Judges 17:8

Judges 17:8 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And the man departed out of the city from Beth–lehem–judah to sojourn where he could find a place: and he came to mount Ephraim to the house of Micah, as he journeyed.
• New International Version (NIV)left that town in search of some other place to stay. On his way he came to Micah’s house in the hill country of Ephraim.
• English Standard Version (ESV)And the man departed from the town of Bethlehem in Judah to sojourn where he could find a place. And as he journeyed, he came to the hill country of Ephraim to the house of Micah.
• New King James Version (NKJV)The man departed from the city of Bethlehem in Judah to stay wherever he could find a place. Then he came to the mountains of Ephraim, to the house of Micah, as he journeyed.

Context of Judges 17:8

6In those days there was no king in Israel; every man did what was right in his own eyes. 7Now there was a young man from Bethlehem in Judah, from the family [of the tribe] of Judah, who was a Levite; and he was staying there [temporarily]. Then the man left the town of Bethlehem in Judah, to stay wherever he could find a place; and as he journeyed, he came to the hill country of Ephraim, to the house of Micah. 9Micah said to him, “Where do you come from?” And he said to him, “I am a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah, and I am going to stay wherever I can find a place.” 10And Micah said to him, “Live here with me and be a father and a [personal] priest to me, and I will give you ten pieces of silver each year, a supply of clothing, and your sustenance (room and board).” So the Levite went in.

Judges 17:8 word by word

וַיֵּ֨לֶךְ הָאִ֜ישׁ מֵהָעִ֗יר מִבֵּ֥ית לֶ֙חֶם֙ יְהוּדָ֔ה לָג֖וּר בַּאֲשֶׁ֣ר יִמְצָ֑א וַיָּבֹ֧א הַר־אֶפְרַ֛יִם עַד־בֵּ֥ית מִיכָ֖ה לַעֲשׂ֥וֹת דַּרְכּֽוֹ׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And the manאִישׁ'îysh · manH376
• departedיָלַךְyâlak · to walkH3212
• out of the cityעִיר‛îyr ‛âr ‛âyar · cityH5892
• from Beth–lehem–judahיְהוּדָהyehûdâh · JudahH3063
• from Beth–lehem–judahבֵּית לֶ֫חֶםbêyth lechem · BethlehemH1035
• to sojournגּוּרgûr · to sojournH1481
• where he could findמָצָאmâtsâ' · to findH4672
• and he cameבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
• to mountהַרhar · mountain: hill countryH2022
• Ephraimאֶפְרַ֫יִם'ephrayim · EphraimH669
• to the houseבַּ֫יִתbayith · house: homeH1004
• of Micahמִיכָהmîykâh · MicahH4318
• as he journeyedדֶּ֫רֶךְderek · way: journeyH1870
• as he journeyedעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to make: [do]H6213

Cross-references for Judges 17:8

• Judges 17:11The Levite agreed to live with the man, and the young man became to Micah like one of his sons.
• Nehemiah 13:10I also discovered that the portions due the Levites had not been given to them, so that the Levites and the singers who did the work had gone away, each one back to his own field.

Commentaries on Judges 17:8

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 8To sojourn where he could find - He went about the country seeking for some employment, for the Levites had no inheritance: besides, no secure residence could be found where there was no civil government.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 8Jonathan‘s state without a home gives us vivid picture of what must have been the condition of many Levites.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 7-13Verses 7-13 Micah thought it was a sign of God's favour to him and his images, that a Levite should come to his door. Thus those who please themselves with their own delusions, if Providence unexpectedly bring any thing to their hands that further them in their evil way, are apt from thence to think that God is pleased with them.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 7-8This Levite does not fit typical biblical categories. Some Levites were priests, while others served in the temple (compare Numbers 3–4). Levites lived throughout Israel (Genesis 49:5–7; Joshua 21). This young man, likely a descendant of Gershom (Judges 18:30; see Exodus 2:21–22), lived in Judah but not in a Levitical town. He was searching for a new place to live.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 88. the man departed ... to sojourn where he could find a place--A competent provision being secured for every member of the Levitical order, his wandering about showed him to have been a person of a roving disposition or unsettled habits. In the course of his journeying he came to the house of Micah, who, on learning what he was, engaged his permanent services.Read the comment

Topics related to Judges 17:8

• Bethlehem
• Ephraim
• Jonathan
• Minister, Christian

In the dictionaries

• Ephraim
• Judah
• Micah
• Mount Ephraim
• Teraphim
• Bethlehem
• Ezekiel
• Genesis
• Israel, History of
• Israel, Religion of

Commentaries on Judges 17

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• Darby Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary