Judges 18:20
in Judges 18So the priest was glad and took the ephod, the household idols, and the graven image, and went with the people.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the priest’s heart was glad, and he took the ephod, and the teraphim, and the graven image, and went in the midst of the people.
KJV
And the priest’s heart was glad, and he took the ephod, and the teraphim, and the graven image, and went in the midst of the people.
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This verse in Judges 18
Commentary
7 notes on this verseA commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Their journey led them through the territory of Judah, and their first halting place was "behind," that is, on the west of Kirjath-jearim, on a spot called afterwards "the camp of Dan." Prosecuting the northern route, they skirted the base of the Ephraimite hills.
This site's exposition
took the graven image
on Judges 18:18-20
The priest asks what they are doing as his shrine goes out the door, and the answer is an offer. Micah had hired him at 17:10 in the same words, and Dan repeats them, “be a father and a priest to us”, counting a tribe instead of coin. The priest was glad and went in the middle of the company, which Clarke reads as hiding from his old master.
This site's exposition
So the priest was glad
Matthew Henry notes that the Levite had no complaint against Micah, who had kept his word and his wage. Shiloh stood open to him under Deuteronomy 18, where a Levite could serve the priests and be welcome. Wesley names the motive as self-interest.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Was glad - Being wholly governed by his own interest. The midst - Both for the greater security of such precious things, and that Micah might not be able to come at him, to injure or upbraid him; and, it may be, because that was the place where the ark used to be carried.
He had no reason to say but that he was well off where he was; Micah had not deceived him, nor changed his wages. He was not moved with any remorse of conscience for attending on a graven image: had he gone away to Shiloh to minister to the Lord's priests, according to the duty of a Levite, he might have been welcome there ( Deut. xviii.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
And the priest's heart was glad,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Went to the midst of the people - He was glad to be employed by the Danites; and went into the crowd, that he might not be discovered by Micah or his family.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
The bulky cargo. The loads. Anything which moved ponderously, thus making it impossible to move quickly should the local inhabitants pursue them.
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
13 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּיטַב֙ | vaiyitav | and it was good | H3190 → | 117 times |
| לֵ֣ב | lev | [the] heart of | H3820 → | 595 times |
| הַכֹּהֵ֔ן | hakohen | the priest | H3548 → | 750 times |
| וַיִּקַּח֙ | vaiyikach | and he took | H3947 → | 966 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הָ֣אֵפ֔וֹד | haefod | the ephod | H646 → | 49 times |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הַתְּרָפִ֖ים | haterafim | the teraphim | H8655 → | 15 times |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הַפָּ֑סֶל | hapasel | the carved image | H6459 → | 31 times |
| וַיָּבֹ֖א | vaiyavo' | and he went | H935 → | 2568 times |
| בְּקֶ֥רֶב | bekerev | in [the] midst of | H7130 → | 227 times |
| הָעָֽם׃ | haam | the people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
וַיִּיטַב֙and it was good
vaiyitavH3190 →117 times
לֵ֣ב[the] heart of
levH3820 →595 times
הַכֹּהֵ֔ןthe priest
hakohenH3548 →750 times
וַיִּקַּח֙and he took
vaiyikachH3947 →966 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הָ֣אֵפ֔וֹדthe ephod
haefodH646 →49 times
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
הַתְּרָפִ֖יםthe teraphim
haterafimH8655 →15 times
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
הַפָּ֑סֶלthe carved image
hapaselH6459 →31 times
וַיָּבֹ֖אand he went
vaiyavo'H935 →2568 times
בְּקֶ֥רֶבin [the] midst of
bekerevH7130 →227 times
הָעָֽם׃the people
haamH5971 →1873 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
Philippians 3:19Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and their glory is in their shame. Their minds are set on earthly things.
it leads to
- Romans 16:18
For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Romans 8:5–7
Those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh; but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.
- 2 Peter 2:3
In their greed, these false teachers will exploit you with deceptive words. The longstanding verdict against them remains in force, and their destruction does not sleep.
- Colossians 3:2
Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.
- 2 Corinthians 11:15
It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their actions.
- Romans 16:18
Through
2 Peter 2:3In their greed, these false teachers will exploit you with deceptive words. The longstanding verdict against them remains in force, and their destruction does not sleep.
it leads to
- 2 Corinthians 2:17
For we are not like so many others, who peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, as men sent from God.
- Deuteronomy 32:35
Vengeance is Mine; I will repay. In due time their foot will slip; for their day of disaster is near, and their doom is coming quickly.”
- 2 Corinthians 2:17
Through
Isaiah 56:11Like ravenous dogs, they are never satisfied. They are shepherds with no discernment; they all turn to their own way, each one seeking his own gain:
it leads to
- Ezekiel 34:2–3
“Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Woe to the shepherds of Israel, who only feed themselves! Should not the…
- Ezekiel 34:2–3
About Judges
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.