Charles Ellicott Commentary Judges 18:19

"And they said unto him, Hold thy peace, lay thy hand upon thy mouth, and go with us, and be to us a father and a priest: is it better for thee to be priest unto the house of one man, or to be priest unto a tribe and a family in Israel?" — Judges 18:19 (ASV)

Hold thy peace, lay thine hand upon thy mouth. —Compare to Job 21:5; Job 29:9; Proverbs 30:32. The laying of the finger on the lip is one of the most universal of gestures. It is the attitude of Horus, the Egyptian god of silence. (See Apuleius, Metamorphoses 1: at ille digitum, a pollice proximum ori suo admovens ... tace. tace, inquit.)

A father and a priest. —Judges 17:10.

Unto a tribe and a family. —Both to a shebet and a mishpecah. (See Note on Judges 18:1.)