And the five men that went to spy out the land went up, and came in thither, and took the graven image, and the ephod, and the teraphim, and the molten image: and the priest stood in the entering of the gate with the six hundred men that were appointed with weapons of war.
The five men who had been sent to scout out the land went up to the house and went inside. They took the carved idol, the sacred vest, the household gods, and the metal statue. Meanwhile, the priest stood at the gate entrance with the six hundred armed warriors.
The writer is describing how the five Danite spies stole religious objects from Micah's shrine while their armed companions kept the priest distracted at the gate.
📚 Historical Context
This occurs during the time when the tribe of Dan was seeking new territory because they hadn't been able to fully possess their original inheritance. The Danites had discovered these religious objects during an earlier scouting mission to Micah's house in the hill country of Ephraim. This was during the period of the judges when 'every man did what was right in his own eyes,' leading to religious and moral chaos in Israel.
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