The children of Dan sent five men of their family from their whole number, men of valor, from Zorah and from Eshtaol, to spy out the land and to search it. They said to them, “Go, explore the land!” They came to the hill country of Ephraim, to the house of Micah, and lodged there.
When they were by the house of Micah, they knew the voice of the young man the Levite; so they went over there and said to him, “Who brought you here? What do you do in this place? What do you have here?”
He said to them, “Thus and thus has Micah dealt with me, and he has hired me, and I have become his priest.”
They said to him, “Please ask counsel of God, that we may know whether our way which we go shall be prosperous.”
The priest said to them, “Go in peace. Your way in which you go is before Yahweh.”
Then the five men departed and came to Laish and saw the people who were there, how they lived in safety, in the way of the Sidonians, quiet and secure; for there was no one in the land possessing authority, that might put them to shame in anything, and they were far from the Sidonians, and had no dealings with anyone else. They came to their brothers at Zorah and Eshtaol; and their brothers asked them, “What do you say?”
They said, “Arise, and let’s go up against them; for we have seen the land, and behold, it is very good. Do you stand still? Don’t be slothful to go and to enter in to possess the land. When you go, you will come to an unsuspecting people, and the land is large; for God has given it into your hand, a place where there is no lack of anything that is in the earth.”
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv2, 3, 6, 7, 9 For the portion which Joshua gave them, was not…
For the portion which Joshua gave them, was not sufficient for all their tribe.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv2–10 Jdg 18:2 And the children of Dan sent of…
Jdg 18:2 And the children of Dan sent of their family five men from their coasts, men of valour, from Zorah, and from Eshtaol, to spy out the land, and to search it; and they said unto them, Go, search the land: who when they came to mount Ephraim, to the house of Micah, they lodged there.
Ver. 2. To the house of Micah, they lodged there.] He was a wealthy man, it seems, and gave them entertainment. But what a rich man was Pythias, who could entertain a million of men, even Xerxes’s whole army, for three days together! And yet this great rich man died a beggar, whatever Micah did.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10 Of their family; which shows that it was but…
Of their family; which shows that it was but one, though a large family, which was engaged in this expedition. Eshtaol; of which see Jos 19:41; Jdg 13:2,25.
They lodged there; not in the same house, but near it, as appears from the next verse, in a neighbouring place.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain On v7 Here is, I. The observation which the spies made…
Here is, I. The observation which the spies made upon the city of Laish, and the posture of its inhabitants, Jdg 18:7. Never was place so ill governed and so ill guarded, which would make it a very easy prey to the invader.
1. It was ill governed, for every man might be as bad as he would, and there was no magistrate, no heir of restraint (as the word is), that might so much as put them to shame in any thing, much less put them to death, so that by the most impudent immoralities they provoked God's wrath, and by all manner of mutual mischiefs weakened and consumed one another. See here, (1.) What the office of magistrates is. They are to be heirs of restraint, that is, to preserve a constant entail of power, as heirs to an inheritance, in the places where they are, for the restraining of that which is evil. They are possessors of restraint, entrusted with their authority for this end, that they may check and suppress every thing that is vicious and be a terror to evil doers. It is only God's grace that can renew men's depraved minds and turn their hearts; but the magistrate's power may restrain their bad practices and tie their hands, so that the wickedness of the wicked may not be either so injurious or so infectious as otherwise it would be. Though the sword of justice cannot cut up the root of bitterness, it may cut off its branches and hinder its growth and spreading, that vice may not go without a check, for then it becomes daring and dangerous, and the community shares in the guilt. (2.) See what method must be used for the restraint of wickedness. Sinners must be put to shame, that those who will not be restrained by the shamefulness of the sin before God and their own consciences may be restrained by the shamefulness of the punishment before men. All ways must be tried to dash sin out of countenance and cover it with contempt, to make people ashamed of their idleness, drunkenness, cheating, lying, and other sins, by making reputation always appear on virtue's side. (3.) See how miserable, and how near to ruin, those places are that either have no magistrates or none that bear the sword to any purpose; the wicked then walk on every side, Psa 12:8. And how happy we are in good laws and a good government.
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2. It was ill guarded. The people of Laish were careless, quiet, and secure, their gates left open, their walls out of repair, because under no apprehension of danger in any way, though their wickedness was so great that they had reason to fear divine vengeance every day. It was a sign that the Israelites, through their sloth and cowardice, were not now such a terror to the Canaanites as they were when they first came among them, else the city of Laish, which probably knew itself to be assigned to them, would not have been so very secure. Though they were an open and inland town, they lived secure, like the Zidonians (who were surrounded with the sea and were well fortified both by art and nature), but were far from the Zidonians, who therefore could not come in to their assistance, nor help to defend them from the danger which, by debauching their manners, they had helped to bring them into. And, lastly, they had no business with any man, which bespeaks either the idleness they affected (they followed no trade, and so grew lazy and luxurious, and utterly unable to defend themselves) or the independency they affected: they scorned to be either in subjection to or alliance with any of their neighbours, and so they had none to protect them nor bring in any aid to them. They cared for nobody and therefore nobody cared for them. Such as these were the men of Laish.
