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.”
The family of the Danites set out from Zorah and Eshtaol with six hundred men armed with weapons of war. They went up and encamped in Kiriath Jearim in Judah. Therefore they call that place Mahaneh Dan to this day. Behold, it is behind Kiriath Jearim. They passed from there to the hill country of Ephraim, and came to the house of Micah.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv9, 12 Lose ye this good occasion through your slothfulness?
Lose ye this good occasion through your slothfulness?
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv8–13 Jdg 18:8 And they came unto their brethren to…
Jdg 18:8 And they came unto their brethren to Zorah and Eshtaol: and their brethren said unto them, What [say] ye?
Ver. 8. What say ye?] Quid vos? So hasty they were to hear the news, that they utter imperfect speeches.
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 vv9–13 Are ye still, Heb. silent? Silence is oft put…
Are ye still, Heb. silent? Silence is oft put for stillness or cessation from action or motion, as Exo 14:14; Isa 62:1; Lam 2:18. For they do not accuse them for want of speaking, for that they did; but for want of doing, and putting their words and resolves into execution.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv8–13 And they came unto their brethren to Zorah and…
And they came unto their brethren to Zorah and Eshtaol,.... After they had well viewed the city, and made their remarks on the inhabitants of it, the condition and circumstances in which they were, and took notice of the goodness of the land about it, they returned to their brethren that sent them, particularly those that dwelt at the two places mentioned:
and their brethren said unto them, what say ye? what tidings do you bring? what account of the place and country where you have been?
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 vv10, 12, 13 Given - This they gather partly from God's promise…
Given - This they gather partly from God's promise which they supposed they had from the Levite's mouth; and partly from his providence, which had so disposed them, that they would be an easy prey.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv9, 11, 12 Verse 9. Arise, c.] This is a very plain…
Verse 9. Arise, c.] This is a very plain and nervous address full of good sense, and well adapted to the purpose. It seems to have produced an instantaneous effect.
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 vv10, 12 Jdg 18:10. God hath given it into your hands…
Jdg 18:10. God hath given it into your hands — This they gather partly from God’s promises, which they supposed they had from the Levite’s mouth, and partly from his providence, which had so disposed them that they would be an easy prey.
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 v12 Kurjath-jearim - “City of forests,” otherwise called “Kirjath-Baal” (marginal…
Kurjath-jearim - “City of forests,” otherwise called “Kirjath-Baal” (marginal reference.), identified by Robinson with the modern “Kurit-el-Enab,” on the road from Jaffa to Jerusalem and by Conder with Soba.
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 vv9–13 There will, &c., is added to signify, that it…
There will, &c., is added to signify, that it will be necessary only to go to take possession. (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 v11 there went from thence of the family of the…
there went from thence of the family of the Danites . . . six hundred men--This was the collective number of the men who were equipped with arms to carry out this expeditionary enterprise, without including the families and furniture of the emigrants (Jdg 18:21). Their journey led them through the territory of Judah, and their first halting place was "behind," that is, on the west of Kirjath-jearim, on a spot called afterwards "the camp of Dan." Prosecuting the northern route, they skirted the base of the Ephraimite hills. On approaching the neighborhood of Micah's residence, the spies having given information that a private sanctuary was kept there, the priest of which had rendered them important service when on their exploring expedition, it was unanimously agreed that both he and the furniture of the establishment would be a valuable acquisition to their proposed settlement. A plan of spoliation was immediately formed. While the armed men stood sentinels at the gates, the five spies broke into the chapel, pillaged the images and vestments, and succeeded in bribing the priest also by a tempting offer to transfer his services to their new colony. Taking charge of the ephod, the teraphim, and the graven image, he "went in the midst of the people"--a central position assigned him in the march, perhaps for his personal security; but more probably in imitation of the place appointed for the priests and the ark, in the middle of the congregated tribes, on the marches through the wilderness. This theft presents a curious medley of low morality and strong religious feeling. The Danites exemplified a deep-seated principle of our nature--that men have religious affections, which must have an object on which these may be exercised, while they are often not very discriminating in the choice of the objects. In proportion to the slender influence religion wields over the heart, the greater is the importance attached to external rites; and in the exact observance of these, the conscience is fully satisfied, and seldom or never molested by reflections on the breach of minor morals.
