054. XXXIV. The Establishment Of The Danite Tribe And Sanctuary
§ XXXIV. THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE DANITE TRIBE AND SANCTUARY
Judges 17, 18
1. Origin of Micah’s sanctuary. Now there was a man of the hill-country of Ephraim, whose name was Micah. And he said to his mother, The eleven hundred shekels of silver which were taken from you, about which you took an oath, saying it aloud in my hearing, behold, the silver is with me; it was I who took it. Now therefore I restore it to you. And his mother said, Blessed of Jehovah is my son. Then he restored the eleven hundred shekels of silver to his mother and his mother said, I solemnly consecrate the silver to Jehovah from my hand through my son, to make a carved and a molten image. So, when he restored the money to his mother, his mother took two hundred shekels of silver, and gave them to the founder, who made with it a carved and a molten image; and it was in the house of Micah. And the man Micah had a shrine, and he made an ephod and household gods, and installed one of his sons who became his priest. In those days there was no king in Israel; every one did as he thought was right.
2. Appointment of a young Levite as his priest. Now there was a young man of Bethlehem in Judah of the family of Judah, who was a Levite; and he was dwelling there. And the man departed from the city, from Bethlehem in Judah, to make his home in whatever place he could find. And as he journeyed, he came to the hill-country of Ephraim to the house of Micah. And Micah said to him, Whence do you come? And he said to him, I am a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah, and I am travelling to find a home, wherever I may. And Micah said to him, Stay with me, and be a father and a priest to me, and I will give you ten shekels of silver by the year, and a suit of clothes, and your living. So the Levite entered into an agreement to dwell with the man; and the young man was to him as one of his sons. Thus Micah consecrated the Levite, and the young man became his priest, and was in the house of Micah. Then said Micah, Now I know that Jehovah will prosper me, since I have a Levite as my priest.
3. The Danite spies at Micah’s sanctuary. Now in those days the tribe of the Danites sought them an inheritance in which to dwell. And the Danites sent five men of their clan from their whole number, valiant men from Zorah and from Eshtaol, to explore the land, and to examine it; and they said to them, Go, examine the land. And they came to the hill-country of Ephraim, to the house of Micah and passed the night there. And when they were near the house of Micah they recognized the voice of the young man, the Levite; so they turned aside there, and said to him, Who brought you here? and what are you doing in this place? and what have you here? And he said to them, Thus and so Micah has done for me, and he has hired me and I have become his priest. And they said to him, Inquire of God, will you, that we may know whether or not our undertaking shall be successful. And the priest said to them, Go in peace: your undertaking is under the care of Jehovah.
4. Favorable report of the spies. Then the five men went on and came to Laish and found the people, who were there, dwelling in security, as do the Sidonians, quiet and not suspicious of danger; for there was no one in the land possessing authority to restrain them from anything, and they were far from the Sidonians and had nothing to do with any one else. Then they came to their kinsmen at Zorah and Eshtaol, and their kinsmen said to them, What is your report? And they said, Arise, and let us go up against them; we have seen the land, and, behold, it is very good, and you are sitting idle. Do not delay to go and to enter in to take possession of the land. When you go, you will come to a people who suspect no danger, and the land is large; for God hath given it into your hand, a place where there is no want of anything that is on the earth.
5. Departure of the Danites. So there set forth from thence of the clan of the Danites, from Zorah and Eshtaol, six hundred men girded with weapons of war. And they went up and encamped near Kiriath-jearim in Judah; hence they call that place Mahaneh-dan [Camp of Dan] to this day; it is west of Kiriath-jearim. And they passed on from there to the hill-country of Ephraim, and came to the house of Micah.
6. Their seizure of Micah’s images and priest. Then the five men, who went to explore the country of Laish, spoke up and said to their kinsmen, Do you know that there is in these houses an ephod, and household gods, and a carved and a molten image? Now therefore decide what you will do. And they turned aside there and came to the house of the young man, the Levite, even the house of Micah, and greeted him. Meanwhile the six hundred men, who were of the Danites, girded with their weapons of war, stood by the entrance of the gate. But the five men who had gone to explore the land went up, entered in there, and took the carved image, and the ephod, and the household gods, and the molten image, while the priest stood by the entrance of the gate with the six hundred men who were girded with weapons of war. And when these went into Micah’s house, and took the carved image, the ephod, and the household gods, and the molten image, the priest said to them, What are you doing? And they said to him, Be still! lay your hand upon your mouth, and go with us, and be a father and a priest to us. Is it better for you to be priest to one man’s household, or to be priest to a tribe and a clan in Israel? And the priest was glad, and he took the ephod, and the household gods, and the carved image and went along with the people. Then they turned and departed, when they had put the little ones and the cattle and the goods before them.
7. Their reply to Micah’s protest. After they had gone some distance from the house of Micah, the men who were in the houses near Micah’s house gathered together and overtook the Danites. And when they shouted to the Danites, they turned about and said to Micah, What is the matter with you that you are out with such a crowd? And he said, You have taken away my gods which I made, and the priest, and are gone away, and what have I left? What do you mean by asking, ‘What is the matter with you?’ And the Danites said to him, Do not let your voice be heard among us, lest some fierce fellows fall upon you and you lose your life, with the lives of your household. Then the Danites went on their way; and, since Micah saw that they were too strong for him, he turned and went back to his house.
