Charles Ellicott Commentary Judges 18:15-18

"And they turned aside thither, and came to the house of the young man the Levite, even unto the house of Micah, and asked him of his welfare. And the six hundred men girt with their weapons of war, who were of the children of Dan, stood by the entrance of the gate. And the five men that went to spy out the land went up, and came in thither, and took the graven image, and the ephod, and the teraphim, and the molten image: and the priest stood by the entrance of the gate with the six hundred men girt with weapons of war. And when these went into Micah`s house, and fetched the graven image, the ephod, and the teraphim, and the molten image, the priest said unto them, What do ye?" — Judges 18:15-18 (ASV)

In these verses, we have a graphic description of the whole wicked activity. The five spies, knowing Jonathan, greet him and lure him to the entrance of the court to talk with their six hundred companions. While the leaders of this small army detain him in conversation, without any show of violence, the five slip away unobserved to the alîyah, or upper room, which served as the chapel, and steal all the essentials of the worship—namely:

1. the ephod;
2. the teraphim;
3. the graven image;
4. the molten image.

It is true that in Judges 18:20-30, the massecah is not mentioned; but it may be regarded as belonging to the pesel. It is only when he sees them in actual possession of these items that Jonathan asks the alarmed question, “What are you doing?”