Judges 17:1 - Printer Friendly

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.

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).

Judges 17:1–6 begins a new focus in the book of Judges, showing lack of commitment to God in the lives of everyday Israelites. A man named Micah confesses to his mother that he stole from her. She blesses him and has the stolen sliver made into an idol. Micah has a house shrine with household gods and totems and ordains one of his own sons as his priest. In just a few verses, the family manages to violate almost all of God's primary Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1–7). This summarizes Israel's profound lack of leadership and spiritual maturity during that era.

A man named Micah overhears his mother speaking a curse on whoever stole a hefty sum of money from her. He confesses that it was him so she attempts to replace her curse with a blessing from God. She has a carved religious object made from the silver for Micah, which he puts in his household shrine full of other idols and relics. A young Levite man comes to Micah's house, and Micah hires him as the personal family priest, convinced God will prosper him because of it. This demonstrates Israel's lack of spiritual commitment during the era of the judges.

Judges 17 marks a new direction for the book. Having completed the stories of the judges themselves, the focus shifts to everyday Israelites. A man confesses to stealing from his mother, and she donates the silver to make an idol. The man puts this in a shrine in his house along with other religious objects. He hires a Levite to be the family priest, which he assumes will guarantee blessings from God. The same priest will willingly leave with a group of raiders from the tribe of Dan (Judges 18). This leads to one the Bible's most disturbing stories, involving an abused woman whose fate sparks a civil war within Israel (Judges 19—20).

The Book of Judges describes Israel's history from the death of Joshua to shortly before Israel's first king, Saul. Israel fails to complete God's command to purge the wicked Canaanites from the land (Deuteronomy 7:1–5; 9:4). This results in a centuries-long cycle where Israel falls into sin and is oppressed by local enemies. After each oppression, God sends a civil-military leader, labeled using a Hebrew word loosely translated into English as "judge." These appointed rescuers would free Israel from enemy control and govern for a certain time. After each judge's death, the cycle of sin and oppression begins again. This continues until the people of Israel choose a king, during the ministry of the prophet-and-judge Samuel (1 Samuel 1—7).