Micah's Idol
Encyclopedia
The narrative of Micah's Idol, recounted in the Book of Judges
, concerns the Tribe of Dan
, their conquest of Laish, and the sanctuary that was subsequently created there.
, stole 1100 silver shekel
s from his mother, but when his mother cursed about it he returned them. The mother then consecrated the money to Yahweh
for the purpose of creating a carved image and silver idol, and she gave 200 shekels to a silversmith who made them into a carved image and an idol. These were placed in a shrine in Micah's house, and he made an ephod
and teraphim
, and installed one of his sons as a priest. A young Levite, from Bethlehem in Judah, who lived near Micah (some translations render the underlying Hebrew term as sojourning, though it literally means resident alien) and was wandering the land, passed Micah's house, and so Micah responded by asking him to be his priest, in return for 10 silver shekels a year, clothes, and food, to which the Levite agreed.
The Tribe of Dan, who at this time were without territory, sent five warriors from Zorah
and Eshtaol
, representative of their clans, to scout out the land (most Biblical scholars
now believe that the Tribe of Dan originated as one of the Sea Peoples
, hence remaining on their ships in the early Song of Deborah, and not having Israelite land to their name, though conservative scholars argue that the Tribe of Dan were migrating due to being forced out of their original lands by the Philistines
). In the text, when the scouts chanced upon Micah's house, they spent the night; when they chanced upon Micah's house, they recognised the Levite's voice (Biblical scholars
believe this refers to recognition of his dialect or to priestly intonation
), and asked him what he was doing there, so he explained. Upon return to the rest of the tribe of Dan, the scouts told them about Laish, an unmilitarised town in fertile land that was allied with the Sidonians but was too remote for the Sidonians to be able to offer practical protection. The Tribe of Dan consequently sent 600 warriors to attack Laish, and during their journey passed Micah's house, which the five scouts then told them about.
The five scouts then went into Micah's house, and stole the idol, ephod, teraphim, and carved image, and took them out of the house, while the 600 warriors were standing at the gate. The priest asked them what they were doing, but was persuaded to go with them as then he could be the priest of a whole tribe rather than just a house. When Micah discovered what had happened, he gathered his neighbours together and set off in pursuit of the warriors. When he reached them he was threatened with violence, so, realising he was outnumbered, gave up the pursuit and returned home empty-handed.
The warriors eventually reached Laish, which they put to the sword and burnt to the ground. The Tribe of Dan then rebuilt the town, named it Dan, installed the idols, and made Jonathon the son of Gershom
, and his descendants, as the priest. The idols remained in use until the captivity of the land and the idols remained in use until the house of God ceased to be in Shiloh. Scholars think that the former refers to the Assyrian conquest of the Kingdom of Israel by Tiglath-pileser III
in 733/732 BCE, and that the latter refers to the time of Hezekiah
's religious reform; an alternative possibility, however, supported by a minority of scholars, is that time of captivity of the land is a typographic error and should read time of captivity of the ark, referring to the battle of Eben-Ezer
, and the Philistine capture of the Ark, and that the ceasing of the house of God being in Shiloh refers to this also.
thus believe that the text probably was formed from two earlier spliced together narratives; the majority view being that the one of these spliced together narratives was Judges 17:1, 17:5, 17:8-11a, 17:12a, 17:13, 18:1, parts of 18:2, 18:3b, 18:4b-6, 18:8-10, parts of 18:11, 18:12, parts of 18:13, 18:14, 18:16, 18:18a, 18:19-29, and 19:31, and that the remaining verses are the other narrative.
Unsplicing these narratives, one finds that in the first narrative,
In the second narrative,
In addition, the first four verses (17:1-4) use a different form of the name Micah than the remainder of the text. Scholars think these verses have been subject to scribal corruption and are misplaced from their original order. The original order is probably that the mother first consecrated the silver to Yahweh, and only then did the son own up to the theft - the consecration of the silver likely being a ploy by the mother to get the son to own up to the theft (particularly as she only puts a fraction to the purpose it was consecrated for)
There is some debate between textual scholars as to the provenance of each narrative; among those who subscribe to Hexateuch
-like theories there is even uncertainty as to whether the first narrative should be considered Elohist
(or Elohist-like) or Jahwist
(or Jahwist-like), and the origin of the second narrative is even more debated. Textual scholars believe that the whole narrative is ultimately designed as a slur on the sanctuary at Dan, which became a significant sanctuary in the Kingdom of Israel, by a writer or writers who were opposed to the presence of idols there. It is notable that everyone except the people of Laish is portrayed negatively - Micah is a thief (at least in the second narrative), his mother consecrates 1100 shekels but only gives 200 of them for the purpose to which they were consecrated (again in the second narrative), the mother has molten and graven idols created (second narrative) - which violates the Mitzvot against this-, the Tribe of Dan steal the idols, the Levite is disloyal (in the first narrative), and Dan brutally conquer and destroy the peaceful and unmilitarised city of Laish (in the first narrative).
, son of Bichri, and other with Nebat, the father of Jeroboam. The Rabbinical sources thus regard Micah as an appellation, and give it an etymology (not supported by modern linguists) where it means the crushed one, in reference to a haggadah narrative concerning the Biblical story of bricks without straw
in the Moses
cycle. In the haggadah narrative, the Israelites where so desperate to complete the task of making bricks, and simultaneously unable to do so, that they felt compelled to put their children in the brickwork where the bricks were lacking; Moses rescued one child, namely Micah, already crushed by the bricks above him, and restored him to life and health.
Classical Rabbinical sources all report that Micah was among The Exodus
, but some Rabbinical sources state that it was believed that Micah took the idol with him from Egypt, while others argue that he only took the silver from which the idol was made. There is also a tradition that it was Micah who caused the golden calf
to be made; in this tradition, Moses retrieved Joseph's coffin from the Nile
by throwing a splinter with the words come up ox (comparing Joseph to an ox) into the river in the wilderness, and Micah retrieved the splinter after this, and threw it into the fire which Aaron had cast the gold into, causing a golden calf to come out.
Despite his clear idolatry
, Micah was not treated as a completely negative figure, and was highly praised for his hospitality; in one rabbinical narrative, God prevents angel
s from casting down Micah's idol simply because of Micah's kindness.
Louis Ginzberg's classic The Legends of the Jews further mentions that Micah's mother was none other than Delilah, and that the Philistines bribed her with the 1,100 shekels for Samson's secret.
Book of Judges
The Book of Judges is the seventh book of the Hebrew bible and the Christian Old Testament. Its title describes its contents: it contains the history of Biblical judges, divinely inspired prophets whose direct knowledge of Yahweh allows them to act as decision-makers for the Israelites, as...
, concerns the Tribe of Dan
Tribe of Dan
The Tribe of Dan, also sometimes spelled as "Dann", was one of the Tribes of Israel. Though known mostly from biblical sources, they were possibly descendants of the Denyen Sea Peoples who joined with Hebrews...
, their conquest of Laish, and the sanctuary that was subsequently created there.
Biblical narrative
The narrative, as it stands in Judges 17, states that a man named Micah, who lived in the region of the Tribe of EphraimTribe of Ephraim
According to the Hebrew Bible, the Tribe of Ephraim was one of the Tribes of Israel. The Tribe of Manasseh together with Ephraim also formed the House of Joseph....
, stole 1100 silver shekel
Shekel
Shekel , is any of several ancient units of weight or of currency. The first usage is from Mesopotamia around 3000 BC. Initially, it may have referred to a weight of barley...
s from his mother, but when his mother cursed about it he returned them. The mother then consecrated the money to Yahweh
Yahweh
Yahweh is the name of God in the Bible, the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Jews and Christians.The word Yahweh is a modern scholarly convention for the Hebrew , transcribed into Roman letters as YHWH and known as the Tetragrammaton, for which the original pronunciation is unknown...
for the purpose of creating a carved image and silver idol, and she gave 200 shekels to a silversmith who made them into a carved image and an idol. These were placed in a shrine in Micah's house, and he made an ephod
Ephod
An ephod was an article of clothing, and a worship object, in ancient Israelite culture, and was closely connected with oracular practices....
and teraphim
Teraphim
Teraphim is a Hebrew word from the Bible, found only in the plural, of uncertain etymology. Despite being plural, Teraphim may refer to singular objects, using the Hebrew plural of excellence...
, and installed one of his sons as a priest. A young Levite, from Bethlehem in Judah, who lived near Micah (some translations render the underlying Hebrew term as sojourning, though it literally means resident alien) and was wandering the land, passed Micah's house, and so Micah responded by asking him to be his priest, in return for 10 silver shekels a year, clothes, and food, to which the Levite agreed.
