Bible Strands
Judges 18:20
So the priest was glad and took the ephod, the household idols, and the graven image, and went with the people.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The Danite tribe speaks to a wandering Levite priest after offering him a superior position and salary in Judges 18:19. In Judges 18:20, the priest acts on that offer alongside the migrating tribe as they prepare to depart.
The words — The Hebrew וַ/יִּיטַב לֵב הַ/כֹּהֵן (va/i.yi.Tav lev ha./ko.Hen) literally means "and it was good the heart of the priest," indicating his favorable disposition. He then וַ/יִּקַּח (va/i.yi.Kach), "and he took," the ephod and teraphim to accompany the group.
The thread — The narrative explicitly connects this event to the earlier Levite hiring in Judges 17:10 and the insatiable nature of greed in Proverbs 30:15 and Isaiah 56:11. The action continues the tribe's relocation in Judges 18:21 as they move their children, livestock, and possessions ahead of them.
Why it lands — The text states the priest's willingness to trade his original duties for tribal patronage and sacred objects. It asks the reader to observe how religious office is treated as a transactional commodity rather than a divine calling.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And the priest’s heart was glad, and he took the ephod, and the teraphim, and the graven image, and went in the midst of the people.
Cross-references
- Isaiah 56:11 Like ravenous dogs, they are never satisfied. They are shepherds with no discernment; they all turn to their own way, each one seeking his own gain:
- Judges 17:10 “Stay with me,” Micah said to him, “and be my father and priest, and I will give you ten shekels of silver per year, a suit of clothes, and your provisions.” So the Levite went in
- Proverbs 30:15 The leech has two daughters: Give and Give. There are three things that are never satisfied, four that never say, ‘Enough!’:
- Ezekiel 13:19 You have profaned Me among My people for handfuls of barley and scraps of bread. By lying to My people who would listen, you have killed those who should not have died and spared those who should not have lived.
- Hosea 4:3 Therefore the land mourns, and all who dwell in it will waste away with the beasts of the field and the birds of the air; even the fish of the sea disappear.
- Acts 20:33 I have not coveted anyone’s silver or gold or clothing.
- Philippians 3:19 Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and their glory is in their shame. Their minds are set on earthly things.
- 2 Peter 2:3 In their greed, these false teachers will exploit you with deceptive words. The longstanding verdict against them remains in force, and their destruction does not sleep.
- 2 Peter 2:15 They have left the straight way and wandered off to follow the way of Balaam son of Beor, who loved the wages of wickedness.