Judges 18:1-6

The messengers from Dan 18:1-6

This chapter begins with another reference to the fact that there was no king in Israel then (cf. Judges 17:6). The writer reminded us again that the Israelites were living unrestrained lives. Abundant evidence of this follows in chapter 18.

"The nation needs no king to lead them in battle or into apostasy. They will do both on their own." [Note: Block, Judges . . ., p. 491.]

In Judges 18:1 the NASB and NIV translators have implied that the following incident happened before the Danites had received their tribal inheritance (Joshua 19:40-48). If true, this statement would date the incident that follows during the days of Joshua. The AV and NKJV versions imply that the Danites had not yet subdued and fully occupied their allotted tribal territory. In this case the incident probably happened after Joshua’s death. The Hebrew text reads literally, "there had not fallen to them by that day in the midst of the tribes of Israel an inheritance." Many of the commentators prefer the second view. [Note: E.g., Bush, p. 223; Cundall and Morris, p. 187; Wood, Distressing Days . . ., p. 148; Keil and Delitzsch, p. 434; Inrig, pp. 277-78; and Block, Judges . . ., pp. 493-94.] In either case the incident shows the Danites’ dissatisfaction with their condition. They either did not wait for God to give them what He had promised (cf. Joshua 13:1-7), or they were unwilling to fight the Amorites so they could inhabit it (cf. Judges 1:34). They felt that they did not have an adequate inheritance. They then sent a group of five men to investigate the possibilities of other land that might be available to them in other parts of Canaan.

"They clearly felt that the boundary lines had not fallen for them ’in pleasant places’ (Psalms 16:6). Their desire to move revealed a lack of faith in the Lord who had allotted to them their original territory." [Note: Wolf, p. 483.]

The center of Danite activity was then between Zorah and Eshtaol, the area where Samson grew up. However, this incident seems to have antedated Samson’s judgeship. Previously Moses, and later Joshua, had sent spies before them (Numbers 13; Joshua 2). There are many parallels between chapter 18 and Numbers 12:16 to Numbers 14:45 and Deuteronomy 1:19-46 [Note: See A. Malamat, "The Danite Migration and the Pan-Israelite Exodus-Conquest: A Biblical Narrative Pattern," Biblica 51 (1970):1-16; and O’Connell, pp. 235-38.] There is no reference to God’s leading the Danites to send spies, however. In view of what follows, this decision seems to have lacked divine initiative or permission.

When these representatives happened to come to Micah’s house, they recognized the distinctive voice of his Levite (Judges 18:3). After learning what he was doing there, the Danites explained their mission and asked the Levite to inquire from Yahweh whether their journey would be successful (Judges 18:5). The tabernacle was just a few miles from Micah’s house, and the Danites should have gone there if they wanted to know God’s will. The Levite, perhaps using Micah’s ephod, announced God’s approval of their mission (Judges 18:6). In view of his own relationship to God it is doubtful that he really received an answer from Yahweh. Moreover, in view of what the soldiers proceeded to do, their plan was definitely not in harmony with God’s will.