Judges 8:1

Gideon Pursues Zebah and Zalmunna

1 The men of Ephraim said to him, "What [is] this thing you have done to us, not calling us when you went to fight against the Midianites?" And they quarreled with him severely.

Judges 8:1 Meaning and Commentary

Judges 8:1

And the men of Ephraim said unto him
To Gideon, when they brought him the heads of Oreb and Zeeb; taking this to be a proper opportunity to expostulate and chide with him, when they had done so much service:

why hast thou served us thus;
neglected them, overlooked them, which they took as a reproach to them, and as if he had bore them ill will:

that thou calledst us not when thou wentest to fight with the
Midianites?
that he did not call them first, when he called other tribes, as Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali, when they were as near or nearer, and more nearly allied, being both the descendants of Joseph; and were the tribe that Jacob had given the preference to; and being of proud spirits they envied the glory that Gideon, who was of the tribe of Manasseh, had got; and by which they were jealous he would advance that tribe above theirs:

and they did chide with him sharply;
used rough words and ill language, and threw out many keen and biting expressions, which discovered great anger and wrath, envy and ill will.

Judges 8:1 In-Context

1 The men of Ephraim said to him, "What [is] this thing you have done to us, not calling us when you went to fight against the Midianites?" And they quarreled with him severely.

2 And he said to them, "What I have done now in comparison with you? Are not the gleanings of Ephraim better than the grape harvest of Abiezer?

3 God has given into your hand the commanders of Midian, Oreb, and Zeeb. What have I been able to do in comparison with you?" And their {anger} against him subsided when {he said that}.

4 Then Gideon came to the Jordan, crossing it with the three hundred men who [were] with him, weary and pursuing.

5 He said to the men of Succoth, "Please give loaves of bread to the people who [are] {following me}, for they [are] weary, and I am pursuing Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian."

Footnotes

• [a]. Hebrew "Midianite"