Judges 18:26-31

26 So the sons of Dan went on their way; and when Micah saw that they were too strong for him, he turned and went back to his house.

27 Then they took what Micah had made and the priest who had belonged to him, and came to ¹Laish, to a people quiet and secure, and struck them with the edge of the sword; and they burned the city with fire.

28 And there was no one to deliver them, because it was far from Sidon and they had no dealings with anyone, and it was in the valley which is near ²Beth-rehob. And they rebuilt the city and lived in it.

29 ³They called the name of the city Dan, after the name of Dan their father who was born in Israel; however, the name of the city formerly was Laish.

30 The sons of Dan set up for themselves ⁴the graven image; and Jonathan, the son of ⁵Gershom, the son of Manasseh, ⁶he and his sons were priests to the tribe of the Danites until the day of the captivity of the land.

31 So they set up for themselves Micah's graven image which he had made, all the time that the ⁷house of God was at Shiloh.

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Judges 18:26-31 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO JUDGES 18

This chapter relates how the Danites, being overcrowed in their inheritance, sent out spies to search the land, and see if they could find any proper place to add unto it, and enlarge it, Jud 18:1-6 who returned and reported Laish as such, and encouraged the Danites to go and possess it; for which purpose they sent six hundred men up to it, Jud 18:7-12 and as they went, called at the house of Micah, and took away his priests and his gods, Jud 18:13-27 and having taken Laish, set up Micah's graven image there, Jud 18:28-31.

Taken from John Gill's Exposition of the Bible

Cross References 7

1. Joshua 19:47; Judges 18:7
2. 2 Samuel 10:6
3. Joshua 19:47
4. Judges 17:3, 5
5. Exodus 2:22; Exodus 18:3
6. Judges 17:3, 5
7. Joshua 18:1

Footnotes 1

[a]. Some ancient versions read "Moses"