Judges 8:19
Ver. 19. And he said, they were my brethren, even the sons of my mother,.... His brethren by his mother's side, but not by his father's side; or the phrase
the sons of my mother is added, to show that he did not mean brethren in a large sense, as all the Israelites were, but in a strict sense, being so nearly related as his mother's children:as the Lord liveth, if ye had saved them alive, I would not slay you; for not being Canaanites, he was not obliged by the law of God to put them to death, and by the law of nations, as they had surrendered themselves, and were made prisoners of war, they ought to have been saved; but as they appeared to be murderers, and had slain the Israelites in cold blood, they deserved to die; and the persons they had slain being Gideon's brethren, he was the avenger of blood, and it became him to put them to death. Judges 8:20Ver. 20. And he said unto Jether, his firstborn, up, and slay them,.... Being the near kinsman of his father's brethren, whom these kings had slain, was a proper person to avenge their blood on them; and the rather Gideon might order him to do it, for the greater mortification of the kings, to die by the hand of a youth; and for the honour of his son, to be the slayer of two kings, and to inure him to draw his sword against the enemies of Israel, and embolden him to do such exploits:but the youth drew not his sword, for he feared, because he was yet a youth; his not drawing is sword was not out of disobedience to his father, but through fear of the kings; not of their doing him any harm, being bound; but there was perhaps a ferocity, as well as majesty in their countenances, which made the young man timorous and fearful. Judges 8:21Ver. 21. Then Zebah and Zalmunna said, rise thou and fall upon us,.... Since they must die, they chose rather to die by the hand of so great a man and valiant a commander as Gideon, which was more honourable than to die by the hand of a youth:for as the man is, so is his strength; signifying, that as he was a stout able man, he had strength sufficient to dispatch them at once, which his son had not, and therefore they must have died a lingering and painful death: wherefore as they consulted their honour, so their ease, in desiring to die by the hand of Gideon:and Gideon arose, and slew Zebah and Zalmunna; nor was it unusual in those early times for great personages, as judges and generals, to be executioners of others, as were Samuel and Benaiah, 1Sa 15:33and took away the ornaments that were on their camels' necks; the Targum calls them chains, as in Jud 8:26 no doubt of gold; so the horses of King Latinus {b} had golden poitrels or collars hanging down their breasts. They were, according to Jarchi, Kimchi, and Ben Gersom, in the form of the moon; see Isa 3:18 some have thought that these were worn in honour of Astarte, or the moon, the goddess of the Phoenicians, from whom these people had borrowed that idolatry.{b} Virg. Aeneid. l. 7. v. 278. Judges 8:22Ver. 22. Then the men of Israel said unto Gideon,.... Some time after his return, the chief men of Israel having met in a body, and consulted matters among themselves, sent a deputation to Gideon with an offer of the government of them:rule thou over us, both thou and thy son, and thy son's son also; by which they meant, that he would take the kingly government of them, and which they proposed to settle in his posterity for ages to come; for, as a judge in Israel, he had a sort of rule and government of them under God already, but amounted not to regal power and authority; and this was what the people of Israel were fond of, that they might be like their neighbours; and this they tempted Gideon with, who had done such very wonderful and extraordinary things for them, which they allege as a reason:for thou hast delivered us from the hand of Midian; from the bondage they were in to them, and therefore fit to be a king over them. Judges 8:23Ver. 23. And Gideon said unto them, I will not rule over you,.... Not that he declined the government of them as a judge, to which he was raised of God, but as a king, for which he had no authority and call from God; the choice of a king belonging to him, and not to the people:neither shall my son rule over you; which Abarbinel thinks he spake as a prophet, and under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit; for after his death neither Jether his eldest son, nor any of the rest of his legitimate sons, ruled over them; for they were all slain by Abimelech, the son of his concubine, who was made king:the Lord shall rule over you; as he did; their government was a theocracy, which they would have changed, but Gideon would not agree to it. Judges 8:24Ver. 24. And Gideon said unto them, I would desire a request of you,.... 