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Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Judges 17:1-6

Here we have, I. Micah and his mother quarrelling. 1. The son robs the mother. The old woman had hoarded, with long scraping and saving, a great sum of money, 1100 pieces of silver. It is likely she intended, when she died, to leave it to her son: in the mean time it did her good to look upon it, and to count it over. The young man had a family of children grown up, for he had one of age to be a priest, Jdg. 17:5. He knows where to find his mother's cash, thinks he has more need of it than she... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Judges 17:1

And there was a man of Mount Ephraim ,.... This and the four following chapters contain an history of facts, which were done not after the death of Samson, as some have thought, and as they may seem at first sight, by the order in which they are laid; but long before his time, and indeed before any of the judges in Israel, when there was no king, judge, or supreme governor among them, as appears from Judges 17:6 even between the death of Joshua and the elders, and the first judge of... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Judges 17:2

And he said unto his mother ,.... Who seems to have been a widow, and an ancient woman since Micah had sons, and one of them at age to become a priest: the eleven hundred shekels of silver that were taken from thee : which were taken away by stealth from her, though it may be rendered "taken to thee" F9 לקח לך "captum est tibi", Montanus, Junius & Tremellius. ; which she had taken to herself out of the rest of her substance, and had separated and devoted it to religious... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Judges 17:3

And when he had restored the eleven hundred shekels of silver to his mother ,.... The whole sum, having embezzled none of it: his mother said, I had wholly dedicated the silver unto the Lord from my hand, for my son to make a graven image and a molten image ; this she had done either before it was stolen, and it troubled her the more, and caused her the rather to curse the man that had taken it; or after it was stolen, that if it should be recovered again she would appropriate it to such... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Judges 17:4

Yet he restored the money unto his mother ,.... Gave it to her a second tithe, not as disapproving her idolatrous intention, as the sequel shows, but being desirous to be entirely free of it, and not have his mind disturbed with it as it had been, and that she might do with it as she thought fit: and his mother took two hundred shekels of silver, and gave them to the founder, who made thereof a graven image, and a molten image ; the other nine hundred pieces she kept to herself,... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Judges 17:5

And the man Micah had an house of gods ,.... Having two images in it, besides teraphim, which were a sort of idols; and the Targum is, an house of images, or idols; though it may be rendered "an house of God"; a temple, a place for religious worship: and made an ephod ; a priestly garment, a linen one very probably, not so rich an one with a breastplate to it as the high priest had, which was very costly. Ben Melech interprets it a girdle, and there was a curious girdle of the ephod,... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Judges 17:6

In those days there was no king in Israel ,.... That is, no supreme magistrate, judge, or ruler, Joshua being dead and Caleb also, and the elders contemporary with them; for what the Samaritan Chronicle says F12 Apud Hottinger. Smegma Orient. p. 522. is without foundation, that Joshua a little before his death cast a lot in the presence of the congregation, to know who should govern after him, and the lot came to one Abel, of the tribe of Judah: but every man did that which was... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Judges 17:1

And there was a man of Mount Ephraim - It is extremely difficult to fix the chronology of this and the following transactions. Some think them to be here in their natural order; others, that they happened in the time of Joshua, or immediately after the ancients who outlived Joshua. All that can be said with certainty is this, that they happened when there was no king in Israel; i.e., about the time of the Judges, or in some time of the anarchy, Judges 17:6 . read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Judges 17:2

About which thou cursedst - Houbigant and others understand this of putting the young man to his oath. It is likely that when the mother of Micah missed the money, she poured imprecations on the thief; and that Micah, who had secreted it, hearing this, was alarmed, and restored the money lest the curses should fall on him. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Judges 17:3

I had wholly dedicated - From this it appears that Micah's mother, though she made a superstitious use of the money, had no idolatrous design, for she expressly says she had dedicated it ליהוה layhovah , to Jehovah; and this appears to have been the reason why she poured imprecations on him who had taken it. read more

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