Judges 18:2

Judges 18:2 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And the children of Dan sent of their family five men from their coasts, men of valour, from Zorah, and from Eshtaol, to spy out the land, and to search it; and they said unto them, Go, search the land: who when they came to mount Ephraim, to the house of Micah, they lodged there.
• New International Version (NIV)So the Danites sent five of their leading men from Zorah and Eshtaol to spy out the land and explore it. These men represented all the Danites. They told them, “Go, explore the land.” So they entered the hill country of Ephraim and came to the house of Micah, where they spent the night.
• English Standard Version (ESV)So the people of Dan sent five able men from the whole number of their tribe, from Zorah and from Eshtaol, to spy out the land and to explore it. And they said to them, "Go and explore the land." And they came to the hill country of Ephraim, to the house of Micah, and lodged there.
• New King James Version (NKJV)So the children of Dan sent five men of their family from their territory, men of valor from Zorah and Eshtaol, to spy out the land and search it. They said to them, “Go, search the land.” So they went to the mountains of Ephraim, to the house of Micah, and lodged there.

Context of Judges 18:2

1In those days there was no king in Israel: and in those days the tribe of the Danites sought them an inheritance to dwell in; for unto that day their inheritance had not fallen unto them among the tribes of Israel. And the children of Dan sent of their family five men from their whole number, men of valor, from Zorah, and from Eshtaol, to spy out the land, and to search it; and they said unto them, Go, search the land. And they came to the hill-country of Ephraim, unto the house of Micah, and lodged there. 3When they were by the house of Micah, they knew the voice of the young man the Levite; and they turned aside thither, and said unto him, Who brought thee hither? and what doest thou in this place? and what hast thou here? 4And he said unto them, Thus and thus hath Micah dealt with me, and he hath hired me, and I am become his priest.

Judges 18:2 word by word

וַיִּשְׁלְח֣וּ בְנֵי־דָ֣ן׀ מִֽמִּשְׁפַּחְתָּ֡ם חֲמִשָּׁ֣ה אֲנָשִׁ֣ים מִקְצוֹתָם֩ אֲנָשִׁ֨ים בְּנֵי־חַ֜יִל מִצָּרְעָ֣ה וּמֵֽאֶשְׁתָּאֹ֗ל לְרַגֵּ֤ל אֶת־הָאָ֙רֶץ֙ וּלְחָקְרָ֔הּ וַיֹּאמְר֣וּ אֲלֵהֶ֔ם לְכ֖וּ חִקְר֣וּ אֶת־הָאָ֑רֶץ וַיָּבֹ֤אוּ הַר־אֶפְרַ֙יִם֙ עַד־בֵּ֣ית מִיכָ֔ה וַיָּלִ֖ינוּ שָֽׁם׃Read the interlinear

• Danדָּןdân · DanH1835
• sentשָׁלַחshâlach · to send: departH7971
• familyמִשְׁפָּחָהmishpâchâh · familyH4940
• fiveחָמֵשׁchâmêsh chămishshâh · fiveH2568
• menאִישׁ'îysh · manH376
• Zorahצׇרְעָהtsor‛âh · ZorahH6881
• Eshtaolאֶשְׁתָּאוֹל'eshtâ'ôl 'eshtâ'ôl · EshtaolH847
• spyרָגַלrâgal · to spyH7270
• landאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
• searchחָקַרchâqar · to searchH2713
• saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• Goבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
• Ephraimאֶפְרַ֫יִם'ephrayim · EphraimH669
• houseבַּ֫יִתbayith · house: homeH1004
• Micahמִיכָהmîykâh · MicahH4318

Cross-references for Judges 18:2

• Judges 18:8And they came unto their brethren to Zorah and Eshtaol: and their brethren said unto them, What say ye?
• Judges 13:2And there was a certain man of Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was barren, and bare not.
• Judges 16:31Then his brethren and all the house of his father came down, and took him, and brought him up, and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the burying-place of Manoah his father. And he judged Israel twenty years.
• Genesis 42:9And Joseph remembered the dreams which he dreamed of them, and said unto them, Ye are spies; to see the nakedness of the land ye are come.
• Joshua 19:41And the border of their inheritance was Zorah, and Eshtaol, and Ir-shemesh,
• Numbers 13:17And Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, and said unto them, Get you up this way by the South, and go up into the hill-country:
• Joshua 2:1And Joshua the son of Nun sent out of Shittim two men as spies secretly, saying, Go, view the land, and Jericho. And they went and came into the house of a harlot whose name was Rahab, and lay there.
• Proverbs 20:18Every purpose is established by counsel; And by wise guidance make thou war.
• Luke 14:31Or what king, as he goeth to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and take counsel whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand?
• Judges 17:1And there was a man of the hill-country of Ephraim, whose name was Micah.
• Judges 19:1And it came to pass in those days, when there was no king in Israel, that there was a certain Levite sojourning on the farther side of the hill-country of Ephraim, who took to him a concubine out of Beth-lehem-judah.
• Joshua 17:15And Joshua said unto them, If thou be a great people, get thee up to the forest, and cut down for thyself there in the land of the Perizzites and of the Rephaim; since the hill-country of Ephraim is too narrow for thee.

Commentaries on Judges 18:2

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 2Five men - men of valor - The Hebrew word חיל chayil has been applied to personal prowess, to mental energy, and to earthly possessions. They sent those in whose courage, judgment, and prudence, they could safely confide.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 2This identity of locality with the scene of Samson‘s birth and death indicates that both narratives are drawn from the same source, probably the annals of the tribe of Dan.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 2Zorah and Eshtaol: Scouts came from the area where the Spirit of the Lord first moved Samson (Judges 13:25). The mention of these two towns reminds us that Samson's mission was unfinished, either by his tribe, Dan, or their powerful neighbor, Judah. Instead of fighting the Lord’s battles, these skilled warriors bullied fellow Israelites (Judges 18:24–25) and attacked a defenseless city (18:27; compare Genesis 49:17).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-261-6. In those days ... the Danites sought them an inheritance to dwell in--The Danites had a territory assigned them as well as the other tribes. But either through indolence, or a lack of energy, they did not acquire the full possession of their allotment, but suffered a considerable portion of it to be wrested out of their hands by the encroachments of their powerful neighbors, the Philistines. In consequence, being straitened for room, a considerable…Read the comment

Topics related to Judges 18:2

• Armies
• Eshtaol
• Jonathan
• Reconnoissance

In the dictionaries

• Dan
• Ephraim
• Micah
• Mount Ephraim
• Ask
• Eshtaol
• Quiet
• Teraphim
• Zorah
• Dan (1); Dan, Tribe of

Commentaries on Judges 18

• 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