Judges 17:5

Judges 17:5 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And the man Micah had an house of gods, and made an ephod, and teraphim, and consecrated one of his sons, who became his priest.
• New International Version (NIV)Now this man Micah had a shrine, and he made an ephod and some household gods and installed one of his sons as his priest.
• English Standard Version (ESV)And the man Micah had a shrine, and he made an ephod and household gods, and ordained one of his sons, who became his priest.
• New King James Version (NKJV)The man Micah had a shrine, and made an ephod and household idols; and he consecrated one of his sons, who became his priest.

Context of Judges 17:5

3So Micah gave the 1,100 pieces of silver back to his mother. Then his mother said, “I dedicate this silver to the Lord for my son’s benefit. I want to make a carved idol and a metal idol. So now I’m giving the silver back to you.” 4When Micah returned the silver to his mother, she took 200 pieces of the silver and gave it to a silversmith. He made a carved idol and a metal idol. Both were placed in Micah’s home. Micah owned a shrine. He also made an ephod and household idols. He ordained one of his sons to be his priest. 6In those days Israel didn’t have a king. Everyone did whatever he considered right. 7There was a young man from Bethlehem in Judah. (Bethlehem belongs to the family of Judah.) He was a Levite but was living in Bethlehem.

Judges 17:5 word by word

וְהָאִ֣ישׁ מִיכָ֔ה ל֖וֹ בֵּ֣ית אֱלֹהִ֑ים וַיַּ֤עַשׂ אֵפוֹד֙ וּתְרָפִ֔ים וַיְמַלֵּ֗א אֶת־יַ֤ד אַחַד֙ מִבָּנָ֔יו וַיְהִי־ל֖וֹ לְכֹהֵֽן׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And the manאִישׁ'îysh · manH376
• Micahמִיכָהmîykâh · MicahH4318
• had an houseבַּ֫יִתbayith · house: templeH1004
• of godsאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
• and madeעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to makeH6213
• an ephodאֵפוֹד'êphôd 'êphôd · ephodH646
• and teraphimתְּרָפִיםterâphîym · teraphimH8655
• and consecratedיָדyâd · hand: donateH3027
• and consecratedמָלֵאmâlê' mâlâ' · to fillH4390
• oneאֶחָד'echâd · oneH259
• of his sonsבֵּןbên · son: childH1121
• who became his priestכֹּהֵןkôhên · priestH3548

Cross-references for Judges 17:5

• Judges 18:24Micah answered, “You’ve taken away the gods I made as well as my priest. What do I have left? How can you say to me, ‘What’s your problem?’ ”
• Genesis 31:30Now you have left for your father’s home because you were so homesick. But why did you steal my gods?”
• Ezra 1:7King Cyrus brought out the utensils belonging to the Lord’s temple. Nebuchadnezzar had taken these utensils from Jerusalem and put them in the temple of his own god.
• Hosea 8:14The people of Israel have built palaces, and they have forgotten their maker. The people of Judah have built many fortified cities. I will send a fire on their cities and burn down their palaces.”
• Judges 8:27Then Gideon used the gold to make an idol and placed it in his hometown, Ophrah. All Israel chased after it there as though it were a prostitute. It became a trap for Gideon and his family.
• Judges 18:14Then the five men who had gone to spy throughout the land around Laish spoke up. They said to the other men of Dan, “Do you know that there’s an ephod, a carved idol, a metal idol, and household idols in these houses? What do you think we should do?”
• Exodus 28:4These are the clothes they will make: a breastplate, an ephod and the robe that is worn with it, another specially woven linen robe, the chief priest’s turban, and a cloth belt. They will make these holy clothes for your brother Aaron and his sons so that they can serve me as priests.
• 1 Samuel 23:6When Ahimelech’s son Abiathar fled to David at Keilah, Abiathar brought a priestly ephod with him.
• Genesis 31:19When Laban went to shear his sheep, Rachel stole her father’s idols.
• Hosea 3:4In the same way, the Israelites will wait a long time without kings or officials, without sacrifices or sacred stones, and without ephods or family idols.
• Exodus 29:9and put turbans on them. Tie belts around the waists of Aaron and his sons. They alone are to be priests; this is a permanent law. In this way you will ordain Aaron and his sons.
• 1 Kings 12:31Jeroboam built worship sites on hilltops. He appointed men who were not descended from Levi to be priests.
• 1 Kings 13:33Even after this, Jeroboam didn’t change his evil ways, but he once again made some men priests for the illegal worship sites. He took all who were willing and appointed them to be priests at the worship sites.
• Hebrews 5:4No one takes this honor for himself. Instead, God calls him as he called Aaron.
• Exodus 24:5Then he sent young Israelite men, and they sacrificed bulls as burnt offerings and fellowship offerings to the Lord.

Commentaries on Judges 17:5

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 5The man Micah had a house of gods - אלהים בית beith Elohim should, I think, be translated house or temple of God; for it is very likely that both the mother and the son intended no more than a private or domestic chapel, in which they proposed to set up the worship of the true God. Made an ephod - Perhaps the whole of this case may be stated thus: Micah built a house of God - a chapel in imitation of the sanctuary; he made a graven image representing the…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 5ephod: See study note on Judges 8:27. household idols: Compare Genesis 31:19–32; 2 Kings 23:24; Zechariah 10:2. The Bible criticizes the powerlessness of these personal gods. Micah making his son his personal priest was very unusual: The father was supposed to lead the family's religious activities (Deuteronomy 6:7; Job 1:5), only Aaron's descendants could be priests (Exodus 28:1–29:37; 30:30–33; 40:12–15), and priests served all of Israel, not just one…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 55. the man Micah had an house of gods--Hebrew, "a house of God"--a domestic chapel, a private religious establishment of his own. an ephod--(see on Ex 28:6). teraphim--tutelary gods of the household (see Ge 31:19 and see on Ge 31:26). consecrated one of his sons who became his priest--The assumption of the priestly office by any one out of the family of Aaron was a direct violation of the divine law (Nu 3:10; 16:17; De 21:5; He 5:4).Read the comment

Topics related to Judges 17:5

• Ephod
• Polytheism
• Teraphim

In the dictionaries

• Micah
• Idol
• Teraphim
• Thummim
• Bethlehem
• Consecrate; Consecration
• Ephod (1)
• Ezekiel
• Gods
• Images

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