Jueces 8:5

5 Y dijo a los de Sucot: Yo os ruego que deis a la gente que me sigue algunos bocados de pan; porque están cansados, para que yo persiga a Zeba y a Zalmuna, reyes de Madián

Jueces 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.

Jueces 8:5 In-Context

3 Dios ha entregado en vuestras manos a Oreb y a Zeeb, príncipes de Madián: ¿y qué pude yo hacer como vosotros? Entonces el enojo de ellos contra él se aplacó, luego que él habló esta palabra

4 Y vino Gedeón al Jordán para pasar, él y los trescientos hombres que traía consigo, cansados del alcance

5 Y dijo a los de Sucot: Yo os ruego que deis a la gente que me sigue algunos bocados de pan; porque están cansados, para que yo persiga a Zeba y a Zalmuna, reyes de Madián

6 Y los principales de Sucot respondieron: ¿Está ya la mano de Zeba y Zalmuna en tu mano, para que demos pan a tu ejército

7 Y Gedeón dijo: Pues cuando el SEÑOR hubiere entregado en mi mano a Zeba y a Zalmuna, yo trillaré vuestra carne con espinas y abrojos del desierto