Judges 8:19

19 "They were my brothers," Gideon said, "my own mother's sons. As surely as the LORD lives, I promise that if you had let them live, I wouldn't kill you!"

Judges 8:19 Meaning and Commentary

Judges 8:19

And he said, they were my brethren, even the sons of my
mother
His brethren by his mother's side, but not by his father's side; or the phrase

the sons of my mother is added,
to show that he did not mean brethren in a large sense, as all the Israelites were, but in a strict sense, being so nearly related as his mother's children:

as the Lord liveth, if ye had saved them alive, I would not slay you;
for not being Canaanites, he was not obliged by the law of God to put them to death, and by the law of nations, as they had surrendered themselves, and were made prisoners of war, they ought to have been saved; but as they appeared to be murderers, and had slain the Israelites in cold blood, they deserved to die; and the persons they had slain being Gideon's brethren, he was the avenger of blood, and it became him to put them to death.

Judges 8:19 In-Context

17 He also broke down Penuel's tower, and killed the city's people.

18 Then he asked Zebah and Zalmunna, "What kind of men were those whom you killed at Tabor?" They replied, "They were just like you; each one looked like a king's son."

19 "They were my brothers," Gideon said, "my own mother's sons. As surely as the LORD lives, I promise that if you had let them live, I wouldn't kill you!"

20 So he ordered his oldest son Jether, "Stand up and kill them." But the young man didn't draw his sword because he was afraid, since he was still young.

21 So Zebah and Zalmunna said, "You stand up and strike us yourself, because as they say, ‘A man is measured by his strength!'" So Gideon stood up and killed Zebah and Zalmunna, and took the crescents that were on their camels' necks.