Judges 8:5

5 When they reached Succoth, Gideon asked the leaders of the town, “Please give my warriors some food. They are very tired. I am chasing Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian.”

Judges 8:5 Meaning and Commentary

Judges 8:5

And he said to the men of Succoth
The inhabitants of that place, the principal men of it, which lay in his way as he was pursuing the Midianites in their flight to their own country; for this was a city on the other side Jordan, and in the tribe of Gad and was inhabited by Israelites, ( Joshua 13:27 ) it had its name from the booths or tents which Jacob erected here, ( Genesis 33:17 )

give, I pray you, loaves of bread unto the people that follow me;
he did not desire them to leave their habitations and families, and join him in pursuing his and their enemies, or to furnish him and his men with arms; only to give them some provisions and that not dainties, but loaves of bread; or "morsels of bread" ^F20, and broken pieces; and these he did not demand in an authoritative manner, as he might have done as a general, but in a way of entreaty; and the arguments he uses are,

for they be faint;
for want of food, through the long fatigue from midnight hitherto, in the pursuit of the enemy, and which was not over:

and I am pursuing after Zebah and Zalmunna, kings of Midian;
who had fled with 15,000 men, and were now, as Jarchi conjectures, destroying the countries of Reuben and Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh; and now Gideon and his men were closely pursuing them, in hopes of taking them, and so complete the conquest, and thoroughly deliver Israel from their bondage on both sides Jordan, the benefits of which these men of Succoth would share with others; these were the arguments, and cogent ones they were, to persuade them to give his weary troops some refreshment.

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FOOTNOTES:

F20 (Mxl twrkk) "buccellas panis", Vatablus; "tractas panis", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator; so the Targum.

Judges 8:5 In-Context

3 God gave you victory over Oreb and Zeeb, the commanders of the Midianite army. What have I accomplished compared to that?” When the men of Ephraim heard Gideon’s answer, their anger subsided.

4 Gideon then crossed the Jordan River with his 300 men, and though exhausted, they continued to chase the enemy.

5 When they reached Succoth, Gideon asked the leaders of the town, “Please give my warriors some food. They are very tired. I am chasing Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian.”

6 But the officials of Succoth replied, “Catch Zebah and Zalmunna first, and then we will feed your army.”

7 So Gideon said, “After the LORD gives me victory over Zebah and Zalmunna, I will return and tear your flesh with the thorns and briers from the wilderness.”