Judges 18

Judges 17–21 does not recount the deeds of individual judges (leaders who governed Israel). Instead, these chapters form an appendix that depicts the internal disorder of Israel during the period of the judges. Chapter 18 continues the story from Judges 17, in which Micah made idols and installed a young Levite as his priest.

Outline

• Verses 1–6: The tribe of Dan had not yet obtained its inheritance (allotted land), so it sent five men from Zorah and Eshtaol to scout the land. While lodging at Micah's house, they recognized the young Levite and asked him whether their journey would prosper.
• Verses 7–10: The spies saw that the people of Laish lived securely and had no neighbors to help them. They returned and urged an attack.
• Verses 11–13: Six hundred armed men encamped at Kiriath-jearim, and the place was therefore called Mahaneh-dan. They then came again to Micah's house.
• Verses 14–21: The five men took the ephod, the teraphim (household idols), the graven image, and the molten image. When urged to become a priest to a whole tribe, the Levite was glad and went with them.
• Verses 22–26: Micah and his neighbors pursued the Danites but turned back after being threatened.
• Verses 27–29: The Danites struck Laish and burned it, then rebuilt the city and named it Dan after their forefather.
• Verses 30–31: The Danites set up the graven image, and Jonathan and his descendants became their priests. The image remained in Dan all the time that the house of God was in Shiloh.

Key Verses

• Judges 18:1: "In those days there was no king in Israel." This phrase, repeated in 17:6 and 21:25, expresses the theme of the entire appendix.
• Judges 18:19: "Is it better for thee to be a priest unto the house of one man, or that thou be a priest unto a tribe and a family in Israel?" The verse shows the Levite moving on in pursuit of a better position.
• Judges 18:31: The verse sets the house of God at Shiloh alongside the image at Dan, drawing a contrast between them.

Characters and Places

• Micah: A man living in the hill country of Ephraim who made the idols. He is not the same person as the prophet Micah.
• Jonathan: A Levite whose name is first given in verse 30. He is generally identified with the young Levite of chapters 17–18.
• The Danites: One of the twelve tribes of Israel.
• Zorah and Eshtaol: The home territory of the tribe of Dan and also the setting of the Samson narrative.
• Laish: A city in the far north, renamed Dan. It is identified with Leshem in Joshua 19:47.
• Kiriath-jearim and Mahaneh-dan: The places where the Danites encamped.

Points for Reflection

• Joshua 19 records the tribe of Dan's allotment, while Judges 1:34 reports that the Danites were forced back by the Amorites. Judges 18:1 is generally read as describing a situation in which the tribe of Dan had not actually taken possession of its allotted land.
• In verse 30, "grandson of Moses" is written in the Masoretic Text with a small letter suspended above the name "Moses," so that it can also be read as "Manasseh." Jewish tradition reportedly explains this as a device to protect the honor of Moses. Accordingly, the King James Version renders the name "Manasseh," whereas the Korean Revised Version renders it "Moses."
• Some interpreters take "the day of the captivity of the land" to refer to the time when the northern kingdom of Israel was carried into exile by Assyria. Others connect it with the capture of the ark of the covenant by the Philistines (1 Samuel 4).
• Many interpreters read this chapter in connection with Jeroboam's later placing of a golden calf at Dan (1 Kings 12:29). The chapter is not directly quoted anywhere in the New Testament.