‏ Judges 17

Summary for Judg 17:1-21:25: 17:1–21:25  ^a These two epilogues (chs 17–18  ^b and chs 19–21  ^c) attest that inspired but unstructured leadership cannot endure. During the relentless march toward social disintegration and civil war, the refrain, “In those days Israel had no king,” occurs four times, and “all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes” is added twice (17:6  ^d; 18:1  ^e; 19:1  ^f; 21:25  ^g). The era of inspired leadership spiraled downward and culminated in chaos. Something was clearly missing. 17:1  ^h Micah is the short form of a name that means “Who is like the Lord?” The name highlights the contrast between the Lord and a carved image or cast idol.

• The hill country of Ephraim was a natural gathering place in central Israel (17:7-8  ⁱ; 18:2  ^j, 13  ^k; 19:1  ^l, 16  ^m).
Summary for Judg 17:2-3: 17:2-3  ⁿ Micah’s mother was indulgent and idolatrous, yet she invoked the Lord’s name in both cursing and blessing.

• I heard you place a curse: The words uttered in curses and blessings were understood to have power, particularly if the speaker had the authority to utter such pronouncements (cp. Gen 27  ^o; Isa 55:11  ^p).

• 1,100 pieces: This same large number was given to Delilah (Judg 16:5  ^q). It was probably Micah’s mother’s life savings or dowry.

• The Lord bless you: Micah’s mother was hoping that the blessing would effectively neutralize her earlier curse.
Summary for Judg 17:4-5: 17:4-5  ^r We are not told what Micah’s mother did with the other 900 shekels. Perhaps they went to pay for the shrine (literally house of gods).
17:5  ^s ephod: See study note on 8:27.

• household idols: Cp. Gen 31:19-32  ^t; 2 Kgs 23:24  ^u; Zech 10:2  ^v. The Bible mocks the inabilities of these personal deities. Micah’s installing one of his sons as his personal priest was triply irregular: The father was meant to be the religious head of the household (Deut 6:7  ^w; Job 1:5  ^x), only descendants of Aaron were to be priests (Exod 28:1–29:37  ^y; 30:30-33  ^z; 40:12-15  ^aa), and priests were for the whole community of Israel, not for individuals or families.
Summary for Judg 17:7-8: 17:7-8  ^ab Not much about this Levite fits into orthodox biblical categories. Some Levites were priests, while others were temple servants (cp. Num 3–4  ^ac). Levites were scattered throughout Israel (Gen 49:5-7  ^ad; Josh 21  ^ae). This young man, apparently a descendant of Gershom (Judg 18:30  ^af; cp. Exod 2:21-22  ^ag), was based in Judah, but not in a Levitical town, and was looking for another place to live.
17:13  ^ah The contract priest, in Micah’s view, conferred some additional legitimacy on the shrine, though his expectation that the Lord would bless him was based on superstition rather than obedience to the Lord. Micah’s abandonment of God’s covenant would bring a curse on him that no unemployed Levite could ward off. Micah was not the last Israelite to seek out a priest or Levite in an attempt to legitimize irregular religious practices (cp. 1 Kgs 12:28-31  ^ai; 2 Kgs 16:10-18  ^aj).

