Judges 8

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Gideon skillfully pacifies the complaining Ephraimites before continuing his pursuit of the Midianite kings, Zebah and Zalmunna. After capturing them, he punishes the unhelpful cities of Succoth and Penuel, then executes the kings for killing his brothers. Though offered kingship, Gideon refuses, but creates an ephod from the spoils that becomes an idolatrous snare for Israel, who quickly backslides after his death.

Gideon Pacifies Ephraim 1–3

And the men of Ephraim said unto him, Why hast thou served us thus, that thou calledst us not, when thou wentest to fight with Midian? And they did chide with him sharply.

And he said unto them, What have I now done in comparison with you? Is not the gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim better than the vintage of Abiezer?

God hath delivered into your hand the princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb: and what was I able to do in comparison with you? Then their anger was abated toward him, when he had said that.

The Pursuit and Refusal of Aid 4–12

And Gideon came to the Jordan, andpassed over, he, and the three hundred men that were with him, faint, yet pursuing.

And he said unto the men of Succoth, Give, I pray you, loaves of bread unto the people that follow me; for they are faint, and I am pursuing after Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian.

And the princes of Succoth said, Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in thy hand, that we should give bread unto thine army?

And Gideon said, Therefore when Jehovah hath delivered Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand, then I will tear your flesh with the thorns of the wilderness and with briers.

And he went up thence to Penuel, and spake unto them in like manner; and the men of Penuel answered him as the men of Succoth had answered.

And he spake also unto the men of Penuel, saying, When I come again in peace, I will break down this tower.

Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor, and their hosts with them, about fifteen thousand men, all that were left of all the host of the children of the east; for there fell a hundred and twenty thousand men that drew sword.

And Gideon went up by the way of them that dwelt in tents on the east of Nobah and Jogbehah, and smote the host; for the host was secure.

And Zebah and Zalmunna fled; and he pursued after them; and he took the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, and discomfited all the host.

Vengeance on Succoth and Penuel 13–17

And Gideon the son of Joash returned from the battle from the ascent of Heres.

And he caught a young man of the men of Succoth, and inquired of him: and he described for him the princes of Succoth, and the elders thereof, seventy and seven men.

And he came unto the men of Succoth, and said, Behold Zebah and Zalmunna, concerning whom ye did taunt me, saying, Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in thy hand, that we should give bread unto thy men that are weary?

And he took the elders of the city, and thorns of the wilderness and briers, and with them he taught the men of Succoth.

And he brake down the tower of Penuel, and slew the men of the city.

Gideon Executes the Kings 18–21

Then said he unto Zebah and Zalmunna, What manner of men were they whom ye slew at Tabor? And they answered, As thou art, so were they; each one resembled the children of a king.

And he said, They were my brethren, the sons of my mother: as Jehovah liveth, if ye had saved them alive, I would not slay you.

And he said unto Jether his first-born, Up, and slay them. But the youth drew not his sword; for he feared, because he was yet a youth.

Then Zebah and Zalmunna said, Rise thou, and fall upon us; for as the man is, so is his strength. And Gideon arose, and slew Zebah and Zalmunna, and took the crescents that were on their camels’ necks.

The Offer of Kingship and the Ephod 22–28

Then the men of Israel said unto Gideon, Rule thou over us, both thou, and thy son, and thy son’s son also; for thou hast saved us out of the hand of Midian.

And Gideon said unto them, I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you: Jehovah shall rule over you.

And Gideon said unto them, I would make a request of you, that ye would give me every man the ear-rings of his spoil. (For they had golden ear-rings, because they were Ishmaelites.)

And they answered, We will willingly give them. And they spread a garment, and did cast therein every man the ear-rings of his spoil.

And the weight of the golden ear-rings that he requested was a thousand and seven hundred shekels of gold; besides the crescents, and the pendants, and the purple raiment that was on the kings of Midian, and besides the chains that were about their camels’ necks.

And Gideon made an ephod thereof, and put it in his city, even in Ophrah: and all Israel played the harlot after it there; and it became a snare unto Gideon, and to his house.

So Midian was subdued before the children of Israel, and they lifted up their heads no more. And the land had rest forty years in the days of Gideon.

Gideon's Final Years and Death 29–32

And Jerubbaal the son of Joash went and dwelt in his own house.

And Gideon had threescore and ten sons of his body begotten; for he had many wives.

And his concubine that was in Shechem, she also bare him a son, and he called his name Abimelech.

And Gideon the son of Joash died in a good old age, and was buried in the sepulchre of Joash his father, in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

Israel's Immediate Apostasy 33–35

And it came to pass, as soon as Gideon was dead, that the children of Israel turned again, and played the harlot after the Baalim, and made Baal-berith their god.

And the children of Israel remembered not Jehovah their God, who had delivered them out of the hand of all their enemies on every side;

neither showed they kindness to the house of Jerubbaal, who is Gideon, according to all the goodness which he had showed unto Israel.

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

Study Notes for Judges 8

Verse 1

Why hast thou served us thus — Gideon had called Ephraim down after the first battle (7:24), and they took the waters as far as Jordan and killed the two Midianite princes (7:25). Their complaint is that they were not called at the outset. The same tribe says it again to Jephthah, 'didst not call us to go with thee' (12:1).

Verse 3

Oreb and Zeeb — Ephraim killed Oreb 'upon the rock Oreb', and Zeeb 'at the winepress of Zeeb' (7:25). Gideon credits God in his answer: 'God hath delivered into your hands the princes of Midian'. 'Anger' is ruach, literally 'spirit', and 'abated' is raphah, to slacken: their spirit went slack toward him.

