Judges 18:28-31

Contemporary English Version

The Tribe of Dan Captures Laish

^27-28The tribe of Dan took Micah's priest and the things Micah had made, and headed for Laish, which was located in a valley controlled by the town of Beth-Rehob. Laish was defenseless, because it had no walls and was too far from Sidon for the Sidonians to help defend it. The leaders of Laish had not even asked nearby towns to help them in case of an attack.

The warriors from Dan made a surprise attack on Laish, killing everyone and burning it down. Then they rebuilt the town and settled there themselves. ²⁹But they named it Dan, after one of Israel's^[a] sons, who was the ancestor of their tribe.

^30-31Even though the place of worship^[b] was in Shiloh, the people of Dan set up the idol Micah had made. They worshiped the idol, and the Levite was their priest. His name was Jonathan, and he was a descendant of Gershom the son of Moses.^[c] His descendants served as priests for the tribe of Dan, until the people of Israel were taken away as prisoners by their enemies.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

18.29 Israel's: Israel was another name for Jacob, the father of the twelve ancestors of the tribes of Israel.
18.30,31 place of worship: The Hebrew text has “house of God,” which at this time was probably the sacred tent.
18.30,31 Moses: Some manuscripts of two ancient translations; the Standard Hebrew Text has “Manasseh,” but written in a special way that tells the reader “Moses” had been changed to “Manasseh.”