Judges Chapter 19 Part Two (Verses 22-30)

B. The crime of Gibeah

1. (Judges 19:22) Their perverted demand
While they were celebrating, behold, the men of the city, certain worthless fellows, surrounded the house, pounding the door; and they spoke to the owner of the house, the old man, saying, "Bring out the man who came into your house that we may have relations with him." 

While they were celebrating, behold, the men of the city, certain worthless fellows, surrounded the house: The next scene is reminiscent of the sad adventure of Lot while he was living in the city of Sodom. The old man was hosting his guests when suddenly there was a knock on the door. In fact, the house was surrounded by worthless men from Gibeah. They wanted the old man to send out the Levite so that they could have homosexual relations with the man.


In Hebrew, these worthless men are called ben-belial, or sons of Belial. This is a very derogatory expression. It is used in many places in the Bible and is used to label those who commit idolatry, gross rebellion against God or lewd and immoral acts. The text also says the sons of Belial daphak upon the old man's door. This does not mean knock or even beat on the door. This means to violently beat on the door with increasing force. This was a mob which meant business and was not going to take "no" for an answer.

2. (Judges 19:23-26) The wickedness and perversion of the men of Gibeah
Then the man, the owner of the house, went out to them and said to them, "No, my fellows, please do not act so wickedly; since this man has come into my house, do not commit this act of folly. Here is my virgin daughter and his concubine. Please let me bring them out that you may ravish them and do to them whatever you wish. But do not commit such an act of folly against this man." But the men would not listen to him. So the man seized his concubine and brought her out to them; and they raped her and abused her all night until morning, then let her go at the approach of dawn. As the day began to dawn, the woman came and fell down at the doorway of the man's house where her master was, until full daylight.

 Then the man, the owner of the house, went out to them and said to them: The old man had to address the situation. He could not just huddle inside and hope these perverts would go away. So, he opened his door to address them.

We need to understand the Oriental mindset of hospitality. Among the things which hospitality entailed during that era, protection of the house guest was paramount. There was no greater shame than for a host to allow something terrible to befall a guest in his home. Hosts were obligated by custom to defend their guests with the cost of their own lives or their family's lives if necessary. Just as families today have set up an unspoken hierarchy whereby the children are protected at all costs by the adult family members (and even the younger children are protected by the older children), it was the same sort of thing with families that took in travelers whom they had never met before.

Here is my virgin daughter and his concubine: The old man offers to send out his own unmarried daughter as well as the Levite's concubine for the worthless fellows to gang rape in trade for keeping the males safe. In ancient times, and still in many Middle Eastern societies today, woman are worth little. Woman have far less value than men and very often they have less value than the farm animals. The Laws of Moses were the first to value woman equally with men, to insist on the humane treatment of women and to give women far more rights than they had ever had before known. Do not get me wrong, the Bible still presents a hierarchy whereby men are to be the authority. But men are to be an authority over women in love, for the purpose of caring for them and not for the purpose of using them or virtually enslaving them.

However, worldwide customs and traditions infiltrate everything. And the Hebrew society remained a male-dominated society. What we see happening in this regard to the women in this story is not acceptable before God.

Let me also point out what makes this story so extraordinarily shocking. Certainly homosexuality is at the center of it is undeniable, and it is at the top of the list of godless perversions through the Bible, Old Testament and New Testament. But what we must also see is that while we have witnessed this all before in the story of Sodom and Gomorrah, at least the resident of those cities were pagans. They did not know God. But the men of Gibeah who were demanding homosexual sex with the old man's male guest are Hebrews! They are Benjamites! They had the Torah. Their parents were part of the Exodus. Joshua had only recently died. This mob consisted of God's set-apart people who were no more than one generation removed from Moses.

So the man seized his concubine: The Levite's concubine was handed to the men of Gibeah. They abused her all night long and only ceased at daybreak. The concubine somehow made it back to the door step of where her husband was hiding. And there she died from her injuries with her hands reaching toward the bolted door.

3. (Judges 19:27-30) The Levite discovers his dead concubine and issues a call for national judgment
When her master arose in the morning and opened the doors of the house and went out to go on his way, then behold, his concubine was lying at the doorway of the house with her hands on the threshold. He said to her, "Get up and let us go," but there was not answer. Then he place her on the donkey; and the man arose and went to his home. When he entered his house, he took a knife and laid hold of his concubine and cut her in twelve pieces, limb by limb, and sent her throughout the territory of Israel. All who saw it said, "Nothing like this has ever happened or been seen from the day when the sons of Israel came up from the land of Egypt to this day. Consider it, take counsel and speak up!"

When her master arose in the morning and opened the doors of the house: At daybreak, the Levite went outside to leave, and there he found his woman. He told her to get up to they could be on their was, but there was no response. He immediately knew she was dead. So, he loaded her up on one of the two donkeys and left for his home.

It is not only the horrific action of the men of Gibeah that are on display here, but the callous and cold heart of the Levite who is utterly indifferent to his concubine's suffering. The only reason the Levite probably went after his concubine to Bethlehem was selfish. He did not want his name defamed. He preferred to have her company than not, but that is about as far as it went. The thought of leaving her was an embarrassment. He went to Bethlehem to fetch her back with gifts and a donkey for her to ride home on was simply the price needed for him to get her back. It was a price he could afford with little discomfort. The price did not mean he would love her or protect her.

The sin of Gibeah would long be remembered and mentioned many centuries later in Hosea 9:9 and 10:9.

