Jonathan (Grandson of Moses)

This article is not about Jonathan, the son of Saul.

Biblical Account

Jonathan's story appears in Judges 17–18. The text does not name him at first. He is initially introduced as a young Levite living in Bethlehem of Judah, and only in 18:30 is he identified as "Jonathan, the son of Gershom." Most interpreters regard this young man and Jonathan as the same person. Gershom was the son of Moses (Exodus 2:22).

Wandering in search of a place to live, the young man came to stay at the house of Micah in the hill country of Ephraim. Micah kept a private shrine furnished with an image made of silver, an ephod, and teraphim (household idols). Micah installed him as his household priest, promising him ten shekels of silver a year along with clothing and food (Judges 17:10). Micah then said, "Now know I that the LORD will do me good, seeing I have a Levite to my priest" (Judges 17:13).

Later the tribe of Dan, migrating northward in search of land, stopped at Micah's house. The Danites seized the image, the ephod, and the teraphim, and took the priest with them, asking whether it was not better to be priest to a tribe than to a single household. The text records that "the priest's heart was glad" and that he went along (Judges 18:20). The Danites struck Laish and renamed it Dan. Jonathan and his sons then served as priests to the tribe of Dan "until the day of the captivity of the land" (Judges 18:30).

Significance Within Scripture

Judges 17–18 stands under the verdict, "In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes" (Judges 17:6). The narrative is read as an illustration of the religious confusion of the period of the judges. At its heart is the fact that a Levite descended from Moses served an image forbidden by the Ten Commandments and changed his place of service according to pay and position. The shrine established at Dan is sometimes discussed together with Jeroboam's later placement of a golden calf at Dan (1 Kings 12:29). The New Testament does not mention Jonathan.

Interpretation and Issues

• "Moses" and "Manasseh": In Judges 18:30 the Masoretic Text writes one letter (nun, n) small and raised above the line within the name, so that it reads "Manasseh." Jewish tradition has explained this as a scribal measure to avoid associating the name of Moses with idolatry. As a result, translations differ in their rendering. Among Korean translations, the Korean Revised Version reads "grandson of Manasseh," while the New Korean Revised Version reads "grandson of Moses."
• The scope of "grandson": In Hebrew, "son" can refer broadly to a descendant. Opinions are therefore divided over whether Jonathan should be regarded as Moses' actual grandson or as a more distant descendant.
• "The day of the captivity": Some hold that this phrase refers to the fall of the northern kingdom of Israel to Assyria. Others connect it with "all the time that the house of God was in Shiloh" (Judges 18:31) and take it as referring to an earlier event.
• Extrabiblical tradition: Some Jewish rabbinic traditions relate that Jonathan later repented. The text of Judges, however, contains no such account.