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 of Israel; and in those days the tribe of the Danites was seeking an inheritance for themselves to live in, for until that day an inheritance had not been allotted to them as a possession among the tribes of Israel. So the sons of Dan sent from their family five men out of their whole number, valiant men from Zorah and Eshtaol, to spy out the land and to search it; and they said to them, “Go, search the land.” And they came to the hill country of Ephraim, to the house of Micah, and lodged there. 3When they were near the house of Micah, they recognized the voice of the young man, the Levite; and they turned aside there and said to him, “Who brought you here? And what are you doing in this place? And what do you have here?” 4He said to them, “Thus and so has Micah done to me, and he has hired me and I have 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

• So the sonsבֵּןbên · son: childH1121
• of Danדָּןdân · DanH1835
• sentשָׁלַחshâlach · to send: departH7971
• from their familyמִשְׁפָּחָהmishpâchâh · familyH4940
• fiveחָמֵשׁchâmêsh chămishshâh · fiveH2568
• menאִישׁ'îysh · manH376
• out of their wholeקָצָהqâtsâh · endH7098
• valiantחַ֫יִלchayil · strengthH2428
• Zorahצׇרְעָהtsor‛âh · ZorahH6881
• to spyרָגַלrâgal · to spyH7270
• out the landאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
• and to searchחָקַרchâqar · to searchH2713
• it; and they saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• to them, “Goהָלַךְhâlak · to go: wentH1980
• And they cameבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
• the hillהַרhar · mountain: hill countryH2022
• countryהַרhar · mountain: hill countryH2022
• of Ephraimאֶפְרַ֫יִם'ephrayim · EphraimH669
• to the houseבַּ֫יִתbayith · house: homeH1004
• of Micahמִיכָהmîykâh · MicahH4318
• and lodgedלוּןlûn lîyn · to lodgeH3885
• thereשָׁםshâm · thereH8033

Cross-references for Judges 18:2

• Judges 18:8When they came back to their brothers at Zorah and Eshtaol, their brothers said to them, “What do you report?”
• Judges 13:2There was a certain man of Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was barren and had borne no children.
• Judges 16:31Then his brothers and all his father’s household came down, took him, brought him up and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the tomb of Manoah his father. Thus he had judged Israel twenty years.
• Genesis 42:9Joseph remembered the dreams which he had about them, and said to them, “You are spies; you have come to look at the undefended parts of our land.”
• Joshua 19:41The territory of their inheritance was Zorah and Eshtaol and Ir-shemesh,
• Numbers 13:17When Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, he said to them, “Go up there into the Negev; then go up into the hill country.
• Joshua 2:1Then Joshua the son of Nun sent two men as spies secretly from Shittim, saying, “Go, view the land, especially Jericho.” So they went and came into the house of a harlot whose name was Rahab, and lodged there.
• Proverbs 20:18Prepare plans by consultation, And make war by wise guidance.
• Luke 14:31Or what king, when he sets out to meet another king in battle, will not first sit down and consider whether he is strong enough with ten thousand men to encounter the one coming against him with twenty thousand?
• Judges 17:1Now there was a man of the hill country of Ephraim whose name was Micah.
• Judges 19:1Now it came about in those days, when there was no king in Israel, that there was a certain Levite staying in the remote part of the hill country of Ephraim, who took a concubine for himself from Bethlehem in Judah.
• Joshua 17:15Joshua said to them, “If you are a numerous people, go up to the forest and clear a place for yourself there in the land of the Perizzites and of the Rephaim, since the hill country of Ephraim is too narrow for you.”

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