"They have deeply corrupted themselves, as in the days of Gibeah. He will remember their guilt, and he will punish their sins." (Hoses 9:9)

"Since the days of Gibeah you have sinned, Israel. There they took their stand. For these arrogant people at Gibeah, war was insufficient punishment." (Hosea 10:9)

When he entered his house, he took a knife and laid hold of his concubine and cut her into twelve pieces: When the Levite arrived home, he did something so drastic, it is hard to even read about without cringing. He took his concubine's body, cut it up into 12 pieces and sent one piece to each of the Israelite tribes.

I do not know even where to begin to talk about this. The Levite had obviously so little regard for his concubine before and now after her death. He cut her up, which is a terrible desecration. She was to be properly buried. The Hebrew word for cutting up/dividing her body into pieces is a word normally reserved for Tabernacle ritual. The word is nathach. It means to divide up the sacrificial animal into pieces for putting onto the Altar of Burnt Offering. The word being used here is out of place and seems to indicate that the Levite had some delusional sense of piety, righteous anger or twisted belief that if he was the one doing the cutting up (because he was a Levite) that it made it a proper religious act.

Taken together with the other young Levite of our previous story who allowed himself to become a priest (when he was not of the proper lineage), and even to worship teraphim (god idols), and then that he would leave Micah to go and be a priest for the tribe of Dan and set up cult worship in Laish paints a pretty bad picture of the Hebrew religious leaders of the ear of the Judges.

The Levites were the butchers of that era. They were highly trained in just how to dissect an animal for sacrificial purposes. Then later on, they prepared an animal for food according to the kosher traditions which slowly developed. Even today, it is usually Levites who will run Kosher butcher shops. This Levite man simply applied his skills to his dead concubine for personal reasons. Things like this do not go unnoticed.

Verse 30 explains that when the people saw this, they were appalled as they had never seen such an awful thing happen (at least among their own culture). The question on everyone's mind was what to do about all this? What should be done about the homosexual men in Gibeah who raped a concubine to death?

Also, what was to be done about the tribe of Benjamin who apparently did not show enough interest in the matter to bring those men to justice? That is what is dealt with in the final two chapters of the Book of Judges.

Judges 19 Part One (Verses 1-21)

GIBEAH'S CRIME

A. The Levite and his concubine

1. (Judges 19:1) A Levite takes a concubine
Now it came about in those days, when there was no king in Israel, that there was a certain Levite staying in the remote part of the hill country of Ephraim, who took a concubine for himself from Bethlehem in Judah.

When there was no king in Israel: This story took place even earlier than the story of Micah, the silver image and the pagan Levite priest. It represents one of the most infamous outrages against the LORD which is recorded in Scripture.

The theme of the Book of Judges begins this chapter: "There was no king in Israel." Once again, the city of Bethlehem in Judah is mentioned immediately after these words, again reminding us of King David and Messiah's birthplace of Bethlehem. There was no law and order because there was no central authority. Although this sojourning Levite who lived in the hills of Ephraim sounds a lot like our previous story, it is not that same man. However, it does illustrate that Micah hiring a Levite was not an isolated instance. It had become common practice for Levites to seek position and advancement wherever it could be found.

The setup is that this anonymous Levite was living in the northern area of Ephraim. He had taken a concubine whose family was in Bethlehem of Judah. This means the girl was not a Levite but from the tribe of Judah.


2. (Judges 19:2-4) The Levite reconciles with his concubine
But his concubine played the harlot against him, and she went away from him to her father's house in Bethlehem in Judah, and was there for a period of four months. Then her husband arose and went after her to speak tenderly to her in order to bring her back, taking with him his servant and a pair of donkeys. So he brought him into her father's house, and when the girl's father saw him, he was glad to meet him. His father-in-law, the girl's father, detained him; and he remained with him three days. So they ate and drank and lodged there.

But his concubine played the harlot against him, and she went away from him to her father's house: At some point, there was a serious problem. The woman left the Levite and went back to her father's home. Verse two explains the nature of the problem, or does it? Many translations say the concubine was unfaithful to her Levite husband. Some translations are so bold as to say she played the harlot or acted like a whore. If one looks at the Hebrew, it is absolutely correct to say the woman acted in a whore like fashion because the Hebrew word used to describe her was that she was a zonah, which means prostitute. Some manuscripts state the woman behaved zonah, which means she acted in an unfaithful manner.

However, other translations will say she was angry with her husband and left him. These are equally good translations because they are drawn from the ancient Aramaic texts and also from the Greek Septuagint. These speak of anger and NOT unfaithfulness or sexual immorality. The general consensus from Rabbis is that the Levite and his concubine had an argument of some kind, but in no way was she unfaithful to the Levite. The logic for this reasoning is that by both the Mosaic Law and the customs and traditions of that era, a concubine or wife who had an adulterous affair was to be executed. There is no hint in this story that the concubine was in any danger of being harmed.

Remember from previous discussion that a concubine (pilegesh in Hebrew) was like a second class wife. It is common for the Bible to refer to the man as her husband. Simply speaking, the difference between a concubine and a wife was that the wife had more rights and had a marriage contract. But, the concubines were not slaves. They could not be mistreated. They had to be treated like a legal wife. Concubines were not playful sex toys or mistresses.

Then her husband arose and went after her to speak tenderly to her in order to bring her back: In verse three, we see that her husband was concerned enough for his concubine that after four months, he took a substantial journey from the northern hill country of Ephraim down to Bethlehem in Judah to try to win her back. He brought a house servant with him (undoubtedly for protection as traveling alone in those days was dangerous) and two donkeys. One donkey was for the concubine to ride on her journey back with the Levite. Although not stated in the text, the Levite brought gifts for the concubine and her father.

