וַיְהִי אִישׁ מֵהַר אֶפְרָיִם וּשְׁמוֹ מִיכָיְהוּ

There was a man from the highlands of Ephraim, a region stretching from the Yizre’el Valley in the north, to the hills of Jerusalem in the south, including the tribal portions of Manasseh, Ephraim, and Benjamin, and his name was Mikhayhu. Throughout the rest of the story, he is, with one exception, referred to simply as Mikha; Mikhayhu consists of his name and a suffix containing God’s name.

וַיֹּאמֶר לְאִמּוֹ אֶלֶף וּמֵאָה הַכֶּסֶף אֲשֶׁר לֻקַּח לָךְ ואַתְּ אָלִית וְגַם אָמַרְתְּ בְּאָזְנַי הִנֵּה הַכֶּסֶף אִתִּי אֲנִי לְקַחְתִּיו וַתֹּאמֶר אִמּוֹ בָּרוּךְ בְּנִי לַה'

He said to his mother: Do you remember the one thousand one hundred pieces of silver that were taken from you and about which you later cursed whoever stole the silver, and even said it in my ears? You told me about the disappearance of the silver and your curse. Here is the silver with me; I took it. His mother said: Blessed is my son to the Lord. I am pleased that the silver is still in our house, and that you have not done anything with it. May you be blessed, not cursed.

וַיָּשֶׁב אֶת אֶלֶף וּמֵאָה הַכֶּסֶף לְאִמּוֹ וַתֹּאמֶר אִמּוֹ הַקְדֵּשׁ הִקְדַּשְׁתִּי אֶת הַכֶּסֶף לַה' מִיָּדִי לִבְנִי לַעֲשׂוֹת פֶּסֶל וּמַסֵּכָה וְעַתָּה אֲשִׁיבֶנּוּ לָךְ

He returned the one thousand one hundred pieces of silver to his mother, and his mother said: I am consecrating the silver to the Lord; alternatively, when it disappeared, I said that if it were found I would consecrate it, to remove it from my hand to my son, in order to make an idol and a cast image from it; now I will return it to you.

וַיָּשֶׁב אֶת הַכֶּסֶף לְאִמּוֹ וַתִּקַּח אִמּוֹ מָאתַיִם כֶּסֶף וַתִּתְּנֵהוּ לַצּוֹרֵף וַיַּעֲשֵׂהוּ פֶּסֶל וּמַסֵּכָה וַיְהִי בְּבֵית מִיכָיְהוּ

Indeed, he returned the money to his mother, as stated above, and his mother took two hundred pieces of silver from the sum, and she gave them as payment for services to the silversmith. He made it into an idol and a cast image, designed to serve as an idol for God; and it was in the house of Mikhayhu.

וְהָאִישׁ מִיכָה לוֹ בֵּית אֱלֹהִים וַיַּעַשׂ אֵפוֹד וּתְרָפִים וַיְמַלֵּא אֶת יַד אַחַד מִבָּנָיו וַיְהִי לוֹ לְכֹהֵן

As the man Mikha now had an important, probably rare idol, he established a shrine in its name, and he made an ephod, an apron or short coat worn primarily by priests, and he made teraphim, possibly statuettes in human form. And since Mikha was not a young man and had adult sons of his own, he installed one of his sons, who became a priest for him.

בַּיָּמִים הָהֵם אֵין מֶלֶךְ בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל אִישׁ הַיָּשָׁר בְּעֵינָיו יַעֲשֶׂה

In those days, throughout the period of the judges, there was no king in Israel; each man would do what was fitting in his own eyes, as he wished. In later eras it would not have been possible for a person to arbitrarily decide to fashion an idol and temple for himself.

וַיְהִי נַעַר מִבֵּית לֶחֶם יְהוּדָה מִמִּשְׁפַּחַת יְהוּדָה וְהוּא לֵוִי וְהוּא גָר שָׁם

There was a lad from Bethlehem of Judah, from the family of Judah; he was a Levite. He may have belonged to the tribe of Judah on his mother’s side; alternatively, he was adopted and educated in Judah. And he lived there, in Bethlehem, despite the fact that this was not one of the Levite cities.

וַיֵּלֶךְ הָאִישׁ מֵהָעִיר מִבֵּית לֶחֶם יְהוּדָה לָגוּר בַּאֲשֶׁר יִמְצָא וַיָּבֹא הַר אֶפְרַיִם עַד בֵּית מִיכָה לַעֲשׂוֹת דַּרְכּוֹ

The man went from the city, from Bethlehem of Judah, to reside wherever he would find. Apparently he could not find a job or residence in Bethlehem, and as a Levite he was not particularly attached to the city. Therefore, he wandered north, and he came to the highlands of Ephraim, to the house of Mikha, to make his way onward. He came to Mikha’s shrine to spend the night there, or in order to meet people and find a livelihood.

וַיֹּאמֶר לוֹ מִיכָה מֵאַיִן תָּבוֹא וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלָיו לֵוִי אָנֹכִי מִבֵּית לֶחֶם יְהוּדָה וְאָנֹכִי הֹלֵךְ לָגוּר בַּאֲשֶׁר אֶמְצָא

Mikha said to him: From where do you come? He said to him: I am a Levite from Bethlehem of Judah, where I have been living, and now I am going to reside wherever I will find.

וַיֹּאמֶר לוֹ מִיכָה שְׁבָה עִמָּדִי וֶהְיֵה לִי לְאָב וּלְכֹהֵן וְאָנֹכִי אֶתֶּן לְךָ עֲשֶׂרֶת כֶּסֶף לַיָּמִים וְעֵרֶךְ בְּגָדִים וּמִחְיָתֶךָ וַיֵּלֶךְ הַלֵּוִי

Mikha said to him: Why continue any further? Stay with me, and be a father, a mentor, and I will appoint you as a priest for me, in charge of my temple; I will give you ten pieces of silver a year as your annual salary, a set of garments, and your sustenance. And the Levite went to ponder and examine the proposal, or in an unsuccessful effort to find another job.

וַיּוֹאֶל הַלֵּוִי לָשֶׁבֶת אֶת הָאִישׁ וַיְהִי הַנַּעַר לוֹ כְּאַחַד מִבָּנָיו

Consequently, the Levite decided to live with the man, Mikha; and the Levite lad was to him like one of his sons. Mikha cared for him and supported him.

וַיְמַלֵּא מִיכָה אֶת יַד הַלֵּוִי וַיְהִי לוֹ הַנַּעַר לְכֹהֵן וַיְהִי בְּבֵית מִיכָה

Mikha installed the Levite, and the lad became a priest for him, and he was a permanent resident in the house of Mikha.

וַיֹּאמֶר מִיכָה עַתָּה יָדַעְתִּי כִּי יֵיטִיב ה' לִי כִּי הָיָה לִי הַלֵּוִי לְכֹהֵן

Mikha said to himself, pleased with the new member of his household: Now I know that the Lord will benefit me, as the Levite has become as a priest for me. Beforehand, I was a run-of-the-mill Israelite, but now a member of the holy tribe has come to me to engage in temple service as a priest. Clearly, my temple is perfectly legitimate, and God will come to my support.