Judges 8

The men of Ephraim said to Gideon, “Why have you treated us like this? Why didn't you call us when you went to fight the Midianites?” And they argued with him bitterly.

1And the men of Ephraim said unto him, Why hast thou served us thus, that thou calledst us not, when thou wentest to fight with the Midianites? And they did chide with him sharply.

NoteEphraim was the largest and most influential tribe in central Israel. Being summoned to a battle mattered practically as well as socially: those who fought shared in the plunder. Gideon's own clan was from Manasseh, Ephraim's neighbor and rival.

2He said to them, “What have I done compared with you? Aren't the leftover grapes that Ephraim picked up better than the whole grape harvest of Abiezer, my own family?”

2And he said unto them, What have I done now in comparison of you? Is not the gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim better than the vintage of Abiezer?

NoteGideon answers with a farming proverb. "Gleaning" is the picking over of a vineyard after the main harvest has been carried off, the scraps left on the vines. He is saying that Ephraim's leftovers outdo his family's full crop, i.e. their small share of the fighting achieved more than his whole campaign. Abiezer was Gideon's own clan.

3“God handed the two leaders of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb, over to you. What was I able to do compared with you?” When he said that, their anger toward him died down.

3God hath delivered into your hands the princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb: and what was I able to do in comparison of you? Then their anger was abated toward him, when he had said that.

NoteOreb and Zeeb were the two Midianite commanders whom the men of Ephraim had captured and killed at the Jordan crossings in the previous chapter. Gideon is pointing to a victory that was entirely theirs.

4Gideon came to the Jordan River and crossed it, along with the three hundred men who were with him. They were worn out, but they kept chasing the enemy.

4And Gideon came to Jordan, and passed over, he, and the three hundred men that were with him, faint, yet pursuing them.

5He said to the men of Succoth, “Please give some loaves of bread to the men who are with me. They are worn out, and I am still chasing Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian.”

5And he said unto the men of Succoth, Give, I pray you, loaves of bread unto the people that follow me; for they be faint, and I am pursuing after Zebah and Zalmunna, kings of Midian.

NoteSuccoth was an Israelite town east of the Jordan, in the territory of Gad. Gideon is asking fellow Israelites for supplies, which is why the refusal is treated as a betrayal rather than ordinary caution. The town lay directly on his line of pursuit.

6But the leaders of Succoth said, “Do you already have Zebah and Zalmunna in your hands? Why should we give bread to your army?”

6And the princes of Succoth said, Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in thine hand, that we should give bread unto thine army?

Note"Do you have them in your hands" is an idiom for having captured or killed an enemy. Severed hands were sometimes taken from the slain as proof of a kill, which gives the taunt its edge. The men of Succoth are saying they will not back a man who has not yet won, since the Midianites could return and punish them for helping.

7Gideon said, “All right. When the LORD hands Zebah and Zalmunna over to me, I will tear your flesh with thorns and briers from the desert.”

7And Gideon said, Therefore when the LORD hath delivered Zebah and Zalmunna into mine hand, then I will tear your flesh with the thorns of the wilderness and with briers.

8From there he went up to Penuel and asked the same thing of them, and the men of Penuel answered him just as the men of Succoth had.

8And he went up thence to Penuel, and spake unto them likewise: and the men of Penuel answered him as the men of Succoth had answered him.

NotePenuel was another Israelite town east of the Jordan, further up the Jabbok valley. Its "tower" was a fortified stone stronghold, the town's refuge and strongpoint; destroying it left the settlement defenseless, which is why the threat was a serious one.

9So he said to the men of Penuel, “When I come back safe and victorious, I will tear down this tower.”

9And he spake also unto the men of Penuel, saying, When I come again in peace, I will break down this tower.

10Now Zebah and Zalmunna were at Karkor with their armies, about fifteen thousand men. They were all who were left of the whole army of the peoples of the east; 120,000 swordsmen had already fallen.

10Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor, and their hosts with them, about fifteen thousand men, all that were left of all the hosts of the children of the east: for there fell an hundred and twenty thousand men that drew sword.

Note"The peoples of the east" is a standing phrase for the nomadic and semi-nomadic tribes of the desert beyond the settled land, raiders who came in with their herds and camels. The Hebrew word translated "thousand" can also mean a clan or a military unit of unfixed size, so the figures may be smaller than they appear in English.

11Gideon went up by the route used by the people who live in tents, east of Nobah and Jogbehah, and he attacked the army while it thought it was safe.

11And 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.

