Judges 18:30
in Judges 18The 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 land.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the children of Dan set up for themselves the graven image; and Jonathan, the son of Gershom, the son of Moses, he and his sons were priests to the tribe of the Danites until the day of the captivity of the land.
KJV
And the children of Dan set up the graven image: and Jonathan, the son of Gershom, the son of Manasseh, he and his sons were priests to the tribe of Dan until the day of the captivity of the land.
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This verse in Judges 18
Commentary
7 notes on this verseAnd the children of Dan set up the graven image,.... In their new city Dan, and very probably had a house built for it, peculiar to it, in the same place where Jeroboam, in later times, set up one of his golden calves.
This site's exposition
Jonathan son of Gershom, the son of Moses
Gershom is the son of Moses at Exodus 2:22, so this priest is the grandson of Moses. The Hebrew writes Manasseh here with the letter nun raised above the line. Without it the name reads Moses, which Clarke takes as genuine and Henry records.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Image - Having succeeded in their expedition according to the prediction which, as they supposed, they had from this image, they had a great veneration for it. The captivity - When the whole land of the ten tribes, whereof Daniel was one, was conquered, and the people carried captive by the Assyrian, 2 Kings xvii, 6, 23, which is called by way of eminency, the captivity.
The vulgar Latin reads it Moses. And if indeed Moses had a grandson that was rakish, and was picked up as a fit tool to be made use of in the setting up of idolatry, it is not the only instance (would to God it were!) of the unhappy degenerating of the posterity of great and good men.
The Expedition of the Danites. 1 In those days there was no king in Israel: and in those days the tribe of the Danites sought them an inheritance to dwell in; for unto that day all their inheritance had not fallen unto them among the tribes of Israel.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:96%@v1-2
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
The children of Dan set up the graven image - They erected a chapel, or temple, among themselves, as Micah had done before; having the same implements and the same priest. And Jonathan the son of Gershom - Either this was the name of the young Levite; or they had turned him off, and got this Jonathan in his place. The son Manasseh - Who this Manasseh was, none can tell; nor does the reading appear to be genuine.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
In the Hebrew text the name here rendered Manasseh is written MN)- SH. Without the “N” (nun) suspended over the line, the word may be read: Moses, whose son was Gershom Exo 2:22, whose son or descendant Jonathan clearly was. The Masoretes, probably grieved that a descendant of Moses should have been implicated in idolatrous worship, adopted this expedient for disguising the fact without absolutely falsifying the text. The Vulgate has “Moses”, the Septuagint “Manasses”. These verses seem to tell us that Jonathan’s descendants were priests to the tribe of Dan until the captivity 2Ki 15:29; 2Ki 17:6; and that the graven image was in their custody until David’s time, by whose order, perhaps, it was destroyed, though the idolatrous worship continued, or was revived, at Dan.
The words behind it
21 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיָּקִ֧ימוּ | vaiyakimu | and they set up | H6965 → | 628 times |
| לָהֶ֛ם | lahem | for <the> themselves | ||
| בְּנֵי־ | benei- | [the] descendants of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| דָ֖ן | dan | Dan | H1835 → | 70 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הַפָּ֑סֶל | hapasel | the carved image | H6459 → | 31 times |
| וִ֠יהוֹנָתָן | vihonaton | and Jonathan | H3083 → | |
| בֶּן־ | ben- | [the] son of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| גֵּרְשֹׁ֨ם | gereshom | Gershom | H1647 → | |
| בֶּן־ | ben- | [the] son of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| מְנַשֶּׁ֜ה | menasheh | Manasseh | H4519 → | 146 times |
| ה֣וּא | hu' | he | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| וּבָנָ֗יו | uvanav | and sons his | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| הָי֤וּ | hayu | they were | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| כֹהֲנִים֙ | khohanim | priests | H3548 → | 750 times |
| לְשֵׁ֣בֶט | leshevet | of [the] tribe of | H7626 → | 190 times |
| הַדָּנִ֔י | hadani | the Danite[s] | H1839 → | 5 times |
| עַד־ | ʾad- | until | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| י֖וֹם | yom | [the] day | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| גְּל֥וֹת | gelot | went into exile of | H1540 → | |
| הָאָֽרֶץ׃ | haaretz | the land | H776 → | 2504 times |
וַיָּקִ֧ימוּand they set up
vaiyakimuH6965 →628 times
לָהֶ֛םfor <the> themselves
lahem
בְּנֵי־[the] descendants of
benei-H1121 →4930 times
דָ֖ןDan
danH1835 →70 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הַפָּ֑סֶלthe carved image
hapaselH6459 →31 times
וִ֠יהוֹנָתָןand Jonathan
vihonatonH3083 →
בֶּן־[the] son of
ben-H1121 →4930 times
גֵּרְשֹׁ֨םGershom
gereshomH1647 →
בֶּן־[the] son of
ben-H1121 →4930 times
מְנַשֶּׁ֜הManasseh
menashehH4519 →146 times
ה֣וּאhe
hu'H1931 →1879 times
וּבָנָ֗יוand sons his
uvanavH1121 →4930 times
הָי֤וּthey were
hayuH1961 →3559 times
כֹהֲנִים֙priests
khohanimH3548 →750 times
לְשֵׁ֣בֶטof [the] tribe of
leshevetH7626 →190 times
הַדָּנִ֔יthe Danite[s]
hadaniH1839 →5 times
עַד־until
ʾad-H5704 →1261 times
י֖וֹם[the] day
yomH3117 →2304 times
גְּל֥וֹתwent into exile of
gelotH1540 →
הָאָֽרֶץ׃the land
haaretzH776 →2504 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
Exodus 2:22And she gave birth to a son, and Moses named him Gershom, saying, “I have become a foreigner in a foreign land.”
it leads to
- Acts 7:29
At this remark, Moses fled to the land of Midian, where he lived as a foreigner and had two sons.
- Hebrews 11:13–14
All these people died in faith, without having received the things they were promised. However, they saw them and welcomed them from afar. And they acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the…
- Exodus 22:21
You must not exploit or oppress a foreign resident, for you yourselves were foreigners in the land of Egypt.
- Acts 7:29
Through
Deuteronomy 31:29For I know that after my death you will become utterly corrupt and turn from the path I have commanded you. And in the days to come, disaster will befall you because you will…
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 32:5
His people have acted corruptly toward Him; the spot on them is not that of His children, but of a perverse and crooked generation.
- Deuteronomy 32:5
Through
Judges 17:5Now this man Micah had a shrine, and he made an ephod and some household idols, and ordained one of his sons as his priest.
it leads to
- Judges 8:27
From 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.
- Genesis 31:30
Now you have gone off because you long for your father’s house. But why have you stolen my gods?”
- Genesis 31:19
Now while Laban was out shearing his sheep, Rachel stole her father’s household idols.
- Judges 18:14
Then the five men who had gone to spy out the land of Laish said to their brothers, “Did you know that one of these houses has an ephod, household gods, a graven image,…
- Judges 8:27
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies5
About Judges
Who and where
3 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PersonExodus and Wilderness PeriodMosesIsrael's deliverer from Egyptian slavery, covenant mediator, and lawgiver.
- PersonEarly monarchyJonathanSon of King Saul who climbed a cliff to rout a garrison on the conviction that nothing restrains Jehovah; cut a covenant of steadf…
- PlaceNorthern border, at the foot of HermonDanThe northern limit of the land, where the tribe of Dan settled after taking Laish and where Jeroboam set up one of his two golden…
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); 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.