Judges 17:8

8 He left Bethlehem to find another place to live. While he was traveling, he came to Micah's house in the hill country of Ephraim.

Judges 17:8 Meaning and Commentary

Judges 17:8

And the man departed out of the city from Bethlehemjudah,
to sojourn where he could find a place Either being a man that had a rambling head, and of an unsettled mind, and could not easily fix any where; or else there being no supreme magistrate, to take care that the Levites had their due maintenance, for which there was a sufficient provision made by law; and the people being negligent of paying their tithes, there being none to oblige them to it, and they indifferent to the true worship of God, and prone to idolatry; this man was obliged to go abroad, and seek for a livelihood where he could get it, and sojourn in a place the most convenient for him:

and he came to Mount Ephraim, to the house of Micah, as he journeyed:
not with a design to stay there, but called by the way, having heard perhaps that Micah was both a wealthy and an hospitable man, and he also might have heard of the new form of worship he had set up in his house.

Judges 17:8 In-Context

6 There was no king in Israel at that time; everyone did whatever they wanted.

7 At that same time there was a young Levite who had been living in the town of Bethlehem in Judah.

8 He left Bethlehem to find another place to live. While he was traveling, he came to Micah's house in the hill country of Ephraim.

9 Micah asked him, "Where do you come from?" He answered, "I am a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah. I am looking for a place to live."

10 Micah said, "Stay with me. Be my adviser and priest, and I will give you ten pieces of silver a year, some clothes, and your food."