A rich
Ephraimite, Micah, had set up to Jehovah a silver-covered image,
and lodged it in an appropriate house. At first he appointed one
of his sons to be its priest, afterwards Jonathan ben Gershom
ben Moses, a homeless Levite of Bethlehem-Judah, whom he counted
himself happy in being able to retain for a yearly salary of ten
pieces of silver, besides clothing and maintenance. When, however,
the Danites, hard pressed by the Philistines, removed from their
ancient settlements in order to establish a new home for themselves
on the slopes of Hermon in the north, they in passing carried off
both Micah's image and his priest; what led them to do so was the
report of their spies who had formerly lodged with Micah and there
obtained an oracle. It was in this way that Jonathan came to Dan
and became the founder of the family which retained the priesthood
at this afterwards so important sanctuary down to the period of the
deportation of the Danites at the Assyrian captivity (Judges xvii.,
xviii.). His position seems very different from that of Eli.
The only point of resemblance is that both are hereditary priests,
Levites so called, and trace their descent from the family of Moses,--
of which more anon.
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