Judges 18:24-31

24 So he said, "You have taken away my gods which I made, and the priest, and you have gone away. Now what more do I have? How can you say to me, 'What ails you?' "
25 And the children of Dan said to him, "Do not let your voice be heard among us, lest angry men fall upon you, and you lose your life, with the lives of your household!"
26 Then the children of Dan went their way. And when Micah saw that they were too strong for him, he turned and went back to his house.
27 So they took the things Micah had made, and the priest who had belonged to him, and went to Laish, to a people quiet and secure; and they struck them with the edge of the sword and burned the city with fire.
28 There was no deliverer, because it was far from Sidon, and they had no ties with anyone. It was in the valley that belongs to Beth Rehob. So they rebuilt the city and dwelt there.
29 And they called the name of the city Dan, after the name of Dan their father, who was born to Israel. However, the name of the city formerly was Laish.
30 Then the children of Dan set up for themselves the carved image; and Jonathan the son of Gershom, the son of Manasseh, and his sons were priests to the tribe of Dan until the day of the captivity of the land.
31 So they set up for themselves Micah's carved image which he made, all the time that the house of God was in Shiloh.

Judges 18:24-31 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.

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. Septuagint and Vulgate read Moses.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.