So she brought him into her father's house: The concubine brings her husband into her father's house. This is significant because it shows us that whatever caused the split-up, it was not irreconcilable. It also says that her father was glad to meet him. Translation: the concubine's husband was very relieved that his daughter would be going back with her husband. It is not as though the concubine's father wanted to get rid of her; rather, it was very dishonorable for a family to have a girl get married (or become a concubine) and then become separated from her husband. If the separation became an outright divorce, it brought shame upon the whole family regardless of the reason or who might be to blame. Her father probably had been extremely concerned about the status of his daughter's marriage.


3. (Judges 19:5-10) The father of the concubine extends the visit with a traditionally generous show of hospitality
Now on the fourth day they got up early in the morning, and she prepared to go; and the girl's father said to his son-in-law, "Sustain yourself with a piece of bread, and afterward you may go." So both of them sat down and ate and drank together; and the girl's father said to the man, "Please be willing to spend the night, and let your heart be merry." Then the man arose to go, but his father-in-law urged him so that he spent the night there again. On the fifth day he arose to go, but his father-in-law urged him so that he spent the night there again. On the fifth day he arose to go early in the morning, and the girl's father said, "Please sustain yourself, and wait until afternoon"; so both of them ate. When the man arose to go along with his concubine and servant, his father-in-law, the girl's father, said to him, "Behold now, the day has drawn to a close; please spend the night. Lo, the day is coming to an end; spend the night here that your heart may be merry. Then tomorrow you may arise early for your journey so that you may go home." But the man was not willing to spend the night, so he arose and departed and came to a place opposite Jebus (that is Jerusalem). And there were with him a pair of saddled donkeys; his concubine also was with him.       

Now on the fourth day they got up early in the morning: On the fourth day after the Levite's arrival, he was ready to leave. But the father-in-law wanted the Levite to stay longer. Likely, this was a simple matter of Middle Eastern hospitality. Visitors were rare and proper protocol required making the most out of your time together. The father-in-law pressed on the Levite to stay. The Levite agreed.

On the fifth day he arose to go early in the morning: On the fifth day, the same situation happened. The father wanted the Levite to stay. But, in the afternoon, the Levite, his servant and his concubine leave. The route they take brings them near Jebus. Jebus was the name of the city which eventually would be renamed Jerusalem. Jebus was about six miles from Bethlehem, around a 2-hour walk. The people who founded and controlled the city were called Jebusites. They were just another group of Canaanites.


4. (Judges 19:11-15) Returning home, the Levite and the concubine decide to spend the night in Gibeah
When they were near Jebus, the day was almost gone; and the servant said to his master, "Please come, and let us turn aside into this city of the Jebusites and spend the night in it." However, his master said to him, "We will not turn aside into the city of foreigners who are not of the sons of Israel; but we will go on as far as Gibeah." He said to his servant, "Come and let us approach one of these places; and we will spend the night in Gibeah or Ramah." So they passed along and went their way, and the sun set on them near Gibeah which belongs to Benjamin. They turned aside there in order to enter and lodge in Gibeah. When they entered, they sat down in the open square of the city for no one took them into his house to spend the night.

When they were near Jebus, the day was almost gone: Since it was getting close to sundown, the servant suggested that they spend the night inside the massive defensive walls of Jebus, but the Levite refused. Jebus was a non-Israelite city. Instead, the Levite wanted to travel a little farther and stay in a village or city that was occupied by the Hebrews--perhaps Gibeah or Ramah.

The sun set on them near Gibeah which belongs to Benjamin: The trio only made it as far as Gibeah by the time the sun was setting and darkness was upon them. So they stopped in Gibeah, a city in which the Israelite tribe of Benjamin inhabited.

When they entered, they sat sown in the open square of the city for no one took them into his house to spend the night: Verse 15 explains that they went inside the city and sat down at what we would call the city square. This would be just inside the city gate. By doing this, they would make themselves noticeable to the city's residents as they passed in and out. There is a hint of what was to come, though. No one offered the trio a place to stay for the night. This was a sacred duty in that era, and a failure of the local residents to offer rest and sustenance to a traveler (especially one who obviously had the means to feed himself and his animals) was a sign that these people were of poor character.


5. (Judges 19:16-21) Finally, a fellow Ephraimite finds them and extends hospitality
Then behold, an old man was coming out of the field from his work at evening. Now the man was from the hill country of Ephraim, and he was staying in Gibeah, but the men of the place were Benjamites. And he lifted up his eyes and saw the traveler in the open square of the city; and the old man said, "Where are you going, and where do you come from?" He said to him, "We are passing from Bethlehem in Judah to the remote part of the hill country of Ephraim, for I am from there, and I went to Bethlehem in Judah. But I am now going to my house, and no man will take me into his house. Yet there is both straw and fodder for our donkeys, and also bread and wine for me, your maidservant and the young man who is with your servants; there is no lack of anything." The old man said, "Peace to you. Only let me take care of all your needs; however, do not spend the night in the open square." So he took him into his house and gave the donkeys fodder, and they washed their feet and ate and drank.

Then behold, an old man was coming out of the field from his work at evening: At dark, an old man came through the city gates. He had been working out in the fields which surrounded Gibeah. Coincidentally, this old man was from the same area that the Levite was. The old man also was not a permanent resident of Gibeah nor was he from the tribe of Benjamin. The old man did not share the morals of Gibeah is evident in that he does the right thing and offers to take the Levite, his concubine and his servant into his dwelling place for the night.