II. The encouragement which they consequently gave to their countrymen that sent them to prosecute their design upon this city, Jdg 18:8-10. Probably the Danites had formed notions of the insuperable difficulties of the enterprise, thought it impossible ever to make themselves masters of Laish, and therefore had kept themselves so long out of the possession of it, perhaps suggesting likewise to one another, in their unbelief, that it was not a country worth going so far and running such a risk for, which jealousies the spies (and they were not, in this, evil spies) had an eye to in their report. 1. They represent the place as desirable: "If you will trust our judgments, we have seen the land, and we are agreed in our verdict upon the view, that, behold, it is very good (Jdg 18:9), better than this mountainous country into which we are here crowded by the Philistines. You need not doubt of living comfortably in it, for it is a place where there is no want of any thing," Jdg 18:10. See what a good land Canaan was, that this city which lay furthest of all northward, in the utmost corner of the country, stood on such a fruitful spot. 2. They represent it as attainable. They do not at all question but, with God's blessing, they may soon get possession of it; for the people are secure, Jdg 18:10. And the more secure always the less safe. "God has given it into your hands, and you may have it for the taking." They stir them up to the undertaking: "Arise, that we may go up against them, let us go about it speedily and resolutely." They expostulate with them for their delays, and chide them out of their sluggishness: Are you still? Be not slothful to go. Men need to be thus stirred up to mind even their interest. Heaven is a very good land, where there is no want of any thing; our God has, by the promise, given it into our hands; let us not then be slothful in making it sure, and laying hold on eternal life, but strive to enter.
III. The Danites' expedition against Laish. This particular family of them, to whose lot that city fell, now at length make towards it, Jdg 18:11-13. The military men were but 600 in all, not a hundredth part of that tribe, for when they entered Canaan the Danites were above 64,000, Num 26:43. It was strange that none of their brethren of their own tribe, much less of any other, came in to their assistance; but it was long after Israel came to Canaan before there appeared among them any thing of a public spirit, or concern for a common interest, which was the reason why they seldom united in a common head, and this kept them low and inconsiderable. It appears (by Jdg 18:21) that these 600 were the whole number that went to settle there, for they had their families and effects with them, their little ones and cattle, so confident were they of success. The other tribes gave them a free passage through their country. Their first day's march brought them to Kirjath-jearim (Jdg 18:12), and such rare things had military encampments now become in Israel that the place where they rested that night was thence called Mahaneh-dan, the camp of Dan, and probably the place whence they began their march between Zorah and Eshtaol was called by the same name, and is meant, Jdg 13:25. The second day's march brought them to Mount Ephraim, near Micah's house (Jdg 18:13), and there we must pause awhile.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv2–10 And the children of Dan sent of their family…
And the children of Dan sent of their family five men,.... According to Abarbinel one out of a family, as Moses sent one out of a tribe to spy the land; and so there must be five families concerned in this affair:
from their coasts, men of valour from Zorah, and from Eshtaol, to spy out the land, and to search it; these men were sent from the borders of the tribe, the extreme parts of it, as the word may signify, where perhaps they were the most pressed and overcrowded: Zorah and Eshtaol are particularly mentioned, and were the first cities in their lot, and were the coast of their inheritance; see Gill on Jos 19:41 some take the phrase rendered "from their coasts" to signify persons of extreme meanness, men of the lowest class among them; but the above mentioned writers interpret it to a quite contrary sense, by "Katzinim", princes, such as Moses sent to spy the land; and this better agrees with the next clause, "men of valour": and the word used signifies not only magnanimity and fortitude of mind, but wealth and riches; and these were sent not to spy the land of Canaan, but such places as fell to this tribe, but were possessed by the Canaanites; and their errand was to observe in what condition they were, and whether fit for their purpose, and easy to obtain, and how they might get the possession of any of them:
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and they said unto them, search the land; and see if some convenient place cannot be found out to enlarge their inheritance, and give them more room and liberty for their families, now pent up, and a pasturage for their flocks and herds:
who when they came to Mount Ephraim; which lay upon the borders of them:
to the house of Micah, they lodged there; that is, when they were come near to the house of Micah, as Kimchi and Ben Melech interpret it, they took up their lodging in the neighbourhood of it, perhaps at a public house or inn; for the sense is not, that they lodged in Micah's house, for after this we read of their turning into it, as in the next verse. According to Bunting (r), this place was twenty four miles from Zorah and Eshtaol, from whence these men came.
