And the five men who had gone to spy out the land went up and entered and took the carved image, the ephod, the household idols, and the molten image; the priest stood by the gate (וַיַּעֲלוּ חֲמִשֶּׁת הָאֲנָשִׁים אֲשֶׁר־הָלְכוּ לְרַגֵּל אֶת־הָאָרֶץ וַיִּשְׁמְרוּ בַיִת וַיִּשְׂרְפוּ אוֹתוֹ וַיִּשְׁלְחוּ־לוֹ אֶת־שִׁשֵּׁת־מֵאוֹת אִישׁ שׁוֹמְרִים בְּשַׁעַר) — the five spies execute the theft: they take the carved image, ephod, teraphim, and molten image from Micah's house. The Levite stands by the gate, apparently complicit or resigned to the seizure. The narrative does not indicate that he protests or attempts to prevent the theft; he is already positioned to participate in the Danite expedition. The removal of the religious objects—the symbols of Micah's shrine—represents the complete dismantling of his religious establishment.

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