8. Capture of Laish. Thus they took that which Micah had made, and the priest whom he had, and came to Laish, to a people living in unsuspecting quiet, and put them to the sword, and burnt the city with fire. And there was no one to give any succor, because it was far from Sidon, and they had no dealings with any one else; and it was in the valley which belongs to Beth-rehob. And they built the city and dwelt in it, and called the name of the city Dan. But the earlier name of the city was Laish.
9. Establishment of the Danite sanctuary. And the Danites set up for themselves the carved image; and Jonathan, the son of Gershom the son of Moses, and his descendants were priests to the tribe of the Danites. So they set up Micah’s graven image which he made, as long as the house of God was in Shiloh.
I. Character of the Story. The clearest information regarding the experiences of the tribes in seeking homes in Canaan comes from this ancient story found in the appendix to the book of Judges. Its object is to give the history of the founding of the famous sanctuary at Dan. Its thought and point of view are those of the earliest period of Israel’s history, and the section may be regarded as an almost contemporary picture of the events which it records.
II. The Sanctuary of Micah the Ephraimite. The origin of the sanctuary of Micah the Ephraimite was simple but not altogether glorious. The occasion appears to have been the restoration of certain money stolen by Micah from his mother. This money she consecrated to the deity. It was given to a founder, who made a carved and molten image. Ephod in these early narratives is clearly the designation of some form of idol (cf. also § XXXVII 11). Jehovah was the God worshipped at this shrine, but the old heathen symbolism was retained without protest or without any suggestion that it was regarded as illegal. Also the religious head of each tribe or clan was the tribal sheik or the father of the household. It was his privilege, however, to delegate his authority to whomsoever he might select. In this case one of Micah’s sons was at first appointed priest.
Later a young Levite from Bethlehem in Judah made a journey through the hill-country of Ephraim and visited the house of Micah. He was forthwith engaged for a stipulated sum to remain in the household of Micah and take charge of the family shrine. The story implies that already the Levites were regarded as especially eligible for this office (cf. further § XXX IV). The subsequent narrative indicates that his primary duty was to give a divine decision or oracle, whenever a question was presented. It is also probable that he acted as guardian of the sanctuary and attended to the details of the sacrifices at the annual feasts, although this function may still have been performed by Micah as head of the household.
III. Report of the Danite Spies. Originally the Danites appear to have settled to the southwest of Ephraim. Their territory was therefore constricted by the powerful tribe of Ephraim, pressing them from the east and north, and by the zone of Canaanite cities on the south and by the aggressive Philistines on the plain to the west. Always a comparatively small tribe, they were apparently unable to maintain their position and much less to win the new territory which their increasing numbers required. Accordingly they sent spies to discover a more favorable site. In passing by the sanctuary of Micah, these spies consulted the oracle, and proceeded on their journey assured of Jehovah’s approval. Far in the North, at the foot of Mount Hermon, they found the Canaanite city of Laish. This city had been originally settled by Phoenician colonists, but was so far removed that it received no protection from the parent state. It, therefore, in every way satisfied the requirements of the Danites, and this fact was so reported by their spies.
IV. The Plunder of Micah’s Sanctuary. As the Danite warriors set out to conquer the Canaanite city of Laish, one of the spies, without thought of gratitude, suggested that they plunder the sanctuary of Micah, where they had so recently consulted the oracle. The law of might was evidently the only standard recognized by these early warriors, even in dealing with their Israelite kinsmen. The images and the priest were carried away to the North in the face of the unavailing protest of Micah. Arriving at Laish, the city was suddenly attacked, its inhabitants put to death and the town itself burned. On the ruined site they built the famous city of Dan. There, under the shadow of Mount Hermon, amidst the rushing waters which come bubbling up from the roots of the mountain, surrounded by fertile fields and almost tropical vegetation, was reared the famous shrine, which Jeroboam I, after the division of the Hebrew empire, selected as one of his two royal sanctuaries. There were set up the images of Micah the Ephraimite. Jonathan the Levite, the grandson of Moses, was placed in charge, and there his descendants long continued to preside over this northern temple.
V. Prevailing Ethical Standards and Religious Ideals. The ethical standards in force during this transitional period of settlement may be inferred from these ancient stories. The murder of a heathen foe was evidently regarded as a virtue rather than a crime. Stealing, even from a member of another Hebrew tribe, was not condemned. The law of might still made right. The sanctity of the marriage relation, however, was carefully guarded. The story of the crime of the Gibeathites, found in the concluding chapters of the book of Judges, shows with what zeal the Hebrews punished the crimes of inhospitality and shameless adultery. A covenant, even with an alien people like the Gibeonites, was sacredly kept. A vow, which was a solemn agreement between an individual and Jehovah, was faithfully discharged even though, as in the story of Jephthah’s daughter, it involved the crime of murder. The old primitive rites, the graven images and the crude paraphernalia of worship still survived; but Jehovah commanded the unquestioning loyalty of every true Israelite. Even though Micah the Ephraimite did not hesitate to steal silver from his own mother, he gladly reared a family shrine for Jehovah, and faithfully provided for the performance of the religious rites connected with it. Thus it is clear that the essence of Israel’s religion during this period was loyalty to Jehovah—a loyalty which chiefly found expression, in accordance with the ancient decalogue, in forms and in ceremonies. The religion of life, and the duties of justice, mercy and love were to be first clearly proclaimed by the prophets of a later age.