next chapter
* * *
a Heb Asherah
b Heb Asherah
c Heb Asherah
d Heb Asherah
e Heb he
6.1–8.35 Gideon (also identified in ch. 7 as Jerubbaal) mobilizes several central hill-country and Galilean tribes against annual raiding parties from east of the Jordan (Midianites, Amalekites, and other easterners).
6.1–10 This introduction uses the now familiar framework (apostasy, oppression, appeal for help; see note on 2.11–23) in vv. 1–6. Exploitation originating from distant oases was made possible by the recent domestication of the camel.
6.2 Midian was a desert confederation sometimes in alliance (Ex 2.15–4.31; 18.1–27) and sometimes at war (Num 25–31) with Israel.
6.3 Amalekites were traditional enemies during the wilderness era (Ex 17.8–16).
6.5 Locusts, a common image to describe catastrophic destruction (7.12; Isa 33.4; Jer 51.14; Joel 1.6–7; Nah 3.15).
6.7–10 The warning in 2.3 that other gods would be a snare is coming true. This time, when Israelites cried, instead of the expected deliverer the Lord sends a prophet who delivers an indictment, as the angel of the Lord did in 2.1–5.
6.11–32 The Lord receives a new altar (vv. 11–24), and an altar of Baal is destroyed (vv. 25–32). Gideon is slow to recognize the voice of the Lord, fore-shadowing Israel’s problem in ch. 10.
6.11 Gideon (in contrast to Othniel, Ehud, and Deborah) is first approached by the angel of the LORD, a visible manifestation of the Lord’s presence in human form, who at points becomes transparent to the Lord himself. Ophrah, a village of Manasseh not far from Shechem. Joash presides over a pagan shrine. Abiezrite. See Josh 17.2. Gideon means “Hewer” or “Hacker” in Hebrew, probably a nickname based on his reforming activities. Under normal circumstances, wheat would be threshed on a windy hilltop, not in a wine press.
6.12 The designation mighty warrior sounds ironic; it does not describe Gideon in chs. 6–7 very well.
6.13 The pronoun you in v. 12 is singular. Gideon misses the point and replies about the plight of us.
6.14 The figure of the angel of the Lord becomes transparent to the LORD himself.
6.15 Objections are a customary feature of call stories (cf. Moses, Ex 3.11; Saul, 1 Sam 9.21).
6.16–17 I will be with you is directly reminiscent of Ex 3, as is the request for a sign to certify the Lord’s call.
6.19 An ephah of flour, more than a bushel, signals Gideon’s commendably generous hospitality.
6.22 Gideon’s response is typical (Gen 32.30).
6.24 One reason the tradition preserved this story was to validate a local altar of sacrifice and explain its name. Peace (Hebrew shalom) implies comprehensive well-being, individual and communal.
6.25 The dismantling of Joash’s altar and the hacking down of the sacred pole associated with the goddess Asherah will provide legitimacy for Gideon’s alternate name, Jerubbaal (v. 32).
6.26 Using the sacred pole of Asherah as firewood was a disrespectful and deliberate desecration.
6.27 Gideon remains an ambivalent figure (cf. vv. 15, 17). He is prosperous enough to command the assistance of ten…servants but is only brave enough to act by night.
6.30–31 Joash, facing the zeal of his son, is no longer an avid supporter of Baal. The case against Baal is self-evident. A god unable to defend its own altar deserves no defense from others.
6.32 Reflecting his father’s challenge in v. 31, Gideon’s assertive action vindicates his name Jerubbaal, Hebrew, “Let Baal Contend.”
6.33–40 Gideon remains an ambivalent hero. He assumes military leadership, but repeatedly seeks confirmation by a sign.
6.34–35 The spirit of the LORD finally prods Gideon to action. Beginning with the Abiezrites, his home clan, Gideon rallies warriors from his own tribe, Manasseh, and from the three Galilean tribes, Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali.