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, Ge 37:25 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 Ge 35:4. So Pliny says {c} in the east it was reckoned ornamental for men to wear gold in their ears.{c} Nat. Hist. l. 11. c. 37. Judges 8:25Ver. 25. And they answered, we will willingly give them,.... Or, "in giving we will give" {d}; give them with all their hearts, most freely and cheerfully:and they spread a garment, and did cast therein every man the earrings of his prey; every man one, which would amount to no more than three hundred; though perhaps those who joined in the pursuit might take many more, or otherwise the weight of them would not amount to what in the next verse they are said to weigh.{d} Ntn Nwtn "dando dabimus", Pagninus, Montanus. Judges 8:26Ver. 26. And the weight of the golden earrings he requested was one thousand and seven hundred shekels of gold,.... Which, as Schcuchzer {e} computes, was eight hundred and ten ounces, five drachms, one scruple, and ten grains, of the weight of physicians; but as reckoned by Moatanus {f} amounted to eight hundred and fifty ounces, and were of the value of 6800 crowns of gold; and, according to Waserus {g}, it amounted to 3400 Hungarian pieces of gold, and of their money at Zurich upwards of 15,413 pounds, and of our money 2,380 pounds:besides ornaments; such as were upon the necks of the camels, Jud 8:21 for the same word is used here as there:and collars; the Targum renders it a crown, and Ben Melech says in the Arabic language the word signifies clear crystal; but Kimchi and Ben Gersom take them to be golden vessels, in which they put "stacte", or some odoriferous liquor, and so were properly smelling bottles:and purple raiment that was on the kings of Midian; which it seems was the colour that kings wore, as they now do; so Strabo {h} says of the kings of Arabia, that they are clothed in purple:and besides the chains that were about their camels' necks; which seem to be different from the other ornaments about them, since another word is here used; now all these seem to have been what fell to his share, as the general of the army, and not what were given him by the people.{e} Physica Sacra, vol. 3. p. 468. {f} Tubal Cain, p. 15. {g} De Numis. Heb. l. 2. c. 10. {h} Geograph. l. 16. p. 539. Judges 8:27Ver. 27. And Gideon made an ephod thereof,.... That is, of some of this gold; for such a quantity could never have been expanded on an ephod only, even taking it not for a linen ephod, but such an one as the high priest wore, made of gold, of blue, purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, with curious work, together with a curious girdle of the same work; unless we suppose such a breastplate with it, of twelve precious stones, as Aaron had; and with little images of teraphim or cherubim in it, as Dr. Spencer thinks {i}. The Jewish commentators generally understand this ephod to be made as a memorial of the great salvation God had wrought by his hands for Israel, and of the wonderful things done by him; so Jarchi, Kimchi, and Ben Gersom; but such a garment, whether worn by him, or hung up in some certain place, seems not so proper and pertinent to perpetuate the memory of his victories, as a monument or pillar would have been; it looks therefore more likely to be done with a religious view, which afterwards was perverted to superstitious uses; and whereas Gideon had built an altar already by the command of God, and had sacrificed upon it, he might think himself authorized as a priest, and therefore provided this ephod for himself; or however for a priest he might think of taking into his family, and so use it as an oracle to consult upon special occasions, without going to Shiloh, the Ephraimites having displeased him in their rough expostulations with him; and so R. Isaiah interprets it of a kind of divination or oracle which gave answers:and put it in his city, even in Ophrah; hung it up in some proper place as a monument of his victories, as is generally thought; or in a structure built on purpose for it, to which he might resort as to an oracle:and all Israel went thither a whoring after it: made an idol of it and worshipped it, and so