(r) Travels of the Patriarchs, &c. p. 112.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 10 There - Not in the same house, but near…
There - Not in the same house, but near it.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv2, 3, 5, 7, 9 Verse 2. Five men - men of valour] The…
Verse 2. Five men - men of valour] The Hebrew word חיל chayil has been applied to personal prowess, to mental energy, and to earthly possessions. They sent those in whose courage, judgment, and prudence, they could safely confide.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv2, 6, 7, 10 Jdg 18:2-5. They lodged there — Not in the…
Jdg 18:2-5. They lodged there — Not in the same house, but near it. They knew the voice of the young man — Having been acquainted with him before he came to live with Micah. Ask counsel, we pray thee, of God — By thine ephod and teraphim, or image, which they knew he had. This and the following verse show that this sanctuary of Micah was dedicated to the true God, and not to idols. But how ignorant were these Danites, to suppose God would be consulted here as well as in his house at Shiloh!
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv2, 3, 5, 6, 7 This identity of locality with the scene of Samson’s…
This identity of locality with the scene of Samson’s birth and death indicates that both narratives are drawn from the same source, probably the annals of the tribe of Dan.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10 Family. Hebrew, "From their extremity." Which may denote such…
Family. Hebrew, "From their extremity." Which may denote such as came to hand, (Calmet) or princes, (De Dieu) or people of mean appearance, (Castalion) unless we explain it "from their coasts," with Montanus, Protestants, &c. (Haydock)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On v7 the five men departed, and came to Laish--or, "Leshem"…
the five men departed, and came to Laish--or, "Leshem" (Jos 19:47), supposed to have been peopled by a colony of Zidonians. The place was very secluded--the soil rich in the abundance and variety of its produce, and the inhabitants, following the peaceful pursuits of agriculture, lived in their fertile and sequestered valley, according to the Zidonian style of ease and security, happy among themselves, and maintaining little or no communication with the rest of the world. The discovery of this northern paradise seemed, to the delight of the Danite spies, an accomplishment of the priest's prediction. They hastened back to inform their brethren in the south both of the value of their prize, and how easily it could be made their prey.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv3, 5, 6, 7 3. They knew the voice of the young man…
3. They knew the voice of the young man — They overheard his conversation, and, looking upon him, they at once recognised him as an old acquaintance. Most commentators understand that the Danites knew by his dialect or mode of pronunciation that he was not an Ephraimite, but the words they knew the voice are not adapted to convey such an idea, and the questions, Who brought thee hither? etc., are the natural language of old acquaintances that have unexpectedly met. And if this Levite was a grandson or great grandson of Moses, the lawgiver of Israel, as appears from Jdg_18:30, it is not strange at all that he was personally known to these Danites.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv2–9 2. The repetitions in this verse (of their family,…
2. The repetitions in this verse (of their family, of their whole number; five, men, men of valour; to search it, search the land) point to a combination of the two narratives, of which the beginning can be traced in ch. 17.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10 (2) From their coasts.—Literally, their ends (Gen_19:4; 1Ki_12:31). Some…
(2) From their coasts.—Literally, their ends (Gen_19:4; 1Ki_12:31). Some explain it to mean “from their whole number.”
Men of valour.—Literally, sons of force (Jdg_21:10).
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To spy out the land.—As in Jos_2:1.
They came to mount Ephraim.—It would have been an easier journey to pass along the Shephelah, but that was mainly in the hands of the original inhabitants.
To the house of Micah.—There is no necessity for the supposition that they did not actually lodge in the house, or, at any rate, in the khan which doubtless formed part of the settlement. The centre of a new and gorgeous worship was sure to have places around it where those could lodge who came to consult the pesel-ephod (see Jdg_18:18), just as even the ordinary synagogues had lodgings for wayfarers.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10 They came to Mount Ephraim. (Jud_1:17:1, 8) The hill…
They came to Mount Ephraim. (Jud_1:17:1, 8) The hill country of Ephraim would be on their way to the north from Eshtaol. They would naturally avoid the plain where the Amorites and Philistines were strong.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On v7 called Leshem. Jos 19:47.
Laish
called Leshem. Jos 19:47.
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv3, 5, 7, 9 they recognized the speech of the young Levite
they recognized the speech of the young Levite
They recognized the man by the sound of his voice. Here "speech" refers to his "voice." AT: "they heard the young Levite talking, and they recognized his voice" (See: Metonymy)
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translationWords
Levi
priest
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.