Judges 18:17

“And the five men that went out to spy the land went up and came thither, etc.] They first came to Micah’s house, and saluted the young man, and after that salutation told him there was such a number of their brethren at the gate of the city, very probably, who would be glad to see him; and the young man being desirous also of seeing them, and paying his respects to them, went with them thither, and after they had introduced him, left him discoursing with them, and then returned to his apartment: and took the graven image, and the ephod, and the teraphim, and the molten image; and brought them away with them; and from hence it appears plainly that there were two images, the one graven, and…”

“The five went back to Micah’s chapel (Micah’s house, Judges 18:18) and took the ephod, teraphim, etc., and brought them to the gate where the priest was talking to the 600 men. return to 'Top of Page'”

“Thither - Into the house, and that part of it, where those things were. The gate - Whither they had drawn him forth, that they might without noise or hindrance take them away. Judges 18:18”

“five men: Jdg 18:2, Jdg 18:14 the graven: Jdg 6:31, Jdg 17:4, Jdg 17:5; Exo 32:20; Sa1 4:11, Sa1 6:2-9; Kg2 19:18, Kg2 19:19; Isa 46:1, Isa 46:2, Isa 46:7 Judges 18:19”

“Then the five spies went up, sc., into Micah's house of God, which must therefore have been in an upper room of the building (see Kg2 23:12; Jer 19:13), and took the image, ephod, etc., whilst the priest stood before the door with the 600 armed men. With the words וגו בּאוּ the narrative passes from the aorist or historical tense ויּעלוּ into the perfect. "The perfects do not denote the coming and taking on the part of the five men as a continuation of the previous account, but place the coming and taking in the same sphere of time as that to which the following clause, 'and the priest stood,' etc., belongs" (Bertheau). But in order to explain what appears very surprising, viz., that the…”