Judges 18:19

Jdg 18:19 And they said unto him, Hold thy peace, lay thine hand upon thy mouth, and go with us, and be to us a father and a priest: [is it] better for thee to be a priest unto the house of one man, or that thou be a priest unto a tribe and a family in Israel?

Ver. 19. Lay thine hand upon thy mouth.] Digito compesce labellum. See Job 21:5; Job 29:9.

Or that thou be a priest unto a tribe.] Thus the Papists offered Luther a cardinalship to be quiet: they sent unto him Vergerius, to put him in mind of the example of Aeneas Sylvius, who following his own opinions, with much slavery and labour, could get no further preferment than to be canon of Trent, but being changed to the better, became bishop, cardinal, and finally Pope Pius II. He called to his memory also Bessarion of Nice, who by complying with the Church of Rome, wanted not much of being Pope. But he answered, I care neither for Rome’s favour nor fury. {a}

{a} Hist. of Counc. of Trent, 73.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Verse 19. Lay thine hand upon thy mouth] This was the token of silence. The god of silence, Harpocrates, is represented on ancient statues with his finger pressed on his lips.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(19) Hold thy peace, lay thine hand upon thy mouth.—Comp. Job_21:5; Job_29:9; Pro_30:32. The laying of the finger on the lip is one of the most universal of gestures. It is the attitude of Horus, the Egyptian god of silence. (See Apul. Metamorph. 1: at ille digitum, a pollice proximum ori suo admovens . . . tace. tace, inquit.)

A father and a priest.—Jdg_17:10.

Unto a tribe and a family.—Both to a shebet and a mishpecah. (See Note on Jdg_18:1.)

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

19. lay thine hand upon thy mouth] Cf. Mic_7:16, Job_21:5; Job_29:9 etc.

a father and a priest] See Jdg_17:10 n.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And they said unto him, hold thy peace,.... Be silent, make no disturbance, be quiet and easy:

lay thy hand upon thy mouth; as a token of silence; so the Egyptians used to paint Harpocrates, the god of silence, with his fingers pressing his lips:

and go with us; for they wanted him as well as his gods, not knowing well how to make use of them without him:

and be to us a father and a priest; to direct them, instruct them, perform acts of devotion for them, and ask counsel on their account; it seems as if it was common in those days to call a priest a father, see Jdg 17:10.

is it better for thee to be a priest unto the house of one man, or that thou be a priest unto a tribe and a family in Israel? suggesting, that it must be much more honourable for him, and more to his advantage, to officiate as a priest to a body of people, that might be called a tribe, or to a family consisting of various houses, than in the house of a private person; this they left him to consider and judge of.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Mouth; to signify that silence must be observed, Job xxix. 9., and Ecclesiasticus v. 12.[14?] Angerona, among the Romans, and Harpocrates, in Egypt, were represented in this posture; digitoque silentia suadet. (Ovid, Met. ix.)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Lay thy hand upon thy mouth, i.e. be silent, as this phrase is used, Job 21:5; 29:9; 40:4; Pro 30:32. The same thing repeated in other words.

A father and a priest: see Poole on "Jdg 17:10".

A family in Israel, to wit, a tribe that is (and being oft put for that is) a family. For it is certain this was not an expedition of the whole tribe, which numbered 64,000 men, Num 26:43, but only of one family, which it seems were more vexed with the Philistines or Amorites, and therefore resolved to seek new habitations at a great distance from them. And after this time we find the body of the Danites in their old and proper portions in Samson’s time, which, though placed before this, was long after it.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

19. Lay thine hand upon thy mouth — A proverbial expression for maintaining utter silence.

Better for thee — “Almost in the same words was the like bribe offered by one of the greatest religious houses of England to the monk who guarded the shrine of one of the most sacred relics in the ancient cathedral of Canterbury: ‘Give us the portion of St. Thomas’ skull which is in thy custody and thou shalt be Abbot of St. Augustine’s.’ As Roger accepted the bait in the twelfth century after the Christian era, so did the Levite in the fifteenth century before it.” — Stanley.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Lay thine hand upon thy mouth. Cf. Job_21:5 Job_29:9 Job_40:4. A father and a priest. See Jud_1:17:10, note.

Vers. 19, 20The mercenary priest.

Greed and ambition are the besetting sins of depraved priests. Both of these evil characteristics are apparent in Micah"s Levite.

I THE PRIESTLY OFFICE IS DEGRADED BY MERCENARY GREED. Micah had adopted the Levite when he was homeless and destitute, and had treated him with the kindness of a father to his son; yet as soon as he discovers a chance of better pay, the miserable man deserts and robs his patron. No man can serve God truly if the money wages of his service are the chief consideration with him. Though he may take such just payment as is given to him if he is God"s faithful servant, he will, like the faithful Levites, feel that his real portion is the Eternal. (Jos_13:33) Such a man should also consider himself bound by ties of affection and friendly obligation to the people among whom he ministers. If he seeks promotion simply for the sake of pecuniary advantage, and irrespective of the loss which may be sustained in his present sphere, and of his possible unfitness for a larger sphere, he is guilty of gross worldliness and wicked selfishness.

II THE PRIESTLY OFFICE IS DEGRADED BY SELFISH AMBITION. The Levite is tempted by the prospect of exercising his functions in a larger way as the priest of a tribe. Such an offer would only be possible in Israel under circumstances of religions decline and social disorder. Even then the Levite must have known that he was no priest at all according to the law of God, for he did not belong to the family of Aaron. But ambition tramples on law for its own advancement. Of course there are occasions when a man may naturally endeavour to rise in the world, and if he can be sure that he will extend his usefulness, it is his duty to do so. But

1. The opportunity of enlarged service elsewhere is no justification for unfaithfulness to our present service. Plainly the Levite was treating his benefactor with unpardonable ingratitude and treachery in deserting him for the service of the Danites.

2. It is only a culpable ambition which will lead a man to seek a higher position simply for his own honour and profit, and not for the good of those who are intrusted to his care. The priest exists for the people, not the people for the priest. But the latter condition has been only too apparent in the course of the corruptions of Christendom. Office has been sought solely for the satisfaction of the greed and ambition of the aspirant. How contrary to the teaching of Christ, who said, "Whosoever will be great among you, let him be your servant"! A. (Mat_20:27)

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Lay thy hand - That is, be silent. A family - Namely, a tribe, that is, a family.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

Is it better for you to be priest for the house of one man ... a clan in Israel?

They ask this as a rhetorical question to imply that it is true. This question can be written as a statement. AT: "It is better for you to be priest for a tribe and a clan in Israel than for just the house of one man." (See: Rhetorical Question)

The priest's heart was glad

Here the priest is referred to by his "heart" to emphasize his emotions. AT: "The priest was glad" (See: Synecdoche)

translationWords

priest

tribe

clan

Israel

heart

ephod

household

false god

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.