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 vv11–12 11. Six hundred men — So confident were they…
11. Six hundred men — So confident were they of victory that they took along with them, as appears from Jdg_18:21, their little ones, and their cattle and precious things. This entire expedition was a fulfilling of Jacob’s prophetic words: “Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path, that biteth the horse’s heels, so that his rider shall fall backward.” Gen_49:17. So, too, Moses likens Dan to a young lion of Bashan that leaps forth suddenly from his ambush upon the prey. Deu_33:22.
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 vv8, 9, 11, 12 8. What say ye?] A verb is wanted, such…
8. What say ye?] A verb is wanted, such as the EV. supplies; perhaps what did ye find? or see? would be better. Moore ingeniously, on the basis of the LXX, what do ye bring back?
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 vv9–13 (9) Behold, it is very good.—Comp. Num_14:7; Jos_2:23-24. The…
(9) Behold, it is very good.—Comp. Num_14:7; Jos_2:23-24. The beauty of the site well bears out the description—“the rich and beautiful seclusion of that loveliest of the scenes of Palestine” (Stanley). It was by a similar statement that Anaxilaus of Rhegium persuaded the Messenians to seize Zankle (Pausan. 4:23, quoted by Cassel).
Are ye still?—1Ki_22:3; 2Ki_7:9.
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 vv9–12 To go, and to enter. The exact meaning is,…
To go, and to enter. The exact meaning is, Be not slothful to go (i.e. to go on your way from hence), so as to enter in and possess the land. This would be expressed by leaving out to before enter to go and enter.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On v13 The Priest of Micah Taken to Laish
The Priest of Micah Taken to Laish
v. 13. And they passed thence unto Mount Ephraim, along the way taken by the spies, and came unto the house of Micah.
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v. 14. Then answered the five men that went to spy out the country of Laish, and said unto their brethren, giving in advance the information which the members of their tribe would presently ask for, Do ye know that there is in these houses an ephod, and teraphim, and a graven image, and a molten image, a carved and chased idol with its molten pedestal? Now, therefore, consider what ye have to do, the suggestion of the spies being that the Danites should not overlook this opportunity to provide themselves with a worship of their own.
v. 15. And they, acting upon the hint received, turned thitherward, and came to the house of the young man, the Levite, where this private sanctuary was, fully equipped with everything needed in such an institution, even unto the house of Micah, and saluted him, they greeted the priest most kindly.
v. 16. And the six hundred men appointed with their weapons of war, which were of the children of Dan, stood by the entering of the gate, at the entrance to the enclosure, near the sanctuary.
v. 17. And the five men that went to spy out the land went up, and came in thither, being familiar with the location of everything from their previous visit, and took the graven image, and the ephod, and the teraphim, and the molten image, all the equipment of the sanctuary, the objects used in worship by Micah; and the priest stood in the entering of the gate with the six hundred men that were appointed with weapons of war. This strange behavior of the priest in permitting the robbery of the sanctuary for whose care he was hired is now explained, for this paragraph is here entered, although the event took place before the Levite deserted his post.
v. 18. And these went into Micah’s house, and fetched the carved image, the ephod, and the teraphim, and the molten image. Then said the priest unto them, it was then that he had tried to interfere, What do ye?
v. 19. And they said unto him, Hold thy peace, be absolutely quiet; lay thine hand upon thy mouth, and go with us, and be to us a father and a priest, the position which he had occupied in the house of Micah, Jdg 17:10. 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? That was the argument which had appealed to the Levite’s ambitious and avaricious heart and caused him to turn his back when the five spies plundered Micah’s sanctuary.
