The Danites Settle in Laish
In those days there was no king in Israel. And in those days the tribe of the Danite was seeking an inheritance for itself to live in — for until that day none had fallen to it as an inheritance in the midst of the tribes of Israel.
And the sons of Dan sent from their family five men from their whole number, men of valor, from Zorah and from Eshtaol, to spy out the land and to search it; and they said to them, “Go, search the land.” And they came to the hill country of Ephraim, to the house of Micah, and lodged there.
While they were near the house of Micah, they recognized the voice of the young man, the Levite; and they turned aside there and said to him, “Who brought you here? And what are you doing in this place? And what is here for you?”
And he said to them, “Thus and so Micah has done for me; and he has hired me, and I have become his priest.”
And they said to him, “Ask of God, please, so that we may know whether the way we are going on will succeed.”
And the priest said to them, “Go in peace. The way you are going is before the LORD.”
And the five men went, and came to Laish; and they saw the people who were in it, living in security, in the manner of the Sidonians — quiet and trusting, with no one in the land humiliating them in anything, no one holding restraining power; and they were far from the Sidonians, and had no dealings with anyone.
And they came to their brothers at Zorah and Eshtaol; and their brothers said to them, “What do you report?”
And they said: “Rise, and let us go up against them — for we have seen the land, and look, it is very good. And you are keeping silent? Do not be sluggish about going, about entering in to possess the land.
When you come, you will come to a trusting people, and the land is wide on both hands — for God has given it into your hand — a place where there is no lack of anything that is in the earth.”
And there set out from there, from the family of the Danite, from Zorah and from Eshtaol, six hundred men girded with weapons of war.
And they went up and camped at Kiriath-jearim, in Judah. Therefore they call that place Mahaneh-dan to this day — look, it is behind Kiriath-jearim.
And they crossed over from there to the hill country of Ephraim, and came as far as the house of Micah.
The Danites Take Micah’s Idols
And the five men who had gone to spy out the land of Laish answered and said to their brothers, “Do you know that in these houses there are an ephod and teraphim, and a carved image and a cast image? And now, consider what you will do.”
And they turned aside there and came to the house of the young man, the Levite, at the house of Micah, and asked him of his welfare.
And the six hundred men girded with their weapons of war, who were of the sons of Dan, stood at the entrance of the gate.
And the five men who had gone to spy out the land went up; they entered there and took the carved image, and the ephod, and the teraphim, and the cast image — while the priest stood at the entrance of the gate with the six hundred men girded with weapons of war.
And when these went into the house of Micah and took the carved image of the ephod, and the teraphim, and the cast image, the priest said to them, “What are you doing?”
And they said to him: “Keep silent. Put your hand over your mouth, and go with us, and be to us a father and a priest. Is it better for you to be priest to the house of one man, or to be priest to a tribe and a family in Israel?”
And the heart of the priest was glad; and he took the ephod, and the teraphim, and the carved image, and went into the midst of the people.
And they turned and went, and put the little ones and the livestock and the goods in front of them.
When they had gone some distance from the house of Micah, the men who were in the houses near the house of Micah were called out, and they overtook the sons of Dan.
And they called to the sons of Dan, and they turned their faces; and they said to Micah, “What is the matter with you, that you have been called out?”
And he said, “My gods that I made you have taken — and the priest — and you have gone away. And what do I have left? So how can you say to me, ‘What is the matter with you?’”
And the sons of Dan said to him, “Do not let your voice be heard among us — lest men bitter of soul fall on you, and you lose your life and the lives of your household.”
And the sons of Dan went on their way; and Micah saw that they were stronger than he, and he turned and went back to his house.
And they took what Micah had made, and the priest who had belonged to him, and came against Laish, against a people quiet and trusting; and they struck them with the edge of the sword, and the city they burned with fire.
And there was no deliverer, for it was far from Sidon, and they had no dealings with anyone; and it was in the valley that belongs to Beth-rehob. And they rebuilt the city and lived in it.
And they called the name of the city Dan, after the name of Dan their father, who was born to Israel; but Laish was the name of the city at first.
And the sons of Dan set up the carved image for themselves; and Jonathan the son of Gershom, the son of Manasseh — he and his sons were priests to the tribe of the Danite until the day of the exile of the land.
And they set up for themselves the carved image of Micah, which he had made, all the days that the house of God was at Shiloh.