Judges 8

Jud 8:1-9.

THE

EPHRAIMITES

OFFENDED, BUT

PACIFIED.

1. the men of Ephraim said unto him, Why hast thou served us

thus?--Where this complaint was made, whether before or after the

crossing of the Jordan, cannot be determined. By the overthrow of the

national enemy, the Ephraimites were benefited as largely as any of the

other neighboring tribes. But, piqued at not having been sharers in the

glory of the victory, their leading men could not repress their wounded

pride; and the occasion only served to bring out an old and deep-seated

feeling of jealous rivalry that subsisted between the tribes

(Isa 9:21).

The discontent was groundless, for Gideon acted according to divine

directions. Besides, as their tribe was conterminous with that of

Gideon, they might, had they been really fired with the flame of

patriotic zeal, have volunteered their services in a movement against

the common enemy.

2, 3. he said unto them, What have I done now in comparison of

you?--His mild and truly modest answer breathes the spirit of a great

as well as good man, who was calm, collected, and self-possessed in the

midst of most exciting scenes. It succeeded in throwing oil on the

troubled waters

(Pr 16:1),

and no wonder, for in the height of generous self-denial, it ascribes

to his querulous brethren a greater share of merit and glory than

belonged to himself

(1Co 13:4;

Php 2:3).

4. Gideon came to Jordan, and passed over--much exhausted, but eager

to continue the pursuit till the victory was consummated.

5. he said unto the men of Succoth--that is, a place of tents or

booths. The name seems to have been applied to the whole part of the

Jordan valley on the west, as well as on the east side of the river,

all belonging to the tribe of Gad (compare

Ge 33:17;

1Ki 7:46; with Jos 13:27).

Being engaged in the common cause of all Israel, he had a right to

expect support and encouragement from his countrymen everywhere.

6. the princes of Succoth said, Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now

in thine hand--an insolent as well as a time-serving reply. It was

insolent because it implied a bitter taunt that Gideon was counting

with confidence on a victory which they believed he would not gain; and

it was time-serving, because living in the near neighborhood of the

Midianite sheiks, they dreaded the future vengeance of those roving

chiefs. This contumelious manner of acting was heartless and

disgraceful in people who were of Israelitish blood.

7. I will tear your flesh with the thorns of the wilderness and with

briers--a cruel torture, to which captives were often subjected in

ancient times, by having thorns and briers placed on their naked bodies

and pressed down by sledges, or heavy implements of husbandry being

dragged over them.

8. he went up thence to Penuel, and spake unto them likewise--a

neighboring city, situated also in the territory of Gad, near the

Jabbok, and honored with this name by Jacob

(Ge 32:30, 31).

9. he spake . . ., When I come again in peace, I will break down this

tower--Intent on the pursuit, and afraid of losing time, he postponed

the merited vengeance till his return. His confident anticipation of a

triumphant return evinces the strength of his faith; and his specific

threat was probably provoked by some proud and presumptuous boast, that

in their lofty watchtower the Penuelites would set him at defiance.

Jud 8:10-27.

ZEBAH AND

ZALMUNNA

TAKEN.

10. Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor--a town on the eastern

confines of Gad. The wreck of the Midianite army halted there.

11. Gideon went up by the way of them that dwelt in tents on the

east--He tracked the fugitives across the mountain range of Gilead

to the northeast of the Jabbok, and there came upon them unexpectedly

while they were resting secure among their own nomadic tribes.

Jogbehah is supposed to be Ramoth-gilead; and, therefore, the Midianites

must have found refuge at or near Abela, "Abel-cheramim," "the plain of

the vineyards."

12. when Zebah and Zalmunna fled, he pursued after them--A third

conflict took place. His arrival at their last quarters, which was by

an unwonted path, took the fugitives by surprise, and the conquest of

the Midianite horde was there completed.