6.36–40 Gideon demands further proof that God (not “the LORD” in these verses) really meant what was said in the recruitment scene (vv. 11–24). That a fleece should absorb dew overnight is no surprise. The true miracle is the reverse, and that is what Gideon requires in his second request. Gideon’s repeated quest for certainty seems to reflect his ambivalent character (6.15, 17, 27); however, a divine assurance of victory was also fundamental to the tradition of sacral war.
JUDGES 7
Gideon Surprises and Routs the Midianites
1Then Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) and all the troops that were with him rose early and encamped beside the spring of Harod; and the camp of Midian was north of them, belowa the hill of Moreh, in the valley.
2The LORD said to Gideon, “The troops with you are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hand. Israel would only take the credit away from me, saying, ‘My own hand has delivered me.’ 3Now therefore proclaim this in the hearing of the troops, ‘Whoever is fearful and trembling, let him return home.’” Thus Gideon sifted them out;b twenty-two thousand returned, and ten thousand remained.
4Then the LORD said to Gideon, “The troops are still too many; take them down to the water and I will sift them out for you there. When I say, ‘This one shall go with you,’ he shall go with you; and when I say, ‘This one shall not go with you,’ he shall not go.” 5So he brought the troops down to the water; and the LORD said to Gideon, “All those who lap the water with their tongues, as a dog laps, you shall put to one side; all those who kneel down to drink, putting their hands to their mouths,c you shall put to the other side.” 6The number of those that lapped was three hundred; but all the rest of the troops knelt down to drink water. 7Then the LORD said to Gideon, “With the three hundred that lapped I will deliver you, and give the Midianites into your hand. Let all the others go to their homes.” 8So he took the jars of the troops from their hands,d and their trumpets; and he sent all the rest of Israel back to their own tents, but retained the three hundred. The camp of Midian was below him in the valley.
9That same night the LORD said to him, “Get up, attack the camp; for I have given it into your hand. 10But if you fear to attack, go down to the camp with your servant Purah; 11and you shall hear what they say, and afterward your hands shall be strengthened to attack the camp.” Then he went down with his servant Purah to the outposts of the armed men that were in the camp. 12The Midianites and the Amalekites and all the people of the east lay along the valley as thick as locusts; and their camels were without number, countless as the sand on the seashore. 13When Gideon arrived, there was a man telling a dream to his comrade; and he said, “I had a dream, and in it a cake of barley bread tumbled into the camp of Midian, and came to the tent, and struck it so that it fell; it turned upside down, and the tent collapsed.” 14And his comrade answered, “This is no other than the sword of Gideon son of Joash, a man of Israel; into his hand God has given Midian and all the army.”
15When Gideon heard the telling of the dream and its interpretation, he worshiped; and he returned to the camp of Israel, and said, “Get up; for the LORD has given the army of Midian into your hand.” 16After he divided the three hundred men into three companies, and put trumpets into the hands of all of them, and empty jars, with torches inside the jars, 17he said to them, “Look at me, and do the same; when I come to the outskirts of the camp, do as I do. 18When I blow the trumpet, I and all who are with me, then you also blow the trumpets around the whole camp, and shout, ‘For the LORD and for Gideon!’”
19So Gideon and the hundred who were with him came to the outskirts of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, when they had just set the watch; and they blew the trumpets and smashed the jars that were in their hands. 20So the three companies blew the trumpets and broke the jars, holding in their left hands the torches, and in their right hands the trumpets to blow; and they cried, “A sword for the LORD and for Gideon!” 21Every man stood in his place all around the camp, and all the men in camp ran; they cried out and fled. 22When they blew the three hundred trumpets
, the LORD set every man’s sword against his fellow and against all the army; and the army fled as far as Beth-shittah toward Zererah,e as far as the border of Abel-meholah, by Tabbath. 23And the men of Israel were called out from Naphtali and from Asher and from all Manasseh, and they pursued after the Midianites.
