Judges 17:12
in Judges 17Micah ordained the Levite, and the young man became his priest and lived in his house.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Micah consecrated the Levite, and the young man became his priest, and was in the house of Micah.
KJV
And Micah consecrated the Levite; and the young man became his priest, and was in the house of Micah.
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This verse in Judges 17
Commentary
8 notes on this verseMicah consecrated the Levite - וימלא את יד vayemalle eth yad, he filled his hands, i.e., he gave him an offering to present before the Lord, that he might be accepted by him. He appointed him to be priest; God was to accept and consecrate him; and for this purpose he filled his hand; i.e., furnished him with the proper offering which he was to present on his inauguration.
This site's exposition
be my father and priest
on Judges 17:10-12
The wage is priced to the shekel, “ten shekels of silver per year, a suit of clothes, and your provisions”, the cost of a priest here. Micah's pair “father and priest” stands together again only at 18:19, where the Danites turn his offer against him. Ordained at verse 12 renders a Hebrew phrase meaning filled his hand, the wording of Aaron's ordination at Exodus 28:41.
This site's exposition
Micah ordained the Levite
Wesley notes that Micah knew a Levite was barred from the priesthood as fully as any man of Israel, so he ordained him. The son Micah ordained at verse 5 now gives way to the young Levite. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown count the act unlawful for both men.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
Consecrated - To be a priest, for which he thought a consecration necessary, as knowing the Levites were no less excluded from the priest's office than the people. The young man - Instead of his son, whom he had consecrated, but now seems to restrain him from the exercise of that office, and to devolve it wholly upon the Levite, who was nearer akin to it.
1 And there was a man of mount Ephraim, whose name was Micah. 2 And he said unto his mother, The eleven hundred shekels of silver that were taken from thee, about which thou cursedst, and spakest of also in mine ears, behold, the silver is with me;
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture
And Micah consecrated the Levite,....
As if his building, furnishing, and endowing this chapel authorized him, not only to appoint the person that should officiate there, but to confer those orders upon him which he had no right to give nor the other to receive. And now he shows him respect as a father and tenderness as a son, and is willing thus to make up the deficiency of the coin he gave him.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Micah consecrated the Levite--Hebrew, "filled his hand." This act of consecration was not less unlawful for Micah to perform than for this Levite to receive (see on Jud 18:30).
The words behind it
12 Hebrew wordsEvery 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.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיְמַלֵּ֤א | vaymale' | and he filled | H4390 → | 249 times |
| מִיכָה֙ | mikhah | Micah | H4318 → | 33 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| יַ֣ד | yad | [the] hand of | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| הַלֵּוִ֔י | halevi | the Levite | H3881 → | 291 times |
| וַיְהִי־ | vayhi- | and he became | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| ל֥וֹ | lo | of him | ||
| הַנַּ֖עַר | hanaar | the young man | H5288 → | 239 times |
| לְכֹהֵ֑ן | lekhohen | <into> a priest | H3548 → | 750 times |
| וַיְהִ֖י | vayhi | and he was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| בְּבֵ֥ית | beveit | in [the] house of | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| מִיכָֽה׃ | mikhah | Micah | H4318 → | 33 times |
וַיְמַלֵּ֤אand he filled
vaymale'H4390 →249 times
מִיכָה֙Micah
mikhahH4318 →33 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
יַ֣ד[the] hand of
yadH3027 →1618 times
הַלֵּוִ֔יthe Levite
haleviH3881 →291 times
וַיְהִי־and he became
vayhi-H1961 →3559 times
ל֥וֹof him
lo
הַנַּ֖עַרthe young man
hanaarH5288 →239 times
לְכֹהֵ֑ן<into> a priest
lekhohenH3548 →750 times
וַיְהִ֖יand he was
vayhiH1961 →3559 times
בְּבֵ֥יתin [the] house of
beveitH1004 →2046 times
מִיכָֽה׃Micah
mikhahH4318 →33 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach 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
Numbers 16:5Then he said to Korah and all his followers, “Tomorrow morning the LORD will reveal who belongs to Him and who is holy, and He will bring that person near to Himself. The one…
it leads to
- Psalms 65:4
Blessed is the one You choose and bring near to dwell in Your courts! We are filled with the goodness of Your house, the holiness of Your temple.
- Numbers 17:5
The staff belonging to the man I choose will sprout, and I will rid Myself of the constant grumbling of the Israelites against you.”
- 2 Timothy 2:19
Nevertheless, God’s firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: “The Lord knows those who are His,” and, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord must turn away from iniquity.”
- Leviticus 10:3
Then Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the LORD meant when He said: ‘To those who come near Me I will show My holiness, and in the sight of all the people I…
- Psalms 65:4
Through
1 Kings 12:31Jeroboam also built shrines on the high places and appointed from every class of people priests who were not Levites.
it leads to
- 1 Kings 13:32–33
for the message that he cried out by the word of the LORD against the altar in Bethel and against all the shrines on the high places in the cities of Samaria will surely…
- 2 Chronicles 13:9
But did you not drive out the priests of the LORD, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites? And did you not make priests for yourselves as do the peoples of other lands? Now…
- 2 Kings 17:32
So the new residents worshiped the LORD, but they also appointed for themselves priests of all sorts to serve in the shrines of the high places.
- 1 Kings 13:32–33
Through
Judges 18:30The Danites set up idols for themselves, and Jonathan son of Gershom, the son of Moses, and his sons were priests for the tribe of Dan until the day of the captivity of the…
it leads to
- Exodus 2:22
And she gave birth to a son, and Moses named him Gershom, saying, “I have become a foreigner in a foreign land.”
- Exodus 2:22
About Judges
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.