NoteThe route "used by the people who live in tents" is the caravan track through the eastern desert margin, away from the settled roads. Gideon came at the camp from the open desert side, the direction no attack was expected from.

12When Zebah and Zalmunna ran away, he chased them and captured the two kings of Midian, and he threw their whole army into panic.

12And when Zebah and Zalmunna fled, he pursued after them, and took the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, and discomfited all the host.

13Then Gideon son of Joash came back from the battle by the pass of Heres.

13And Gideon the son of Joash returned from battle before the sun was up,

NoteThe Hebrew here is uncertain. The word can be read as a place name, "the ascent of Heres" (a mountain pass), or taken as the ordinary word for sun, which is how the King James got "before the sun was up." Both readings are defensible.

14He caught a young man from Succoth and questioned him. The young man wrote down for him the names of the leaders and elders of Succoth, seventy-seven men in all.

14And caught a young man of the men of Succoth, and enquired of him: and he described unto him the princes of Succoth, and the elders thereof, even threescore and seventeen men.

NoteThat an ordinary young man could write out a list of names is worth noticing: writing was not confined to scribes and officials in this period. "Elders" were the senior heads of families who governed a town collectively.

15Gideon came to the men of Succoth and said, “Here are Zebah and Zalmunna. You mocked me about them, saying, ‘Do you already have Zebah and Zalmunna in your hands? Why should we give bread to your tired men?’”

15And he came unto the men of Succoth, and said, Behold Zebah and Zalmunna, with whom ye did upbraid me, saying, Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in thine hand, that we should give bread unto thy men that are weary?

16So he took the elders of the city, and with desert thorns and briers he punished the men of Succoth.

16And he took the elders of the city, and thorns of the wilderness and briers, and with them he taught the men of Succoth.

NoteThe thorns are an instrument of punishment, probably dragging or beating the men across the desert thorn bushes, in the way grain was threshed by dragging a spiked sledge over it. The King James "he taught them" reflects a Hebrew wording that reads either "made them know" or, on a small change of one letter, "threshed them"; ancient and modern translators divide over which.

17He also pulled down the tower of Penuel and killed the men of that city.

17And he beat down the tower of Penuel, and slew the men of the city.

18Then he asked Zebah and Zalmunna, “What kind of men were the ones you killed at Tabor?” They answered, “They were like you. Each one looked like the son of a king.”

18Then 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.

NoteMount Tabor stands in the north, in the Jezreel valley region where the Midianite raids fell. The killing referred to had not been mentioned before now.

19He said, “They were my brothers, the sons of my own mother. As surely as the LORD lives, if you had let them live, I would not kill you.”

19And he said, They were my brethren, even the sons of my mother: as the LORD liveth, if ye had saved them alive, I would not slay you.

Note"As surely as the LORD lives" is the standard form of a binding oath, staking the speaker's word on God's own existence. As the nearest male relative of the dead men, Gideon is acting as the one obliged to avenge them; the custom made blood vengeance a family duty rather than a personal choice.

20He said to Jether, his oldest son, “Get up and kill them.” But the boy did not draw his sword. He was afraid, because he was still young.

20And he said unto Jether his firstborn, Up, and slay them. But the youth drew not his sword: for he feared, because he was yet a youth.

NoteHaving his eldest son carry out the execution was an honor offered to the boy and a calculated humiliation for the captives, to die at the hand of a child, rather than a warrior, was a disgrace.

21Then Zebah and Zalmunna said, “Get up and strike us down yourself. A man's strength matches the man he is.” So Gideon got up and killed Zebah and Zalmunna, and he took the crescent-shaped ornaments off their camels' necks.

21Then 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 away the ornaments that were on their camels’ necks.

NoteThe kings ask for a clean death from a grown fighter. The crescent ornaments were moon-shaped gold or silver pendants hung on the harness of prized camels, a mark of wealth and rank; the crescent was also a symbol associated with moon worship among desert peoples.

22Then the men of Israel said to Gideon, “Rule over us (you, your son, and your grandson too) because you saved us from the power of Midian.”

22Then 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 delivered us from the hand of Midian.

NoteThis is an offer of hereditary kingship, rule passing from father to son to grandson, which was how Israel's neighbors were governed. Israel at this point had no permanent ruler; leaders like Gideon rose for a crisis and their authority died with them.

23But Gideon said to them, “I will not rule over you, and my son will not rule over you. The LORD will rule over you.”

23And Gideon said unto them, I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you: the LORD shall rule over you.

24Then Gideon said to them, “I do have one request. Each of you give me an earring from what you took in the battle.” (The enemy wore gold earrings, because they were Ishmaelites.)

