Judges 18:15, commentary and pictures

Judges 17-21 record events that occurred in the early part of the history of the judges, while the real story of the book ends with chapter 16. The verse recounts the Danites coming to the house of Micah, even to the house of the young man the Levite, and greeting him, as part of the record of Israel's backsliding and the disgrace and punishment that followed. The visitors were five Danite scouts who turned aside thitherward to Micah's house, having recognized the young Levite by his voice while lodging there.

At Micah's house the Levite was serving as priest in an idolatrous shrine. The scouts asked his blessing for their mission, and on their return the Danites took him and Micah's objects of worship north to serve the tribe. They carried the priest and the idols to Laish and established idolatrous worship in the city they renamed Dan.

The account does not excuse the sin described in the surrounding chapters, but shows it as backsliding that brought disgrace and punishment, so that no one can do such a thing with impunity. The early apostasy of the tribe of Dan in Judges 18 is offered as one possible reason Dan was omitted from the tribes named in the sealing list in Revelation 7.