Judges 17:5
in Judges 17Now this man Micah had a shrine, and he made an ephod and some household idols, and ordained one of his sons as his priest.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the man Micah had a house of gods, and he made an ephod, and teraphim, and consecrated one of his sons, who became his priest.
KJV
And the man Micah had an house of gods, and made an ephod, and teraphim, and consecrated one of his sons, who became his priest.
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This verse in Judges 17
Commentary
3 notes on this verseAnd the man Micah had an house of gods,.... Having two images in it, besides teraphim, which were a sort of idols; and the Targum is, an house of images, or idols; though it may be rendered "an house of God"; a temple, a place for religious worship: and made an ephod; a priestly garment, a linen one very probably, not so rich an one with a breastplate to it as the high priest had, which was very costly.
This site's exposition
And the man Micah had
House of gods occurs once in the whole Bible and this verse is it. The ephod repeats Gideon at 8:27, where the ephod became a snare unto Gideon and to his house, and teraphim enters the English Bible here, with five of its six occurrences falling in this chapter and the next. He then consecrates one of his sons, which Numbers 3:10 and 18:7 both shut against any man outside Aaron's line in the same six words, the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death.
The record, by era
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
The man Micah had a house of gods - בית אלהים beith Elohim should, I think, be translated house or temple of God; for it is very likely that both the mother and the son intended no more than a private or domestic chapel, in which they proposed to set up the worship of the true God.
The words behind it
16 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְהָאִ֣ישׁ | vehaish | and the man | H376 → | 1663 times |
| מִיכָ֔ה | mikhah | Micah | H4318 → | 33 times |
| ל֖וֹ | lo | [belonged] to <the> him | ||
| בֵּ֣ית | beit | a house of | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| אֱלֹהִ֑ים | ʾelohim | God | H430 → | 2601 times |
| וַיַּ֤עַשׂ | vaiyaas | and he made | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| אֵפוֹד֙ | ʾefod | an ephod | H646 → | 49 times |
| וּתְרָפִ֔ים | uterafim | and teraphim | H8655 → | 15 times |
| וַיְמַלֵּ֗א | vaymale' | and he filled | H4390 → | 249 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| יַ֤ד | yad | [the] hand of | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| אַחַד֙ | ʾachad | one | H259 → | 971 times |
| מִבָּנָ֔יו | mibanav | from sons his | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| וַיְהִי־ | vayhi- | and he became | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| ל֖וֹ | lo | of him | ||
| לְכֹהֵֽן׃ | lekhohen | <into> a priest | H3548 → | 750 times |
וְהָאִ֣ישׁand the man
vehaishH376 →1663 times
מִיכָ֔הMicah
mikhahH4318 →33 times
ל֖וֹ[belonged] to <the> him
lo
בֵּ֣יתa house of
beitH1004 →2046 times
אֱלֹהִ֑יםGod
ʾelohimH430 →2601 times
וַיַּ֤עַשׂand he made
vaiyaasH6213 →2628 times
אֵפוֹד֙an ephod
ʾefodH646 →49 times
וּתְרָפִ֔יםand teraphim
uterafimH8655 →15 times
וַיְמַלֵּ֗אand he filled
vaymale'H4390 →249 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
יַ֤ד[the] hand of
yadH3027 →1618 times
אַחַד֙one
ʾachadH259 →971 times
מִבָּנָ֔יוfrom sons his
mibanavH1121 →4930 times
וַיְהִי־and he became
vayhi-H1961 →3559 times
ל֖וֹof him
lo
לְכֹהֵֽן׃<into> a priest
lekhohenH3548 →750 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 31:30Now you have gone off because you long for your father’s house. But why have you stolen my gods?”
it leads to
- Genesis 31:19
Now while Laban was out shearing his sheep, Rachel stole her father’s household idols.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Genesis 31:19
Through
Genesis 31:19Now while Laban was out shearing his sheep, Rachel stole her father’s household idols.
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 19:13
Then Michal took a household idol and laid it in the bed, placed some goat hair on its head, and covered it with a garment.
- Hosea 3:4
For the Israelites must live many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred pillar, and without ephod or idol.
- Genesis 31:30
Now you have gone off because you long for your father’s house. But why have you stolen my gods?”
- Genesis 35:2
So Jacob told his household and all who were with him, “Get rid of the foreign gods that are among you. Purify yourselves and change your garments.
- Ezekiel 21:21
For the king of Babylon stands at the fork in the road, at the junction of the two roads, to seek an omen: He shakes the arrows, he consults the idols, he examines the…
- 1 Samuel 19:13
Through
Judges 8:27From all this Gideon made an ephod, which he placed in Ophrah, his hometown. But soon all Israel prostituted themselves by worshiping it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and his household.
it leads to
- Psalms 106:39
They defiled themselves by their actions and prostituted themselves by their deeds.
- Deuteronomy 7:16
You must destroy all the peoples the LORD your God will deliver to you. Do not look on them with pity. Do not worship their gods, for that will be a snare to you.
- Psalms 106:39
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; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: Joshua, Judges, Ruth.
