Judges 8:10

10 Now Zebah and Zalmunna [were] in Karkor, and their armies with them, about fifteen thousand men remained from the entire army of the people of [the] east; those that fell [in battle were] one hundred and twenty thousand {swordsmen}.

Judges 8:10 Meaning and Commentary

Judges 8:10

Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor.
&c.] Jerom F21 under this word says, there was in his time a castle called Carcuria, a day's journey from Petra, which was the metropolis of Idumea; but whether the same with this is not clear:

and their host with them, about fifteen thousand men;
to which number Gideon and his three hundred men were very unequal; and yet, faint and weary as they were, closely pursued them, attacked and conquered them. Josephus F23 very wrongly makes this number to be about 18,000:

all that were left of the hosts of the children of the east;
the Arabians, who with the Amalekites joined the Midianites in this expedition; and perhaps the remainder of the army chiefly consisted of Arabians, the others having mostly suffered in the valley of Jezreel, and at the fords of Jordan:

for there fell an hundred and twenty thousand men that drew sword;
besides infirm men, women, and children, which may reasonably be supposed; so that this host consisted of 135,000 fighting men.


FOOTNOTES:

F21 De loc. Heb. fol. 90. B.
F23 Antiqu. l. 5. c. 6. sect. 5.

Judges 8:10 In-Context

8 He went from there [to] Penuel, and he spoke similarly to them; and the men of Penuel answered him just as the men of Succoth answered.
9 And he said also to the men of Penuel, saying, "When I return {safely}, I will tear down this tower."
10 Now Zebah and Zalmunna [were] in Karkor, and their armies with them, about fifteen thousand men remained from the entire army of the people of [the] east; those that fell [in battle were] one hundred and twenty thousand {swordsmen}.
11 And Gideon went up the route of those who dwell in tents on the east of Nobah and Jogbehah, and he attacked the army when it was off its guard.
12 And Zebah and Zalmunna fled, and he pursued them and captured the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, and he routed the entire army.

Footnotes 2

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