Judges 8:13-23

13 And he turned again from battle before the rising of the sun, (And Gideon returned from the battle by way of the Ascent of Heres,)
14 and he took (hold of) a young man of the men of Succoth; and he asked him the names of the princes, and of the elder men of Succoth; and he described (to Gideon) seven and seventy men in number.
15 And he came to Succoth, and said to them, Lo, (here be) Zebah and Zalmunna! of which ye upbraided me (of whom ye upbraided me), and said, In hap the hands of Zebah and of Zalmunna be in thine hands, and therefore thou askest, that we give (some) loaves to (thy) men, that be weary and failed.
16 Therefore Gideon took the elder men of the city, and thorns and briars of (the) desert, and he rent with those, and all-brake the men of Succoth; (And so Gideon took hold of the city elders, and some thorns and briars from the desert, and he tore, or cut, them with those, and broke the men of Succoth all to pieces;)
17 also he destroyed the tower of Penuel, when the dwellers of the city were slain. (and he also destroyed the tower of Penuel, and killed the inhabitants of that city.)
18 And he said to Zebah and Zalmunna, What manner men were they, that ye killed in Tabor? Which answered, They were like thee, and one of them was as the son of a king (and one of them was like a king's son).
19 To whom Gideon said, They were (all) my brethren, the sons of my mother; (as) the Lord liveth, if ye had saved them, I would not slay you.
20 And he said to Jether, his first begotten son, Rise thou (up), and slay them. And Jether drew not his sword; for he dreaded, for he was yet a boy (But Jether would not draw out his sword; for he was afraid, for he was still a boy).
21 And Zebah and Zalmunna said (to Gideon), Rise thou (up thyself), and fall on us; for thou art by the age and strength of [a] man. (So) Gideon rose (up), and killed Zebah and Zalmunna, and (then he) took the ornaments, and (the) bells, with which the necks of (the) kings? camels be wont to be made fair.
22 And all the men of Israel said to Gideon, Be thou lord of us, thou, and thy son, and the son of thy son; for thou deliveredest us from the hand of Midian.
23 To whom he said, I shall not be lord of you, neither my son shall be lord on you, but the Lord shall be lord on you. (To whom he said, I shall not rule over you, nor shall my son rule over you, but the Lord shall rule over you.)

Judges 8:13-23 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO JUDGES 8

In this chapter we are told how Gideon pacified the Ephraimites, who complained because they were not sent unto to fight the Midianites, Jud 8:1-3 how he pursued the Midianites, until he took their two kings, and on his return chastised the men of Succoth and Penuel, because they refused to relieve his men with food as they were pursuing, Jud 8:4-17 how he slew the two kings of Midian, Jud 8:18-21 and after this conquest refused to take the government of Israel when offered him, Jud 8:22,23 how he requested of the Israelites the earrings they had taken from the Midianites, with which he in weakness made an ephod, which proved a snare to his house, Jud 8:24-27 how that the people were in peace forty years during his life, and that he had a numerous issue, and died in a good old age, Jud 8:28-32 but that after his death the Israelites fell into idolatry, and were ungrateful to his family, Jud 8:33-35.

Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.