The old man said, "Where are you going, and where do you come from: In verse 17, the old man inquires about the Levite and asks the logical questions, "Where are you going and where are you from?" The Levite is truthful and explains where he is from and that he is returning there. But the latter part of the answer is puzzling. He says he is going to the house of God, more accurately translated Bethel in verse 18. But what does this mean that he is going to the house of God? Almost certainly, he was merely saying that he was going home by way of Shiloh. Shiloh was the current location of the Wilderness Tabernacle. The young man was a Levite. So it would be logical if he had an opportunity to visit the Tabernacle, the home of the priesthood, he would do so. He would go there and offer a sacrifice. But there is another implication in this scene. Some Jewish scholars point out that this Levite traveler was probably recognizable as a Levite.

The Levites had for some reason quickly developed a dialect or accent (as we saw played a role in our previous story) that was different enough from the other Hebrews that it helped to identify them. The Levite may have also worn garments or some ritual object of clothing that marked him as a Levite. In any case, the most likely reason the town of Gibeah would not offer him hospitality was that they did not want anything to do with the Priestly Tribe. They may have been Israelites, but their hearts were far from God.

Yet there is both straw and fodder for your donkeys, and also bread and wine for me, your maidservant and the young man who is with your servants: The Levite explained to the old man that even though they would be no burden on anyone (because they all carried their own provisions with them), the townspeople refused to offer them shelter. The old man says to come and stay with him. But he warns them not to stay out in the city square at night. This matter of avoiding bedding down in the city square, which would have been lawful and safe under most circumstances, had little to do with discomfort. Rather, it was a dire warning from someone who knew these townspeople well.

Judges Chapter 18 Part Two (Verses 14-31)

B. The tribe of Dan adopts Micah's idolatry

1. (Judges 18:14-18) On their way to Laish, the army of 600 men take Micah's shrine for themselves
Then the five men who went to spy out the country of Laish said to their kinsmen, "Do you know that there are in these houses an ephod and household idols and a graven image and a molten image? Now therefore, consider what you should do." They turned aside there and came to the house of the young man, the Levite, to the house of Micah, and asked him of his welfare. The six hundred men armed with their weapons of war, who were the sons of Dan, stood by the entrance of the gate. Now the five men who went to spy out the land went up and entered there, and took the graven image and the ephod and household idols and the molten image, while the priest stood by the entrance of the gate with the six hundred men armed with weapons of war. When these went into Micah's house and took the graven image, the ephod and household idols and the molten image, the priest said to them, "What are your doing?"

Then the five men who went to spy out the country of Laish: The five scouts intentionally brought the camp of Dan along this route because they knew they needed gods and images to worship at their new tribal home in Laish. Also, Micah had a Levite priest presiding over the worship center. It would be so easy to stop along the way and take along these essential goods.

Teraphim: In addition to the silver image of God in Micah's house, there were also teraphim. Teraphim were other household gods which served all sorts of purposes, including acting much like the Urim and Thummim. The Urim and Thummin gave yes and no answers to questions directed at God (or in this case, they gave "answers" for the pagan gods). Teraphim were strictly pagan items. They were outlawed by the Law of Moses, but Micah and the Levite used them as part of their worship service. 

In these houses: Notice the term "houses" is used in verse 14 instead of the singular word "house". The Hebrew word is bayith and it is written in the plural. This means that the private sanctuary of Micah was a separate building from his living quarters. This indicates Micah's family was very well off.

Here again, we see how the Israelite tribes have gone so quickly away from God. Do you think any of the players in this story thought of themselves as purposely doing something against God? Do you think they thought of themselves as intentionally doing something wicked in the LORD'S eyes but did it anyway? Not at all. The characters in this story were following common doctrines and practices everyone did. No one questioned anything, no one including a Levite. They did not bother to check with Scripture. I suspect they did it because they either firmly believed what they were doing would be authorized by God, or they preferred to remain ignorant and not have to deal with having to justify their wrong thinking and actions with truth.

Many Christians believe the Bible says that God helps those who help themselves, that the Bible says drinking alcohol is prohibited, or that the Jews were required to ritually wash before eating, or that being in debt is a sin. The list could go on and on. In fact, the Bible says no such things. They are just long held erroneous beliefs which are so embedded in Christians culture that I don't think anything short of Jesus returning will ever get these false beliefs out of the church. 

We are also guilty of imitating those who we consider to be righteous or pious. Those we believe "ought to know" the Bible. We just emulate their actions and think and believe what we are doing is divine truth.

Micah, the Levite and the leaders of Dan were not given any slack by God because it seems they did not know any better. They were given a means to know what God commanded. They were given the Torah, but they were not interested in inquiring of it. We can never know all the divine consequences for a modern Christian that has the means to find out the truth at his fingertips, with no danger of persecution for it, but prefers to rely on tradition, customs and what people tell them. I am certain there is an eternal cost as well as an earthly cost.


2. (Judges 18:19-21) The Levite goes with the army from the tribe of Dan
They said to him, "Be silent, put your hand over your mouth and come with us, and be to us a father and a priest. Is it better for you to be a priest to the house of one man, or to be priest to a tribe and a family in Israel?" The priest's heart was glad, and he took the ephod and household idols and the graven image and went among the people. Then they turned and departed, and put the little ones and the livestock and the valuables in front of them. 

They said to him, "Be silent, put your hand over your mouth and come with us: The five scouts decided to steal Micah's idol and take the Levite to be their own priest. Micah's priest was not kidnapped. He was offered a bigger and more prestigious job. The Levite would be a priest over an entire city and tribe. Currently, he was only a priest for a single family. It was an offer too tempting to not accept.


3. (Judges 18:22-24) Micah's foolish idolatry comes to nothing
When they had gone some distance from the house of Micah, the men who were in the houses near Micah's house assembled and overtook the sons of Dan. They cried to the sons of Dan, who turned around and said to Micah, "What is the matter with you, that you have assembled together?" He said, "You have taken away my gods which I made, and the priest, and have gone away, and what do I have besides? So how can you say to me, 'What is the matter with you?'"

