Person Old Testament
Jonathan
Jonathan, a Levite from Bethlehem, became a priest for the tribe of Dan after they set up a carved image. Mentioned once in Scripture, at Judges 18:30.
Why it matters. A Levite who served as a priest for Dan
- Primary passages
- Last reviewed
- 2026-08-30 by the FaithGraph team
About Jonathan
Jonathan, a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah, is mentioned in the book of Judges as a priest who served the tribe of Dan. The Danites, who had not yet secured their inheritance, sent out spies to find a suitable place to settle. The spies came to the house of Micah, where they encountered Jonathan, who was serving as Micah's personal priest (Jdg.18.3-4).
When the Danites later returned to take possession of the land, they also took Micah's carved image, ephod, household gods, and Jonathan to serve as their priest (Jdg.18.19-20). Jonathan, being a Levite, was likely seen as a legitimate religious authority, despite the fact that the Danites were setting up an idolatrous worship system.
The narrative in Judges 18 highlights the moral and spiritual decline of Israel during the period of the judges, as the Danites adopted false worship practices and the Levites, who were meant to serve God, became complicit in these practices. Jonathan's story serves as an example of the compromises and failures of religious leaders during this turbulent time in Israel's history.
Description from STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House, Cambridge), CC BY 4.0, lightly reformatted. This is background reference material, not Scripture and not a FaithGraph editorial claim.
Connections
No reviewed connections yet.
Family
Family links from STEPBible TIPNR (CC BY 4.0). Where the dataset marks an identification as uncertain, the mark is kept. Matthew and Luke give different genealogies for Jesus; see the Lineage page, which never merges them.
- Parents
- Gershom (?)
Appears in Scripture
Named in 1 verse across 1 book. Occurrence data from STEPBible TIPNR (CC BY 4.0); references only, no translation text.
Judges (1 verse)