13. Gideon returned from battle before the sun was up--He seems to

have returned by a nearer route to Succoth, for what is rendered in our

version "before the sun was up," means "the heights of Heres, the

sun-hills."

14. he described--wrote the names of the seventy princes or elders. It

was from them he had received so inhospitable a treatment.

16. he took . . . the thorns of the wilderness and briers, and with

them he taught the men of Succoth--By refusing his soldiers

refreshment, they had committed a public crime, as well as an act of

inhumanity, and were subjected to a horrible punishment, which the

great abundance and remarkable size of the thorn bushes, together with

the thinness of clothing in the East, has probably suggested.

18. Then said he unto Zebah and Zalmunna, What manner of men were they

whom ye slew at Tabor?--This was one of the countless atrocities which

the Midianite chiefs had perpetrated during their seven years' lawless

occupancy. It is noticed now for the first time when their fate was

about to be determined.

each one resembled the children of a king--An Orientalism for great

beauty, majesty of appearance, uncommon strength, and grandeur of form.

19. They were my brethren, even the sons of my mother--That is,

uterine brothers; but, in all countries where polygamy prevails, "the

son of my mother" implies a closeness of relationship and a warmth of

affection never awakened by the looser term, "brother."

20. he said unto Jether his first-born, Up, and slay them--The nearest

of kin was the blood-avenger; but a magistrate might order any one to

do the work of the executioner; and the person selected was always of a

rank equal or proportioned to that of the party doomed to suffer

(1Ki 2:29).

Gideon intended, then, by the order to Jether, to put an honor on his

son, by employing him to slay two enemies of his country; and on the

youth declining, he performed the bloody deed himself.

22, 23. the men of Israel said unto Gideon, Rule thou over us . . .

Gideon said unto them, the Lord shall rule over you--Their unbounded

admiration and gratitude prompted them, in the enthusiasm of the

moment, to raise their deliverer to a throne, and to establish a royal

dynasty in his house. But Gideon knew too well, and revered too piously

the principles of the theocracy, to entertain the proposal for a

moment. Personal and family ambition was cheerfully sacrificed to a

sense of duty, and every worldly motive was kept in check by a supreme

regard to the divine honor. He would willingly act as judge, but the

Lord alone was King of Israel.

24-26. Gideon said unto them, I would desire a request of you--This was

the contribution of an earring (singular). As the ancient Arabians

(Ishmaelites and Midianites being synonymous terms,

Ge 37:25, 28)

were gorgeously adorned with barbaric pearl and gold, an immense amount

of such valuable booty had fallen into the hands of the Israelitish

soldiers. The contribution was liberally made, and the quantity of gold

given to him is estimated at £3113 sterling.

26. ornaments--crescent-like plates of gold suspended from the necks,

or placed on the breasts of the camels.

collars--rather, "earrings," or drops of gold or pearl.

purple--a royal color. The ancient, as well as modern Arabs, adorned

the necks, breasts, and legs, of their riding animals with sumptuous

housing.

27. Gideon made an ephod thereof, and put it in his city, . . .

Ophrah--That no idolatrous use was in view, nor any divisive course

from Shiloh contemplated, is manifest from

Jud 8:33.

Gideon proposed, with the gold he received, to make an ephod for his

use only as a civil magistrate or ruler, as David did

(1Ch 15:27),

and a magnificent pectoral or breastplate also. It would seem, from the

history, that he was not blamable in making this ephod, as a civil robe

or ornament merely, but that it afterward became an object to

which religious ideas were attached; whereby it proved a snare, and

consequently an evil, by perversion, to Gideon and his house

[TAYLOR, Fragments].

Jud 8:28.

MIDIAN

SUBDUED.

28. Thus was Midian subdued before the children of Israel--This

invasion of the Arab hordes into Canaan was as alarming and desolating

as the irruption of the Huns into Europe. It was the severest scourge

ever inflicted upon Israel; and both it and the deliverance under

Gideon lived for centuries in the minds of the people

(Ps 83:11).