2tn Heb “because there had not fallen to them by that day in the midst of the tribes of Israel an inheritance.”

3tn Heb “The Danites sent from their tribe five men, from their borders.”

4tn Heb “men, sons of strength.”

5tn Heb “They came to the Ephraimite hill country, to Micah’s house, and spent the night there.”

6tn Or “When they were near.”

7tn Heb “voice.” This probably means that “his speech was Judahite [i.e., southern] like their own, not Israelite [i.e., northern]” (R. G. Boling, Judges [AB], 263).

8tn Heb “turned aside.”

9tn Heb “What [is there] to you here?”

10tn Heb “He said to them, ‘Such and such Micah has done for me.’” Though the statement is introduced and presented, at least in part, as a direct quotation (note especially “for me”), the phrase “such and such” appears to be the narrator’s condensed version of what the Levite really said.

11tn Heb “Ask God.”

12tn Heb “so we can know if our way on which we are going will be successful.”

13tn Heb “in peace.”

14tn Heb “In front of the LORD is your way in which you are going.”

15tn Or “went.”

16tn Heb “who were in its midst.”

17tn Heb “according to the custom of the Sidonians.”

18tn Heb “and there was no one humiliating anything in the land, one taking possession [by] force.”

19tc Heb “and a thing there was not to them with men.” Codex Alexandrinus (A) of the LXX and Symmachus read “Syria” here rather than the MT’s “men.” This reading presupposes a Hebrew Vorlage אֲרָם (’aram, “Aram,” i.e., Arameans) rather than the MT reading אָדָם (’adam). This reading is possibly to be preferred over the MT.

20tn Heb “They came to their brothers.”

21tn Heb “brothers.”

22tn Heb “What you?”

23tn Heb “Arise, and let us go up against them.”

24tc Codex Alexandrinus (A) of the LXX adds “we entered and walked around in the land as far as Laish and.”

25tn Heb “But you are inactive.”

26tn Or “be lazy.”

27tn Heb “to go”; “to enter”; “to possess.”

28tn Heb “When you enter.”

29tn Heb “you will come to.”

30tn Heb “broad of hands,” an idiom meaning “wide on both sides.”

31tn Heb “a place where there is no lack of anything that is in the earth.”

32tn Heb “They journeyed from there, from the tribe of the Danites, from Zorah and from Eshtaol, six hundred men, equipped with weapons of war.”

33tn Or “Mahaneh Dan”; the Hebrew term “Mahaneh” means “camp [of].” Many English versions retain the transliterated Hebrew expression, but cf. CEV “Dan’s Camp.”

34tn Heb “behind.”

35tc Codex Alexandrinus (A) of the LXX lacks the phrase “of Laish.”

36tn Heb “brothers.”

37tn Heb “turned aside.”

38tn Heb “Micah’s house.”

39tn Heb “they asked him concerning peace.”

40tn Heb “And the six hundred men, equipped with the weapons of war…from the sons of Dan.”

41tn Heb “went up, went in there, took.”

42tn Heb “six hundred men, equipped with the weapons of war.”

43tn Heb “These went into Micah’s house and took.”

44tn See the note on the word “adviser” in 17:10.

45tn Heb “Is it better for you to be priest for the house of one man or for you to be priest for a tribe, for a clan in Israel?”

46tn Heb “and went into the midst of the people.”

47tn Heb “They turned and went and put the children, the cattle, and the possessions in front of them.”

48tn Heb “the men who were in the houses near Micah’s house.”

49tn Heb “they”; the referent (the Danites) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

50tn Heb “What is this you say to me, ‘What to you?’”

51tn Heb “bitter in spirit.” This phrase is used in 2 Sam 17:8 of David and his warriors, who are compared to a bear robbed of her cubs.

52tn Heb “and you will gather up your life and the life of your house.”

53tn Heb “saw.”

54tn Heb “they were stronger than he.”

55tn Heb “they”; the referent (the Danites) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

56tn The Hebrew adds “with fire.” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons, because it is redundant in English.

57tn Heb “it.” The Hebrew pronoun is feminine singular here, referring to the “city” (a grammatically feminine singular noun) mentioned in v. 27.

58map For location see Map1-A1; JP3-F3; JP4-F3.

59tn Heb “and a thing there was not to them with men.”

60tn Heb “it.” The Hebrew pronoun is feminine singular here, referring to the “city” (a grammatically feminine singular noun) mentioned in v. 27.

61tn Heb “They”; the referent (the Danites) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

62tn Heb “They called the name of the city Dan, after the name of Dan their father, who had been born to Israel.”

63tn Heb “erected for themselves.”

64tn Heb “son.”

65tc Several ancient textual witnesses, including some LXX mss and the Vulgate, support the reading “Moses” (מֹשֶׁה, mosheh) here. Many Hebrew mss have a nun (נ) suspended above the name between the first two letters (מנשׁה), suggesting the name Manasseh (מְנַשֶּׁה, m˙nasheh). This is probably a scribal attempt to protect Moses’ reputation. For discussion, see G. F. Moore, Judges (ICC), 401-2.

66tn Heb “sons.”

67tn Heb “they set up for themselves.”

68tn Heb “the carved image that Micah had made.”

69tn Heb “the house of God.”