Judges 18
The Migration of Dan
1 In those days there was no king in
Israel. And in those days the tribe of the Danites was seeking for itself a
territory to live in; for until then no territory among the tribes of Israel
had been allotted to them. 2So the Danites sent
five valiant men from the whole number of their clan, from Zorah and from
Eshtaol, to spy out the land and to explore it; and they said to them, "Go,
explore the land." When they came to the hill country of Ephraim, to the
house of Micah, they stayed there. 3While they
were at Micah's house, they recognized the voice of the young Levite; so
they went over and asked him, "Who brought you here? What are you doing in
this place? What is your business here?" 4He said
to them, "Micah did such and such for me, and he hired me, and I have become
his priest." 5Then they said to him, "Inquire of
God that we may know whether the mission we are undertaking will succeed." 6The
priest replied, "Go in peace. The mission you are on is under the eye of the
LORD."
7 The five men went on, and when
they came to Laish, they observed the people who were there living securely,
after the manner of the Sidonians, quiet and unsuspecting, lackinga
nothing on earth, and possessing wealth.b Furthermore,
they were far from the Sidonians and had no dealings with Aram.c 8When
they came to their kinsfolk at Zorah and Eshtaol, they said to them, "What
do you report?" 9They said, "Come, let us go up
against them; for we have seen the land, and it is very good. Will you do
nothing? Do not be slow to go, but enter in and possess the land. 10When
you go, you will come to an unsuspecting people. The land is broad--God has
indeed given it into your hands--a place where there is no lack of anything
on earth."
11 Six hundred men of the Danite clan,
armed with weapons of war, set out from Zorah and Eshtaol, 12and
went up and encamped at Kiriath-jearim in Judah. On this account that place
is called Mahaneh-dand to this day; it is west of
Kiriath-jearim. 13From there they passed on to
the hill country of Ephraim, and came to the house of Micah.
14
Then the five men who had gone to spy out the land (that is, Laish) said to
their comrades, "Do you know that in these buildings there are an ephod,
teraphim, and an idol of cast metal? Now therefore consider what you will
do." 15So they turned in that direction and came
to the house of the young Levite, at the home of Micah, and greeted him. 16While
the six hundred men of the Danites, armed with their weapons of war, stood
by the entrance of the gate, 17the five men who
had gone to spy out the land proceeded to enter and take the idol of cast
metal, the ephod, and the teraphim.e The priest was
standing by the entrance of the gate with the six hundred men armed with
weapons of war. 18When the men went into Micah's
house and took the idol of cast metal, the ephod, and the teraphim, the
priest said to them, "What are you doing?" 19They
said to him, "Keep quiet! Put your hand over your mouth, and come with us,
and be to us a father and a priest. Is it better for you to be priest to the
house of one person, or to be priest to a tribe and clan in Israel?" 20Then
the priest accepted the offer. He took the ephod, the teraphim, and the
idol, and went along with the people.
21 So they
resumed their journey, putting the little ones, the livestock, and the goods
in front of them. 22When they were some distance
from the home of Micah, the men who were in the houses near Micah's house
were called out, and they overtook the Danites. 23They
shouted to the Danites, who turned around and said to Micah, "What is the
matter that you come with such a company?" 24He
replied, "You take my gods that I made, and the priest, and go away, and
what have I left? How then can you ask me, 'What is the matter?' " 25And
the Danites said to him, "You had better not let your voice be heard among
us or else hot-tempered fellows will attack you, and you will lose your life
and the lives of your household." 26Then the
Danites went their way. When Micah saw that they were too strong for him, he
turned and went back to his home.
The Danites Settle in Laish
27 The Danites, having taken what Micah had made, and the priest who belonged to him, came to Laish, to a people quiet and unsuspecting, put them to the sword, and burned down the city. 28There was no deliverer, because it was far from Sidon and they had no dealings with Aram.f It was in the valley that belongs to Beth-rehob. They rebuilt the city, and lived in it. 29They named the city Dan, after their ancestor Dan, who was born to Israel; but the name of the city was formerly Laish. 30Then the Danites set up the idol for themselves. Jonathan son of Gershom, son of Moses,g and his sons were priests to the tribe of the Danites until the time the land went into captivity. 31So they maintained as their own Micah's idol that he had made, as long as the house of God was at Shiloh.