Judges 17

After the account of the judges' activity closes with the story of Samson, chapter 17 of Judges begins the first of two narratives appended to the end of the book (chapters 17–21). No judge appears in either narrative. The story of Micah's shrine continues in Judges 18 with the account of the migration of the tribe of Dan.

Outline

• Verses 1–4: Micah confesses to his mother that he took the eleven hundred shekels of silver she had lost, and he returns it. His mother declares that she dedicates the silver to the LORD, yet she gives two hundred shekels of it to a silversmith (a craftsman who works in silver) to make an idol.
• Verses 5–6: Micah furnishes his shrine with an ephod and teraphim (household idols) and consecrates one of his sons as priest. The text observes that there was no king in Israel and that every man did what was right in his own eyes.
• Verses 7–13: A young Levite who had been sojourning in Bethlehem comes to Micah's house while looking for a place to live. Micah agrees to give him ten shekels of silver a year, a suit of apparel, and his food, and makes him his priest. Micah then declares that the LORD will now bless him.

Key Verses

• Judges 17:6 "Every man did that which was right in his own eyes" — an assessment repeated throughout chapters 17–21; nearly identical words appear in the book's final verse, Judges 21:25.
• Judges 17:13 "Now know I that the LORD will do me good" — reveals Micah's belief that merely having a Levite in his household would secure blessing.

People and Places

• Micah: A man of the hill country of Ephraim. He is not the same person as the prophet Micah.
• Micah's mother: She declares that she dedicates the silver to the LORD, yet has an idol made from it.
• The young Levite: A Levite who had been sojourning in Bethlehem of Judah. He is identified by name as Jonathan in Judges 18:30.
• The hill country of Ephraim: The mountainous region of central Israel where Micah's house was located.

Interpretive Considerations

Making an idol while invoking the name of the LORD conflicts with the second commandment of the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:4). Because the Law entrusted the priesthood to the descendants of Aaron (Numbers 3:10), Micah's private appointment of his own son, and then of a Levite, as priest is likewise seen as problematic. Some hold that the events of this narrative belong chronologically to the early part of the period of the judges. The assessment "there was no king" is read by some as pointing to the need for a monarchy and by others as a rebuke of the people for failing to honor God as their King. In Christian tradition, this assessment is also read in connection with the hope for the true King, Jesus Christ.

In the Korean Church

The phrase "right in his own eyes" is frequently cited in sermons warning against an age that has lost its standard of faith.