The Tribe of Dan, who at this time were without territory, sent five warriors from Zorah
Zorah
Zorah or Tzorah, perhaps "place of wasps," was a biblical town in the low country of Judah.-Location:Zorah was situated on the crest of a hill overlooking the valley of Sorek, and was fortified by Rehoboam...
and Eshtaol
Eshtaol
Eshtaol is a moshav in central Israel. Located north of Beit Shemesh, it falls under the jurisdiction of Mateh Yehuda Regional Council. In 2006, Eshtaol had a population of 876.-History:...
, representative of their clans, to scout out the land (most Biblical scholars
Biblical criticism
Biblical criticism is the scholarly "study and investigation of Biblical writings that seeks to make discerning judgments about these writings." It asks when and where a particular text originated; how, why, by whom, for whom, and in what circumstances it was produced; what influences were at work...
now believe that the Tribe of Dan originated as one of the Sea Peoples
Sea Peoples
The Sea Peoples were a confederacy of seafaring raiders of the second millennium BC who sailed into the eastern Mediterranean, caused political unrest, and attempted to enter or control Egyptian territory during the late 19th dynasty and especially during year 8 of Ramesses III of the 20th Dynasty...
, hence remaining on their ships in the early Song of Deborah, and not having Israelite land to their name, though conservative scholars argue that the Tribe of Dan were migrating due to being forced out of their original lands by the Philistines
Philistines
Philistines , Pleshet or Peleset, were a people who occupied the southern coast of Canaan at the beginning of the Iron Age . According to the Bible, they ruled the five city-states of Gaza, Askelon, Ashdod, Ekron and Gath, from the Wadi Gaza in the south to the Yarqon River in the north, but with...
). In the text, when the scouts chanced upon Micah's house, they spent the night; when they chanced upon Micah's house, they recognised the Levite's voice (Biblical scholars
Biblical criticism
Biblical criticism is the scholarly "study and investigation of Biblical writings that seeks to make discerning judgments about these writings." It asks when and where a particular text originated; how, why, by whom, for whom, and in what circumstances it was produced; what influences were at work...
believe this refers to recognition of his dialect or to priestly intonation
Intonation (linguistics)
In linguistics, intonation is variation of pitch while speaking which is not used to distinguish words. It contrasts with tone, in which pitch variation does distinguish words. Intonation, rhythm, and stress are the three main elements of linguistic prosody...
), and asked him what he was doing there, so he explained. Upon return to the rest of the tribe of Dan, the scouts told them about Laish, an unmilitarised town in fertile land that was allied with the Sidonians but was too remote for the Sidonians to be able to offer practical protection. The Tribe of Dan consequently sent 600 warriors to attack Laish, and during their journey passed Micah's house, which the five scouts then told them about.
The five scouts then went into Micah's house, and stole the idol, ephod, teraphim, and carved image, and took them out of the house, while the 600 warriors were standing at the gate. The priest asked them what they were doing, but was persuaded to go with them as then he could be the priest of a whole tribe rather than just a house. When Micah discovered what had happened, he gathered his neighbours together and set off in pursuit of the warriors. When he reached them he was threatened with violence, so, realising he was outnumbered, gave up the pursuit and returned home empty-handed.
The warriors eventually reached Laish, which they put to the sword and burnt to the ground. The Tribe of Dan then rebuilt the town, named it Dan, installed the idols, and made Jonathon the son of Gershom
Gershom
According to the Bible, Gershom was the firstborn son of Moses and Zipporah. The name appears to mean a sojourner there , which the text argues was a reference to Moses' flight from Egypt; biblical scholars regard the name as being essentially the same as Gershon, and it is Gershom rather than...
, and his descendants, as the priest. The idols remained in use until the captivity of the land and the idols remained in use until the house of God ceased to be in Shiloh. Scholars think that the former refers to the Assyrian conquest of the Kingdom of Israel by Tiglath-pileser III
Tiglath-Pileser III
Tiglath-Pileser III was a prominent king of Assyria in the eighth century BC and is widely regarded as the founder of the Neo-Assyrian Empire. Tiglath-Pileser III seized the Assyrian throne during a civil war and killed the royal family...
in 733/732 BCE, and that the latter refers to the time of Hezekiah
Hezekiah
Hezekiah was the son of Ahaz and the 14th king of Judah. Edwin Thiele has concluded that his reign was between c. 715 and 686 BC. He is also one of the most prominent kings of Judah mentioned in the Hebrew Bible....
