Judges 17:8 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And the man departed from the town of Bethlehem in Judah to sojourn where he could find a place. And as he journeyed, he came to the hill country of Ephraim to the house of Micah.

NIV: left that town in search of some other place to stay. On his way he came to Micah’s house in the hill country of Ephraim.

NASB: Then the man left the city, Bethlehem in Judah, to stay wherever he would find a place; and as he made his journey, he came to the hill country of Ephraim, to the house of Micah.

CSB: The man left the town of Bethlehem in Judah to stay wherever he could find a place. On his way he came to Micah’s home in the hill country of Ephraim.

NLT: He had left Bethlehem in search of another place to live, and as he traveled, he came to the hill country of Ephraim. He happened to stop at Micah’s house as he was traveling through.

KJV: And the man departed out of the city from Bethlehemjudah to sojourn where he could find a place: and he came to mount Ephraim to the house of Micah, as he journeyed.

NKJV: The man departed from the city of Bethlehem in Judah to stay wherever he could find a place. Then he came to the mountains of Ephraim, to the house of Micah, as he journeyed.

A young man living in Bethlehem in Judah decides to leave there, seeking a new place to settle. He is of the tribe of Levi (Judges 17:7). No reason for this change is given. Levites did not have their own territory (Numbers 1:49–53) and those not actively serving in the temple or some other designated position were allowed to live either in one of the designated Levite cities throughout Israel or to settle where the Lord led them (Deuteronomy 18:6–8).

Only in the following chapter will this young man be identified as Jonathan, a grandson of Moses (Judges 18:30). For now, his search for a place to settle brings him to the hill country of Ephraim and to the house of Micah (Judges 17:1–5). This was the man introduced in the prior passage, who developed his own customized set of idols and religious icons in his home. Micah will be enthusiastic over the Levite's arrival.

Judges 17:7–13 continues the story of Micah (Judges 17:1–2). He exemplifies Israel's careless, senseless attitude towards God near the end of the era of the judges (Judges 2:16–19). Micah hires a traveling Levite man to be his personal priest. He is convinced that employing an authentic Levite will bring prosperity from the Lord.

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).