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Judges 17:1
ESV There was a man of the hill country of Ephraim, whose name was Micah.
NIV Now a man named Micah from the hill country of Ephraim
NASB Now there was a man of the hill country of Ephraim whose name was Micah.
CSB There was a man from the hill country of Ephraim named Micah.
NLT There was a man named Micah, who lived in the hill country of Ephraim.
KJV And there was a man of mount Ephraim, whose name was Micah.
NKJV Now there was a man from the mountains of Ephraim, whose name was Micah.

What does Judges 17:1 mean?

This chapter begins the third part of the book of Judges. Some commentators think of this as epilogue. Samson (Judges 16:28–31) is the last of the true judges (Judges 2:16–19), or deliverers, to serve Israel. What follows Samson's death are stories from the heart of Israel. These show how far the Israelites had moved away from the will of God. They had become as spiritually senseless and reckless as their Canaanite neighbors and oppressors.

The first of these stories is about an Israelite man named Micah. In early references, his name is provided in a longer form: Mikāyehu. This literally means "Who is like Yahweh?" In later verses (Judges 17:5) he is known by the shorter version, Mikāh'. The name suggests parents who had some respect for the Lord. The actions taken by Micah and his mother in the following verses challenge this, however. His story is not an example of sincere devotion to God. Rather, it's a picture of confused and selfish superstition while borrowing elements from legitimate faith. This spiritual corruption is deeply rooted at the family level, leading to inevitable disaster (Psalm 11:3).
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