1.
And there was a man of mount Ephraim, whose name was Micah.
mount = hill country of Ephraim, where Joshua dwelt and was buried (Joshua 24:30 ).
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, Blessed be thou of the LORD, my son.
eleven hundred. See note on Judges 16:5 .
taken. Idolatry in Israel commenced with dishonesty.
the LORD. Hebrew. Jehovah. App-4 .
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 graven image and a molten image: now therefore I will restore it unto thee.
wholly dedicated. Figure of speech Polyptoton ( App-6 ). Hebrew "dedicating I had dedicated it".
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.
money = silver (Judges 17:2 ).
5.
And the man Micah had an house of gods, and made an ephod, and teraphim, and consecrated one of his sons, who became his priest.
house of gods. The true house of God was neglected, and as hard to find as it is to-day (Judges 21:19 ); and, when found, dancing was the prominent feature, not sacrifice or worship (Judges 21:21-23 ).
ephod. In imitation of Aaron's. Exodus 25:7 ; Exodus 28:4 .
consecrated. See note on Exodus 28:41 .Leviticus 9:17 .
his priest. Not Jehovah's, but "made with hands".
6.
In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes.
no king. First occurrence of four, See Judges 18:1 ; Judges 19:1 ; Judges 21:25 . Two conform to the structure here; and two in chs. Judges 19:1 , and Judges 21:25 .
7.
And there was a young man out of Bethlehemjudah of the family of Judah, who was a Levite, and he sojourned there.
a young man. See note on Judges 18:30 .
Beth-lehem-Judah. To distinguish it from Beth-le-hem in Zebulun (Joshua 19:15 ).
8.
And the man departed out of the city from Bethlehemjudah to sojourn where he could find a place: and he came to mount Ephraim to the house of Micah, as he journeyed.
to sojourn. True worship neglected. Priests and Levites unemployed. Idolaters busy making idols and dancing.
9.
And Micah said unto him, Whence comest thou? And he said unto him, I am a Levite of Bethlehemjudah, and I go to sojourn where I may find a place.
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 apparel, 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.
his priest. Not Jehovah's; see on Judges 17:5 .
13.
Then said Micah, Now know I that the LORD will do me good, seeing I have a Levite to my priest.
do me good. The "good" (as in all such cases) never came. For Micah is afterward robbed both of his idols and his priest.