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.
2 And he said H559 unto his mother, H517 The eleven hundred H505 H3967 shekels of silver H3701 that were taken H3947 from thee, about which thou cursedst, H422 and spakest H559 of also in mine ears, H241 behold, the silver H3701 is with me; I took H3947 it. And his mother H517 said, H559 Blessed H1288 be thou of the LORD, H3068 my son. H1121
2 And he said unto his mother, The eleven hundred `pieces' of silver that were taken from thee, about which thou didst utter a curse, and didst also speak it in mine ears, behold, the silver is with me; I took it. And his mother said, Blessed be my son of Jehovah.
2 and he saith to his mother, `The eleven hundred silverlings which have been taken of thine, and `of which' thou hast sworn, and also spoken in mine ears; lo, the silver `is' with me, I have taken it;' and his mother saith, `Blessed `is' my son of Jehovah.'
2 And he said to his mother, "The eleven hundred pieces of silver which were taken from you, about which you uttered a curse, and also spoke it in my ears, behold, the silver is with me; I took it." And his mother said, "Blessed be my son by the LORD."
2 He said to his mother, The eleven hundred [pieces] of silver that were taken from you, about which you did utter a curse, and did also speak it in my ears, behold, the silver is with me; I took it. His mother said, Blessed be my son of Yahweh.
2 And he said to his mother, The eleven hundred shekels of silver which were taken from you, about which you took an oath and said in my hearing, I have given this silver to the Lord from my hand for myself, to make a pictured image and a metal image: see, I have the silver, for I took it: so now I will give it back to you. And his mother said, May the blessing of the Lord be on my son.
And I contended with them, and cursed them, and smote certain of them, and plucked off their hair, and made them swear by God, saying, Ye shall not give your daughters unto their sons, nor take their daughters unto your sons, or for yourselves.
And he said, Blessed be thou of the LORD, my daughter: for thou hast showed more kindness in the latter end than at the beginning, inasmuch as thou followedst not young men, whether poor or rich.
Now therefore, I pray thee, let my lord the king hear the words of his servant. If the LORD have stirred thee up against me, let him accept an offering: but if they be the children of men, cursed be they before the LORD; for they have driven me out this day from abiding in the inheritance of the LORD, saying, Go, serve other gods.
For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds.
If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema Maranatha.
Then began he to curse and to swear, saying, I know not the man. And immediately the cock crew.
Cursed be he that doeth the work of the LORD deceitfully, and cursed be he that keepeth back his sword from blood.
For the wicked boasteth of his heart's desire, and blesseth the covetous, whom the LORD abhorreth.
And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth:
And Samuel came to Saul: and Saul said unto him, Blessed be thou of the LORD: I have performed the commandment of the LORD.
Then answered one of the people, and said, Thy father straitly charged the people with an oath, saying, Cursed be the man that eateth any food this day. And the people were faint.
Curse ye Meroz, said the angel of the LORD, curse ye bitterly the inhabitants thereof; because they came not to the help of the LORD, to the help of the LORD against the mighty.
Cursed be he that setteth light by his father or his mother. And all the people shall say, Amen.
And it came to pass, when he saw the earring and bracelets upon his sister's hands, and when he heard the words of Rebekah his sister, saying, Thus spake the man unto me; that he came unto the man; and, behold, he stood by the camels at the well. And he said, Come in, thou blessed of the LORD; wherefore standest thou without? for I have prepared the house, and room for the camels.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Judges 17
Commentary on Judges 17 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 17
Jud 17:1-4. Micah Restoring the Stolen Money to His Mother, She Makes Images.
1. a man of mount Ephraim—that is, the mountainous parts of Ephraim. This and the other narratives that follow form a miscellaneous collection, or appendix to the Book of Judges. It belongs to a period when the Hebrew nation was in a greatly disordered and corrupt state. This episode of Micah is connected with Jud 1:34. It relates to his foundation of a small sanctuary of his own—a miniature representation of the Shiloh tabernacle—which he stocked with images modelled probably in imitation of the ark and cherubim. Micah and his mother were sincere in their intention to honor God. But their faith was blended with a sad amount of ignorance and delusion. The divisive course they pursued, as well as the will-worship they practised, subjected the perpetrators to the penalty of death.
3. a graven image and a molten image—The one carved from a block of wood or stone, to be plated over with silver; the other, a figure formed of the solid metal cast into a mould. It is observable, however, that only two hundred shekels were given to the founder. Probably the expense of making two such figures of silver, with their appurtenances (pedestals, bases, &c.), might easily cost, in those days, two hundred shekels, which (at 2 shillings, 4 pence each, is about 23 pounds) would be a sum not adequate to the formation of large statues [Taylor, Fragments].
5. the man Micah had an house of gods—Hebrew, "a house of God"—a domestic chapel, a private religious establishment of his own.
an ephod—(see on Ex 28:6).
teraphim—tutelary gods of the household (see Ge 31:19 and see on Ge 31:26).
consecrated one of his sons who became his priest—The assumption of the priestly office by any one out of the family of Aaron was a direct violation of the divine law (Nu 3:10; 16:17; De 21:5; Heb 5:4).
6. every man did that which was right in his own eyes—From want of a settled government, there was no one to call him to account. No punishment followed any crime.
7. Beth-lehem-judah—so called in contradistinction to a town of the same name in Zebulun (Jos 19:15).
of the family—that is, tribe.
of Judah—Men of the tribe of Levi might connect themselves, as Aaron did (Ex 6:23), by marriage with another tribe; and this young Levite belonged to the tribe of Judah, by his mother's side, which accounts for his being in Beth-lehem, not one of the Levitical cities.
8. the man departed … to sojourn where he could find a place—A competent provision being secured for every member of the Levitical order, his wandering about showed him to have been a person of a roving disposition or unsettled habits. In the course of his journeying he came to the house of Micah, who, on learning what he was, engaged his permanent services.
10. Micah said unto him, Dwell with me, and be unto me a father—a spiritual father, to conduct the religious services of my establishment. He was to receive, in addition to his board, a salary of ten shekels of silver, equal to 25 shillings a year.
a suit of apparel—not only dress for ordinary use, but vestments suitable for the discharge of his priestly functions.
12. Micah consecrated the Levite—Hebrew, "filled his hand." This act of consecration was not less unlawful for Micah to perform than for this Levite to receive (see on Jud 18:30).
13. Now know I that the Lord will do me good—The removal of his son, followed by the installation of this Levite into the priestly office, seems to have satisfied his conscience, that by what he deemed the orderly ministrations of religion he would prosper. This expression of his hope evinces the united influence of ignorance and superstition.