Judges 18:22 - Printer Friendly

ESV: When they had gone a distance from the home of Micah, the men who were in the houses near Micah 's house were called out, and they overtook the people of Dan.

NIV: When they had gone some distance from Micah’s house, the men who lived near Micah were called together and overtook the Danites.

NASB: When they had distanced themselves from Micah’s house, the men who were in the houses near Micah’s house assembled by command and overtook the sons of Dan.

CSB: After they were some distance from Micah’s house, the men who were in the houses near it were mustered and caught up with the Danites.

NLT: When the people from the tribe of Dan were quite a distance from Micah’s house, the people who lived near Micah came chasing after them.

KJV: And when they were a good way from the house of Micah, the men that were in the houses near to Micah's house were gathered together, and overtook the children of Dan.

NKJV: When they were a good way from the house of Micah, the men who were in the houses near Micah’s house gathered together and overtook the children of Dan.

At some point, Micah (Judges 17:1–5) realizes what has happened. The five scouts from the tribe of Dan who had previously visited his home (Judges 18:1–5) had returned. They came this time with an army of six hundred soldiers, their wives, their children, and all their belongings. They had camped outside of his property, likely with his blessing (Judges 18:11–14).

Then, when Micah was not around, they went into his family's private shrine to steal the expensive cultic objects. The metal image and carved image his mother had made for him were gone. The ceremonial ephod was gone. The household gods—small statues of various deities—were gone. Worst of all, his own personal Levite priest was gone (Judges 17:13). The Danites had taken everything related to Micah's false, custom-built religion. They've robbed him of tremendous wealth, not to mention objects which Micah believed were providing blessing and prosperity for his household.

Micah sends messages to neighbors. They assemble a fighting force and take off after the Danites, hoping to retrieve Micah's religious belongings. The people from Dan had a head start, but they could not move quickly with their livestock and children. Soon, Micah and his neighbors catch up, only to find Dan's warriors are prepared (Judges 18:21).

Judges 18:14–31 describes how the migrating people of the tribe of Dan steal from Micah (Judges 18:1–5). They take his collection of expensive idols and religious totems. His hired Levite priest accepts the Danites' invitation to come along with the raiders. Micah and his neighbors desperately chase, but the Danite forces are too large to risk attacking. The Danites arrive at Laish, in the north, and slaughter its peaceful, unprepared Sidonian occupants. They take possession of the town, rename it Dan, and establish a nexus of false worship.

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).