Judges 18:7

“And the five men departed, etc.] From Mount Ephraim, and Micah’s house there: and came to Laish; which, according to Bunting f376, was one hundred and four miles from Mount Ephraim, and so many he makes it to be from Jerusalem; it lay at the furthest northern border of the land of Canaan, at the foot of Mount Lebanon, near the fountain of Jordan; it was four miles from Paneas, as Jerom says f377, as you go to Tyre; it is the Caesarea Philippi of the New Testament, and the same that is called Leshem, (see Gill on “<061947>Joshua 19:47”), and saw the people that were therein; went into the city, and made their observations on the inhabitants of it, their number, strength, and manner of living:…”

“the five men departed, and came to Laish--or, "Leshem" (Jos 19:47), supposed to have been peopled by a colony of Zidonians. The place was very secluded--the soil rich in the abundance and variety of its produce, and the inhabitants, following the peaceful pursuits of agriculture, lived in their fertile and sequestered valley, according to the Zidonian style of ease and security, happy among themselves, and maintaining little or no communication with the rest of the world. The discovery of this northern paradise seemed, to the delight of the Danite spies, an accomplishment of the priest's prediction. They hastened back to inform their brethren in the south both of the value of their prize,…”

“Laish - Afterward called “Dan” Judges 18:29. The exact site has not been identified, but it was the northern extremity of Israel, near the sources of the Jordan, and about four miles from Panium, or Caesarea-Philippi. It is thought to have stood where the village Tell-el-Kadi now stands. After the manner of the Zidonians - The genius of the Zidonians being mechanical and commercial, not military, their colonists were apt to neglect fortifications and similar warlike precautions. In Solomon’s time the Zidonians were especially skillful in hewing timber 1Ki 5:6; 1 Chronicles 22:4, and it is highly probable, from their proximity to Lebanon, that such was the occupation of the men of Laish.…”

“Manner of the Zidonians - Who living in a very strong place, and abounding in wealth, and perceiving that the Israelites never attempted anything against them, were grown secure and careless. Put to shame - Or, that might rebuke or punish any thing, that is, any crime. Putting to shame seems to be used for inflicting civil punishment, because shame is generally the effect of it. Zidonians - Who otherwise could have succoured them, and would have been ready to do it. No business - No league or confederacy, nor much converse with other cities, it being in a pleasant and plentiful soil, between the two rivulets of Jor and Dan, not needing supplies from others, and therefore minding only their…”

“Laish: Jos 19:47, called Leshem how they: Jdg 18:27, Jdg 18:28; Rev 18:7 magistrate: Heb. possessor, or, heir of restraint, Sa1 3:13; Kg1 1:6; Rom 13:3; Pe1 2:14 and had no: In the most correct copies of the LXX this clause stands thus; και λογος ουκ ην αυτοις μετα Συριας; "and they had no transactions with Syria;" evidently reading instead of אדם \[Strong's H120\], adam, man, ארם \[Strong's H758\], aram, Syria; words so nearly similar that the only difference between them is in the ר, raish, and ד, daleth, which in both manuscripts and printed books is sometimes indiscernible. Laish was situated on the frontiers of Syria. Judges 18:8”

“Thus the five men proceeded to Laish, which is called Leshem in Jos 19:47, and was named Dan after the conquest by the Danites-a place on the central source of the Jordan, the present Tell el Kadi (see at Jos 19:47)-and saw the people of the town dwelling securely after the manner of the Sidonians, who lived by trade and commerce, and did not go out to war. יושׁבת is the predicate to את־העם, and the feminine is to be explained from the fact that the writer had the population before his mind (see Ewald, 174, b.); and the use of the masculine in the following words וּבטח שׁקט, which are in apposition, is not at variance with this. The connection of יושׁבת with בּקרבּהּ, which Bertheau revives…”