‏ Judges 18

Summary for Judg 18:1-31: 18:1-31  ^ak The migration of the Danites (cp. Josh 19:40-48  ^al) is the story of that tribe’s failure to obey God’s covenant, and it is indicative of Israel’s decline. What began as Micah’s private heresy (Judg 17:4-5  ^am) would become the apostasy of an entire tribe (18:30-31  ^an). What began as covenant failure (1:19-36  ^ao) turned into social breakdown in the days of Jephthah and Samson (chs 11–16  ^ap). In the end, law and order were replaced by banditry and pillaging (18:27-28  ^aq).
18:2  ^ar Zorah and Eshtaol: Scouts were selected from the area where the Spirit of the Lord began to stir Samson (13:25  ^as). The mention of the two towns is a grim reminder that what began with Samson had not been completed, either by his own tribe (Dan) or by their powerful neighbor (Judah). These capable warriors, rather than fighting the Lord’s battles, bullied their fellow Israelites (18:24-25  ^at) and attacked a defenseless city (18:27  ^au; cp. Gen 49:17  ^av).
Summary for Judg 18:3-4: 18:3-4  ^aw The Danites either recognized the young Levite’s accent (literally voice) as belonging to the region of Judah (17:7  ^ax) or recognized his voice because they had known him personally. Their line of questioning went beyond simply establishing his credentials to providing them with a bit of divine guidance (18:5  ^ay). His reply (18:6  ^az) established his willingness to be a mercenary priest.
Summary for Judg 18:5-6: 18:5-6  ^ba The Lord had already promised to give Dan an allotment in the southwest that they had failed to possess (see 1:34  ^bb; Josh 19:40-48  ^bc). Now they were asking God’s blessing from a hired priest whose “blessing,” like that of Micah’s mother (Judg 17:2  ^bd), sounded religious while having no basis in Israel’s covenant with the Lord.
18:7  ^be Laish has been extensively excavated and was an impressive city at this time. The description of Laish and its relationship to the port of Sidon is not entirely clear in the text or from recorded history. The people of Laish, as Phoenicians, might have expected to be exempt from Israel’s attack on the Canaanites. This language is substantially repeated in 18:28  ^bf.
Summary for Judg 18:9-10: 18:9-10  ^bg The language resembles the report following the mission to spy out the land (Num 14:7-8  ^bh; Deut 1:25  ^bi), but the context is sharply different. Joshua and Caleb overcame their fear and acted in faith by remembering the Lord’s promise (cp. Josh 2:9  ^bj, 24  ^bk; 6:2  ^bl; 10:19  ^bm, 30  ^bn). The Danite warriors invoked God’s blessing and recognized the value of the land, but their cocky self-assurance contrasts sharply with the godly faith of Joshua and Caleb.
18:12  ^bo Kiriath-jearim: In this town northwest of Jerusalem the Ark rested for twenty years (1 Sam 7:1-2  ^bp) on its return from Philistine captivity. It lay on the border of Judah and Benjamin and was given a memorial name associated with Dan’s wanderings (cp. the different site of Judg 13:25  ^bq).
Summary for Judg 18:14-26: 18:14-26  ^br The perfidy and insincerity of this exchange expose the ignoble values of all concerned. 18:14  ^bs sacred ephod ... household idols ... carved image ... cast idol: See study notes on 8:27 and 17:5.
18:15  ^bt Bypassing the host, the five unscrupulous scouts went straight to their target, the naive and unprincipled young Levite.
18:16  ^bu The 600 armed warriors were prepared to attack the single Levite. In contrast to Gideon’s army of 300 arrayed against the Midianite hordes (7:2-11  ^bv), the Danites were merely armed bullies.
18:18  ^bw The priest’s rhetorical question was less an attempt to stop the theft than an expression of concern about his own future (cp. 18:20  ^bx).
18:19  ^by Using Micah’s language (be a father and priest, 17:10  ^bz), but without its generosity, the Danites’ question was moot in light of the 600 men standing at the door.
18:20  ^ca The young priest was receptive to the offer; ignoring his generous benefactor, he joined in absconding with Micah’s prized objects. The blessing of Micah’s mother (17:3  ^cb) was becoming ever more tarnished.
18:22  ^cc Some of Micah’s neighbors had apparently become converts to the cult of his shrine.
18:23  ^cd The question was only intended to cow Micah into abandoning the fight.
18:24  ^ce Micah’s last speech is pathetic and pitiful. He began by stealing from his own mother and ended by losing it all to worse thieves than himself. The narrative drips with irony, including Micah’s loss of the gods I have made. His fate was that of all who forsake the Lord’s covenant: I have nothing left!
18:25  ^cf short-tempered (literally bitter of soul; “in deep anguish,” 1 Sam 1:10  ^cg; “discontented,” 1 Sam 22:2  ^ch; “enraged,” 2 Sam 17:8  ^ci): This term describes those whose bitter disappointment with life has made their actions unpredictable.
18:28  ^cj Beth-rehob was perhaps an Aramean kingdom to the north (2 Sam 10:6  ^ck). Nothing heroic, and no holy war, accrued to these Danite warriors who captured this defenseless city. Dan fulfilled Jacob’s mixed blessing by turning from the high calling of governing his people (Gen 49:16  ^cl) to becoming “a snake beside the road, a poisonous viper along the path that bites the horse’s hooves so its rider is thrown off” (Gen 49:17  ^cm).
Summary for Judg 18:29-31: 18:29-31  ^cn The city of Dan became the northernmost landmark of Israel’s territory (e.g., 20:1  ^co; 2 Sam 3:10  ^cp; 1 Kgs 4:25  ^cq; 2 Chr 30:5  ^cr). Its identity as a center of idolatry continued throughout its history (see 1 Kgs 12:28-30  ^cs; Amos 8:14  ^ct).
18:30  ^cu The wandering Levite is now called Jonathan; he was a descendant of Moses through Gershom (Exod 2:21-22  ^cv).

