Judges 17:7

Judges 17:7 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And there was a young man out of Beth–lehem–judah of the family of Judah, who was a Levite, and he sojourned there.
• New International Version (NIV)A young Levite from Bethlehem in Judah, who had been living within the clan of Judah,
• English Standard Version (ESV)Now there was a young man of Bethlehem in Judah, of the family of Judah, who was a Levite, and he sojourned there.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Now there was a young man from Bethlehem in Judah, of the family of Judah; he was a Levite, and was staying there.

Context of Judges 17:7

5Now this man Micah had a shrine, and he made an ephod and some household idols, and ordained one of his sons as his priest. 6In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes. And there was a young Levite from Bethlehem in Judah who had been residing within the clan of Judah. 8This man left the city of Bethlehem in Judah to settle where he could find a place. And as he traveled, he came to Micah’s house in the hill country of Ephraim. 9“Where are you from?” Micah asked him. “I am a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah,” he replied, “and I am on my way to settle wherever I can find a place.”

Judges 17:7 word by word

וַיְהִי־נַ֗עַר מִבֵּ֥ית לֶ֙חֶם֙ יְהוּדָ֔ה מִמִּשְׁפַּ֖חַת יְהוּדָ֑ה וְה֥וּא לֵוִ֖י וְה֥וּא גָֽר־שָֽׁם׃Read the interlinear

• And there wasהָיָהhâyâh · to beH1961
• a youngנַ֫עַרna‛ar · youthH5288
• ·הוּאhû' hîy' · he/she/itH1931
• Leviteלֵוִיlêvîyîy lêvîy · LeviH3881
• from Bethlehemבֵּית לֶ֫חֶםbêyth lechem · BethlehemH1035
• in Judahיְהוּדָהyehûdâh · JudahH3063
• had been residingגּוּרgûr · to sojournH1481
• had been residingשָׁםshâm · thereH8033
• within the clanמִשְׁפָּחָהmishpâchâh · familyH4940

Cross-references for Judges 17:7

• Judges 19:1Now in those days, when there was no king in Israel, a Levite who lived in the remote hill country of Ephraim took for himself a concubine from Bethlehem in Judah.
• Genesis 35:19So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem).
• Joshua 19:15It also included Kattath, Nahalal, Shimron, Idalah, and Bethlehem. There were twelve cities, along with their villages.
• Ruth 1:1In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land. And a certain man from Bethlehem in Judah, with his wife and two sons, went to reside in the land of Moab.
• Micah 5:2But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come forth for Me One to be ruler over Israel— One whose origins are of old, from the days of eternity.
• Matthew 2:1After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem,

Commentaries on Judges 17:7

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 7Of the family of Judah - The word family may be taken here for tribe; or the young man might have been of the tribe of Judah by his mother, and of the tribe of Levi by his father, for he is called here a Levite; and it is probable that he might have officiated at Shiloh, in the Levitical office. A Levite might marry into any other tribe, providing the woman was not an heiress.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 7The Hebrew words for “he sojourned there” are, שׁם גר gêr shām which words are used Judges 18:30 in the genealogy of this young Levite, whose name was “Jonathan, the son of Gershom” (גרשׁם gêreshôm ). Hence, some read here, “the son of Gershom.”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. 77. Beth-lehem-judah--so called in contradistinction to a town of the same name in Zebulun (Jos 19:15). of the family--that is, tribe. of Judah--Men of the tribe of Levi might connect themselves, as Aaron did (Ex 6:23), by marriage with another tribe; and this young Levite belonged to the tribe of Judah, by his mother's side, which accounts for his being in Beth-lehem, not one of the Levitical cities.Read the comment

Topics related to Judges 17:7

• Bethlehem
• Jonathan
• Minister, Christian

In the dictionaries

• Judah
• Levite
• Micah
• Teraphim
• Bethlehem
• Ezekiel
• Genesis
• Israel, History of
• Israel, Religion of
• Jonathan (1)

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