Judges 18:19
"And they said unto him, Hold thy peace, lay thine hand upon thy mouth, and go with us, and be to us a father and a priest: is it better for thee to be a priest unto the house of one man, or that thou be a priest unto a tribe and a family in Israel?"
Interlinear data not available for this verse yet.
Commentary
Gill's Exposition
And they said unto him, hold thy peace,.... Be silent, make no disturbance, be quiet and easy: lay thy hand upon thy mouth; as a token of silence; so the Egyptians used to paint Harpocrates, the god of silence,
with his fingers pressing his lips: and go with us; for they wanted him as well as his gods, not knowing well how to make use of them without him: and be to us a father and a priest; to direct them, instruct them, perform acts of devotion for them, and ask counsel on their account; it seems as if it was common in those days to call a priest a father, see Jdg 17:10 . is it better for thee to be a priest unto the house of one man, or that thou be a priest unto a tribe and a family in Israel? suggesting, that it must be much more honourable for him, and more to his advantage, to officiate as a priest to a body of people, that might be called a tribe, or to a family consisting of various houses, than in the house of a private person; this they left him to consider and judge of.