's religious reform; an alternative possibility, however, supported by a minority of scholars, is that time of captivity of the land is a typographic error and should read time of captivity of the ark, referring to the battle of Eben-Ezer
Eben-Ezer
Eben-Ezer , is the name of a location that is mentioned by the Books of Samuel as the scene of battles between the Israelites and Philistines. It is specified as having been less than a day's journey by foot from Shiloh, near Aphek, in the neighbourhood of Mizpah, near the western entrance of the...
, and the Philistine capture of the Ark, and that the ceasing of the house of God being in Shiloh refers to this also.
Textual analysis
The text has many doublets; Laish is described as peaceful, unmilitarised, and impractically allied to just the Sidonians in both and 18:7 and 18:27-28; it is stated that Israel had no king in both 17:6 and 18:1; the Levite begins to live with Micah in 17:11 and in 17:12 . The text seemingly has contradictions. In 17:7 the Levite is a young man who lived in the neighborhood of Micah, while in the following verse he is a wandering Levite; in 18:2 the scouts spend the night in Micah's house, in 18:3 they are passing nearby; in 18:19 the priest voluntarily goes with them, in 18:27 he is taken; in 18:30 the idols are used until the captivity of the land but in 18:31 it is until the house of God ceased to be in Shiloh. Textual scholarsTextual criticism
Textual criticism is a branch of literary criticism that is concerned with the identification and removal of transcription errors in the texts of manuscripts...
thus believe that the text probably was formed from two earlier spliced together narratives; the majority view being that the one of these spliced together narratives was Judges 17:1, 17:5, 17:8-11a, 17:12a, 17:13, 18:1, parts of 18:2, 18:3b, 18:4b-6, 18:8-10, parts of 18:11, 18:12, parts of 18:13, 18:14, 18:16, 18:18a, 18:19-29, and 19:31, and that the remaining verses are the other narrative.
Unsplicing these narratives, one finds that in the first narrative,
- Micah is from Ephraim, and has a shrine containing an ephod and teraphim
- Micah initially installs his son as priest
- the Levite is passing by and installed by Micah in exchange for wages, clothes, and food
- the five scouts are sent by the Tribe of Dan from Zorah and Eshatol, spend the night at Micah's house, and are blessed by the Levite
- the Levite is persuaded to join the warriors because he could then be a priest for a whole tribe
- Micah and his neighbours pursue the Danites but are dissuaded from fighting
- the Danites reach Laish, a fertile region, and weakly protected city, attack the population, and burn the city
- Laish is rebuilt and renamed Dan, and Micah's idols are used there until the house of God ceases to be in Shiloh.
In the second narrative,
- Micah stole money from his mother, and she consecrated them to Yahweh, and had a fraction of them turned into a carved image and silver idol
- The Levite lives nearby as a resident alien (the Hebrew word is however sometimes translated as sojourner, making this more similar to the first narrative)
- The Levite was like a son to Micah
- The five scouts, representative of their clans, pass Micah's house and recognise the voice of the Levite
- The scouts report back that Laish is surrounded by a fertile region, and is a weakly protected city, so the Danites decide to attack it
- The scouts take the idols from Micah while the Levite, who protests, is with the 600 warriors stood at the gate
- Once at Laish, the Tribe of Dan set up the idols, install Jonathan son of Gershom, and descendants, as priests, and this state of affairs continues until the captivity of the land
In addition, the first four verses (17:1-4) use a different form of the name Micah than the remainder of the text. Scholars think these verses have been subject to scribal corruption and are misplaced from their original order. The original order is probably that the mother first consecrated the silver to Yahweh, and only then did the son own up to the theft - the consecration of the silver likely being a ploy by the mother to get the son to own up to the theft (particularly as she only puts a fraction to the purpose it was consecrated for)
There is some debate between textual scholars as to the provenance of each narrative; among those who subscribe to Hexateuch
Hexateuch
The Hexateuch is the first six books of the Hebrew Bible . Some scholars propose that Joshua represents part of the northern Yahwist source , detached from JE document by the Deuteronomist and incorporated into the Deuteronomic history, with the books of Judges, Kings, and Samuel.Reasons...
-like theories there is even uncertainty as to whether the first narrative should be considered Elohist
Elohist
The Elohist is one of four sources of the Torah described by the Documentary Hypothesis. Its name comes from the term it uses for God: Elohim; it is characterised by, among other things, an abstract view of God, using "Horeb" instead of "Sinai" for the mountain where Moses received the laws of...
