Bible Strands
Judges 18:7
So the five men departed and came to Laish, where they saw that the people were living securely, like the Sidonians, quiet and unsuspecting. There was nothing lacking in the land and no oppressive ruler. And they were far away from the Sidonians and had no alliance with anyone.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The narrator records the five Danite scouts arriving at Laish immediately after leaving Micah’s territory and receiving a priestly blessing. This moment occurs between their departure from the priest and their return to Zorah to report to their tribe.
The words — The verb וַ/יִּרְא֣וּ (va/i.yir.'U) translates literally as "and they saw," denoting the scouts' deliberate reconnaissance. The noun חֲמֵ֣שֶׁת (cha.Me.shet) means "the five," specifying the exact number of men conducting the observation.
The thread — The description of a quiet, defenseless people reappears in Judges 18:27 when the same party returns to seize the city. Joshua 19:47 later confirms the Danites' eventual capture of Leshem after their original tribal allotment was lost.
Why it lands — The passage states a factual military assessment of a city's lack of fortifications and leadership. A reader must note how this neutral observation of vulnerability directly enables the subsequent conquest and religious compromise in the narrative.
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
Then the five men departed, and came to Laish, and saw the people that were therein, how they dwelt careless, after the manner of the Zidonians, quiet and secure; and there was no magistrate in the land, that might put them to shame in any thing; and they were far from the Zidonians, and had no business with any man.
Cross-references
- Joshua 19:47 (Later, when the territory of the Danites was lost to them, they went up and fought against Leshem, captured it, and put it to the sword. So they took possession of Leshem, settled there, and renamed it after their father Dan.)
- Judges 18:27 After they had taken Micah’s idols and his priest, they went to Laish, to a quiet and unsuspecting people, and they struck them with their swords and burned down the city.
- 1 Samuel 3:13 I told him that I would judge his house forever for the iniquity of which he knows, because his sons blasphemed God and he did not restrain them.
- 1 Kings 1:6 (His father had never once reprimanded him by saying, “Why do you act this way?” Adonijah was also very handsome, born next after Absalom.)
- Romans 13:3 For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Do you want to be unafraid of the one in authority? Then do what is right, and you will have his approval.
- 1 Peter 2:14 or to governors as those sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to praise those who do right.
- Revelation 18:7 As much as she has glorified herself and lived in luxury, give her the same measure of torment and grief. In her heart she says, ‘I sit as queen; I am not a widow and will never see grief.’