And they took the things which Micah had made, and the priest which he had, and came unto Laish, unto a people that were at quiet and secure: and they smote them with the edge of the sword, and burnt the city with fire.
They ... came unto Laish, unto a people that were at quiet and secure: and they smote them ... and burnt the city. 'We are revolted by this inroad and massacre of a quiet and secure people. Nevertheless, if the original grant of Canaan to the Israelites gave them the warrant of a divine commission and command for this enterprise, that sanctifies all, and legalizes all' (Chalmers). This place seems to have been a dependency of Zidon, the distance of which, however, rendered it impossible to obtain aid thence in the sudden emergency. Tyre was twenty miles distant, but it had not risen into importance at that early period.