Judges 18:19

19 They told him, "Keep quiet! Don't say a word! Come with us and be our father and priest. Is it better for you to be a priest for one man's house or for a tribe in Israel and its families?"

Judges 18:19 Meaning and Commentary

Judges 18:19

And they said unto him, hold thy peace
Be silent, make no disturbance, be quiet and easy:

lay thy hand upon thy mouth;
as a token of silence; so the Egyptians used to paint Harpocrates, the god of silence, with his fingers pressing his lips:

and go with us;
for they wanted him as well as his gods, not knowing well how to make use of them without him:

and be to us a father and a priest;
to direct them, instruct them, perform acts of devotion for them, and ask counsel on their account; it seems as if it was common in those days to call a priest a father, see ( Judges 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?
suggesting, that it must be much more honourable for him, and more to his advantage, to officiate as a priest to a body of people, that might be called a tribe, or to a family consisting of various houses, than in the house of a private person; this they left him to consider and judge of.

Judges 18:19 In-Context

17 The five men who had gone to spy throughout the land went inside. They took the carved idol, the ephod, the household idols, and the metal idol. The priest stood at the entrance to the city with the 600 armed men.

18 When these men entered Micah's house and took the carved idol, the ephod, the household idols, and the metal idol, the priest asked them, "What are you doing?"

19 They told him, "Keep quiet! Don't say a word! Come with us and be our father and priest. Is it better for you to be a priest for one man's house or for a tribe in Israel and its families?"

20 The priest was content. He took the ephod, the household idols, and the carved idol and went with the people.

21 When they left, they put their children, livestock, and property in front of them.