Judges 17

Micah's Idolatry

1 Now there was a man of the hill country of Ephraim whose name was Micah.

2 He said to his mother, "The eleven * hundred pieces of silver which were taken from you, about which you uttered a curse in my hearing, behold, the silver is with me; I took it." And his mother said, "Blessed be my son by the LORD."

3 He then returned the eleven * hundred pieces of silver to his mother, and his mother said, "I wholly dedicate the silver from my hand to the LORD for my son ¹to make a graven image and a molten image; now therefore, I will return them to you."

4 So when he returned the silver to his mother, his mother took two hundred pieces of silver and gave them to the silversmith who made them into a graven image and a molten image, and they were in the house of Micah.

5 And the man Micah had a ²shrine * and he made an ³ephod and ⁴household idols and consecrated * one of his sons, ⁵that he might become his priest.

6 In those days ⁶there was no king in Israel; ⁷every man did what was right in his own eyes.

7 Now there was a young man from ⁸Bethlehem in Judah, of the family of Judah, who was a Levite; and he was staying there.

8 Then the man departed from the city, from Bethlehem in Judah, to stay wherever he might find a place; and as he made his journey, he came to the ⁹hill country of Ephraim to the house of Micah.

9 Micah said to him, "Where do you come from?" And he said to him, "I am a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah, and I am going to stay wherever I may find a place."

10 Micah then said to him, "Dwell with me and be ¹⁰a father and a priest to me, and I will give you ten pieces of silver a year, a suit of clothes, and your maintenance." So the Levite went in.

11 The Levite agreed to live with the man, and the young man became to him like one of his sons.

12 So Micah consecrated * the Levite, and the young man ¹¹became his priest and lived in the house of Micah.

13 Then Micah said, "Now I know that the LORD will prosper me, seeing I have a Levite as priest."

Judges 17 Commentary

Chapter 17

The beginning of idolatry in Israel, Micah and his mother. (1-6) Micah hires a Levite to be his priest. (7-13)

Verses 1-6 What is related in this, and the rest of the chapters to the end of this book, was done soon after the death of Joshua: see chap. ( Judges 20:28 ) . That it might appear how happy the nation was under the Judges, here is showed how unhappy they were when there was no Judge. The love of money made Micah so undutiful to his mother as to rob her, and made her so unkind to her son, as to curse him. Outward losses drive good people to their prayers, but bad people to their curses. This woman's silver was her god, before it was made into a graven or a molten image. Micah and his mother agreed to turn their money into a god, and set up idol worship in their family. See the cause of this corruption. Every man did that which was right in his own eyes, and then they soon did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord.

Verses 7-13 Micah thought it was a sign of God's favour to him and his images, that a Levite should come to his door. Thus those who please themselves with their own delusions, if Providence unexpectedly bring any thing to their hands that further them in their evil way, are apt from thence to think that God is pleased with them.

Cross References

• 1. Exodus 20:4, 23; Exodus 34:17
• 2. Judges 18:24
• 3. Judges 8:27; Judges 18:14
• 4. Genesis 31:19
• 5. Numbers 3:10
• 6. Judges 18:1; Judges 19:1
• 7. Deuteronomy 12:8; Judges 21:25
• 8. Judges 19:1; Ruth 1:1, 2; Micah 5:2; Matthew 2:1
• 9. Joshua 24:33
• 10. Judges 18:19
• 11. Numbers 16:10; Numbers 18:1-7

Footnotes

• [a]. Lit "and also spoke it in my ears"
• [b]. Lit "it"
• [c]. Lit "it"
• [d]. Lit "it was"
• [e]. Lit "house of gods"
• [f]. Heb "teraphim"
• [g]. Lit "filled the hand of"
• [h]. Or "sojourning"
• [i]. Or "sojourn"
• [j]. Or "sojourn"
• [k]. Lit "filled the hand of"
• [l]. Lit "was"

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO JUDGES 17

This chapter relates the first rise of idolatry in Israel after the death of Joshua, which began in Mount Ephraim, occasioned by a sum of money stolen by a man from his mother, which being restored, part was converted to an idolatrous use; two images were made of it, Jud 17:1-5 and there being no king in Israel to take cognizance of it, the idolatry took place and continued, and afterwards spread, Jud 17:6, and this idolater not only made one of his sons a priest, but took a Levite for another, whom he hired by the year to serve him, Jud 17:7-13.