Verse 4

faint, yet pursuing — The three hundred are those of 7:7, 'the three hundred men that lapped'. 'Faint' (ayeph) is weary, and 'pursuing' (radaph) is to run after. Both words are repeated in v.5, where Gideon asks Succoth for bread because his men 'be faint, and I am pursuing'.

Verse 5

Succoth — The town took its name from the 'booths' Jacob made for his cattle there (Gen 33:17). A request for 'loaves of bread' for weary men is help Deut 23:4 counts as owed, faulting a nation that 'met you not with bread and with water in the way'. Zebah and Zalmunna are named again in Ps 83:11.

Verse 6

Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in thine hand — The princes' question uses two words, kaph, the palm, for the kings' hands, and yad, the hand, for Gideon's. Gideon quotes it back to Succoth, 'with whom ye did upbraid me' (v.15), which he calls an upbraiding.

Verse 7

tear your flesh — Dush, to thresh, the verb of Amos 1:3, 'they have threshed Gilead with threshing instruments of iron'. Gideon promises to thresh the flesh of Succoth's elders with 'thorns of the wilderness and… briers'. He carries it out in v.16, 'the elders of the city, and thorns of the wilderness and briers'.

Verse 10

fifteen thousand men — Together with the 'hundred and twenty thousand men that drew sword' who had fallen, the fifteen thousand make 135,000; the enemy 'lay along in the valley like grasshoppers for multitude' (7:12). Isaiah looks back to 'the day of Midian' (Isa 9:4).

Verse 13

returned from battle — Gideon had gone 'up by the way of them that dwelt in tents', 'smote the host: for the host was secure', and taken Zebah and Zalmunna, discomfiting 'all the host' (vv.11–12). He then comes to Succoth (v.15).

Verse 16

he taught the men of Succoth — Yada in the causative stem, literally 'made them know'. The threat of v.7 is carried out with the same plants, 'thorns of the wilderness and briers', on 'the elders of the city'. In v.17 he also 'beat down the tower of Penuel, and slew the men of the city'.

Verse 18

whom ye slew at Tabor — Gideon's question comes before he says who the dead were. The answer, 'As thou art, so were they; each one resembled the children of a king', leads him to name them in v.19 as 'my brethren, even the sons of my mother'.

Verse 19

as the LORD liveth — Gideon swears by the living LORD. The law gave the 'revenger of blood' the duty: 'The revenger of blood himself shall slay the murderer' (Num 35:19). His reason for killing them is that they killed his brothers, as he says: 'if ye had saved them alive, I would not slay you'.

Verse 20

Jether his firstborn — Gideon commands his eldest son, 'Up, and slay them', and the youth 'drew not his sword: for he feared, because he was yet a youth'. The kings then answer, 'Rise thou, and fall upon us: for as the man is, so is his strength', and Gideon himself kills them (v.21).

Verse 22

Rule thou over us — Mashal, to rule. The offer is for three generations, 'thou, and thy son, and thy son's son', and the reason given is that Gideon 'delivered' them from Midian. The LORD, however, had told Gideon, 'By the three hundred men that lapped will I save you' (7:7).

Verse 23

the LORD shall rule over you — Mashal occurs three times in this verse. Later, when Israel asked for a king, the LORD said to Samuel, 'they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them' (1 Sam 8:7). Gideon's answer already states that claim.

Verse 24

earrings of his prey — Midian's men wore gold because 'they were Ishmaelites'; Gen 37:25, 28 uses 'Ishmeelites' and 'Midianites' of the traders who took Joseph to Egypt. Earrings had once been turned into a molten calf (Ex 32:2–4). The earrings Gideon asks for weigh 'a thousand and seven hundred shekels of gold' (v.26).

Verse 27

an ephod — The ephod was a priest's garment (Ex 28:4), given to Aaron and his sons. Gideon makes one from the gold and sets it 'in his city, even in Ophrah'. 'Went a whoring' is the phrase of 2:17. 'Snare' is moqesh, the word of 2:3 and Josh 23:13. It proved a snare to 'Gideon, and to his house'.

Verse 29

Jerubbaal — The name is the one given in 6:32, 'Let Baal plead against him, because he hath thrown down his altar'. The narrative uses it here, and again in 9:5, 'the sons of Jerubbaal'. His 'own house' stands in Ophrah (v.27).

Verse 30

threescore and ten sons — The same number appears in 9:5, where Abimelech 'slew his brethren the sons of Jerubbaal, being threescore and ten persons, upon one stone'. The verse gives the reason for their number: 'he had many wives'. Gideon had said, 'neither shall my son rule over you' (v.23).

Verse 31

Abimelech — The name means 'my father is king' (Abimelek, 'father of the king'). After Gideon's refusal, 'neither shall my son rule over you' (v.23), the son of the Shechem concubine is made king by 'the men of Shechem' (9:6).

Verse 33

Baalberith — Baal-berith, 'Baal of the covenant', the god of Shechem; Abimelech's silver came 'out of the house of Baalberith' (9:4). 'As soon as Gideon was dead' echoes 2:19, 'when the judge was dead', and 'went a whoring' is the phrase of 2:17. Berith, 'covenant', is the word the LORD used of his own, 'I will never break my covenant' (2:1).

Verse 35

Neither shewed they kindness — Chesed, covenant kindness. Jotham later asks the men of Shechem whether they have 'dealt well with Jerubbaal and his house', and recalls that his father 'fought for you, and adventured his life far, and delivered you out of the hand of Midian' (9:16–17).