Judges 18:1-7

The Danites Settle in Laish

1 In those days Israel had no king. And in those days the tribe of the Danites was seeking a place of their own where they might settle, because they had not yet come into an inheritance among the tribes of Israel.
2 So the Danites sent five of their leading men from Zorah and Eshtaol to spy out the land and explore it. These men represented all the Danites. They told them, “Go, explore the land.” So they entered the hill country of Ephraim and came to the house of Micah, where they spent the night.
3 When they were near Micah’s house, they recognized the voice of the young Levite; so they turned in there and asked him, “Who brought you here? What are you doing in this place? Why are you here?”
4 He told them what Micah had done for him, and said, “He has hired me and I am his priest.”
5 Then they said to him, “Please inquire of God to learn whether our journey will be successful.”
6 The priest answered them, “Go in peace. Your journey has the LORD’s approval.”
7 So the five men left and came to Laish, where they saw that the people were living in safety, like the Sidonians, at peace and secure. And since their land lacked nothing, they were prosperous.[a] Also, they lived a long way from the Sidonians and had no relationship with anyone else.[b]

Cross References 15

  • 1. S Judges 17:6; Judges 19:1
  • 2. Joshua 19:47; Judges 1:34
  • 3. S Genesis 30:6; Judges 13:25
  • 4. ver 17
  • 5. S Numbers 21:32
  • 6. S Joshua 2:1
  • 7. S Judges 17:1
  • 8. Judges 17:7
  • 9. Judges 17:12
  • 10. S Genesis 25:22; Jdg 20:18,23,27; 1 Samuel 14:18; 2 Samuel 5:19; 2 Kings 1:2; 2 Kings 8:8; 1 Kings 22:5
  • 11. 1 Kings 22:6
  • 12. ver 17
  • 13. S Joshua 19:47
  • 14. S Genesis 34:25
  • 15. ver 28; Joshua 11:8

Footnotes 2

  • [a]. The meaning of the Hebrew for this clause is uncertain.
  • [b]. Hebrew; some Septuagint manuscripts "with the Arameans"
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