Judges 18:23
in Judges 18When they called out after them, the Danites turned to face them and said to Micah, “What is the matter with you that you have called out such a company?”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And they cried unto the children of Dan. And they turned their faces, and said unto Micah, What aileth thee, that thou comest with such a company?
KJV
And they cried unto the children of Dan. And they turned their faces, and said unto Micah, What aileth thee, that thou comest with such a company?
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This verse in Judges 18
Commentary
5 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
they turned and departed
on Judges 18:21-24
The small children, the livestock and the possessions go in front, which Barnes reads as an order of march against the pursuit they expected. Micah's neighbours are called out of the houses near his, so the shrine had a settlement around it. His cry states the difficulty in his own words, “You took the gods I had made”, and Isaiah 44:14-17 and 46:1-2 later argue from that order.
This site's exposition
What is the matter with you
The Danites turn and ask Micah what is the matter, as if he had no cause to call out a company after them. Henry sets out the two sides, Micah pleading his right and the Danites their might. Might won.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And they cried unto the children of Dan,....
He argues with them, and pleads his right, which he thought should prevail; but they, in answer, plead their might, which, it proved, did prevail; for it is common that might overcomes right.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
the men that were in the houses near to Micah's house were gathered together--The robbers of the chapel being soon detected, a hot pursuit was forthwith commenced by Micah, at the head of a considerable body of followers.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַֽיִּקְרְאוּ֙ | vaiyikreu | and they called out | H7121 → | 733 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| בְּנֵי־ | benei- | [the] descendants of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| דָ֔ן | dan | Dan | H1835 → | 70 times |
| וַיַּסֵּ֖בּוּ | vaiyassebu | and they turned round | H5437 → | 161 times |
| פְּנֵיהֶ֑ם | peneihem | faces their | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| וַיֹּאמְר֣וּ | vaiyomeru | and they said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| לְמִיכָ֔ה | lemikhah | to Micah | H4318 → | 33 times |
| מַה־ | mah- | what? | H4100 → | 752 times |
| לְּךָ֖ | lekha | [is that] to you | ||
| כִּ֥י | ki | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| נִזְעָֽקְתָּ׃ | nizaketa | you have been called together | H2199 → | 73 times |
וַֽיִּקְרְאוּ֙and they called out
vaiyikreuH7121 →733 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
בְּנֵי־[the] descendants of
benei-H1121 →4930 times
דָ֔ןDan
danH1835 →70 times
וַיַּסֵּ֖בּוּand they turned round
vaiyassebuH5437 →161 times
פְּנֵיהֶ֑םfaces their
peneihemH6440 →2123 times
וַיֹּאמְר֣וּand they said
vaiyomeruH559 →5305 times
לְמִיכָ֔הto Micah
lemikhahH4318 →33 times
מַה־what?
mah-H4100 →752 times
לְּךָ֖[is that] to you
lekha
כִּ֥יthat
kiH3588 →4482 times
נִזְעָֽקְתָּ׃you have been called together
nizaketaH2199 →73 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
Genesis 21:17Then God heard the voice of the boy, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven, “What is wrong, Hagar? Do not be afraid, for God has heard the voice of the…
it leads to
- Genesis 16:11
The angel of the LORD proceeded: “Behold, you have conceived and will bear a son. And you shall name him Ishmael, for the LORD has heard your cry of affliction.
- Psalms 50:15
Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor Me.”
- Exodus 3:7
The LORD said, “I have indeed seen the affliction of My people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their oppressors, and I am aware of their sufferings.
- Psalms 91:15
When he calls out to Me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble. I will deliver him and honor him.
- Genesis 16:11
Through
Psalms 114:5Why was it, O sea, that you fled, O Jordan, that you turned back,
it leads to
- Habakkuk 3:8
Were You angry at the rivers, O LORD? Was Your wrath against the streams? Did You rage against the sea when You rode on Your horses, on Your chariots of salvation?
- Habakkuk 3:8
Through
2 Kings 6:28Then the king asked her, “What is the matter?” And she answered, “This woman said to me, ‘Give up your son, that we may eat him, and tomorrow we will eat my son.’
it leads to
- 2 Samuel 14:5
“What troubles you?” the king asked her. “Indeed,” she said, “I am a widow, for my husband is dead.
- Lamentations 4:10
The hands of compassionate women have cooked their own children, who became their food in the destruction of the daughter of my people.
- Leviticus 26:29
You will eat the flesh of your own sons and daughters.
- 2 Samuel 14:5
About Judges
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.