1tn Heb an inheritance.
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 Micahs 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 narrators 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 MTs men. This reading presupposes a Hebrew Vorlage <r*a& (a&r*<, Aram, i.e. Arameans) rather than the MT reading <d*a* (a*d*<). 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. Mahaneh means camp [of].
34tn Heb behind.
35tc Codex Alexandrinus (A) of the LXX lacks the phrase of Laish.
36tn Heb brothers.
37tn Heb turned aside.
38tn Heb Micahs 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 Micahs 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 Micahs 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 (hv#m{, m{v#h) here. Many Hebrew mss have a nun suspended above the name between the first two letters (hvnm), suggesting the name Manasseh (hV#n~m=, m=n~V#h). 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.