Tying up loose ends: why the City of Dan remained deeply pagan throughout its history, and whence came its pagan priesthood.
Setting: The nation of Israel had sunk into a deep spiritual ignorance. The Law of Moses was all but forgotten, held only in a smattering of cultural reflexes, and badly diluted with pagan superstition. The writer of this portion clearly lived during the Monarchy Period, and so described the times as hopelessly lawless.
17:1-6 -- The location of the story is some unidentified hamlet in the mountains of Ephraim, presumably near Shiloh. A young man of noble birth, introduced as Micah, had stolen a pile of silver from his mother. She had pronounced a curse on it, and the fellow obviously feared its power (v.2). In her joy at recovery, she attempted to undo the curse by devoting a portion of it religious purpose, giving it to a silversmith to fashion into an idol. The language describes a wooden carving with the silver applied as a coating. The artisan would have been allowed to keep a certain amount of the silver from the project. Micah took the new idol and gave it a central place in his shrine. The shrine included an "ephod" -- something used in divination -- and some wooden idols for a supporting cast. He commissioned one of his sons as a full-time priest. Thus, in Micah's poor benighted mind, he had established himself in Jehovah's good graces.
17:7-13 -- A young Levite, who was supposed to teach the Law of Moses, was at loose ends, looking for a chance to capitalize on his position in seeking a better job than simply joining the dozens already hanging about the Tabernacle at Shiloh. Likely he had come up from his family home in Bethlehem for his rotation in the temple service, and was hoping to improve his circumstances while in the area. We later learn his name was Jonathan, known to be a "son" of Gershom (also spelled Gershon) -- that is, descended from the Gershomite Clan of the Tribe of Levi, those responsible for carrying the Tabernacle furnishings when moving, and otherwise doing the hauling about of anything for temple use -- menial labor, but requiring a devoted cadre, holy unto the task (Numbers 4:21ff). How it is his family had moved to Bethlehem, 10 miles SE of Jerusalem, when their allotment was across the northern end of Canaan (Joshua 21:27-33) is not mentioned.
This young Levite, with a certain social standing, was probably traveling from town to town, looking for a sponsor. Passing by Micah's home, he was no doubt offered the customary hospitality given to VIPs. Upon learning the Levite's ambition, Micah just knew Jehovah was smiling on him, for here was an official priest of God looking for just such a situation. Micah installed him as the new household priest and was ever more certain of God's favor.
18:1-6 -- The Tribe of Dan, pressed into a narrow strip in the western foothills of the Judean Ridge, was ready to make a move. They sent out 5 of their best men to survey the land and find a likely place. As leading men, they were offered lodging in Micah's household. They recognized the voice of the previously wandering Levite. Finding this genuine priest of Jehovah and a fancy shrine, they asked him to perform divination on their behalf. He assured them their mission would succeed, and they departed in a positive frame of mind.
18:7-10 -- They found the City of Laish, or Leshem, probably a colony of Sidonians, living properously and without any significant security arrangements. Of particular note was their isolation from Sidon, and no other local alliances. The spies brought back a report to their tribal leaders encouraging a war party to go and conquer and colonize.
18:11-13 -- This war party was so confident of success, they brought all their families, animals and property. This means traveling rather slowly. The first stop outside the Upper Sorek Valley was a campsite west of Kiriath-Jearim, formerly Baalah of the Gibeonite Confederation. Their stay gave the place the name "Camp of Dan" which stuck from then on. Following the same path as the spies (now guides), they also passed by Micah's home.
18:14-21 -- Remembering the good word they got from the household priest, the guides mentioned him to the leaders of the expedition. It was decided they had better need of his service, and the contents of the pagan shrine, than Micah did. They began gathering all the furnishings, and invited Micah to join them. Ever the ambitious one, Jonathan quickly agreed. Expecting a hostile reaction, the soldiers positioned themselves to the rear of the formation.
18:22-26 -- Micah mounted a recovery effort. He found himself outnumbered, and the Danite expedition would not even listen to his complaint. Lacking sufficient force to respond, Micah went home. Clearly, his mother's curse came true, and the apparent blessing was short-lived.
18:27-31 -- The expedition arrived in the valley above Lake Huleh, the source of the Jordan River, and managed to take the city of Laish and its surrounding lands. They rebuilt the place and called it after their tribe, Dan. They built Jonathan a new shrine, and he became the progenitor of a long line of priests serving the city and its pagan temple until Assyria came and took the northern tribes of Israel captive. Indeed, the city served as one of the two centers of worship to rival the Temple of Jerusalem, when the northern tribes went their separate way under Jeroboam.
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Ed Hurst,
07 February 2004
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