Judges 17:1
in Judges 17Now 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.
⋯
This verse in Judges 17
Commentary
6 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
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 named Micah from the hill country of Ephraim
on Judges 17:1-2
Micah's name means who is like the LORD, and the chapter gives it before any word about his shrine. Eleven hundred shekels occurs three times in Scripture, the other at Judges 16:5, where each Philistine lord promises Delilah that sum. The price of Samson lies in this house.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
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.
And there was a man of Mount Ephraim,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Micah and his mother were sincere in their intention to honor God. But their faith was blended with a sad amount of ignorance and delusion. The divisive course they pursued, as well as the will-worship they practised, subjected the perpetrators to the penalty of death.
And there was a man of Mount Ephraim - It is extremely difficult to fix the chronology of this and the following transactions. Some think them to be here in their natural order; others, that they happened in the time of Joshua, or immediately after the ancients who outlived Joshua. All that can be said with certainty is this, that they happened when there was no king in Israel; i.e., about the time of the Judges, or in some time of the anarchy, Jdg 17:6.
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.
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 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַֽיְהִי־ | vayhi- | and he was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| אִ֥ישׁ | ʾish | a man | H376 → | 1663 times |
| מֵֽהַר־ | mehar- | from [the] hill country of | H2022 → | 546 times |
| אֶפְרָ֖יִם | ʾefrayim | Ephraim | H669 → | 180 times |
| וּשְׁמ֥וֹ | ushemo | and name his | H8034 → | 864 times |
| מִיכָֽיְהוּ׃ | mikhayehu | [was] Micaiah | H4321 → |
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.
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
Judges 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.
it leads to
- Judges 2:16
Then the LORD raised up judges, who saved them from the hands of those who plundered them.
- Judges 2:16
Through
Joshua 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).
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.
- 1 Chronicles 13:6
Through
Judges 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…
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.
- Judges 13:25
Where this verse is studied
About Judges
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PersonDivided kingdom (Jotham-Hezekiah, c. 735-700 BC)MicahProphet of Moresheth (Micah 1:1), Isaiah's country contemporary; named the Bethlehem birthplace of the Ruler whose goings forth ar…
- PlaceJudeaEphraimThe town near the wilderness where Jesus withdrew with His disciples before the last Passover (John 11:54).
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament.