Study Desk

There was a man from the hill country of Ephraim; his name was Micah.

And he said to his mother, "The eleven hundred pieces of silver that were taken from you, and about which you also pronounced a curse in my hearing, are with me; I took it." And his mother said, "Blessed be my son by Yahweh."

He returned the eleven hundred pieces of silver to his mother, and his mother thought, "I will certainly consecrate to Yahweh the pieces of silver from my hand for my son to make an idol of cast metal; now then, I will return them to you."

When he returned the pieces of silver to his mother, his mother took two hundred pieces of silver, and she gave it to the smith, and he made it into an idol of cast metal; and it was in the house of Micah.

The man Micah had for himself a shrine, and he made an ephod and teraphim, and he appointed one of his sons who became a priest for him.

In those days there was no king in Israel, and each one did what was right in his own eyes.

And the man went from the town of Bethlehem in Judah to live as a foreigner wherever he could find a place. And he came to the hill country of Ephraim, to the house of Micah, to continue his journey.

The Levite agreed to stay with the man; and the young man became as one of his sons.

And he said to them, "Micah did such and such for me and hired me, and I became his priest."

And the descendants of Dan went their way. When Micah saw that they were stronger than him, he turned to return to his house.

And they took what Micah had made, and his priest, and they came to Laish, to a quiet and unsuspecting people, and they put them to the sword and burned the city with fire.

And the descendants of Dan set up for themselves the carved divine image, and Jonathan son of Gershom, son of Manasseh, he and his sons were priests for the tribe of the Danites until the time of the captivity of the land.

But his concubine felt repugnance toward him, and she left him and went to her father's house, to Bethlehem in Judah; she was there some four months.

So her husband set out, and he went after her to speak tenderly to her, to bring her back. He took with him his servant and a pair of donkeys. And she brought him to her father's house, and the father of the young woman saw him and was glad to meet him.

His father-in-law, the young woman's father, urged him to stay with him three days; and they ate and drank, and they spent the night there.

On the fourth day, they rose early in the morning, and he prepared to go, but the father of the young woman said to his son-in-law, "Refresh yourself with a bit of food, and afterward you may go."

The man got up to go, but his father-in-law urged him, and he returned and spent the night there.

And the man got up to go—he, his concubine, and his servant—but his father-in-law, the father of the young woman, said to him, "Please, the day has worn on to evening; please, spend the night, the day has drawn to a close. Spend the night here and enjoy yourself. You can rise early tomorrow for your journey and go to your home."

But the man was not willing to spend the night, and he got up and went; and he arrived opposite Jebus (that is, Jerusalem). He had with him a pair of saddled donkeys and his concubine.

They were near Jebus, and the day was far spent, and the servant said to his master, "Please, come, let us turn aside to this city of the Jebusites, and let us spend the night in it."