And the children of Dan set up the graven image: and Jonathan, the son of Gershom, the son of Manasseh, he and his sons were priests to the tribe of Dan until the day of the captivity of the land.
The people of Dan set up the carved idol, and Jonathan (the son of Gershom, who was the son of Manasseh) served as their priest, along with his sons. They continued serving as priests for the tribe of Dan until the day when their land was conquered and they were taken captive.
This verse shows how the tribe of Dan established idolatrous worship with stolen religious objects and a corrupt priesthood that lasted for generations until God's judgment came.
📚 Historical Context
In the era of the Judges, Israel was a loosely organized group of tribes without a king, often drifting into idolatry and away from God's commands due to weak leadership. The tribe of Dan, struggling to claim their allotted land, stole a carved idol from a man named Micah and set it up in their newly conquered city of Laish, which they renamed Dan. Jonathan, a descendant of Gershom (and the text mentions Manasseh, likely referring to a lineage connected to Moses), served as priest for this idol, reflecting the broader problem of religious compromise during this turbulent period.
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