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Judges 17:1

in Judges 17

Now a man named Micah from the hill country of Ephraim

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And there was a man of the hill-country of Ephraim, whose name was Micah.

KJV

And there was a man of mount Ephraim, whose name was Micah.

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This verse in Judges 17

Commentary

3 notes on this verse
See the introduction to the Book of Judges. The only point of contact with the preceding history of Samson is, that we are still concerned with the tribe of Dan. See Jdg 18:1-2, note. Josephus combines in one narrative what we read here and in Jdg 1:34, and places it, with the story in Judg. 18–21, immediately after the death of Joshua.

This site's exposition

a man of mount Ephraim

on Judges 17:1-2

Micah's name is built on the divine name and means who is like the LORD, which is the first thing the chapter puts in front of a reader, before a word about his shrine. Eleven hundred occurs three times in Scripture and the other is Judges 16:5, where each lord of the Philistines promises Delilah eleven hundred pieces of silver, so the sum that bought Samson is the sum lying in this house. The mother had cursed whoever took her silver and the man who took it was her son, and when he confesses she answers the confession with a blessing.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

A commentator

John Wesley

1703–1791

Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)

There was, &c. - The things mentioned here, and in the following chapters, did not happen in the order in which they are put; but much sooner, even presently after the death of the elders that over-lived Joshua, as appears, because Phinehas the son of Eleazar was priest at this time, chap. xx, 28, who must have been about 350 years old, if this had been done after Samson's death.

How the passage was read

What the Jewish commentators add

On the verses either side of this one

Stolen from you [lit. "to you"]. Stolen from you. 7 לך, lit. “to you”, may also be interpreted as “from you”. Similarly, 8 Shmuel,:6 "For women were withheld 'to' us,"—'from' us.
Rashi: France, 1040–1105 · Rashi on Judges 17:2:1, via Sefaria, The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J

This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.

Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 6 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.

The words behind it

6 Hebrew words

Every Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

  • וַֽיְהִי־and he was

    vayhi-H1961 →3559 times

  • אִ֥ישׁa man

    ʾishH376 →1663 times

  • מֵֽהַר־from [the] hill country of

    mehar-H2022 →546 times

  • אֶפְרָ֖יִםEphraim

    ʾefrayimH669 →180 times

  • וּשְׁמ֥וֹand name his

    ushemoH8034 →864 times

  • מִיכָֽיְהוּ׃[was] Micaiah

    mikhayehuH4321 →

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

10 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

1 Samuel 1:1Now there was a man named Elkanah who was from Ramathaim-zophim in the hill country of Ephraim. He was the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite.4 worksJoshua 15:9From the hilltop the border curved to the spring of the Waters of Nephtoah, proceeded to the cities of Mount Ephron, and then bent around toward Baalah (that is, Kiriath-jearim).3 worksJudges 10:1After the time of Abimelech, a man of Issachar, Tola son of Puah, the son of Dodo, rose up to save Israel. He lived in Shamir, in the hill country of Ephraim.3 worksJudges 18:2So the Danites sent out five men from their clans, men of valor from Zorah and Eshtaol, to spy out the land and explore it. “Go and explore the land,” they told them. The men entered the hill country of Ephraim and came to the house of Micah, where they spent the night.3 worksJoshua 17:14–18Then the sons of Joseph said to Joshua, “Why have you given us only one portion as an inheritance? We have many people, because the LORD has blessed us abundantly.”3 works1 Kings 4:8and these were their names: Ben-hur in the hill country of Ephraim;2 works
The other 4 cross-references, with their words ▾
1 Samuel 9:4So Saul passed through the hill country of Ephraim and then through the land of Shalishah, but did not find the donkeys. He and the servant went through the region of Shaalim, but they were not there. Then they went through the land of Benjamin, and still they did not find them.2 worksJudges 18:13And from there they traveled to the hill country of Ephraim and came to Micah’s house.2 worksJudges 19:1Now in those days, when there was no king in Israel, a Levite who lived in the remote hill country of Ephraim took for himself a concubine from Bethlehem in Judah.2 worksJudges 3:27On arriving in Seirah, he blew the ram’s horn throughout the hill country of Ephraim. The Israelites came down with him from the hills, and he became their leader.2 works

The walk

8 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    Judges 10:1

    After the time of Abimelech, a man of Issachar, Tola son of Puah, the son of Dodo, rose up to save Israel. He lived in Shamir, in the hill country of Ephraim.

    it leads to

    • Judges 2:16

      Then the LORD raised up judges, who saved them from the hands of those who plundered them.

  • Through

    Joshua 15:9

    From the hilltop the border curved to the spring of the Waters of Nephtoah, proceeded to the cities of Mount Ephron, and then bent around toward Baalah (that is, Kiriath-jearim).

    it leads to

    • 1 Chronicles 13:6

      David and all Israel went up to Baalah of Judah (that is, Kiriath-jearim) to bring up from there the ark of God the LORD, who is enthroned between the cherubim—the ark that is called…

    • Joshua 18:15

      On the south side the border began at the outskirts of Kiriath-jearim and extended westward to the spring at the Waters of Nephtoah.

    • Judges 18:12

      They went up and camped at Kiriath-jearim in Judah. That is why the place west of Kiriath-jearim is called Mahaneh-dan to this day.

  • Through

    Judges 18:2

    So the Danites sent out five men from their clans, men of valor from Zorah and Eshtaol, to spy out the land and explore it. “Go and explore the land,” they told them. The…

    it leads to

    • Judges 13:25

      And the Spirit of the LORD began to stir him at Mahaneh-dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.

    • Joshua 2:1

      Then Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two spies from Shittim, saying, “Go, inspect the land, especially Jericho.” So they went and entered the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there.

    • Judges 18:8

      When the men returned to Zorah and Eshtaol, their brothers asked them, “What did you find?”

    • Numbers 13:17

      When Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, he told them, “Go up through the Negev and into the hill country.

About Judges

The Death of Samson — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain
The Death of Samson — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain
Judges: the study guide →Read Judges 17 →

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament.

Read on in Judges 17 →