• The Exile is traditionally understood to have begun with the fall of the northern kingdom in 722 BC. In light of the reference to Shiloh (Judg 18:31  ^cw), the exile of the Ark from Shiloh (1 Sam 4–6  ^cx) might be in view.
18:31  ^cy The religious infidelity of the tribe of Dan continued at least through the period of the judges; whether it was corrected by Samuel, Saul, or David is nowhere stated.

• Joshua took Shiloh, a town in the hill country of Ephraim, as his command post and central shrine (Josh 18:1  ^cz) during the conquest and distribution of the land (Josh 18–22  ^da). The priest Eli and his sons ministered before the Lord at Shiloh (1 Sam 1:3  ^db). The town and sanctuary were probably destroyed by Philistines about 1050 BC (see 1 Sam 4:1-11  ^dc). Shiloh was later remembered as an example of God’s judgment on false worship conducted in his name (see Jer 7:12-14  ^dd; 26:6  ^de; cp. Ps 78:60  ^df).

‏ Judges 19

Summary for Judg 19:1-21:25: 19:1–21:25  ^dg This second epilogue (see study note on 17:1–21:25) shifts the focus from individuals to whole tribes. Beginning with the outrage in the Benjamite town of Gibeah (ch 19  ^dh), which led to civil war (ch 20  ^di) and the decimation of Benjamin, and moving on to the attempt to rescue the tribe from oblivion (ch 21  ^dj), the book concludes with the now-familiar refrain, in those days Israel had no king; all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes. This was perhaps the low point in Israel’s own remembered history; this is “what they did in Gibeah” that Hosea, 400 years later, would liken to the depths to which Ephraim had sunk (Hos 9:9  ^dk; 10:9  ^dl).

