Bible Strands
Judges 18:3
And while they were near Micah’s house, they recognized the voice of the young Levite; so they went over and asked him, “Who brought you here? What are you doing in this place? Why are you here?”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Five Danite spies arrive at the hill country of Ephraim and approach Micah’s house, where they encounter a young Levite residing there. They immediately question him about who brought him to the location, what his occupation is, and why he remains.
The words — The spies הִכִּירוּ (hi.Ki.ru), literally “they recognized,” the ק֥וֹל (Kol), “voice,” of the Levite before initiating their inquiry. This auditory identification directly triggers their threefold interrogation.
The thread — Vocal identification serves as a mechanism for exposing identity or testing allegiance in Genesis 27:22, Matthew 26:73, and Judges 12:6.
Why it lands — The text requires a reader to note how proximity and sound precipitate direct questioning, demanding a clear accounting of one’s own location and purpose.
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
When they were by the house of Micah, they knew the voice of the young man the Levite: and they turned in thither, and said unto him, Who brought thee hither? and what makest thou in this place? and what hast thou here?
Cross-references
- Genesis 27:22 So Jacob came close to his father Isaac, who touched him and said, “The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau.”
- Matthew 26:73 After a little while, those standing nearby came up to Peter. “Surely you are one of them,” they said, “for your accent gives you away.”
- Judges 12:6 they told him, “Please say Shibboleth.” If he said, “Sibboleth,” because he could not pronounce it correctly, they seized him and killed him at the fords of the Jordan. So at that time 42,000 Ephraimites were killed.
- Isaiah 22:16 What are you doing here, and who authorized you to carve out a tomb for yourself here—to chisel your tomb in the height and cut your resting place in the rock?