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Judges 18:1-31 — Danites Settle in Laish

Judg.18.1-31

¹In those days there was no king in Israel. And in those days the tribe of the Danites was seeking an inheritance for itself to dwell in, for up to that day an inheritance had not fallen to it among the tribes of Israel. ²So the sons of Dan sent from their clan five men from their whole number, men of valor from Zorah and from Eshtaol, to spy out the land and to explore it. And they said to them, “Go, explore the land.” And they came to the hill country of Ephraim, as far as the house of Micah, and they spent the night there. ³While they were by the house of Micah, they recognized the voice of the young Levite man. So they turned aside there and said to him, “Who brought you here? And what are you doing in this place? And what do you have here?” ⁴He said to them, “Thus and so Micah has done for me, and he hired me, and I have become his priest.” ⁵They said to him, “Please inquire of God, so that we may know whether our way on which we are going will be successful.” ⁶The priest said to them, “Go in peace. Your way on which you go is before Yahweh.” ⁷Then the five men departed and came to Laish. They saw the people who were in its midst, living in security according to the custom of the Sidonians, quiet and unsuspecting. There was no one in the land possessing authority who might put them to shame in anything. And they were far from the Sidonians, and had no dealings with anyone. ⁸They came to their brothers at Zorah and Eshtaol, and their brothers said to them, “What do you report?” ⁹They said, "Arise, and let us go up against them, for we have seen the land, and behold, it is very good. And are you keeping quiet? Do not be lazy to go, to enter to take possession of the land. ¹⁰When you go, you will come to an unsuspecting people, and the land is spacious, for God has given it into your hand—a place where there is no lack of anything that is on the earth." ¹¹So six hundred men from the clan of the Danites set out from there, from Zorah and from Eshtaol, armed with weapons of war. ¹²They went up and camped at Kiriath-jearim in Judah. Therefore they called that place Mahaneh-dan to this day ; behold, it is west of Kiriath-jearim. ¹³They passed on from there to the hill country of Ephraim, and came to the house of Micah. ¹⁴Then the five men who had gone to spy out the land of Laish answered and said to their brothers, “Do you know that there is in these houses an ephod, and household gods, and a carved image, and a cast idol? Now therefore consider what you should do.” ¹⁵So they turned aside there and came to the house of the young Levite man, the house of Micah, and asked him how he was doing. ¹⁶And the six hundred men who were of the sons of Dan, armed with their weapons of war, were stationed at the entrance of the gate. ¹⁷The five men who had gone to spy out the land went up, entered there, and took the carved image, the ephod, the household gods, and the cast idol, while the priest was stationed at the entrance of the gate with the six hundred men armed with weapons of war. ¹⁸When these went into Micah's house and took the carved image, the ephod, the household gods, and the cast idol, the priest said to them, “What are you doing?” ¹⁹They said to him, “Be silent, put your hand on your mouth, and go with us, and be to us a father and a priest. Is it better for you to be a priest for the house of one man, or for you to be a priest for a tribe and a clan in Israel?” ²⁰The priest's heart was glad, and he took the ephod, the household gods, and the carved image, and went into the midst of the people. ²¹So they turned and departed, and put the little ones, the livestock, and the valuables before them. ²²When they had gone a distance from the house of Micah, the men who were in the houses near Micah's house were called out, and they overtook the sons of Dan. ²³They called out to the sons of Dan, who turned their faces and said to Micah, “What is wrong with you, that you have called out such a company?” ²⁴He said, “You have taken my gods which I made, and the priest, and have gone away. What more do I have? And how is it that you say to me, 'What is wrong with you?'” ²⁵The sons of Dan said to him, “Do not let your voice be heard among us, lest men of bitter spirit attack you, and you lose your life and the lives of your household.” ²⁶The sons of Dan went on their way; and Micah saw that they were too strong for him, so he turned and went back to his house. ²⁷They took what Micah had made, and the priest who had belonged to him, and came upon Laish, upon a quiet and unsuspecting people, and struck them with the edge of the sword, and burned the city with fire. ²⁸There was no deliverer, because it was far from Sidon, and they had no dealings with anyone, and it was in the valley that belongs to Beth-rehob. And they rebuilt the city and lived in it. ²⁹They 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 was formerly Laish. ³⁰The sons of Dan set up for themselves the carved image; and Jonathan, the son of Gershom, the son of Manasseh , he and his sons were priests to the tribe of the Danites until the day of the captivity of the land. ³¹So they set up for themselves Micah's carved image which he had made, all the days that the house of God was in Shiloh.

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4/11/2026

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