the silver to the Lord from my own hand on behalf of my son to make an idol overlaid with silver.”[b](A) 4 So when he restored the silver to his mother, she took two hundred pieces and gave them to the silversmith, who made of them an idol overlaid with silver. So it remained in the house of Micah. 5 The man Micah had a shrine, and he made an ephod and teraphim,[c](B) and installed one of his sons, who became his priest.(C) 6 [d]In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in their own eyes.(D)
7 There was a young man from Bethlehem of Judah, from the clan of Judah; he was a Levite residing there.(E) 8 The man set out from the city, Bethlehem of Judah, to take up residence wherever he could find a place. On his journey he came into the mountain region of Ephraim as far as the house of Micah. 9 “Where do you come from?” Micah asked him. He answered him, “I am a Levite, from Bethlehem in Judah, and I am on my way to take up residence wherever I can find a place.” 10 “Stay with me,” Micah said to him. “Be father and priest to me,(F) and I will give you ten silver pieces a year, a set of garments, and your living.” He pressed the Levite, 11 and he agreed to stay with the man. The young man became like one of his own sons. 12 [e]Micah installed the Levite, and the young man became his priest, remaining in the house of Micah. 13 Then Micah said, “Now I know that the Lord will prosper me, since I have the Levite as my priest.”
Footnotes
- 17:2 The narrator picks up the story after a number of events, including a theft and a mother’s curse, have already taken place.
- 17:3 An idol overlaid with silver: two nouns in Hebrew, one indicating a wooden image and the other denoting an image cast from metal. The probable interpretation is that the woman intends for her silver to be recast as a covering for an image of a god, possibly the Lord. This was forbidden in Mosaic law (cf. Ex 20:4 and Dt 5:8).
- 17:5 An ephod and teraphim: cultic paraphernalia. An ephod was a priestly garment, especially that worn by the high priest (cf. Ex 28 and 39), which contained a pocket for objects used for divination. Teraphim were household idols (Gn 31:19, 34–35; 1 Sm 19:13), which may also have had a divinatory function.
- 17:6 This refrain, which will be repeated fully or in part three more times (18:1; 19:1; 21:25), calls attention to the disorder and lawlessness that prevailed before the establishment of kingship in Israel. In this case the problem is cultic impropriety, seen not only in the making of an idol but in the establishment of a local temple, complete with an ephod and teraphim.
- 17:12–13 Previously one of Micah’s sons served as priest (v. 5). But Micah’s family were probably Ephraimites (cf. v. 1) rather than Levites, and the story reflects a sense that only Levites were to be consecrated as priests; cf. Nm 18:7, where descent from Aaron is further specified as a requirement to be a priest. Thus Micah believes it will be to his advantage to retain the itinerant Levite.
Judges 17
Expanded Bible
Micah’s Idols
17 There was a man named Micah who lived in the ·mountains [hill country] of Ephraim. 2 He said to his mother, “I heard you speak a curse [C uttered against the thief] about the ·twenty-eight pounds [L eleven hundred pieces] of silver that were taken from you. I have the silver with me; I took it.”
His mother said, “The Lord bless you, my son [C for confessing the crime]!”
3 Micah gave the ·twenty-eight pounds [L eleven hundred pieces] of silver to his mother. Then she said, “I will ·give [dedicate] this silver [L from my hand] to the Lord. ·I will have my son make [or For the benefit of my son I will make] ·an idol and a statue [a carved image and a cast-metal image; or a carved image overlaid with silver]. So I will give the silver back to you.”
4 When he gave the silver back to his mother, she took about ·five pounds [L two hundred pieces of silver] and gave it to a ·silversmith [or idol-maker; Acts 19:24]. With it he made an ·idol and a statue [or carved image overlaid with silver; C an abomination and violation of the law; Deut. 27:15], which stood in Micah’s house. 5 Micah had a ·special holy place [shrine], and he made a ·holy vest [ephod] and some ·household idols [L teraphim; Gen. 31:19]. Then Micah ·chose [ordained; installed; or paid; L filled the hand of] one of his sons to be his priest. 6 At that time Israel did not have a king, so everyone did what seemed right in their own eyes [C the common refrain through the rest of Judges, referring both to the lack of a human king and the rejection of God’s sovereignty; 18:1; 19:1; 21:25].
7 There was a young man who was a Levite [C the priestly tribe of Israel; Num. 1:47–53] from the city of Bethlehem in Judah who was ·from [or living among] the people of Judah. 8 He left Bethlehem to look for another place to live, and ·on his way [or to carry on his vocation] he came to Micah’s house in the ·mountains [hill country] of Ephraim. 9 Micah asked him, “Where are you from?”
He answered, “I’m a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah. I’m looking for a place to live.”
10 Micah said to him, “Live with me and be my father [C meaning an advisor or counselor; Gen. 45:8] and my priest. I will give you ·four ounces [L ten pieces] of silver each year and clothes and food.” So the Levite went in. 11 He agreed to live with Micah and became like one of Micah’s own sons. 12 Micah ·made him [installed/ordained him as; or paid him to be; L filled his hand to be] a priest, and he lived in Micah’s house. 13 Then Micah said, “Now I know the Lord will ·be good to [prosper] me, because I have a Levite as my priest.”
Judges 17
New King James Version
Micah’s Idolatry
17 Now there was a man from the mountains of Ephraim, whose name was (A)Micah. 2 And he said to his mother, “The eleven hundred shekels of silver that were taken from you, and on which you (B)put a curse, even saying it in my ears—here is the silver with me; I took it.”
And his mother said, (C)“May you be blessed by the Lord, my son!” 3 So when he had returned the eleven hundred shekels of silver to his mother, his mother said, “I had wholly dedicated the silver from my hand to the Lord for my son, to (D)make a carved image and a molded image; now therefore, I will return it to you.” 4 Thus he returned the silver to his mother. Then his mother (E)took two hundred shekels of silver and gave them to the silversmith, and he made it into a carved image and a molded image; and they were in the house of Micah.
5 The man Micah had a (F)shrine, and made an (G)ephod and (H)household[a] idols; and he consecrated one of his sons, who became his priest. 6 (I)In those days there was no king in Israel; (J)everyone did what was right in his own eyes.
7 Now there was a young man from (K)Bethlehem in Judah, of the family of Judah; he was a Levite, and (L)was staying there. 8 The man departed from the city of Bethlehem in Judah to stay wherever he could find a place. Then he came to the mountains of Ephraim, to the house of Micah, as he journeyed. 9 And Micah said to him, “Where do you come from?”
So he said to him, “I am a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah, and I am on my way to find a place to stay.”
10 Micah said to him, “Dwell with me, (M)and be a (N)father and a priest to me, and I will give you ten shekels of silver per year, a suit of clothes, and your sustenance.” So the Levite went in. 11 Then the Levite was content to dwell with the man; and the young man became like one of his sons to him. 12 So Micah (O)consecrated[b] the Levite, and the young man (P)became his priest, and lived in the house of Micah. 13 Then Micah said, “Now I know that the Lord will be good to me, since I have a Levite as (Q)priest!”
Footnotes
- Judges 17:5 Heb. teraphim
- Judges 17:12 Lit. filled the hand of
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