When they had gone some distance from the house of Micah, the men who were in the houses near Micah's house assembled and overtook the sons of Dan: When Micah discovers his idols and priest are gone, he rallies his friends and neighbors to go after the Danites. Micah and the Danites have a few words. Micah is clearly very upset by the whole situation. The idol to God is worth 200 pieces of silver--that is quite a large sum of money.


4. (Judges 18:25-26) The army of the tribe of Dan refuses to give Micah his god back; so Micah goes home empty-handed
The sons of Dan said to him, "Do not let your voice be heard among us, or else fierce man will fall upon you and you will lose your life, with the lives of your household." So the sons of Dan went on their way; and when Micah saw that they were too strong for him, he turned and went back to his house. 

The sons of Dan said to him, "Do not let your voice be heard": Since Dan had 600 men who were ready to fight, and it seemed they were ready and able to do so; the Danites threatened Micah and his posse with death if they did not drop the subject about wanting their idols and ritual implements back. Micah and his men knew they were far out numbered. They decided to go let the Danites go. Micah and his contingent return home empty-handed. 


5. (Judges 18:27-29) The army from the tribe of Dan conquers the city of Laish and rename it Dan
Then they took what Micah had made and the priest who had belonged to him, and came to Laish, to a people quiet and secure, and struck them with the edge of the sword; and they burned the city with fire. And there was no one to deliver them, because it was far from Sidon, and they had no dealings with anyone, and it was in the valley which is near Beth-rehob. And they rebuilt the city and lived in it. They called the name of the city Dan, after the name of Dan their father who was born in Israel; however, the name of the city formerly was Laish. 

Verses 27-29 summarize the events of the Danites. They took the idols and Micah's priest, continued to Laish. They easily conquered the city. No one came to the aid of the city of Laish. The attack was a success. The city of Laish was renamed Dan after their forefather, as was customary.


6. (Judges 18:30-31) The tribe of Dan officially adopts the idolatry that began with Micah
The sons of Dan set up for themselves the graven image; and Jonathan, the sons of Gershom, the son of Manasseh, he and his sons were priests to the tribes of the Danites until the day of the captivity of the land. So they set up for themselves Micah's graven image which he had made, all the time that the house of God was at Shiloh.  

The sons of Dan set up for themselves the graven image: The Danites set up the silver image they had stolen from Micah and began their cult worship with the young Levite presiding over it.

Earlier in the study, I told you that the Levite was not a real God-authorized priest because he was not from the proper priestly line (sons of Aaron) of the tribe of Levi.

Jonathan, the son of Gershom: In verse 30, we are told this young Levite is named Jonathan. He is of the clan of Gershom. Gershom was a clan of regular Levites. Only those from the clan of Aaron could be priests. But there is also a confusing reference to Manasseh continued within the Levite's identity. Manasseh is in no way connected to the tribe of Levi. (Manasseh was the son of Joseph.) So why is there this confusion?

There is a translation error which is somewhat intentional. The consonants which form the name of Jonathan's family line translated in many Bibles was Manasseh are mem-shin-heh. These are the same consonants which form the name Moses. (Remember the original Hebrew script only uses consonants and no vowels.)

However, what we actually find is that a tiny nun was written between the mem and the shin in some ancient texts. This would create the word Manasseh (mem-nun-shin-heh). The nun did not belong there; it was added at some later date by an editor who did not want to corrupt the text, but in a strange way of thinking by making the letter nun tiny and placing it above the other letters, it allowed the reader to choose to say Moses or Manasseh.

Why would they do that? Well, if left alone, the text would say Jonathan was of the clan of Gershom, son of Moses. By adding the nun, it says Jonathan was of the clan of Gershom, but Gershom was the son of Manasseh.

Bottom line: whoever edited the oldest Hebrew Scriptures we currently have felt it was disrespectful to link Moses and this Levite who served as a pagan priest. Since Manasseh was known to be idolatrous, it was better to assign this corrupt priest to Manasseh's family line instead of sullying Moses' family tree.

Interesting, the Greek Septuagint (written about 250 years before Jesus) did not offer this option. They more accurately say Jonathan was indeed a descendant of Moses. This is not the only place this kind of thing happens in the Bible. There are other places small changes are made to keep the text more palatable.

Micah's image and the house of God at Shiloh: The chapter ends with an interesting reference to Micah's idol being used by the tribe of Dan as long as the house of God was in Shiloh. Shiloh was where the Wilderness Tabernacle (called generically the house of God) was erected and semi-permanently located when Israel entered the Promised Land. It was there where the official priesthood operated. Almost immediately after the death of Joshua, every element of Hebrew society began backsliding at an alarming rate. Thus the resounding and repeated underlying premise for the entire Book of Judges, "There was no king in Israel, so every man did what was right in his own eyes."

Judges Chapter 18 Part One (Verses 1-13)

MICAH'S IDOLATRY AND THE MIGRATION OF THE TRIBE OF DAN

A. Dan spies out Laish

1. (Judges 18:1-2) The tribe of Dan sends spies to look for land to take among the people of Israel
In those days there was no king of Israel; and in those days the tribe of the Danite was seeking an inheritance for themselves to live in, for until that day an inheritance had not been allotted to them as a possession among the tribes of Israel. So the sons of Dan sent from their family five men out of their whole number, valiant men from Zorah and Eshtaol, to spy out the land and to search it; and they said to them, "Go, search the land." And they came to the hill country of Ephraim, to the house of Micah, and lodged there.