• The way had been cleared for a transition from charismatic leadership to what might be called “covenant-charismatic kingship,” i.e., kingship that combined living under the Lord’s covenant (Deut 17:14-20  ^dm) with the anointing of the Spirit for the task of ruling, as with Saul and David. 19:1  ^dn A concubine was a second-class wife. In a society where polygamy was common, a concubine could be purchased, acquired as repayment of debt, or taken in war. A concubine was sometimes added to make up for a deficiency in a legitimate wife (e.g., Gen 16:1-4  ^do; 30:3-13  ^dp; 35:22  ^dq), but in the case of the Levite there appears to have been no other wife.
19:4  ^dr The woman’s father demonstrated typical Near Eastern hospitality, in contrast to what would later transpire in Gibeah (19:14-28  ^ds). The scene in Bethlehem offers reconciliation and the promise of a new beginning.
Summary for Judg 19:5-7: 19:5-7  ^dt Although some have suggested that the delay in leaving was analogous to Samson’s seven-day bridal feast (14:10-20  ^du), the picture may reflect nothing more than the father’s reluctance to bid his daughter farewell.
19:10  ^dv Jebus: See study note on 1:21. The city’s old name and its foreign status in Israel persisted until its capture by David (2 Sam 5:6-10  ^dw).
19:13  ^dx The two Benjamite towns of Gibeah and Ramah have a prominent place in Israelite history, connected as they are with judges (Deborah, 4:5  ^dy), priests (Eleazar, Josh 24:33  ^dz), prophets (Samuel, 1 Sam 8:4  ^ea), and kings (Saul, 1 Sam 10:26  ^eb). The account of Gibeah’s noble history compounds the tragedy of the events that followed.
19:15  ^ec The normal rules of hospitality in Israel and the rest of the Near East obligated a citizen of the town to take them in (cp. Isa 58:7  ^ed; Luke 14:13-14  ^ee; Rom 12:13  ^ef; 1 Tim 3:2  ^eg; 5:10  ^eh; Heb 13:2  ^ei; 1 Pet 4:9  ^ej). The Levite had funds and provisions (Judg 19:19  ^ek), so there was even less excuse. This erosion of common civility is yet another evidence of social dysfunction at the time of Judges.
19:16  ^el The old man was from the hill country of Ephraim rather than the territory of Benjamin. The natives of Gibeah were all unwilling to help.
19:18  ^em now I’m returning home: The Levite said nothing about his own status, or about why he was traveling.
19:20  ^en The note of urgency in the old man’s response foreshadowed the coming trouble (cp. Gen 19:2-3  ^eo).
19:22  ^ep troublemakers: Hebrew sons of Belial; see study notes on 1 Kgs 21:10; 1 Sam 1:16; 2 Cor 6:15. Their goal was homosexual rape. Cp. Gen 19:4-5  ^eq.
19:23  ^er For this man is a guest in my house: It was shameful to be inhospitable to a visitor, but the evil demands of the crowd went beyond lack of hospitality. They intended violence against the visitor (see 20:5  ^es).
19:24  ^et The old man attempted to preserve the social obligation of hospitality at the cost of handing over the vulnerable to be harmed (cp. Jas 1:27  ^eu). There is no way, for our age or theirs, to soften the horror of what followed. The period of the judges was coming to an end in deepest depravity. Something was fundamentally amiss.
19:25  ^ev Contrast the instruction to husbands in Eph 5:25-28  ^ew.
Summary for Judg 19:28-29: 19:28-29  ^ex The Levite’s actions exemplify the horror of a corrupt culture.

‏ Judges 20

20:1  ^ey This was not the Mizpah east of the Jordan associated with Jephthah (10:17  ^ez; 11:11  ^fa, 29  ^fb, 34  ^fc), but a place in central Israel. This common name means “watchtower.”
20:3  ^fd The tribe of Benjamin had probably received the summons (19:29  ^fe), so they knew that trouble was brewing.
20:5  ^ff The “troublemakers” (19:22  ^fg) were leading citizens (literally lords).

• planning to kill me: The death of his concubine convinced the Levite that the men of Gibeah intended his death.
20:9  ^fh The lots may have been the Urim and Thummim on the priest’s breastplate (Exod 28:30  ^fi; cp. Josh 14:2  ^fj; 1 Sam 14:41  ^fk; Ezra 2:63  ^fl).
Summary for Judg 20:12-13: 20:12-13  ^fm Israel recognized corporate responsibility. The leading citizens of Gibeah were guilty (20:5  ^fn), and all of Gibeah became an accessory to their crimes by failing to discipline them. The tribe of Benjamin, in turn, had a responsibility to bring Gibeah to justice; failing that, they all shared the guilt. Had Israel not done something about Benjamin’s sin, the guilt would then have extended to the entire nation.
Summary for Judg 20:13-17: 20:13-17  ^fo Benjamin’s response was consistent with its independent and warlike character (cp. Gen 49:27  ^fp). The tribe had justifiable confidence in the warriors for which it was famous (Judg 3:12-30  ^fq; 1 Chr 12:2  ^fr). Though outnumbered almost three to one, they defeated the rest of Israel twice and inflicted heavy casualties (Judg 20:18-24  ^fs).
20:16  ^ft left-handed: See study note on 3:15.

