Judges 8

Judges 8:1

Then the men of Ephraim said to Gideon, “Why have you done this to us? Why did you fail to call us when you went to fight against Midian?” And they contended with him violently.

Judges 8:1 · BSB

Why etc. Heb. What thing is this thou hast done unto us , sharply. Heb. strongly.

Judges 8:2

But Gideon answered them, “Now what have I accomplished compared to you? Are not the gleanings of Ephraim better than the grape harvest of Abiezer?

Judges 8:2 · BSB

Is not the That is , the Ephraimites have performed more important services than Gideon and his men had achieved.

Judges 8:3

God has delivered Oreb and Zeeb, the two princes of Midian, into your hand. What was I able to do compared to you?” When he had said this, their anger against him subsided.

Judges 8:3 · BSB

anger Heb. spirit

Judges 8:4

Then Gideon and his three hundred men came to the Jordan and crossed it, exhausted yet still in pursuit.

Judges 8:4 · BSB

Judges 8:5

So Gideon said to the men of Succoth, “Please give my troops some bread, for they are exhausted, and I am still pursuing Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian.”

Judges 8:5 · BSB

Judges 8:6

But the leaders of Succoth asked, “Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna already in your possession, that we should give bread to your army?”

Judges 8:6 · BSB

Judges 8:7

“Very well,” Gideon replied, “when the LORD has delivered Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand, I will tear your flesh with the thorns and briers of the wilderness!”

Judges 8:7 · BSB

Judges 8:8

From there he went up to Penuel and asked the same from them, but the men of Penuel gave the same response as the men of Succoth.

Judges 8:8 · BSB

Judges 8:9

So Gideon told the men of Penuel, “When I return in triumph, I will tear down this tower!”

Judges 8:9 · BSB

Judges 8:10

Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor with their army of about fifteen thousand men—all that were left of the armies of the people of the east. A hundred and twenty thousand swordsmen had already fallen.

Judges 8:10 · BSB

Judges 8:11

And Gideon went up by way of the caravan route east of Nobah and Jogbehah, and he attacked their army, taking them by surprise.

Judges 8:11 · BSB

Judges 8:12

When Zebah and Zalmunna fled, Gideon pursued and captured these two kings of Midian, routing their entire army.

Judges 8:12 · BSB

discomfited Heb. terrified

Judges 8:13

After this, Gideon son of Joash returned from the battle along the Ascent of Heres.

Judges 8:13 · BSB

Judges 8:14

There he captured a young man of Succoth and interrogated him. The young man wrote down for him the names of the seventy-seven leaders and elders of Succoth.

Judges 8:14 · BSB

described Heb. writ

Judges 8:15

And Gideon went to the men of Succoth and said, “Here are Zebah and Zalmunna, about whom you taunted me, saying, ‘Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna already in your possession, that we should give bread to your weary men?’”

Judges 8:15 · BSB

Judges 8:16

Then he took the elders of the city, and using the thorns and briers of the wilderness, he disciplined the men of Succoth.

Judges 8:16 · BSB

taught Heb. made to know , Instead of wyyoda , Houbigant , Lev. Clerc , and others read wyyadosh , "and he tore or threshed;" and this is not only agreeable to what Gideon threatened (Judges 8 . 7) , but is supported by the LXX Vulgate , Chaldee , Syriac , and Arabic. The Hebrew Text might easily have been corrupted simply by the change of ש , shin , into ע , ayin , letters very similar to each other.

Judges 8:17

He also pulled down the tower of Penuel and killed the men of the city.

Judges 8:17 · BSB

Judges 8:18

Next, Gideon asked Zebah and Zalmunna, “What kind of men did you kill at Tabor?” “Men like you,” they answered, “each one resembling the son of a king.”

Judges 8:18 · BSB

resembled Heb. according to the form of , etc

Judges 8:19

“They were my brothers,” Gideon replied, “the sons of my mother! As surely as the LORD lives, if you had let them live, I would not kill you.”

Judges 8:19 · BSB

Judges 8:20

So he said to Jether, his firstborn, “Get up and kill them.” But the young man did not draw his sword; he was fearful because he was still a youth.

Judges 8:20 · BSB

Judges 8:21

Then Zebah and Zalmunna said, “Get up and kill us yourself, for as the man is, so is his strength.” So Gideon got up and killed Zebah and Zalmunna, and he took the crescent ornaments from the necks of their camels.

Judges 8:21 · BSB

Judges 8:22

Then the Israelites said to Gideon, “Rule over us—you and your son and grandson—for you have saved us from the hand of Midian.”

Judges 8:22 · BSB

Judges 8:23

But Gideon replied, “I will not rule over you, nor will my son. The LORD shall rule over you.”

Judges 8:23 · BSB

Judges 8:24

Then he added, “Let me make a request of you, that each of you give me an earring from his plunder.” (For the enemies had gold earrings because they were Ishmaelites.)

Judges 8:24 · BSB

Judges 8:26

The weight of the gold earrings he had requested was 1,700 shekels, in addition to the crescent ornaments, the pendants, the purple garments of the kings of Midian, and the chains from the necks of their camels.

Judges 8:26 · BSB

a thousand Taking the shekel at half an ounce , the sum of the gold ear-rings was 73 lbs. 4 oz. and worth about ,300 sterling.

collars or , sweet jewels

Judges 8:27

From all this Gideon made an ephod, which he placed in Ophrah, his hometown. But soon all Israel prostituted themselves by worshiping it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and his household.

Judges 8:27 · BSB

Judges 8:28

In this way Midian was subdued before the Israelites and did not raise its head again. So the land had rest for forty years in the days of Gideon,

Judges 8:28 · BSB

Judges 8:29

and he—Jerubbaal son of Joash—returned home and settled down.

Judges 8:29 · BSB

Judges 8:30

Gideon had seventy sons of his own, since he had many wives.

Judges 8:30 · BSB

of his body begotten Heb. going out of his thigh

Judges 8:31

His concubine, who dwelt in Shechem, also bore him a son, and he named him Abimelech.

Judges 8:31 · BSB

called Heb. set

Judges 8:32

Later, Gideon son of Joash died at a ripe old age and was buried in the tomb of his father Joash in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

Judges 8:32 · BSB

Judges 8:33

And as soon as Gideon was dead, the Israelites turned and prostituted themselves with the Baals, and they set up Baal-berith as their god.

Judges 8:33 · BSB

Judges 8:34

The Israelites failed to remember the LORD their God who had delivered them from the hands of all their enemies on every side.

Judges 8:34 · BSB

Judges 8:35

They did not show kindness to the house of Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) for all the good things he had done for Israel.

Judges 8:35 · BSB

Jerubbaal Rather , Jerubbaal Gideon; as we say , Simon Peter; or call a person by his Christian and surname. Gideon was a mighty man of valour , a true patriot , evidently disinterested and void of ambition. He loved his country , and hazarded his life for it; but refused the kingdom , when offered to him and his heirs. The act of making the ephod was totally wrong; yet , probably it was done with no reprehensible design.