Judges 18:2 - Printer Friendly

ESV: So the people of Dan sent five able men from the whole number of their tribe, from Zorah and from Eshtaol, to spy out the land and to explore it. And they said to them, "Go and explore the land." And they came to the hill country of Ephraim, to the house of Micah, and lodged there.

NIV: So the Danites sent five of their leading men from Zorah and Eshtaol to spy out the land and explore it. These men represented all the Danites. They told them, "Go, explore the land." So they entered the hill country of Ephraim and came to the house of Micah, where they spent the night.

NASB: So the sons of Dan sent from their family five men out of their whole number, valiant men from Zorah and 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, to the house of Micah, and stayed overnight there.

CSB: So the Danites sent out five brave men from all their clans, from Zorah and Eshtaol, to scout out the land and explore it. They told them, "Go and explore the land." They came to the hill country of Ephraim as far as the home of Micah and spent the night there.

NLT: So the men of Dan chose from their clans five capable warriors from the towns of Zorah and Eshtaol to scout out a land for them to settle in. When these warriors arrived in the hill country of Ephraim, they came to Micah’s house and spent the night there.

KJV: And the children of Dan sent of their family five men from their coasts, men of valour, from Zorah, and from Eshtaol, to spy out the land, and to search it; and they said unto them, Go, search the land: who when they came to mount Ephraim, to the house of Micah, they lodged there.

NKJV: So the children of Dan sent five men of their family from their territory, men of valor from Zorah and Eshtaol, to spy out the land and search it. They said to them, “Go, search the land.” So they went to the mountains of Ephraim, to the house of Micah, and lodged there.

The tribe of Dan has decided to expand their territory. Their current settlements lay around the towns of Zorah and Eshtaol. For years, they have existed in the hill country of the lot apportioned for their tribe (Joshua 19:40–46). This has been an uneasy, contentious time because they failed to remove the original pagan nations living there (Judges 1:34–36). The Amorites, in particular, held considerable power in that area.

Before moving, the people of Dan must identify a good region into which they can expand. They identify five strong men to serve as scouts. They will seek good, usable locations which can be taken by force. It's clear they are willing to take land designated for other tribes as their own since they have failed to claim their own allotment (Judges 18:1).

The scouts travel north into Ephraim and eventually come to the home of Micah (Judges 17:1–5). It's possible Micah ran a kind of lodging house for travelers. That would explain how both the young Levite man (Judges 17:7–13) and these five Danite scouts ended up staying with him.

Judges 18:1–13 finds five scouts from the tribe of Dan seeking a new place to live. They stop at Micah's house in Ephraim and get to know his Levite priest (Judges 17:1–5). They continue north and identify Laish as a soft target, as well as a good place to live. Before long, six hundred armed Danite men set out with their families and belongings. The entire company arrives at the home of Micah in Ephraim to camp for the night.

The people of the tribe of Dan want to relocate because they failed to take their allotted territory in the Promised Land. They send five scouts to find land. The men stop at Micah's home (Judges 17:1–5, 13) and meet his priest before continuing north. They find Laish and realize it's a soft, vulnerable, peaceful town. A six hundred-man army and their families stop at Micah's home to steal his house gods and hired priest. When they arrive at Laish, the Danites slaughter the Sidonians living there, burn the city, rebuild it, and move in. Dan becomes a center of false worship.

In the prior chapter, Micah hires a personal cleric for his family religion. Judges 18 describes how he loses all his religious objects and that priest to raiders from the tribe of Dan. That convoy continues north to their target, the town of Laish. This town was selected, in part, for being helpless against attackers. The raiders rename the city "Dan." The people and the priest establish a center for false worship which lasts for centuries. Joshua 19:40–48 describes how Dan moved from their allotted land into this unapproved territory (Joshua 17).

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).