• The sling was of the same type as the one David used to kill Goliath (1 Sam 17:40-51  ^fu). The slinger buried a stone in a small pouch attached to a leather thong, then swung it around his head to gain momentum before releasing one end of the thong to shoot the missile. A slinger had the advantage of distance over a swordsman.
20:18  ^fv To go first means to lead, not necessarily to precede (Gen 49:10  ^fw).
Summary for Judg 20:19-21: 20:19-21  ^fx The three battles took place around the guilty city. Despite superior numbers and having asked the Lord for guidance, the Israelite troops facing the defenders behind their walls were soundly beaten back the first day.
Summary for Judg 20:22-23: 20:22-23  ^fy Following a time of weeping and probably confession (cp. Josh 7  ^fz) the Israelite troops received divine guidance and regained confidence.
Summary for Judg 20:24-25: 20:24-25  ^ga A second debacle shook the confidence of the Israelites (20:26-28  ^gb).
Summary for Judg 20:26-28: 20:26-28  ^gc The pressure was building to admit defeat and go home. The activities in the presence of the Lord increased in intensity as the Israelites sought the Lord’s direction.
Summary for Judg 20:29-44: 20:29-44  ^gd The third day’s battle followed the same strategies of deception and ambush that were used to conquer Ai (Josh 8:1-29  ^ge).
20:33  ^gf Baal-tamar is an unidentified town.
Summary for Judg 20:36-48: 20:36-48  ^gg This section gives a second account of the battle.
20:43  ^gh finally overtaking them east of Gibeah: The geography is complicated, with a further problem of possible confusion between Gibeah and nearby Geba (1 Sam 13:3–14:5  ^gi; see also 1 Kgs 15:22  ^gj).
20:47  ^gk the rock of Rimmon: “Rimmon” was a Benjamite personal name (2 Sam 4:2  ^gl), and the place was about four miles east of Bethel. It was a stronghold, probably a cliff dwelling that protected fugitives by its inaccessibility.

‏ Judges 21

21:1  ^gm For the second time in Judges, an unwise vow put its makers in a difficult position (see study note on 11:31).
21:3  ^gn The concept of a twelve-tribe league was deeply rooted in Israel, having survived the separation of Levi from the secular tribes, the virtual disappearance of Simeon and Asher, and the division of Joseph into two (Manasseh and Ephraim). The loss of one tribe would have suggested that God’s covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob was coming unglued.
Summary for Judg 21:8-9: 21:8-9  ^go Jabesh-gilead was an important town east of the Jordan whose failure to participate in the war against Benjamin made a grievous break in solidarity (see 21:5  ^gp).
21:11  ^gq Completely destroy: See Lev 27:28-29  ^gr.
Summary for Judg 21:15-17: 21:15-17  ^gs The people felt sorry for Benjamin: Israel was concerned about the brokenness of the nation.

• The gap in Israel was an act of the Lord, because the war against Benjamin had been a response to the Lord’s covenant.
21:19  ^gt The annual grape harvest festival ... in Shiloh may originally have been a Canaanite feast.
21:23  ^gu Their own land was the land allotted to the tribe of Benjamin by the Lord’s covenant (2:6  ^gv).
21:24  ^gw The people of Israel pulled through despite the lack of inspired leadership (chs 17–18  ^gx) and the failure of the tribal league (chs 19–21  ^gy). Tribes and families were intact; Israel and all its tribes would survive.
21:25  ^gz The conclusion of chs 17–21  ^ha gives the reason for the social disorder of the time. Following the period of the judges, God would make a new covenant with Israel involving King David (2 Sam 7  ^hb) and the promise of messianic rule. The fulfillment of that promise would go far beyond anything that could be imagined in the time when Israel had no king.