In those days there was no king of Israel: As we begin chapter 18, here again are the same words, reminding us that Israel had no king. We should not just read these words at face value. This is not just an editor reminding his reader that from a purely factual standpoint, Israel did not have a king at this time. (This was common knowledge. Words in the Bible are precious. They need not be wasted here on trivial information.) Rather, the point is to explain WHY things were about to occur. It is to explain that without a king, without a person of strong authority over them, men will do as they please. Israel was in a state of spiritual anarchy and the only restraint they placed upon themselves since there was no strong or central human authority over them were mostly man-made philosophies. These were beliefs and behaviors in which most nations of that era considered "moral".

Time Frame
The time frame of this chapter is placed very early in Dan's migration from central Canaan to the north near the Lebanese border. Thus, this story occurred a couple hundred years before the days of Samson. And this continues to explain why Samson, who was from the tribe of Dan, did not live in his own tribal territory but rather inside the border of the territory of Judah, even though the village he lived in consisted of Danites.

Although the land of Israel was divided into twelve territories, one for each of the sons of Israel, not everyone in the territory of Judah were members of the tribe of Judah. The same thing was true for all territories. In the territory of Asher, there were people from various clans living in that region, not just the descendants of the tribe of Asher. Individuals, families and clans moved into various territories for all kinds of reasons. There was no law of God which prohibited this. Generally speaking, it was allowed and happened regularly as long as the family or clan was no bother to the tribal prince.

An inheritance had not been allotted to them for a possession among the tribes of Israel: In verse one we are told the reason Dan was on the move was that they had not been given any territory of their own among the tribes of Israel. That is a strange statement which is troubling and contradictory because the other tribes were in place. Before Israel even entered the Promised Land, each tribe was given a territory by Moses. Later, Joshua set the boundaries (the size) of each of these territorial allotments. We are now at a time in which Joshua had died.

However, it is one thing to be assigned a territory, and it is another thing to be able to wrestle it away from the Canaanites who held it. Recall that while on the surface this allotted territory seemed like a modern day lottery (we buy a ticket and if our number is selected we simply show up for the prize), that is not at all what was in store for Israel. The land lottery served two purposes. One was to divide up the land so that the tribes would not be constantly squabbling over who should live there. The second purpose was to give responsibility to each tribe to deal with the Canaanites residing within the assigned area. In other words, each tribe was given a portion of Canaan, and it was their duty to eject the Canaanites from it.

The consequence for NOT doing what they were supposed to do was the tribe lost some or all of their assigned territory. Dan was up against the Philistines, who proved to be the toughest enemy Israel would face over the course of time. Dan finally threw in te towel and moved away from their allotted territory. They decided to move to a territory whicch had not been assigned to any other Israelite tribe. Dan's view was that they "had not been given" territory. To the Danites, this probably meant from a spiritual viewpoint, God had not vanquished the Philistines ahead of Dan's army and thus the conclusion was that God had not given the territory over to the Danites. (This would have been a typical ancient thought pattern regardless of what culture was involved or god worshiped.)

So the sons of Dan sent from their family five men out of their whole number, valiant men from Zorah and Eshtaol: Five men were sent out as scouts to look over some territory to the north which the leaders of Dan thought might be a good place to settle. The five men were from Zorah and Eshtaol. These were the only two cities the tribe of Dan controlled at the time. And even then they were on the border lands of Judah and were most likely actually within Judah's tribal territory allotment. No doubt Judah, a very dominant and powerful tribe at the time, was gracious to allow the small and weak tribe of Dan a little room in their territory to call their own.

It seems as though the tribe of Dan was not satisfied with the current state of affairs and sought to find another place for their people to call their own. As the five scouts moved north, they arrived in the hill country of Ephraim where Micah lived. The spies sought out hospitality on their journey. This led to some longer term consequences.


2. (Judges 18:3-6) The Danites meet with Micah's Levite
When they were near the house of Micah, they recognized the voice of the young man, the Levite; and they turned aside there and said to him, "Who brought you here? And what are you doing in this place? And what do you have here?" He said to them, "Thus and so has Micah done to me, and he has hired me and I have become his priest." They said to him, "Inquire of God, please, that we may know whether our way on which we are going will be prosperous." The priest said to them, "Go in peace; your way in which you are going has the LORD'S approval."  

When they were near the house of Micah: As the men from Dan were relaxing at Micah's house (with Micah's blessing of course), they met Micah's young private priest. They immediately noticed the priest has a different accent. It would have been a different accent from what Micah and the rest of the people living in Ephraim had. Immediately, they wondered what the priest was doing at Micah's house.

As we read this story, it is incredible to think that accents and dialects has already developed within Israel. The accents and dialects were very distinct for each tribe and region of Israel.

Most Rabbis think since it is not recorded, the Danite's already knew the name of the Levite because it is not recorded they asked for his name. This most likely was due to the priest having already stopped off in Eshtaol or Zorah before he traveled to Ephraim. (Remember this priest wanted to practice pagan religion. The Danites were very intertwined with the Philistines and freely practiced paganism.) The men from Dan probably knew the priest well enough for his voice to be recognizable.

Who brought you here, what are you doing in this place, what do you have here: The Danites were a little surprised to find the priest at Micah's house. So they ask him three questions. These are reasonable questions which would come up in normal conversation. The Levite obliges and answers the questions. He says Micah hired him and pays him a wage. The Levite acts as a priest to Micah.

They said to him, "Inquire of God": The Danites immediately revert to typical superstitions of the pagans and ask the Levite to divine the future. They want to know how their scouting expedition will turn out. The priest tells them what they want to hear--the LORD will be with them.

