Old Testament Commentary - Judges 17

by Don R. Hender


Scriptural Text [& Editorial]
Commentary & Explanation
Footnotes ~ References ~ JST
           CHAPTER 17             

Micah has a house of gods (images) and consecrates his own priests.

  1 AND there was a man of amount Ephraim, whose name was Micah.
  2 And he said unto his mother, The eleven hundred shekels of silver that were taken from thee, about which thou cursedst, and spakest of also in mine ears, behold, the silver is with me; I took it. And his mother said, aBlessed be thou of the LORD, my son.
  3 And when he had restored the eleven hundred shekels of silver to his mother, his mother said, I had wholly dedicated the silver unto the LORD from my hand for my son, to make a agraven image and a molten image: now therefore I will restore it unto thee.
 4a Moses 3:4-5; Abr. 5:4-5
   b TG Jesus Christ—Jehovah
 5a TG Nature, Earth
   b TG Spirit Creation
   c TG Creation
   d TG Man, Physical Creation of
   e Moses 3:5

  4 Yet he restored the money unto his mother; and his mother took two hundred shekels of silver, and gave them to the founder, who made thereof a graven image and a molten image: and they were in the house of Micah.
  5 And the man Micah had an house of gods, and made an aephod, and bteraphim, and consecrated one of his sons, who became his cpriest.
  6 In those days there was no aking in Israela, but every man did that which was bright in his cown eyes.
 6a there was no king in Israel This seems but a statement of irony and is repeated in Judges 18:1 and in the very last verse of the book in Judges 21:25. The irony is that there is a King of Israel, but he at this time is not an earthly King but a Heavenly King. For as the name of Elimelech next so states immediately following in the Book of Ruth, after that last verse in Judges which says there was no king in Israel, that 'My God Is King' meaning that 'Jehovah is the King of Israel'. And there is consideration that this very Elimelech is the Ephraimite ancestor of the covenant conveyance by right unto not only King David but unto Jesus Christ as well (See Messiah ben David ~ Messiah ben Joseph).
   A further cross irony is that a 'Jewish' Levite of Bethlehem-Judah comes to live with Ephraimite Micah in Mount Ephraim and that the Ephrathite or Ephraimite family of Elimelech does dwell at Bethlehem, and though in the Book of Ruth it makes Elimelech a 'citizen' of Bethlehem-judah, in the prophecy of the coming Messiah in Micah 5:2 it makes the birth of Jesus to be at Bethlehem Ephrath or Bethlehem-Ephraim. Not that this speaks of two separate Bethlehems, but that it is logical that Bethlehem, being the burial site of Mother Rachel, the mother of the covenant unto Ephraim (See Messiah ben David ~ Messiah ben Joseph), there ought to be a portion of that city of Bethlehem which is so to be stimpulated unto the children of Rachel.
 4a Moses 3:4-5; Abr. 5:4-5
   b TG Jesus Christ—Jehovah
 5a TG Nature, Earth
   b TG Spirit Creation
   c TG Creation
   d TG Man, Physical Creation of
   e Moses 3:5

  7 ¶ And there was a young man out of Beth-lehem-judah of the family of Judah, who was a Levitea, and he sojourned there.
  8 And the man departed out of the city from Beth-lehem-judah to asojourn where he could find a place: and he came to mount Ephraim to the house of Micah, as he journeyed.
  9 And Micah said unto him, Whence comest thou? And he said unto him, I am a aLevite of Beth-lehem-judah, and I go to sojourn where I may find a place.
 7a there was a young man out of Beth-lehem-judah of the family of Judah, who was a Levite It seems significant here to point out that though this young man was a Levite, meaning of the tribe of Levi, he was referenced to be 'of the family of Judah'. And herein lies a clarification as to why the family of Samuel the prophet were called Ephraimites or Ethrathites who were actually Levites living at 'Ramah' or Ramathaim-zophim of mount Ephraim (1 Sameul 1:1). When the inheritances of lands were divided by Joshua in Israel the tribe of Levi received no such land inheritance but the Levites, who bore the priesthood and were dedicated unto that service unto the people, were divided into the various tribes of Israel in order to so minister unto each of those of each of those various tribes of Israel according to the priesthood rites. Thus the Levite of Bethlehem-judah was called after the name of the family of Judah and the Levite family of Samuel, being assigned to and living in that land inheritance of Ephraim, were called as being of the family of Ephraim, that Ephrathites or Ephraimites. This adds to the fact that the word Ephrathite does consistly throughout the Bible mean being of Ephraim or Ephraimite.  4a Moses 3:4-5; Abr. 5:4-5
   b TG Jesus Christ—Jehovah
 5a TG Nature, Earth
   b TG Spirit Creation
   c TG Creation
   d TG Man, Physical Creation of
   e Moses 3:5

  10 And Micah said unto him, Dwell with me, and be unto me a father and a priest, and I will give thee ten shekels of silver by the year, and a suit of aapparel, and thy victuals. So the Levite went in.
  11 And the Levite was content to dwell with the man; and the young man was unto him as one of his sons.
  12 And Micah consecrated the Levite; and the young man became his priest, and was in the house of Micah.
  13 Then said Micah, Now know I that the LORD will do me good, seeing I have a Levite to my priest.