Micah’s mother utters a curse, and this seems to motivate Micah to return the stolen silver, principally because he is afraid of the fulfillment of this curse. The reaction of his mother is to counteract the curse with a blessing: “Yahweh bless you, my son!” (17:2). What seems to underline Micah’s mother’s curse and blessing is the ancient Near Eastern concept of magic.13 This becomes clearer from what will transpire in the story.