Everything was quite satisfactory and normal; they stayed (probably just overnight). They ate and then continued their northward journey until they arrived at a place called Laish.


3. (Judges 18:7-10) The Danites choose a city for expansion: Laish
Then the five men departed and came to Laish and saw the people who were in it living in security, after the manner of the Sidonians, quiet and secure; for there was no ruler humiliating them for anything in the land, and they were far from the Sidonians and has no dealings with anyone. When they came back to their brothers at Zorah and Eshtaol, their brother said to them, "What do you report?" They said, "Arise, and let us go up against them; for we have seen the land, and behold, it is very good. And will you sit still? Do not delay to go, to enter, to possess the land. When you enter, you will come to a secure people with a spacious land; for God has given it into your hand, a place where there is no lack of anything that is on the earth."

Laish: Laish was a tranquil city full of content and peaceful people. The residents probably were originally citizens of Sidon, who moved for some unknown reason. But, they probably moved like the folks of the USA who moved west in covered wagons to find a better life and settle the wild outdoors.

For there was no ruler humiliating them for anything in the land: The comment about there was no one exercising authority over them meant there was not a king or other sovereign who would bring shame to the people and exact taxes from them. The citizens of Laish were fully independent, and no one was ruling over them.

Apparently, the citizens of Laish were from Sidon, but the people of Laish did not have an alliance with Sidon nor were they considered an official outpost of Sidon. Thus, even if the nation of Sidon had some sympathy and attachment to the people of Laish, they were too far away and would not be able to be rescued if they needed to be. This was the perfect situation for Dan. The location was well watered, fertile and substantial in size. It was far from anyone who might try to rule over the place. The place is simply ideal. It is at the headwaters of one of the sources of the Jordan River. It is rich in trees.  

The scouts from Dan must have thought they had found paradise. All they had to do is gather the people of Dan, attack and take it from an unsuspecting and unprepared people who seemed to have no allies to help them.

When they came back to their brothers at Zorah and Eshtaol: The scouts from Dan returned back to their land. They reported their great discovery and urged the leadership to move to Laish at once.

For God has given it into your hand: In verse 10, the Danite scouts assumed the God of Israel had given them Laish and arranged for its taking from a people who would offer little resistance. This seems to be the same mindset as when Micah asked the Levite to be his priest. They both assumed God was blessing their actions. However, both groups were acting on superstitions and not God. It was the oracle from the Levite telling the scouts that their mission would be blessed by God, and it would be successful. These were only empty words which helped confirm what the hearers wanted to hear.

4. (Judges 18:11-13) They assemble an army of 600 to take possession of Laish

Then from the family of the Danites, from Zorah and from Eshtaol, six hundred men armed with weapons of war set out. They went up and camped at Kiriath-jearim in Judah. Therefore they called that place Mahaneh-dan to this day; behold, it is west of Kiriath-jearim. They passed from there to the hill country of Ephraim and came to the house of Micah. 

Six hundred men armed with weapons of war set out: Verse 11 describes the military force the tribe of Dan sent to Laish. It was a very small size, only 600 soldiers. This tells us how little regard Dan had for the military capability of Laish. This was not the total size of Dan. It was only the amount of men who would be used to protect the Danite migrants and attack the city of Laish. Accompanied by their own women and children, they set off for Laish.


Kiriath-jearim: They stopped at a place in the territory of Judah called Kiriath-Jearim, which was subsequently called Mahaneh-dan. This merely means "the camp of Dan". From here, they went along a path which took them into the hills of Ephraim and right passed Micah's house. But it was not his hospitality they were seeking this time.

Judges Chapter 17 Part Two (Verses 6-13)

B. Micah hires an unscrupulous Levite

1. (Judges 17:6-8) An opportunistic Levite looking for employment
In those days there was no king in Israel; every man did what was right in his own eyes. Now there was a young man from Bethlehem in Judah, of the family of Judah, who was a Levitie; and he was staying there. Then the man departed from the city, from Bethlehem in Judah, to stay wherever he might find a place; and as he made his journey, he came to the hill country of Ephraim to the house of Micah. 

In those days there was no king in Israel: These classic words signal to us the need Israel has for a king. As we see these words repeated throughout chapters 17 through 21, please be mindful of the words which immediately follow: Now there was a young man from Bethlehem. The text talks about a king and in the next phrase Bethlehem is mentioned. King David, a man after God's own heart, was from Bethlehem. Jesus, the ultimate king, was born in Bethlehem. Bethlehem is the city prophesized where the Messiah was arise from: "But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, from the days of eternity" (Micah 5:2).

Things were back to normal at Micah's house. His mother lifted the curse against her son, and their home sanctuary was operating with the new silver image of God at its center. 

Now there was a young man from Bethlehem in Judah: A traveler shows up at Micah's house. He is a young man from the territory of Judah, but he is a Levite. While there may be some small doubts, it is very likely this man was a full Levite. He was probably only sojourning in Bethlehem in the territory of Judah. he was probably living with a family of Judahites.

He know from Scripture, the tribe of Levite was given 48 cities evenly distributed across the 12 territories as a place for them to live and carry out religious duties. However, Bethlehem was NOT one of those cities. The extended reference to the city as Bethlehem of Judah is necessary because there were several Bethlehem's scattered around the Promised land. This is the one we are most familiar with--the birthplace of David and Jesus.

