The Pulpit Commentary — Judges — Section 173

had not fall en 'llff!to them im, the midst of of the Jordan. Ro bin son identifies it un- the tribes of Israel for an inheritance. The hesitatingly with Tell-el-Kady, "the mount words the land must be supplied after the of the judge" (where Kady has the same analogy of Numb. xxxiv. 2. What follows meaning as Dan), close to the great fountain, in this chapter is e. more detailed account of "one of the largest fountains in the world," what was briefly mentioned in Josh. xi.x. 47, called el-1,e,ddan, which is the source of the where, however, the A. V. went out too little lesser Jordan (Josephus), and which may for them is not e. translation of the Hebrew very possibly be the ultimate form of ed- text, which is very difficult to explain. Dan, corrupted into Eddan, el-Eddan, Led- Houbigant, by an ingenious conjecture, gives dan, el-Leddan, by successive incorporations the sense was too narrow for them. From of the article el into the word itself, of which the mention of this migration in the Book of there are other examples. The remainder of Joshua, it is probable that it took place not this verse is exceedingly obscure ; a probable many years after Joshua's death. translation is as follows : "And they saw Ver. 2.-They came to llrlount Ephraim the people that was in the midst of it dwell- (eh. xvii. 1, 8). The hill country of Eph- ing in security after the manner of the raim would be on their we.y to the north Zidonians, 'quiet and secure, and none from Eshtaol. They would naturally avoid doing any injury to any one in the land, the plain where the .Amorites a.nd Philistines possessing wealth;' and they were far from were strong. the Zidonians, and had no business with Ver. 3.-When. Rather, while. By the any man." The words in italics are probably house. Ratber,vnoratthehouse. Theyknew a poetical quotation, descriptive of the people the voice, having, a.s some think, known him of Laish, which would account for the pecu- before he left Bethlehem, or perceiving a liar diction and the grammatical changes ; southern accent. But it me.y merely mean for whereas the word dwelling is in the that they discerned his voice as he was sing- feminine ~ender, agreeing with people, the ing or reciting prayers in the house of God. words quiet and aecure and possessing ara Micah's house seems to have been a collec- in the masculine, which can be readily ac- tion of houses (vers. 14, 22), approached by counted for if they are a quotation. This one gateway (ver. 16), in one of which the would also account for the tautology, "dwell- Levite dwelt. They turned in thither. This ing in security," "quiet and secure," and seems to have been next morning, when they for the poetica.1 character of the phrase '' pos- were starting on their journey. Hearing the sessing wealth," and for the untlllual form of Levite's voice, they turned a.side into his the word here rendered wealth ('etzer with house. Whe.t makest thou, &c. Rather, an ain, instead of the usual otzar with an What doest thou in thi.s place? and what is aleph), in accordance with the Septuagint thy business here? and Vulgate and Gesenius, who derive the Ver. 4.-And I am his priest, or, to be meaning of wealth from collecting, from his priest. which the common word atzereth derives Ver. 6.-Ask counsel of God, or simply its meaning of e. collection or congregaticm Ask God, as the identical phrase is rendered of-people. in eh. i. 2, where see note. Ver. 9.-To go, and to enter. The exact Ver. 6.-And the priest se.id, &c., having meaning is, Be not slothful to go (i. e. to go first, it is to be presumed, put on the ephod on your way from hence), so as to enter in (see eh. viii. 26, 27, note ; xvii. 6). Before and possess the land. This would be ex- the Lord is your way, i. e. he looks upon it pressed by leaving out to before enter-to go with favour, has respect unto it, and will and enter. make it successful, as it is said in Ps. xu.iv. Ver. 10.-Translate, "When ye come, ye 16 : "The eyes of the Lord a.re upon the shall come unto a people secure ; and the righteous." "Whether," says Bishop Patrick, land is very large (for God bath given it "he had any answer from the teraphim, or into your hands), a place where there is no feigned it out of his own head, is uncer- want," &c. The Hebrew of very large is, t.ain." literally, wide on both hands. The paren- Ver. 7.-To Le.ish. Called in Josh. xix. thetic for God hath given it into your 47 Leshem, which is perhaps e. corruption hands,-merely explains why they speak so caused by the statement that they called it confidently about it (cf. Dent. viii. 9). • after the name (Ke-shem) of Dan, or it may Ver. 11.-The family-meaning the tribe be only another form. The name is strangely (see eh. xiii. 2, note, and cf. Josh. vii. 17). corrupted in the Septuagint of ver. 29 of this Possibly e. reason for tho use of the word chapter into Oulamai.s, and in Josh. xix. 47 family here and in ver. 2, RS applied to Dan, into Lasen-dan. St. Jerome, misled by the may be the.t there was only one family iu Septuagint, has Lesem Dan. Le.ish was the tribe of Dan, that of the Shuhamites situBted four Roman miles from Banias, on the road to Tyre, on one of the sources I(Numb. xxvi. 42). - Six. hundred ~en. With their wives and visters and children (se@ 186 THE BOOK OF JUDGES. [en. xvm. 1-31