v. 20. And the priest’s heart was glad, and he took the ephod, and the teraphim, and the graven image, and went in the midst of the people, where he was safe.
v. 21. So they turned and departed, and put the little ones and the cattle and the carriage, all their most valuable possessions, before them, to have them safe in case they should be attacked by Micah and his men.
v. 22. And when they were a good way from the house of Micah, the men that were in the houses near to Micah’s house, both those belonging to his own establishment and those of the village which arose near the sanctuary, were gathered together and overtook the children of Dan.
v. 23. And they cried unto the children of Dan, hailed them, bidding them stop. And they turned their faces, and said unto Micah, What aileth thee that thou comest with such a company? They feigned ignorance of any happening concerning Micah.
v. 24. And he said, Ye have taken away my gods which I made, and the priest, and ye are gone away; and what have I more? He no longer tries to deceive himself and others that it was really Jehovah’s worship which he was carrying on in his house, but calls his sin by the right name, confessing his idolatry. And what is this that ye say unto me, What aileth thee?
v. 25. And the children of Dan said unto him, depending upon their superior power and holding that might makes right, Let not thy voice be heard among us, lest angry fellows, men bitter of soul, of a fierce disposition, run upon thee, and thou lose thy life with the lives of thy household, any rash act on his part would cause not only his own death, but that of his entire family.
v. 26. And the children of Dan, having bullied Micah into silence, went their way; and when Micah saw that they were too strong for him, he turned and went back unto his house. He was a sadder and a wiser man, who, strictly speaking, had no redress, as he had sinned against Jehovah and could not appeal to the Lord of Israel for revenge.
v. 27. And they took the things which Micah had made, and the priest which he had, and came unto Laish, unto a people that were at quiet and secure, v. 7; and they smote them with the edge of the sword, in a sudden attack, and burned the city with fire.
v. 28. And there was no deliverer, as the spies had rightly reported, because it was far from Zidon, and they had no business with any man; and it was in the valley that lieth by Beth-rehob, extending to that city, along the valley of the upper Jordan. And they built a city and dwelt therein.
v. 29. And they called the name of the city Dan, after the name of Dan, their father, their progenitor, who was born unto Israel; howbeit the name of the city was Laish, or Leshem, Jos 19:47-48, at the first.
v. 30. And the children of Dan set up the graven image, for idolatrous purposes; and Jonathan, the son of Gershom, the son of Manasseh, rather, the descendant of Moses, for that, apparently, was the name of the idolatrous priest, he and his sons were priests to the tribe of Dan until the day of the captivity of the land, namely, when the Philistines captured the Ark of the Covenant and became masters of the entire country, 1Sa 4:21-22.
v. 31. And they set them up Micah’s graven image, which he made, all the time that the house of God was in Shiloh. Mark: Idolatry in every form, false doctrine, quickly and easily finds adherents and is hard to eradicate when once established. He that is guilty of introducing false doctrine not only deceives himself, but also gives occasion to others to fall. The harm usually extends to many generations and destroys many souls.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv9, 11, 13 Are you doing nothing?
Are you doing nothing?
This rhetorical question is asked sarcastically and means that they should be doing the opposite. This question can be written as a statement. AT: "You should be acting now!" (See: Rhetorical Question and Double Negatives)
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Do not be slow to attack
These two negative words "not" and "slow" together emphasize the positive idea to attack quickly. AT: "Hurry! Attack" (See: Double Negatives)
the land is wide
"the land is large." This is a description of the size of the land.
that does not lack anything in the land
The men use a hyperbole, an exaggeration, to emphasize that it is a very desirable place to live. AT: "where we will have everything there that we need" (See: Hyperbole and Generalization)
that does not lack anything
The two negative words together emphasize a positive idea. AT: "has everything" (See: Double Negatives)
translationWords
people group
God
earth
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.