Judges 8 · WEB
Gideon's Victory and Decline
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The men of Ephraim said to him, "Why have you treated us this way, that you didn't call us when you went to fight with Midian?" They rebuked him sharply.
2He said to them, "What have I now done in comparison with you? Isn't the gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim better than the vintage of Abiezer?
3God has delivered into your hand the princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb. What was I able to do in comparison with you?" Then their anger was abated toward him when he said that.
4Gideon came to the Jordan and passed over, he and the three hundred men who were with him, faint yet pursuing.
5He said to the men of Succoth, "Please give loaves of bread to the people who follow me, for they are faint; and I am pursuing Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian."
6The princes of Succoth said, "Is the hand of Zebah and Zalmunna now in your hand, that we should give bread to your army?"
7Gideon said, "Therefore when Yahweh has delivered Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand, then I will tear your flesh with the thorns of the wilderness and with briers."
8He went up from there to Penuel, and spoke to them in the same way; and the men of Penuel answered him as the men of Succoth had answered him.
9He spoke also to the men of Penuel, saying, "When I come back in peace, I will break down this tower."
10Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor, and their armies with them, about fifteen thousand men, all who were left of all the army of the children of the east; for there had fallen a hundred and twenty thousand men who drew the sword.
11Gideon went up by the way of those who lived in tents on the east of Nobah and Jogbehah, and struck the army; for the army was secure.
12Zebah and Zalmunna fled; and he pursued them; and he captured the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, and confused all the army.
13Gideon the son of Joash returned from the battle from the ascent of Heres.
14He caught a young man of the men of Succoth and inquired of him; and he described for him the princes of Succoth and its elders, seventy-seven men.
15He came to the men of Succoth and said, "See Zebah and Zalmunna, concerning whom you taunted me, saying, 'Is the hand of Zebah and Zalmunna now in your hand, that we should give bread to your men who are weary?'"
16He took the elders of the city, and thorns of the wilderness and briers, and with them he taught the men of Succoth.
17He broke down the tower of Penuel and killed the men of the city.
18Then he said to Zebah and Zalmunna, "What kind of men were they whom you killed at Tabor?" They answered, "They were like you. Each one resembled the children of a king."
19He said, "They were my brothers, the sons of my mother. As Yahweh lives, if you had saved them alive, I would not kill you."
20He said to Jether his firstborn, "Get up and kill them." But the youth didn't draw his sword; for he was afraid, because he was still a youth.
21Then Zebah and Zalmunna said, "Rise up yourself and fall on us; for as the man is, so is his strength." Gideon arose and killed Zebah and Zalmunna, and took the crescents that were on their camels' necks.
22Then the men of Israel said to Gideon, "Rule over us, both you and your son, and your son's son also; for you have saved us from the hand of Midian."
23Gideon said to them, "I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you. Yahweh shall rule over you."
24Gideon said to them, "I would make a request of you, that you would each give me the earrings of his spoil." For they had golden earrings, because they were Ishmaelites.
25They answered, "We will willingly give them." They spread a garment, and every man threw the earrings of his spoil into it.
26The weight of the golden earrings that he requested was one thousand and seven hundred shekels of gold, besides the crescents, the pendants, the purple clothing that was on the kings of Midian, and besides the chains that were about their camels' necks.
27Gideon made it into an ephod and put it in his city, in Ophrah; and all Israel played the prostitute after it there; and it became a snare to Gideon and to his house.
28So Midian was subdued before the children of Israel, and they lifted up their head no more. The land had rest forty years in the days of Gideon.
29Jerubbaal the son of Joash went and lived in his own house.
30Gideon had seventy sons who were his own offspring; for he had many wives.
31His concubine who was in Shechem also bore him a son, and he named him Abimelech.
32Gideon the son of Joash died in a good old age, and was buried in the tomb of Joash his father, in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.
33As soon as Gideon was dead, the children of Israel turned again and played the prostitute after the Baals, and made Baal Berith their god.
34The children of Israel didn't remember Yahweh their God, who had delivered them out of the hand of all their enemies on every side;
35neither did they show kindness to the house of Jerubbaal, that is, Gideon, according to all the goodness which he had done to Israel.
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Summary
After the victory, Gideon diplomatically appeases the jealous Ephraimites and pursues the remaining Midianite kings across the Jordan, punishing the cities of Succoth and Penuel for refusing to help. He kills the kings Zebah and Zalmunna personally, avenging his brothers. The Israelites offer him a dynasty, which he nobly refuses — but then he makes a golden ephod from the plunder that becomes a spiritual snare for all Israel. His seventy sons by many wives and a concubine-born son named Abimelech set the stage for the next disaster.
Themes
- The corrupting influence of success and wealth
- Partial virtue: Gideon refuses a crown but creates an idol
- The fragility of spiritual health — Israel relapses the moment the judge dies
- Revenge and justice in tension
- The seeds of future disaster in Gideon's family arrangements
Key verses
- Judg 8:23 — “Gideon said to them, 'I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you. Yahweh shall rule over you.'”
- Judg 8:27 — “All Israel played the prostitute after it there; and it became a snare to Gideon and to his house.”
- Judg 8:33 — “As soon as Gideon was dead, the children of Israel turned again and played the prostitute after the Baals.”
Context & background
The events of Judges take place throughout Canaan — modern Israel, West Bank, and parts of Jordan and Lebanon. Succoth and Penuel were east of the Jordan River in the Jabbok Valley, in modern Jordan. The Midianite kings Zebah and Zalmunna had fled to Karkor in Transjordan. Gideon's hometown of Ophrah in the tribal territory of Manasseh was in the central highlands of modern Israel/West Bank. Shechem (where Gideon's concubine lived) is modern Nablus in the West Bank — a city that will feature prominently in chapter 9. The "ephod" here was likely a priestly garment or object used for divination, not a simple priestly apron.
Cross-references
- 1 Sam 8:7 — God tells Samuel, "They have not rejected you, but they have rejected me" — the same dynamic as Israel wanting Gideon as king
- Deut 17:17 — The law warned future kings against multiplying wives, which Gideon did despite refusing the title
- Ex 20:23 — The prohibition against making gods of gold and silver, which Gideon's ephod violated in spirit
- Gal 6:7 — "Whatever a man sows, that he will also reap" — Gideon's compromises bear bitter fruit in chapter 9
- Num 27:21 — The ephod's legitimate use was for priestly consultation with God, not as a cult object