Judges 18:17The five men who went to spy out the land went up, and came in there, and took the engraved image, and the ephod, and the teraphim, and the molten image: and the priest stood by the entrance of the gate with the six hundred men girt with weapons of war.
The setting
Hill country of Ephraim, ~1200 BC. Five Danite scouts systematically steal all of Micah's religious artifacts while 600 armed men keep the priest frozen at the gate, unable to intervene.
The emotion here: grieved at recording Israel's spiritual corruption and lawlessness
The original word
pesel (פֶּסֶל) — carved idol, graven image forbidden by God
Why it matters
The ephod was supposed to be worn only by the high priest in the tabernacle
Read with care
What most readers miss in Judges 18:17
The priest stood paralyzed - he could have objected but was intimidated into silence
Common misconceptionPeople focus on the theft, but the real tragedy is that these were IDOLS being stolen - evil objects that shouldn't have existed in the first place.
The thread continues
Verses that echo Judges 18:17
Bible Genome reading
Judges 18:17 — Bible Genome reading
Emotional genome
Judges 18:17 comes from the book of Judges, written during the judges period. These words are attributed to Narrator. The dominant emotion in this verse is angry, with a comfort power of 10% and a tone that is conversational. It belongs to the narrative genre of biblical literature. Key themes include theft, religious violation. Notable phrases: took the engraved image; the ephod.
Emotionally similar
Verses that meet the same angry
“Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruning hooks into spears. Let the weak say, 'I am strong.'”
— Joel 3:10
“You blind guides, who strain out a gnat, and swallow a camel!”
— Matthew 23:24
“Listen to this word, you cows of Bashan, who are on the mountain of Samaria, who oppress the poor, who crush the needy, who tell their husba…”
— Amos 4:1
“I hate, I despise your feasts, and I can't stand your solemn assemblies.”
— Amos 5:21
“Your eyes shall not pity; life shall go for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.”
— Deuteronomy 19:21
Your reflection
What does Judges 18:17 mean to you, today?
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