Albert Barnes Commentary Judges 18:7

"Then the five men departed, and came to Laish, and saw the people that were therein, how they dwelt in security, after the manner of the Sidonians, quiet and secure; for there was none in the land, possessing authority, that might put [them] to shame in anything, and they were far from the Sidonians, and had no dealings with any man." — Judges 18:7 (ASV)

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 (1 Kings 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.

Quiet and secure ... - This is a very obscure and difficult passage. Translate as follows: “Quiet and secure, and none of them doing any injury in the land, possessing wealth,” or “dominion.”