committed spiritual fornication, which is idolatry. Some render it, "after him" {k}; not after the ephod, but after Gideon; that is, after his death, so Jarchi; no ill use was made of it in Gideon's time, though he cannot be altogether excused from sin and weakness in making it; but after his death it was soon made an ill use of:which thing proved a snare to Gideon and to his house; it was a snare to him if he consulted it as an oracle, which could not be without sin, since the only Urim and Thummim to be consulted were in the breastplate of the high priest at the tabernacle; and it was what led his family into idolatry, and was the ruin of it, as well as it reflected great discredit and disgrace upon so good and brave a man: some read the words {l}: "to Gideon, that is, to his house"; or family; he being so good a man himself, it is not thought that he could be ensnared into idolatry itself; though it is apparent that men as wise and as good have fallen into it, as particularly Solomon.{i} De leg. Heb. l. 3. c. 3. Dissert. 7. sect. 5. {k} wyrxa "post ipsum", Vatablus. {l} So Junius & Tremellius, Noldius, p. 280. No. 1205. Judges 8:28Ver. 28. Thus was Midian subdued before the children of Israel,.... By the hand of Gideon humbled and brought under, their power over Israel was broken, and they delivered out of their hands:so that they lifted up their heads no more; in a proud and haughty manner to insult them, and in an hostile way to invade and oppress them; such a blow was given them that they could not recover themselves, nor do we read of any effort of theirs ever after, or of their giving or attempting to give any disturbance to Israel, or any other nation:and the country was in quietness forty years in the days of Gideon; that is, the land of Canaan; it was free from wars with Midian, or any other people, and enjoyed undisturbed peace and tranquillity. According to Bishop Usher {m}, this was the fortieth year from the rest restored by Deborah and Barak; and, according to Abarbinel and others, these forty years are to be reckoned from the beginning of the servitude; that is, the seven years' oppression under the Midianites are included in them; but I cannot see that in this instance, and in others before met with, years of bondage can be counted with years of peace and prosperity, and go under that general name. The true sense seems to be, that after the Israelites had been in subjection to the Midianites for seven years, and Gideon had delivered them, that from thenceforward they had rest and quietness forty years, which in all probability was the time Gideon lived after his victories.{m} Annal. Vet. Test. p. 43. Judges 8:29Ver. 29. And Jerubbaal the son of Joash,.... That is, Gideon, Jerubbaal being another name of his; see Jud 6:32 went and dwelt in his own house; which was at Ophrah, as appears from Jud 9:5 the war being ended, he disbanded his army, and retired to his own house; not that he lived altogether a private life there, but as a judge in Israel. Judges 8:30Ver. 30. And Gideon had seventy sons of his body begotten,.... Not after his victories, for it is plain he had children before; mention is made of Jether, his firstborn, as a youth able to draw a sword, and slay with it, Jud 8:20 but this was the number of all his sons, both before and after, and a large number it was; and the phrase "of his body begotten", or "that went out of his thigh" is used to show that they were his own sons, begotten in wedlock, and not sons that he had taken into his family by adoption, or that he was father-in-law to, having married a woman or women that had sons by a former husband; but these were all his own:for he had many wives; which, though not agreeable to the original law of marriage, was customary in those times, and even with good men, and was connived at; and this is a reason accounting for his having so many sons. Judges 8:31Ver. 31. And his concubine that was in Shechem,.... Which was not an harlot, but a secondary or half wife; such were generally taken from handmaids, and of the meaner sort, and were not in such esteem as proper wives, had not the management of household affairs, only a share in the bed, and their children did not inherit. This concubine of Gideon's seems not to have been taken into his house at all, but lived at Shechem, perhaps in her father's house, and here Gideon met with her when he went to Shechem as a judge to try causes; her name, according to Josephus {l}, was Druma:she also bare him a son; as his other wives did; perhaps all the children he had were sons, and this was one over and above the seventy, and not to be reckoned into that number:whose name he called Abimelech: which signifies, "my father a king"; which he gave him either in memory of the offer made him to be king of Israel, or through foresight of what this son of his would be; or he might be moved to it by the mother from pride and vanity, and which name might afterwards inspire the young man to be made a king, as he was; and the account given of his name is because of the narrative of him in the following chapter.