(or Elohist-like) or Jahwist
Jahwist
The Jahwist, also referred to as the Jehovist, Yahwist, or simply as J, is one of the sources of the Torah. It gets its name from the fact that it characteristically uses the term Yahweh for God in the book of Genesis...
(or Jahwist-like), and the origin of the second narrative is even more debated. Textual scholars believe that the whole narrative is ultimately designed as a slur on the sanctuary at Dan, which became a significant sanctuary in the Kingdom of Israel, by a writer or writers who were opposed to the presence of idols there. It is notable that everyone except the people of Laish is portrayed negatively - Micah is a thief (at least in the second narrative), his mother consecrates 1100 shekels but only gives 200 of them for the purpose to which they were consecrated (again in the second narrative), the mother has molten and graven idols created (second narrative) - which violates the Mitzvot against this-, the Tribe of Dan steal the idols, the Levite is disloyal (in the first narrative), and Dan brutally conquer and destroy the peaceful and unmilitarised city of Laish (in the first narrative).
In Classical Rabbinical Literature
Micah is variously identified in Classical Rabbinical Literature; some Rabbis consider him to be identical with ShebaSheba
Sheba was a kingdom mentioned in the Jewish scriptures and the Qur'an...
, son of Bichri, and other with Nebat, the father of Jeroboam. The Rabbinical sources thus regard Micah as an appellation, and give it an etymology (not supported by modern linguists) where it means the crushed one, in reference to a haggadah narrative concerning the Biblical story of bricks without straw
Bricks without straw
Bricks without straw is a phrase which refers to a task which must be done without appropriate resources.-Origin:In Exodus 5 , Moses and Aaron meet with Pharaoh and deliver God's message, "Let my people go"...
in the Moses
Moses
Moses was, according to the Hebrew Bible and Qur'an, a religious leader, lawgiver and prophet, to whom the authorship of the Torah is traditionally attributed...
cycle. In the haggadah narrative, the Israelites where so desperate to complete the task of making bricks, and simultaneously unable to do so, that they felt compelled to put their children in the brickwork where the bricks were lacking; Moses rescued one child, namely Micah, already crushed by the bricks above him, and restored him to life and health.
Classical Rabbinical sources all report that Micah was among The Exodus
The Exodus
The Exodus is the story of the departure of the Israelites from ancient Egypt described in the Hebrew Bible.Narrowly defined, the term refers only to the departure from Egypt described in the Book of Exodus; more widely, it takes in the subsequent law-givings and wanderings in the wilderness...
, but some Rabbinical sources state that it was believed that Micah took the idol with him from Egypt, while others argue that he only took the silver from which the idol was made. There is also a tradition that it was Micah who caused the golden calf
Golden calf
According to the Hebrew Bible, the golden calf was an idol made by Aaron to satisfy the Israelites during Moses' absence, when he went up to Mount Sinai...
to be made; in this tradition, Moses retrieved Joseph's coffin from the Nile
Nile
The Nile is a major north-flowing river in North Africa, generally regarded as the longest river in the world. It is long. It runs through the ten countries of Sudan, South Sudan, Burundi, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda and Egypt.The Nile has two major...
by throwing a splinter with the words come up ox (comparing Joseph to an ox) into the river in the wilderness, and Micah retrieved the splinter after this, and threw it into the fire which Aaron had cast the gold into, causing a golden calf to come out.
Despite his clear idolatry
Idolatry
Idolatry is a pejorative term for the worship of an idol, a physical object such as a cult image, as a god, or practices believed to verge on worship, such as giving undue honour and regard to created forms other than God. In all the Abrahamic religions idolatry is strongly forbidden, although...
, Micah was not treated as a completely negative figure, and was highly praised for his hospitality; in one rabbinical narrative, God prevents angel
Angel
Angels are mythical beings often depicted as messengers of God in the Hebrew and Christian Bibles along with the Quran. The English word angel is derived from the Greek ἄγγελος, a translation of in the Hebrew Bible ; a similar term, ملائكة , is used in the Qur'an...
s from casting down Micah's idol simply because of Micah's kindness.
Louis Ginzberg's classic The Legends of the Jews further mentions that Micah's mother was none other than Delilah, and that the Philistines bribed her with the 1,100 shekels for Samson's secret.