Judges 18:3

Jdg 18:3 When they [were] by the house of Micah, they knew the voice of the young man the Levite: and they turned in thither, and said unto him, Who brought thee hither? and what makest thou in this [place]? and what hast thou here?

Ver. 3. When they were by the house of Micah,] sc., In or near unto the Levite’s lodging, which was adjoining to the chapel of those idols made by Micah. {Jdg 18:14}

They knew the voice of the young man.] Either out of some former acquaintance with this roving leap-land Levite, or by his tone, as Jdg 12:6 Mar 14:70.

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.

They knew him by his speech that he was a stranger there.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Verse 3. They knew the voice of the young man] They knew, by his dialect or mode of pronunciation, that he was not an Ephraimite. We have already seen (Jdg 12:6) that the Ephraimites could not pronounce certain letters. See the note there.

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

(3) By the house of Micah.—Literally, with—i.e., lodging in it, as in Gen_27:43.

They knew the voice of the young man the Levite.—Again the narrative is too much compressed to enable us to fill up its details with any certainty. The youthful Jonathan had lived in Bethlehem. The grandson of Moses could not be wholly unknown. and at this time there was close intercourse between the tribes of Dan and Judah. Possibly, therefore they were personally acquainted with him; nor do they ask (as Micah had done), “Whence cometh thou? They recognised his voice, possibly by some dialectic peculiarity, but more probably by hearing him performing in the upper room his service before the pesel. Cassel renders “voice” by “sound,” and refers it to the bells on the priestly dress, as in Exo_28:35. We notice that Micah had been reticent about the ephod, &c., perhaps out of suspicion as to their intentions.

Turned in thither.—Not necessarily into the house, but into the room—the oratory (aedicula), or Beth-Elohim (Jdg_17:5). It seems to have been a kind of spurious Shiloh.

What makest thou in this place?—The accent of extreme surprise in their queries shows that they knew Jonathan, and did not expect to find a Judæan Levite in Ephraim.

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

3. When they were by the house of Micah] repeats what has just been said in Jdg_18:2; this verse must belong to the narrative of the young man the Levite Jdg_17:7; Jdg_17:11 b, 12a. Before he made his home with Micah, the young Levite lived, if not at Beth-lehem (his connexion with Beth-lehem Jdg_17:7 is questioned by Moore), then in the neighbourhood of the Danite villages; hence the spies were acquainted with him. Transl. They were by the house of M., when they recognized: cf. 1Sa_9:11, 1Ki_14:17 b in Hebr.

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.

When they were by the house of Micah,.... At their inn, which might be next to it, or as they were passing by it:

they knew the voice of the young man the Levite; who had been in their country, and they had been in his company and conversation, and they knew the tone of his voice when they heard it; a particular brogue he might have. Abarbinel conjectures, that he was singing to Micah's idol, or multiplying his prayers before him:

and they turned in thither; into Micah's house, and into the apartment where the young man was:

and said unto him, who brought thee hither? they knew he was of Bethlehemjudah; they inquire therefore how he came there, who sent for him, and by what means he was brought to that place:

and what makest thou in this place? they knew he was a Levite, and that such an one had no business to minister but at the tabernacle, and therefore they inquire what was his employment here: and what hast thou here? to support himself with, what he had for his maintenance, or how he lived.

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

It does not follow that they had known him before, and recognized his voice, though it may be so. But the Hebrew equally bears the sense that they heard the voice of the Levite; and, attracted by it, went into the chapel Jdg 18:18 where Jonathan was. They were probably just starting on their journey, but were still within the court or precincts of Micah’s house. Micah had evidently not told them of his house of God, and his Levite. Their questions indicate surprise.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

They knew the voice of the young man; either,

1. By his manner of pronunciation, which was differing and distinguishable in several tribes, as appears from Jdg 12:6; Mar 14:70. Or,

2. By the celebration of some part of his office, which they, then lodging in the neighbourhood, might be invited to. Or rather,

3. By some acquaintance which some of them formerly had with him which they might have upon many occasions.

What makest thou in this place; this being not thy usual place, nor proper for thy employment?

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

3. They knew the voice of the young man — They overheard his conversation, and, looking upon him, they at once recognised him as an old acquaintance. Most commentators understand that the Danites knew by his dialect or mode of pronunciation that he was not an Ephraimite, but the words they knew the voice are not adapted to convey such an idea, and the questions, Who brought thee hither? etc., are the natural language of old acquaintances that have unexpectedly met. And if this Levite was a grandson or great grandson of Moses, the lawgiver of Israel, as appears from Jdg_18:30, it is not strange at all that he was personally known to these Danites.

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

When. Rather, while. By the house. Rather, in or at the house. They knew the voice, having, as some think, known him before he left Bethlehem, or perceiving a southern accent. But it may merely mean that they discerned his voice as he was singing or reciting prayers in the house of God. Micah"s house seems to have been a collection of houses (vers. 14, 22), approached by one gateway (ver. 16), in one of which the Levite dwelt. They turned in thither. This seems to have been next morning, when they were starting on their journey. Hearing the Levite"s voice, they turned aside into his house. What makest thou, etc. Rather, What doest thou in this place? and what is thy business here?

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

Knew - By the acquaintance which some of them formerly had with him.

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

When they were at Micah's house and recognised the voice of the young Levite, i.e., heard his voice, and perceived form his dialect that he was not a native of these mountains, they turned aside there, sc., from the road into the house, near to which they rested, and asked him, "Who brought thee hither, and what doest thou at this place? what hast thou to do here?" When he told them his history ("thus and thus," lit. according to this and that; cf. Sa2 11:25; Kg1 14:5), they said to him, "Ask God, we pray thee, that we may learn whether our way will be prosperous." בּאלהים שׁאל, used for asking the will of God, as in Jdg 1:1, except that here the inquiry was made through the medium of the imitation of the ephod and the worship of an image. And he said to them, sc., after making inquiry of the divine oracle, "Go in peace; straight before Jehovah is your way," i.e., it is known and well-pleasing to Him (vid., Pro 5:21; Jer 17:16).

Keil & Delitzsch — Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1861–1891) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API. (Old Testament only.)

they recognized the speech of the young Levite

They recognized the man by the sound of his voice. Here "speech" refers to his "voice." AT: "they heard the young Levite talking, and they recognized his voice" (See: Metonymy)

translationWords

Levi

priest

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

Who brought you here. There are numerous questions here. Are you not descended from our teacher Moshe, to whom it was said, "Do not come close here," "Who provided mankind with the mouth?" and "What is this in your hand?"

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.