Study Desk

The people were having a good time at the celebration. So they said, "Bring Samson out. We want to make fun of him." So they brought Samson from the prison and made fun of him. They made him stand between the columns in the temple of the god Dagon.

Micah gave the 28 pounds of silver back to his mother. Then she said, "I will give this silver as a special gift to the Lord . I will give it to my son so that he can make a statue and cover it with the silver. So now, son, I give the silver back to you."

But Micah gave the silver back to his mother. So she took about 5 pounds of the silver and gave them to a silversmith. He used the silver to make a statue covered with silver. The statue was put in Micah's house.

(At that time the Israelites did not have a king, so everyone did what they thought was right.)

Micah chose him to be his priest. So the young man became a priest and lived in Micah's house.

So the tribe of Dan sent five soldiers to look for some land. They went to search for a good place to live. These five men were from the cities of Zorah and Eshtaol. They were chosen because they were from all the families of Dan. They were told, "Go, look for some land." The five men came to the hill country of Ephraim. They came to Micah's house and spent the night there.

When the five men came close to Micah's house, they heard the voice of the young Levite. They recognized his voice, so they stopped at Micah's house. They asked the young man, "Who brought you to this place? What are you doing? Why are you here?"

So they said to him, "Please ask God if our search for a place to live will be successful."

So the five men left. They came to the city of Laish and saw that the people of that city lived in safety. They were ruled by the people of Sidon. Everything was peaceful and quiet. The people had plenty of everything, and they didn't have any enemies nearby to hurt them. Also they lived a long way from the city of Sidon, and they did not have any agreements with the people of Aram.

So 600 men from the tribe of Dan left the cities of Zorah and Eshtaol. They were ready for war.

So the five men who had explored the land around Laish spoke. They said to their relatives, "There is an ephod in one of these houses. And there are also household gods, a carved statue, and a silver idol. You know what to do."

So they stopped at Micah's house, where the young Levite lived. They asked the young man how he was.

This made the Levite happy. So he took the ephod, the household idols, and the idol. He went with the men from the tribe of Dan.

Then the men of Dan turned around and went on their way. Micah knew that these men were too strong for him, so he went back home.

So the men of Dan took the idols that Micah made. They also took the priest who had been with Micah. Then they came to Laish. They attacked the people living in Laish. Those people were at peace. They were not expecting an attack. The men of Dan killed them with their swords and then burned the city.

The people living in Laish did not have anyone to rescue them. They lived too far from the city of Sidon for the people there to help. And the people of Laish did not have any agreements with the people of Aram—so they did not help them. The city of Laish was in a valley, which belonged to the town of Beth Rehob. The people from Dan built a new city in that place, and it became their home.

Then her husband went after her. He wanted to speak kindly to her so that she would come back to him. He took with him his servant and two donkeys. The Levite came to her father's house. Her father saw the Levite and came out to greet him. The father was very happy.

The woman's father led the Levite into his house. The Levite's father-in-law invited him to stay. So he stayed for three days. He ate, drank, and slept in his father-in-law's house.

So the Levite and his father-in-law sat down to eat and drink together. After that the young woman's father said to the Levite, "Please stay tonight. Relax and enjoy yourself." So the two men ate together.

Then, on the fifth day, the Levite got up early in the morning. He was ready to leave. But the woman's father said to his son-in-law, "Eat something first. Relax and stay until this afternoon." So they both ate together again.