Then the man departed from the city: This young Levite was but a temporary resident of Bethlehem. This indicates the sad state of the priestly tribe at this time. They were not being supported by the 12 tribes as they should have been and many of them left their designated cities and sought to make a living elsewhere. But the Levites were equally at fault because they were filled with apostasy and self-interest which trumped their calling and duty to serve on the God of Israel. While it cannot be stated with absolute certainty, there is really only one compelling reason for this one Levite to leave Bethlehem: this young man could not practice an idolatrous form of religion there, and he sought for a place where he could. Judah was perhaps the one territory and tribe who at least gave a concerted effort to stay near to the ways of the LORD. While by no means was it perfect, nor did every clan or family from Judah feel the same was about it, but we will see throughout the next several books of the Bible that of the 12 tribes, Judah was the least tempted into syncretism. Judah was the last to be conquered by foreigners as a consequence for their rebellion against God.

There was a division of loyalties between Judah and Ephraim. Both of them were the lead and dominant tribes. This began very early on, almost as soon as the territory was divided up and allotted. We do not see a final falling out between the two until shortly after King Solomon's death around 925 B.BC., which is about 400 years after Joshua's life. But it was always inevitable that this hostile separation would occur.

Thus we see this young Levite leaves Judah and goes to the hills of Ephraim, a place he knew was more receptive to his personal agenda and beliefs. This traveler would have stayed in several homes during his journey, and undoubtedly some family finally directed him to Micah's home. Staying in people's homes was a customary hospitality to travelers in those days. It was only in the largest cities that there would be rooms for rent.


2. (Judges 17:9-11) Micah hires the Levite
Micah said to him, "Where do you come from?" And he said to him, "I am a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah, and I am going to stay wherever I may find a place." Micah then said to him, "Dwell with me and be a father and a priest to me, and I will give you ten pieces of silver a year, a suit of clothes, and your maintenance." So the Levite went in. The Levite agreed to live with the man, and the young man became to him like one of his sons.

Micah said to him, "Where do you come from?": Upon arriving at Micah's residence, Micah discovers that this young man is a Levite. The young man says he is looking for a place to settle down.

Micah then said to him, "Dwell with me and be a father and a priest to me": Micah offers this young man employment. Micah tells the Levite to be a father and priest. The part about being a father has nothing to do with the young man taking on the role as an elder or parent. Rather, it is simply the term av or avva. This can mean a father in the sense we typically think of or it can be a term of respect for the wisdom of someone such as a spiritual advisor--this is the case here.

It seems Micah was looking to fire his sons and replace him with a priest of more statue.

There is absolutely nothing right about what Micah or this Levite was doing. Although all priest are Levites, not all Levites are priests. Only from the clan of Aaron (one of the three main sub-divisions of the tribe of Levi) could one rightfully be a priest. Thus we will see the use of the terms Levite and priest in the Bible, and they denote two different duties, lineages and status levels. This young man was NOT of the line of Aaron, but he was only a Levite. (This will become clear in chapter 18.)


3. (Judges 17:12-13) A false consecration and a false confidence
So Micah consecrated the Levite, and the young man became his priest and lived in the house of Micah. Then Micah said, "Now I know that the LORD will prosper me, seeing I have a Levite as priest."

So Micah consecrated the Levite: Under some strange veil of authority, we are told in verse 12 that Micah consecrated the Levite to become a priest. Micah carried no such authority to consecrate priests.

One thing we need to remember, while in Egypt, Israel generally operated in the way we read about here concerning Micah. It was standard operating procedure for the father to more or less be the family priest, a duty that he passed along to his firstborn son. Before Mount Sinai during the exodus, Israel had no priesthood. But all religions of that day revolved around priests and rituals. So every Hebrew family had their own private family priest, and the rituals they performed took place in the home. They consisted of whatever the preferred within some hazy set of cultural traditions.

We also read from the end of the Book of Exodus onward that there was a real and ongoing power struggle within the Moses-led Hebrews to give up this standard family tradition and instead turn over all priestly duties over to one clan within one tribe, that is the clan of Aaron within the tribe of Levi. 

This was at the bottom of the rebellion part of teh rebellion which Korah led, when so many Israelites died as the leaders of the clans who did not like this new reality came to the Wilderness Tabernacle with their fire pans, only to be burned up by the anger of God. Then their families were killed as the earth opened up beneath them (Numbers 16). The Israelite fathers and firstborns generally did not like the requirement of the Torah to give up that position of honor (that of being the family priest). While apparently most complied, some did not. Thus once Moses and Joshua died, many Israelites simply turned back to the old ways, which were more closely aligned with their Canaanite neighbors. That is what we are seeing here with Micah and his private house of God, which is now to be officiated by a Levite.

Then Micah said, "Now I know the LORD will prosper me, seeing I have a Levite as a priest.": Verse 13 is not a divine reality. It is an ancient superstition that once Micah had a Levite to be a priest, God would bless him. Micah now thought God was obligated to grant special blessings on him and his household simple because he had hired a Levite to become his private priest for his family sanctuary. This belief was not biblical faith. It was a man-made doctrine. It was a well accepted and popular doctrine.

This is an example of false statements and lies made by men. We find many situations and characters in the Bible who tell lies, operate on false assumptions or rationalize their poor behavior. A classic one is the story of Balaam the sorcerer who says al kinds of things about how God must operate, but he is wrong. King David was infamous for rationalizing away some of his darkest moments. These words of Micah about how God would not especially bless him are another. God does not bless us for breaking His commandments or perverting His rituals and observances despite our sincerity.

The recorded scriptural word uttered by God or His designated prophets and messengers are factual and accurate and represent truth. But many of the words as spoken by ordinary men (although recorded accurately in the Bible) are words that do NOT reflect divine truth or Godly principle. Most of these cases are obvious, but some fly over our heads if we do not diligently study the Word of God to establish a firm foundation for out understanding. The Bible is 100% accurate, but it is full of statement and actions of men who are in error.