{l} Antiqu. l. 5. c. 7. sect. 1. Judges 8:32Ver. 32. And Gideon the son of Joash died in a good old age,.... Having lived it seems forty years after his war with Midian, blessed with a large family, much wealth and riches, great credit and esteem among his people, and in favour with God and men:and was buried in the sepulchre of Joash his father, in Ophrah of the Abiezrites; a city which belonged to the family of the Abiezrites, who were of the tribe of Manasseh, in which Gideon lived, and his father before him; and where there was a family vault, in which he was interred. In the days of this judge it is supposed {m} was the famous expedition of the Argonauts to Colchis, to fetch from thence the golden fleece.{m} Gerard. Voss Chronolog. Sacr. Dissert. 1. p. 4. Judges 8:33Ver. 33. And it came to pass, as soon as Gideon was dead, that the children of Israel turned again,.... from God, and the pure worship of him, to idolatry:and went a whoring after Baalim; the gods of the Phoenicians and Canaanites, the several Baals of other nations, the lords many which they served; these they committed spiritual whoredom with; that is, idolatry: particularlyand made Baalberith their god; which was the idol of the Shechemites, as appears from a temple being built at Shechem for it, Jud 9:4 and had its name either from Berytus, a city of Phoenicia, of which Mela {n} and Pliny {o} make mention, and where this Baal might be first worshipped; it was fifty miles from Sidon, and was in later times a seat of learning {p}; of this city was Sanchoniatho, a Phoenician historian, who is said to receive many things he writes about the Jews from Jerombalus, supposed to be Jerubbaal, or Gideon;See Gill on "Jud 6:32" and who tells {q} us, that Cronus or Ham gave this city to Neptune and the Cabiri, and who also relates {r} that Beruth is the name of a Phoenician deity. Though it may be rather this idol had its name from its supposed concern in covenants, the word "Berith" signifying a covenant; and so the Targum and Syriac version call him the lord of covenant; and the Septuagint and Vulgate Latin versions are,"and they made a covenant with Baal, that he should be their god;''as if he had his name from hence; though rather from his presiding over covenants, as Janus is said {s} to do, and from his avenging the breach of them, and rewarding those that kept them; the same with Jupiter Fidius Ultor, and Sponsor {t} with the Romans, and Horcius {u} with the Greeks.{n} De Situ Orbis, l. 1. c. 12. {o} Nat. Hist. l. 5. c. 20. {p} Eunapius in Vita Proaeresii, p. 117. {q} Apud Euseb. Evangel. Praepar. l. 1. p. 38. {r} Apud Euseb. Evangel. Praepar. l. 1. p. 36. {s} Servius in Virgil. Aeneid. l. 12. "Latonaeque genus", &c. Vid. Liv. Hist. l. 8. c. 5, 6. {t} Vid. Kipping. Antiqu. Roman. l. 1. c. 1. p. 48. {u} Pausan. Eliac. 1. sive. l. 5. p. 336. Sophocles in Philoctete, prope finem. Judges 8:34Ver. 34. And the children of Israel remembered not the Lord their God,.... Or, as the Targum, the worship of the Lord their God; they forgot him, and forsook him, which showed base ingratitude:who had delivered them out of the hands of their enemies on every side; not only out of the hands of Midian, but all other nations round about them, as Edom, Moab, Ammon, &c. not one attempting to oppress them. Judges 8:35Ver. 35. Neither showed they kindness to the house of Jerubbaal, namely Gideon,.... But, on the contrary, great unkindness and cruelty, slaying his seventy sons, as related in the following chapter:according to all the goodness which he had showed unto Israel; in exposing his life to danger for their sake, in delivering them out of the hands of their oppressors, in administering justice to them, in protecting them in their civil and religious liberties, and leaving them in the quiet and peaceable possession of them.
John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.