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

5Micah set up a shrine for the idol, and he made a sacred ephod and some household idols. Then he installed one of his sons as his personal priest. 6In those days Israel had no king; all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes. One day a young Levite, who had been living in Bethlehem in Judah, arrived in that area. 8He had left Bethlehem in search of another place to live, and as he traveled, he came to the hill country of Ephraim. He happened to stop at Micah’s house as he was traveling through. 9“Where are you from?” Micah asked him. He replied, “I am a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah, and I am looking for a place to live.”

Judges 17:7 word by word

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

Words taken from the KJV.

• And there was a young manנַ֫עַרna‛ar · youthH5288
• out of Beth–lehem–judahיְהוּדָהyehûdâh · JudahH3063
• out of Beth–lehem–judahבֵּית לֶ֫חֶםbêyth lechem · BethlehemH1035
• of the familyמִשְׁפָּחָהmishpâchâh · familyH4940
• a Leviteלֵוִיlêvîyîy lêvîy · LeviH3881
• and he sojournedגּוּרgûr · to sojournH1481

Cross-references for Judges 17:7

• Judges 19:1Now in those days Israel had no king. There was a man from the tribe of Levi living in a remote area of the hill country of Ephraim. One day he brought home a woman from Bethlehem in Judah to be his concubine.
• Genesis 35:19So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem).
• Joshua 19:15The towns in these areas included Kattath, Nahalal, Shimron, Idalah, and Bethlehem—twelve towns with their surrounding villages.
• Ruth 1:1In the days when the judges ruled in Israel, a severe famine came upon the land. So a man from Bethlehem in Judah left his home and went to live in the country of Moab, taking his wife and two sons with him.
• Micah 5:2But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, are only a small village among all the people of Judah. Yet a ruler of Israel, whose origins are in the distant past, will come from you on my behalf.
• Matthew 2:1Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the reign of King Herod. About that time some wise men from eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem, asking,

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