Judges Chapter 17 Bible Study
An abundance of idolatry
This is part seventeen of my Judges study. Read the previous parts here and watch for part eighteen coming on May 21.
The final five chapters of the book of Judges are not centred around a particular judge as the majority of the book is, rather, they tell stories set during the time of the judges in which judges are not present. Chapter seventeen is about a man named Micah from the hill country of Ephraim. A theophoric name, Micah means “Who is like Yahweh?” which is a bit of an ironic name for this guy, given the sort of things he got up to.1
Micah had previously stolen 1 100 pieces of silver from his mother but decided to return them to her as he heard she placed a curse on the person who stole them. This is the same amount of silver that each Philistine leader paid Delilah for betraying Samson and it would have weighed 12.6 kilograms, or 27.5 pounds for those who do not understand the metric system despite it being very obviously superior.2
Since these verses are a bit confusing and hard to understand, probably due at least in part to issues in transmission, here is a very helpful sequence of events in these three verses laid out in Barry G. Webb’s NICOT commentary:
Verse 2
a. Eleven hundred pieces of silver are stolen from Micah’s mother.
b. She utters a curse (ʾlh) on the person who did it, not knowing it was Micah.
c. Micah hears her utter the curse.
d. He tells his mother that he is the one who took the money, and says he will return it to her.
e. On hearing this, his mother blesses (brk) Micah in the name of the Yahweh.
Verse 3
f. Micah returns the money as he said he would do.
g. On receiving it, Micah’s mother tells him that before it was stolen she had consecrated (qdš) the money to Yahweh to be made into an idol for her son (i.e., for Micah).
Verse 4
h. She then takes two hundred of the eleven hundred pieces of silver and gives them to the silversmith, who uses them to make an idol.
i. The idol ends up in Micah’s house, as his mother had intended.3
After Micah’s mother said “may you be blessed by the Lord,” to her son, she had a silversmith make one or two idol(s) with two hundred pieces, or 2.3 kilograms, of the returned silver. It is not entirely clear how many idols are in view here; most English translations say something along the lines of “a carved/graven/ sculpted image and a molten/cast/metal image,” referring to two separate idols. However, an alternate translation describes one idol as “a carved image overlaid with silver.” Literally translated, the phrase used reads as “a sculpture and something poured,” which could easily be interpreted in the latter way, as covering a carved piece of wood with molten metal to make an idol was something done in this time and place.4 Regardless, certain verses in the next chapter (17-18, 20, 30-31) make the one idol interpretation unlikely as they either distinguish between the two idols or only mention one and not the other.5
This was far from the family’s first use of aberrant religious practices, as Micah had a shrine with an ephod, household idols, and his son as the priest. Literally, the phrase “installed one of his sons to be his priest” translates to “filled the hand of one of his sons” which is the usual idiomatic expression used in the Bible for the consecration of a priest.6 As for the household gods or idols, this is a translation of the Hebrew term teraphim which can be either singular or plural and is used eight times in the Old Testament (Genesis 31; Judges 17-18; 1 Samuel 15; 19; 2 Kings 23; Ezekiel 21; Hosea 3; Zechariah 10).7
A story of this sort leaves many questions in the minds of readers. If Micah’s mother had consecrated all of the 1 100 pieces of silver for the making of an idol, why were only two hundred of them used for that purpose? It is also interesting that the words used to describe these idols are not the usual Hebrew terms for household gods, rather, they are more often used to describe objects found at public shrines.8 From context, one can infer that Micah’s “house” was more than just a house as it is clear that it was used for many religious purposes. Due to the various cultic objects mentioned in this passage, Micah and his family would have had to have been very well-off financially.
Furthermore, Micah’s use of idols in worship and the making of his non-Levite son his priest violate the Old Testament law in pretty serious ways. As he is later shown to know that priests must be from the tribe of Levi, his unorthodox methods of worship cannot be chalked up to mere ignorance. After all, this is the time in which “everyone did what was right in their own eyes” as we are told so frequently throughout this book and even in this very chapter.
Then, a young Levite from Bethlehem came travelling through the region where Micah lived, looking for a place to stay. Although he lived in the land allotted to Judah, this Levite was a member of the Kohathite clan, which was given ten towns in Ephraim, Dan, and West Manasseh (Joshua 21:5, 20-26) so he should not have been living in Bethlehem anyway.9 His being noted as a “young man” could indicate either that he was not old enough to be a priest, as Numbers 8:24 mentions a minimum age of twenty-five, or just that he was unmarried.10 Micah said that the Levite could stay with him if he functioned as his father and priest and he would receive clothing, provisions, and ten pieces of silver a year in return, which was the typical annual salary for labourers.11
There is no mention of this Levite being a descendant of Aaron, which is required for priests according to Exodus 28 and several other passages, and he is later said to have been a descendant of Moses rather than Aaron. However, Micah did not seem to care much about doing things the proper way and might have viewed the Levite as more of a status symbol than anything.12 The Levite found these terms agreeable and became like a son to Micah as well as working as his priest. Since he had a true Levite as his priest rather than his non-Levite son, Micah thought that God would be good to him because of this. Nothing is said of what became of Micah’s son.
In this short chapter, the reader is introduced to a wealthy Israelite family with at least three members: Micah, his mother, and his son. Micah’s father likely died before the events of this story took place, as he is nowhere mentioned and Micah appears to be the leader of his household.13 We can see various things that indicate this is not a family concerned with orthodox religious rituals and practices; it is essentially an example of what not to do. The next chapter builds upon this story with both Micah and the Levite as characters so keep them in mind for that next month!
Because this chapter is so short, I had wondered if I should combine it with chapter 18 but as I was researching and writing this post, I realized that there is so much packed into these thirteen verses that I really wanted to dig into. It is honestly such a fascinating chapter and although not a whole lot happens actionwise, it provides a window into heterodox and syncretistic religious practices in Israel during the time of the judges. Anyway, I hinted in a previous post that I might reread the craziest book I ever read as a child to review it and three of my subscribers told me in the comments I should do it, so I did just that and that post will be out a week from today!
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Block, Daniel I. “Judges.” In Joshua, Judges & Ruth, edited by John H. Walton, 198-451. Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary Series. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2009.
Boda, Mark J. “Judges.” In Judges, Ruth, edited by Tremper Longman III and David E. Garland, 30-347. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary Series. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2012.
Evans, Mary J. Judges and Ruth. Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries Series. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2017.
McCann, J. Clinton. Judges. Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Preaching and Teaching Series. Louisville, KY: John Knox Press, 2011.
Way, Kenneth C. Judges and Ruth. Teach the Text Commentary Series. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2016.
Webb, Barry G. The Book of Judges. The New International Commentary on the Old Testament Series. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2012.
Younger Jr., K. Lawson. Judges and Ruth. The NIV Application Commentary Series. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2002.
Block, “Judges,” 369.
Way, Judges and Ruth, 209.
Webb, The Book of Judges, 425.
Block, “Judges,” 371.
Boda, “Judges,” 285.
Webb, The Book of Judges, 426.
Way, Judges and Ruth, 212.
Webb, The Book of Judges, 425.
Younger, Judges and Ruth, 327.
Way, Judges and Ruth, 211.
Block, “Judges,” 373.
Evans, Judges and Ruth, 168.
Boda, “Judges,” 282.
The phrase "they did evil in the eyes of the LORD, or what was right in their own eyes" certainly makes me think of the times we are living in right now. I agree that Micah was messed up and so was his mother. What were they thinking?