24Then Gideon sent messengers throughout all the hill country of Ephraim, saying, “Come down against the Midianites and seize the waters against them, as far as Beth-barah, and also the Jordan.” So all the men of Ephraim were called out, and they seized the waters as far as Beth-barah, and also the Jordan. 25They captured the two captains of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb; they killed Oreb at the rock of Oreb, and Zeeb they killed at the wine press of Zeeb, as they pursued the Midianites. They brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon beyond the Jordan.
next chapter
* * *
a Heb from
b Cn: Heb home, and depart from Mount Gilead’”
c Heb places the words putting their hands to their mouths after the word lapped in verse 6
d Cn: Heb So the people took provisions in their hands
e Another reading is Zeredah
7.1–23 The Lord’s rout of the Midianites comprises three scenes: the reduction of the Israelite force (vv. 1–8), an enemy sentry’s dream (vv. 9–15), and the rout of the Midianites (vv. 16–23).
7.1 The spring of Harod is near the foot of Mount Gilboa in the southeastern Jezreel Valley.
7.2 The Lord alone as Divine Warrior wins the victory in sacral war.
7.3 Whoever…trembling. See list of exemptions in Deut 20.5–8.
7.5–7 The Hebrew text of the test is perplexing, and the reason for preferring those who lap over those who kneel (v. 5) is unclear. Is the Lord choosing the more alert or the less cautious? The latter would serve to make it plain that victory is due to divine action, not to human initiative or prowess. The important thing is that lapping is the minority choice, so that only a small portion of the original ten thousand remains.
7.8 Those who remain acquire the provisions of those who go home (following the Hebrew text). The abrupt mention of trumpets anticipates vv. 16–17.
7.9–14 The story continues to emphasize Gideon’s fearful hesitancy and the Lord’s providential response, this time via a pagan sentry’s dream.
7.10 Gideon’s ambiguous character is reflected by the likelihood that he would still fear to attack even after the divine promise in v. 9. The servant (Hebrew na‘ar, generally translated “young man”) is Gideon’s personal attendant and armor bearer (see 9.54; 1 Sam 14.1, 6).
7.13 The dream’s symbolism fits: barley bread for Israelite farmers and a tent (presumably the leader’s command center) for Midianite nomads.
7.15 Worshiped, i.e., fell prostrate.
7.16 Dividing the troops into three companies allows them to surround the enemy. With trumpets, empty jars, and torches, the Israelites are prepared to create a spectacular commotion, but there is no mention of weapons. Torches remain inside the jars to maintain the element of surprise.
7.19 Attacking at the beginning of the middle watch would have a great psychological impact.
7.21–22 The classic weapon of the Divine Warrior is panic (4.15). The “day of Midian” was a proverbial example of sacral-war victory (Ps 83.9–11; Isa 9.4). The splintered enemy forces retreat southeastward to escape across the Jordan.
7.23 The Israelite militia from Naphtali, Asher, and Manasseh are mobilized to hunt down the panicked enemy.
7.24–8.3 These verses are transitional. Gideon advocates further mobilization against the Midianites and leads the militia across the Jordan.
7.24 Gideon calls out troops from Ephraim to block enemy escape eastward across the Jordan.
7.25 Oreb and Zeeb, Hebrew, “Raven” and “Wolf.” See Ps 83.9–12; Isa 10.26. Gideon has already crossed over and is beyond the Jordan (but contrast 8.4).
JUDGES 8
Gideon’s Triumph and Vengeance
1Then the Ephraimites said to him, “What have you done to us, not to call us when you went to fight against the Midianites?” And they upbraided him violently. 2So he said to them, “What have I done now in comparison with you? Is not the gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim better than the vintage of Abiezer? 3God has given into your hands the captains of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb; what have I been able to do in comparison with you?” When he said this, their anger against him subsided.
4Then Gideon came to the Jordan and crossed over, he and the three hundred who were with him, exhausted and famished.a 5So he said to the people of Succoth, “Please give some loaves of bread to my followers, for they are exhausted, and I am pursuing Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian.” 6But the officials of Succoth said, “Do you already have in your possession the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna, that we should give bread to your army?” 7Gideon replied, “Well then, when the LORD has given Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand, I will trample your flesh on the thorns of the wilderness and on briers.” 8From there he went up to Penuel, and made the same request of them; and the people of Penuel answered him as the people of Succoth had answered. 9So he said to the people of Penuel, “When I come back victorious, I will break down this tower.”
10Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor with their army, about fifteen thousand men, all who were left of all the army of the people of the east; for one hundred twenty thousand men bearing arms had fallen. 11So Gideon went up by the caravan route east of Nobah and Jogbehah, and attacked the army; for the army was off its guard. 12Zebah and Zalmunna fled; and he pursued them and took the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, and threw all the army into a panic.
13When Gideon son of Joash returned from the battle by the ascent of Heres, 14he caught a young man, one of the people of Succoth, and questioned him; and he listed for him the officials and elders of Succoth, seventy-seven people. 15Then he came to the people of Succoth, and said, “Here are Zebah and Zalmunna, about whom you taunted me, saying, ‘Do you already have in your possession the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna, that we should give bread to your troops who are exhausted?’” 16So he took the elders of the city and he took thorns of the wilderness and briers and with them he trampledb the people of Succoth. 17He also broke down the tower of Penuel, and killed the men of the city.
18Then he said to Zebah and Zalmunna, “What about the men whom you killed at Tabor?” They answered, “As you are, so were they, every one of them; they resembled the sons of a king.” 19And he replied, “They were my brothers, the sons of my mother; as the LORD lives, if you had saved them alive, I would not kill you.” 20So he said to Jether his firstborn, “Go kill them!” But the boy did not draw his sword, for he was afraid, because he was still a boy. 21Then Zebah and Zalmunna said, “You come and kill us; for as the man is, so is his strength.” So Gideon proceeded to kill Zebah and Zalmunna; and he took the crescents that were on the necks of their camels.
Gideon’s Idolatry
22Then the Israelites said to Gideon, “Rule over us, you and your son and your grandson also; for you have delivered us out of the hand of Midian.” 23Gideon said to them, “I will not rule over you, and my son will not rule over you; the LORD will rule over you.” 24Then Gideon said to them, “Let me make a request of you; each of you give me an earring he has taken as booty.” (For the enemyc had golden earrings, because they were Ishmaelites.) 25“We will willingly give them,” they answered. So they spread a garment, and each threw into it an earring he had taken as booty. 26The weight of the golden earrings that he requested was one thousand seven hundred shekels of gold (apart from the crescents and the pendants and the purple garments worn by the kings of Midian, and the collars that were on the necks of their camels). 27Gideon made an ephod of it and put it in his town, in Ophrah; and all Israel prostituted themselves to it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and to his family. 28So Midian was subdued before the Israelites, and they lifted up their heads no more. So the land had rest forty years in the days of Gideon.
Death of G
ideon
29Jerubbaal son of Joash went to live in his own house. 30Now Gideon had seventy sons, his own offspring, for he had many wives. 31His concubine who was in Shechem also bore him a son, and he named him Abimelech. 32Then Gideon son of Joash died at a good old age, and was buried in the tomb of his father Joash at Ophrah of the Abiezrites.
33As soon as Gideon died, the Israelites relapsed and prostituted themselves with the Baals, making Baal-berith their god. 34The Israelites did not remember the LORD their God, who had rescued them from the hand of all their enemies on every side; 35and they did not exhibit loyalty to the house of Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) in return for all the good that he had done to Israel.
next chapter
* * *
a Gk: Heb pursuing
b With verse 7, Compare Gk: Heb he taught
c Heb they
8.1 Ephraimites complain about not having been included in the original summons (6.35; 7.23).
8.2–3 Gideon talks the Ephraimites out of their resentment by complimenting them: the least worthy (gleaning) of Ephraim are better than the very best (vintage) the clan Abiezer can offer. Gideon is either coining a proverb or adapting one.
8.4–21 The focus shifts from the somewhat miraculous recruitment of Gideon to scenes of Gideon in action. The Lord does not participate apart from being referred to by Gideon (vv. 7, 19). The purpose of this section is to show what becomes of the young reformer who has become a commander.
8.5 Succoth (“Huts”) is Tell Deir ‘Alla in the Jordan Valley. The kings Zebah and Zalmunna seem to represent a parallel but different tradition from the story of the captains Oreb and Zeeb (7.25; 8.3).
HarperCollins Study Bible Page 107
