Judges 18:7

7. Laish Called Leshem in Joshua 19:47, and afterwards Dan. Judges 18:29, where see note.

Manner of the Zidonians That is, as explained in the immediate context, careless, quiet, and secure. The inhabitants of Zidon lived by commerce, and took no interest in war and conquest. They consequently took no thought of danger from armed forces; and in their more peaceful pursuits enriched themselves, while other nations weakened and impoverished themselves by constant wars. It is commonly supposed that these people of Laish were originally a colony of the Zidonians, and hence the resemblance named.

No magistrate in the land, that might put them to shame in any thing A very difficult passage, finding little agreement among critics as to its meaning. The versions all vary, and give little help. Bertheau, as usual, supposes an error in the text, and suggests that possibly the reading מכלים originated in overlooking the letters חסור , which, being restored, give, by dropping the ending ים , the reading in Judges 18:10, no want of any thing. Furst proposes to amend מכלים דבר by joining the מ to the following word, מכליא , a hinderance. He also gives עצר a cognate sense with מחסור , want, of Judges 18:10, and, repeating אין from the preceding clause, would read, There was no hinderance to any thing in the land; no one had need: (literally, no possessor of want.) But such emendations are not to be followed, except as a last resort. Keil renders it, No one who seized the government to himself did any harm to them in the land; Cassel, No hereditary ruler was in the land, who in any way oppressed. The main difficulty attaches to the word עצר , which occurs here only. Furst, as we have seen, renders it need; Gesenius renders it wealth, riches, after the Septuagint. But the verbal root, עצר , often means to be able, to have strength or power, and hence we incline to substantially the meaning which our common version, and Keil and Cassel, put upon the noun, עצר , namely, power, dominion, rule. The Hebrew text, without any alteration, would then literally read, No one harming a thing in the land a possessor of power; and the meaning, as we take it, is, No possessor of power that is, no neighbouring king, prince, or ruler of any kind, for a ruler or magistrate may aptly be called a possessor of power disturbed or injured any thing in the country belonging to Laish. They acknowledged no allegiance and paid no tribute to any government, nor did any government meddle with any thing in their land. The statements which immediately follow confirm this view of the passage. They were far from the Zidonians, the only people who might lawfully claim allegiance and tribute from them; and because of this their remoteness from Zidon, whence they had originally emigrated as a colony, they were, on the one hand, quietly ignored by the ruling powers of the home government, and could, on the other, expect no help from them in case of danger. Compare Judges 18:28.

Had no business with any man Not only were they thus separated from the Zidonians, but they formed no alliances with any other people. Hence it was, as stated above, that no possessor of power meddled with them to the injury of a thing in their land.