Juízes 17
Bob Utley · You Can Understand the Bible
Juízes 17
NJB (MT versing) Micah's Idolatry Micah's Idolatry The Failures of the Israelite Tribes (17:1-21:25) Micah's Idols Micah's Domestic Shrine 17:1-6 17:1-13 17:1-6 17:1-2a 17:1-3 17:2b-4 17:4-6 Micah's Priest 17:5-6 17:7-13 17:7-13 17:7-9a 17:7-13 17:9b 17:10-13 Etc. CONTEXTUAL INSIGHTS This account of Micah's authorized shrine shows the corrupt nature of this period. The Danites accepted a false word from a Levite to attack and destroy a defenseless area. This was not "holy war" but "unholy war." They did not receive this tribal allocation from Joshua by divine lot but were willing to desert it and move. They traded a sure divine word for one that fit their plans and purposes. They may even have used Deut. 13:16 as an excuse to slaughter and burn Laish. The northern shrine at Dan becomes a rival to the legitimate southern shrines, like Gilgal (cf. Joshua 4), Gibeon (cf. 1 Kgs. 3:4; 1 Chr. 16:39; 21:20), and ultimately, Jerusalem. This appendix to Judges clearly shows that the Israelites need a godly king! BACKGROUND TO JUDGES 17-21 The closing section of Judges 17-21 is very different from the previous section. These chapters document how far Israel had drifted from YHWH's covenant. the tribe of Dan ‒ Judges 17-18 the tribe of Benjamin ‒ Judges 19-21 It functions as an appendix documenting the atrocities of the period. There are no "judges," just terrible covenant disobedience. The chronological relationship of this five-chapter appendix to the rest of the book is uncertain. The new key phrase is found in Jdgs. 17:6; 18:1; 19:1; 21:25. In the previous section the key phrase was "the sons of Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord." The Israelites needed a righteous king. Judges 17-18 explains how Dan, who was allotted land in the south to the west of Judah (cf. Jos. 19:40-48), wound up in the far north. Amorite pressure ‒ Jdgs. 1:34-35 Philistine pressure ‒ Samson (Judges 13-16) This section also seems to lament the absence of a strong central government and decries the moral degradation of the amphictyony period (i.e., loose tribal associations).
Juízes 17:1-6
17:1 "Micah" His name (BDB 567) is an abbreviation of "who is like YHWH" (lit. Micayehu). 17:2 "mother. . .uttered a curse in my hearing" Micah is presented in the very poor light of being a thief who stole from his own mother who pronounced a curse on the pieces of silver. ▣ "mother. . .blessed" This was an attempt to reverse the curse! 17:3 "eleven hundred pieces of silver" This must refer to "shekels" (NIDOTTE, vol. 4, p. 237). SPECIAL TOPIC: ANCIENT NEAR EASTERN WEIGHTS AND MEASURES (metrology) ▣ "I wholly dedicate the silver" The mother is also presented as a cheat. She promised to give all the silver to God but gave only 200 pieces (cf. Jdgs. 17:4). This phrase is an intensive grammatical form, a Hiphil INFINITIVE ABSOLUTE and a Hiphil PERFECT VERB from the same root (BDB 872, KB 1073). ▣ "to the Lord" This makes it obvious that the image was meant to represent YHWH (cf. Jdgs. 18:31). The initial desire to worship YHWH at a private shrine became corrupted (notice all the extra cultic items mentioned in Jdgs. 17:3, 5; 18:17-18), as did the corporate shrine established by Jereboam I in Dan and Bethel (i.e., the golden calves). For YHWH there is only one official central shrine (i.e., the temple in Jerusalem, cf. Deut. 12:5, 11, 21, 23, 24; 16:2, 6, 11; 26:2). It had no images of YHWH. ▣ "a graven image" This (BDB 820) is probably carved wood overlaid with silver. ▣ "molten idol" This (BDB 651) is from the Hebrew root "to pour," i.e., solid silver. There is some question whether there were two idols or one. The text implies two (cf. Jdgs. 18:14,17-18) but the MT PRONOUN is SINGULAR (cf. Jdgs. 18:20,30). This shows the low state of knowledge of the Mosaic Law (cf. Exod. 20:4, 23; Deut. 4:16; 27:15; and Aaron's calf, Exod. 32:19-35). There were consequences for disobedience. SPECIAL TOPIC: CONSEQUENCES OF IDOLATRY 17:5 "ephod" The identification of this term is very uncertain. In some passages it seems to be a woven garment worn by the High Priest (cf. Exodus 39) a priest (cf. 1 Sam. 2:18) laymen (cf. 2 Sam. 6:14) Asherah's priestesses (cf. 2 Kgs. 23:7) In other places it seems to be an idol (cf. Jdgs. 8:27; 1 Sam. 2:28; 14:3; 21:9). It is related to teraphim and divination (cf. Judges 20; Hosea 3:4), which were all ways to know God's will. SPECIAL TOPIC: EPHOD ▣ "household idols" Teraphim seems to be idols. It possibly refers to ancestors (cf. Genesis 31; 1 Sam. 15:23; 2 Kgs. 23:24; Hos. 3:4-5; Ezek. 21:21; and Zech. 10:2). SPECIAL TOPIC: Teraphim ▣ "consecrated one of his sons" This reflects a practice during the Patriarchal period (i.e., the father acted as spiritual leader/priest for the family). 17:6 This is the key phrase of the closing section of Judges 17-21 (cf. Jdgs. 18:1; 19:1; 21:25). It reflects the disobedience and apathy of Israel during the period of the Judges.
Juízes 17:7-13
17:7 "he was staying there" This phrase has the same consonants as the name "Gershom" (REB, cf. Jdgs. 18:30). The UBS Text Project (p. 116) gives the phrase an "A" rating (i.e., high probability). Levites had no tribal inheritance (cf. Joshua 20-21). They were classed in legal code with aliens, widows, and orphans (cf. Deut. 12:12; 14:29; 26:12). 17:10 "and be a father and a priest to me" This means to act as a teacher and worship leader. In the OT fathers were given the teaching and spiritual leadership responsibilities for their families. ▣ "clothes" This may refer to the priestly garment known as "ephod." 17:13 This seems to reflect a selfish motive in a personal shrine (Jdgs. 17:5).