Judges, Chapters 17 & 18

Chapter 17

Micah's mother thinks someone stole her 1100 shekels. Nope! It was Micah. He gives it back and she decides to have it melted and molded into an idol for him. Micah makes a shrine and puts the idol, along with some other trinkets, inside. He also installs one of his sons as priest, because there was no king, so there's anarchy.

Next, a young Levite from Bethlehem arrives at Micah's house. Micah makes small talk and eventually asks him to become a priest for him, in exchange for 10 shekels a year, plus clothing and food. The man agrees. Micah thinks this will win him favour with the lord.

Chapter 18

Again, Israel is without a king. The Danites have no land. They send out some spies to find a goodly spot, and the spies come to Micah's house. They recognise the Levite and ask him what he's doing there. He tells them, and they ask him to ask god where they can find some land. He tells them to leave in peace, because god is with them. They come to Laish, where the people live in a sort of hippy paradise, self-sufficient and with no lawyers. They go back and recommend invasion and conquest to their leaders. They set back off with 600 men.

Eventually they come back to Micah's house. The rob him of his idol and trinkets. The priest notices and asks what they're doing. They invite him to join them, pointing out how much better it is to be a priest to an entire clan than to one man. The priest sees the logic and leaves with them.

The Danites eventually catch up and ask what's wrong with them that they would steal everything they own like that. The Danites threaten him, so Micah turns back. Then they attack the hippy commune in Laish and kill everybody, and build a city, along with a temple for the idol. That city is called Dan.