Judges 8:24

24 And Gideon said to them, I ask one asking of you, give ye to me the earrings of your prey; for Ishmaelites were wont to have golden earrings.

Judges 8:24 Meaning and Commentary

Judges 8:24

And Gideon said unto them, I would desire a request of you,
&c.] Which he thought they would scarcely deny, and it was now a fair opportunity to make it, since they had offered him a crown, or to be king over them: and the favour he asked was,

that you would give me every man the earrings of his prey;
or, "an earring of his prey"; for it is in the singular number; every man one earring, as Abarbinel interprets it; for though they might have more, yet only one ear ring of every man is desired:

for they had golden earrings, because they were Ishmaelites;
so the Midianites and Ishmaelites are spoken of as the same, they being mixed and dwelling together, or very near each other, ( Genesis 37:25 Genesis 37:28 Genesis 37:36 ) and Kimchi accounts for it thus, why the Midianites are called Ishmaelites; because they were the sons of Keturah, and Keturah was Hagar the mother of Ishmael. The Targum calls them Arabians, and who it seems used to wear earrings, as men in the eastern countries did; see ( Genesis 35:4 ) ( Exodus 32:2 Exodus 32:3 ) . So Pliny says ^F3 in the east it was reckoned ornamental for men to wear gold in their ears.

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FOOTNOTES:

F3 Nat. Hist. l. 11. c. 37.

Judges 8:24 In-Context

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.)

24 And Gideon said to them, I ask one asking of you, give ye to me the earrings of your prey; for Ishmaelites were wont to have golden earrings.

25 Which answered, We shall give (you them) most gladly. And they spreaded forth a mantle on the earth, and casted forth therein [the] earrings of the prey;

26 and the weight of the earrings that he asked (for) was a thousand and seven hundred shekels of gold, without [the] ornaments, and brooches, and cloak of purple, which the kings of Midian were wont to use, and besides [the] golden bands of camels (and without the gold bands for the camels).