“Do ye know that there is in these houses an ephod, and teraphim, and a graven image, and a molten image?”
The full verse · Judges 18:14 · KJV
Then the that to spy the of , and unto their , Do ye that there in these an , and , and a graven , and a molten ? now what ye have to .
Asked by
Asked to
The 600 armed men of the tribe of Dan who were migrating northward to conquer Laish and establish a new territorial inheritance (Judges 18:11, 16-17).
Why It Was Asked
The purpose behind the questionThe spies use a question rather than a declarative statement to draw their fellow Danites into complicity and ownership of the planned theft. By asking instead of announcing, they invite the warriors to confirm what they already know, creating shared knowledge and shared responsibility for what comes next.
The Response
What Scripture recordsThe Danites proceed to take the ephod, household gods, carved image, and molten image from Micah’s house while the priest initially protests, then agrees to accompany them (Judges 18:17-20).
The Bigger Picture
Where this fits in God's storyThe spies’ question reveals a strategic moment of corporate decision-making built on prior individual reconnaissance. By asking ‘Do you know,’ they transform private knowledge into public awareness, making the entire company responsible for what happens next. The Hebrew yada, or know in English, here implies not mere awareness but recognition with implications for action. They itemize the religious objects with deliberate detail, ephod, teraphim, pesel, massekah, creating an inventory of opportunity. The question format allows the warriors to feel they are choosing rather than being commanded, a subtle exercise in group persuasion that leads six hundred men into covenant-breaking theft.
Shared knowledge can become shared sin when we draw others into compromise. The spies didn’t force their companions; they invited them to acknowledge what was there and decide for themselves. How often do we use questions to test the waters of wrongdoing, making others complicit by seeking their agreement rather than acting alone? When facing moral decisions in community, we must resist the pressure to validate what we already suspect is wrong. Ephesians 5:11 warns, ‘Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.’ True fellowship confronts compromise rather than confirming it through silence or assent.
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