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 the tribe of the Danites was looking for territory to occupy. For up to that time they had not come into an inheritance among the tribes of Israel. So the Danites sent out five men from their clans, men of valor from Zorah and Eshtaol, to spy out the land and explore it. “Go and explore the land,” they told them. The men entered the hill country of Ephraim and came to the house of Micah, where they spent the night. 3And while they were near Micah’s house, they recognized the voice of the young Levite; so they went over and asked him, “Who brought you here? What are you doing in this place? Why are you here?” 4“Micah has done this and that for me,” he replied, “and he has hired me to be 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

• So the Danitesבֵּןbên · son: descendant/peopleH1121
• So the Danitesדָּןdân · DanH1835
• sent outשָׁלַחshâlach · to send: departH7971
• fiveחָמֵשׁchâmêsh chămishshâh · fiveH2568
• menאֱנוֹשׁ'ĕnôsh · humanH582
• from their clansמִשְׁפָּחָהmishpâchâh · familyH4940
• from their clansקָצָהqâtsâh · endH7098
• valorחַ֫יִלchayil · strengthH2428
• from Zorahצׇרְעָהtsor‛âh · ZorahH6881
• and Eshtaolאֶשְׁתָּאוֹל'eshtâ'ôl 'eshtâ'ôl · EshtaolH847
• to spy outרָגַלrâgal · to spyH7270
• ·אֵת'êth · [Obj.]H853
• the landאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
• and explore itחָקַרchâqar · to searchH2713
• Goהָלַךְhâlak · to go: wentH1980
• they told themאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• they told themאֶל'êl 'el · to(wards)H413
• enteredבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
• the hill countryהַרhar · mountain: hill countryH2022
• of Ephraimאֶפְרַ֫יִם'ephrayim · EphraimH669
• and came toעַד‛ad · tillH5704
• the houseבַּ֫יִתbayith · house: homeH1004
• of Micahמִיכָהmîykâh · MicahH4318
• where they spent the nightלוּןlûn lîyn · to lodgeH3885
• where they spent the nightשָׁםshâm · thereH8033

Cross-references for Judges 18:2

• Judges 18:8When the men returned to Zorah and Eshtaol, their brothers asked them, “What did you find?”
• Judges 13:2Now there was a man from Zorah named Manoah, from the clan of the Danites, whose wife was barren and had no children.
• Judges 16:31Then Samson’s brothers and his father’s family came down, carried him back, and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the tomb of his father Manoah. And he had judged Israel twenty years.
• Genesis 42:9Joseph remembered his dreams about them and said, “You are spies! You have come to see if our land is vulnerable.”
• Joshua 19:41The territory of their inheritance included Zorah, Eshtaol, Ir-shemesh,
• Numbers 13:17When Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, he told them, “Go up through the Negev and into the hill country.
• Joshua 2:1Then Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two spies from Shittim, saying, “Go, inspect the land, especially Jericho.” So they went and entered the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there.
• Proverbs 20:18Set plans by consultation, and wage war under sound guidance.
• Luke 14:31Or what king on his way to war with another king will not first sit down and consider whether he can engage with ten thousand men the one coming against him with twenty thousand?
• Judges 17:1Now a man named Micah from the hill country of Ephraim
• 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.
• Joshua 17:15Joshua answered them, “If you have so many people that the hill country of Ephraim is too small for you, go to the forest and clear for yourself an area in the land of the Perizzites and the Rephaim.”

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