Judges 18:28 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And there was no deliverer because it was far from Sidon, and they had no dealings with anyone. It was in the valley that belongs to Beth-rehob. Then they rebuilt the city and lived in it.

NIV: There was no one to rescue them because they lived a long way from Sidon and had no relationship with anyone else. The city was in a valley near Beth Rehob. The Danites rebuilt the city and settled there.

NASB: And there was no one to save them, because it was far from Sidon and they had no dealings with anyone, and it was in the valley which is near Beth-rehob. So they rebuilt the city and lived in it.

CSB: There was no one to rescue them because it was far from Sidon and they had no alliance with anyone. It was in a valley that belonged to Beth-rehob. They rebuilt the city and lived in it.

NLT: There was no one to rescue the people, for they lived a great distance from Sidon and had no allies nearby. This happened in the valley near Beth-rehob. Then the people of the tribe of Dan rebuilt the town and lived there.

KJV: And there was no deliverer, because it was far from Zidon, and they had no business with any man; and it was in the valley that lieth by Bethrehob. And they built a city, and dwelt therein.

NKJV: There was no deliverer, because it was far from Sidon, and they had no ties with anyone. It was in the valley that belongs to Beth Rehob. So they rebuilt the city and dwelt there.

The misguided mission of people from the tribe of Dan has been accomplished. They have successfully relocated from the territory given to them by the Lord (Joshua 19:40–46) to a new place far to the north (Judges 18:7–13). This is now identified as the valley of Beth-rehob, placing it near the northern border of the Promised Land in a deeply isolated area. The Danites targeted this area for its resources, as well as for its unsuspecting, unaware people who were sure to be defenseless. This group of Sidonians were caught off guard, and their closest neighbors in Sidon were too far away to send forces to defend them.

The people of Dan rebuild the city after burning it and move in. There is no indication they relied on the Lord for any of this, but He has not stopped it from happening. At least some of the tribe of Dan, if not all, now live in the far north part of the land. This new home will exist as a regional center for idolatry for centuries (Judges 18:30).

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).