24And Gideon said unto them, I would desire a request of you, that ye would give me every man the earrings of his prey. (For they had golden earrings, because they were Ishmaelites.)

Note"Ishmaelites" is used here as a broad term for the desert traders and nomads of the region, overlapping with "Midianites" rather than naming a separate people. Gold earrings worn by men were characteristic of them, which is why the writer explains the detail.

25They answered, “We will gladly give them.” So they spread out a piece of clothing, and each man threw onto it an earring from what he had taken.

25And they answered, We will willingly give them. And they spread a garment, and did cast therein every man the earrings of his prey.

26The gold earrings he asked for weighed 1,700 shekels. That was on top of the crescent ornaments, the pendants, the purple robes worn by the kings of Midian, and the chains from their camels' necks.

26And the weight of the golden earrings that he requested was a thousand and seven hundred shekels of gold; beside ornaments, and collars, and purple raiment that was on the kings of Midian, and beside the chains that were about their camels’ necks.

NoteA shekel was a weight, not a coin, roughly two fifths of an ounce (about 11.5 grams). Seventeen hundred shekels of gold is therefore something like forty-three pounds, or twenty kilograms. Purple cloth was dyed with a costly extract from sea snails and was worn by rulers because almost no one else could afford it.

27Gideon used the gold to make an ephod, and he set it up in his hometown, Ophrah. All Israel was unfaithful to God by worshiping it there, and it became a trap for Gideon and his household.

27And Gideon made an ephod thereof, and put it in his city, even in Ophrah: and all Israel went thither a whoring after it: which thing became a snare unto Gideon, and to his house.

NoteAn ephod was normally a priest's garment, worn over the chest and used in some way for seeking answers from God by lot. Made from a mass of gold, this one is more likely to have been a large standing object, perhaps a covered image or a robe draped on a frame. The Hebrew for what Israel then did with it is the verb for prostitution, used throughout the Old Testament for turning from the LORD to other objects of worship; the rendering gives its sense rather than the image.

28So Midian was beaten down by the Israelites and never lifted its head again. The land was at peace for forty years, as long as Gideon lived.

28Thus was Midian subdued before the children of Israel, so that they lifted up their heads no more. And the country was in quietness forty years in the days of Gideon.

Note"Forty years" is a round figure used repeatedly in Judges for a full generation of peace, rather than a precise count.

29Jerubbaal son of Joash, who is Gideon, went and settled down in his own house.

29And Jerubbaal the son of Joash went and dwelt in his own house.

NoteJerubbaal was the second name given to Gideon earlier in the story, after he pulled down his father's altar to Baal; it was explained then as meaning "let Baal contend with him." The book uses the two names interchangeably.

30Gideon had seventy sons of his own, because he had many wives.

30And Gideon had threescore and ten sons of his body begotten: for he had many wives.

31The woman in Shechem who was his secondary wife also had a son by him, and he named the boy Abimelech.

31And his concubine that was in Shechem, she also bare him a son, whose name he called Abimelech.

NoteA concubine was a legally recognized secondary wife of lower standing than a full wife; her children had weaker claims on the inheritance. This one stayed with her own family in Shechem rather than joining Gideon's household. The name Abimelech means "my father is king", a pointed detail, given what Gideon has just refused, and given what this son does in the next chapter.

32Gideon son of Joash died at a good old age, and he was buried in the tomb of his father Joash, in Ophrah, the town of the family of Abiezer.

32And 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.

33As soon as Gideon was dead, the Israelites turned away again and were unfaithful to God by worshiping the Baals. They made Baal-berith their god.

33And it came to pass, as soon as Gideon was dead, that the children of Israel turned again, and went a whoring after Baalim, and made Baalberith their god.

Note"The Baals" is the plural of Baal, the Canaanite storm and fertility god, worshiped in many local forms, each with its own shrine and title. Baal-berith means "lord of the covenant" or "Baal of the treaty," the god of the shrine at Shechem, where agreements between parties were sworn.

34The Israelites did not remember the LORD their God, who had rescued them from all the enemies around them.

34And the children of Israel remembered not the LORD their God, who had delivered them out of the hands of all their enemies on every side:

35And they did not show kindness to the family of Jerubbaal, that is, Gideon, for all the good he had done for Israel.

35Neither shewed they kindness to the house of Jerubbaal, namely, Gideon, according to all the goodness which he had shewed unto Israel.

NoteThe word behind "kindness" is hesed: the loyalty owed within a standing relationship or obligation, not warm feeling. The charge is that Israel defaulted on a debt to Gideon's family.