Discovery BoxJudges 7:19--8:21
Context7:19 Gideon took a hundred men to the edge of the camp 1 at the beginning of the middle watch, just after they had changed the guards. They blew their trumpets and broke the jars they were carrying. 2 7:20 All three units blew their trumpets and broke their jars. They held the torches in their left hand and the trumpets in their right. 3 Then they yelled, “A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!” 7:21 They stood in order 4 all around the camp. The whole army ran away; they shouted as they scrambled away. 5 7:22 When the three hundred men blew their trumpets, the Lord caused the Midianites to attack one another with their swords 6 throughout 7 the camp. The army fled to Beth Shittah on the way to Zererah. They went 8 to the border of Abel Meholah near Tabbath. 7:23 Israelites from Naphtali, Asher, and Manasseh answered the call and chased the Midianites. 9
7:24 Now Gideon sent messengers throughout the Ephraimite hill country who announced, “Go down and head off the Midianites. 10 Take control of the fords of the streams 11 all the way to Beth Barah and the Jordan River.” 12 When all the Ephraimites had assembled, 13 they took control of the fords 14 all the way to Beth Barah and the Jordan River. 7:25 They captured the two Midianite generals, Oreb and Zeeb. 15 They executed Oreb on the rock of Oreb and Zeeb 16 in the winepress of Zeeb. They chased the Midianites 17 and brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon, who was now on the other side of the Jordan River. 18
8:1 The Ephraimites said to him, “Why have you done such a thing to us? You did not summon us 19 when you went to fight the Midianites!” They argued vehemently with him. 8:2 He said to them, “Now what have I accomplished compared to you? Even Ephraim’s leftover grapes 20 are better quality than Abiezer’s harvest! 21 8:3 It was to you that God handed over the Midianite generals, Oreb and Zeeb! What did I accomplish to rival that?” 22 When he said this, they calmed down. 23
8:4 Now Gideon and his three hundred men had crossed over the Jordan River, and even though they were exhausted, they were still chasing the Midianites. 24 8:5 He said to the men of Succoth, “Give 25 some loaves of bread to the men 26 who are following me, 27 because they are exhausted. I am chasing Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian.” 8:6 The officials of Succoth said, “You have not yet overpowered Zebah and Zalmunna. So why should we give 28 bread to your army?” 29 8:7 Gideon said, “Since you will not help, 30 after the Lord hands Zebah and Zalmunna over to me, I will thresh 31 your skin 32 with 33 desert thorns and briers.” 8:8 He went up from there to Penuel and made the same request. 34 The men of Penuel responded the same way the men of Succoth had. 35 8:9 He also threatened 36 the men of Penuel, warning, 37 “When I return victoriously, 38 I will tear down this tower.”
8:10 Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor with their armies. There were about fifteen thousand survivors from the army of the eastern peoples; a hundred and twenty thousand sword-wielding soldiers had been killed. 39 8:11 Gideon went up the road of the nomads 40 east of Nobah and Jogbehah and ambushed the surprised army. 41 8:12 When Zebah and Zalmunna ran away, Gideon 42 chased them and captured the two Midianite kings, Zebah and Zalmunna. He had surprised 43 their entire army.
8:13 Gideon son of Joash returned from the battle by the pass 44 of Heres. 8:14 He captured a young man from Succoth 45 and interrogated him. The young man wrote down for him the names of Succoth’s officials and city leaders – seventy-seven men in all. 46 8:15 He approached the men of Succoth and said, “Look what I have! 47 Zebah and Zalmunna! You insulted me, saying, ‘You have not yet overpowered Zebah and Zalmunna. So why should we give bread to your exhausted men?’” 48 8:16 He seized the leaders 49 of the city, along with some desert thorns and briers; he then “threshed” the men of Succoth with them. 50 8:17 He also tore down the tower of Penuel and executed the city’s men.
8:18 He said to Zebah and Zalmunna, “Describe for me 51 the men you killed at Tabor.” They said, “They were like you. Each one looked like a king’s son.” 52 8:19 He said, “They were my brothers, the sons of my mother. I swear, 53 as surely as the Lord is alive, if you had let them live, I would not kill you.” 8:20 He ordered Jether his firstborn son, “Come on! 54 Kill them!” But Jether was too afraid to draw his sword, 55 because he was still young. 8:21 Zebah and Zalmunna said to Gideon, 56 “Come on, 57 you strike us, for a man is judged by his strength.” 58 So Gideon killed 59 Zebah and Zalmunna, and he took the crescent-shaped ornaments which were on the necks of their camels.
[7:19] 1 tn Heb “Gideon went, along with the hundred men who were with him, to the edge of the camp.”
[7:19] 2 tn Heb “that were in their hands.”
[7:20] 3 tn The Hebrew text adds, “in order to blow [them].” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[7:21] 4 tn Heb “each in his place.”
[7:22] 6 tn Heb “the
[7:22] 7 tc MT has “and throughout the camp,” but the conjunction (“and”) is due to dittography and should be dropped. Compare the ancient versions, which lack the conjunction here.
[7:22] 8 tn The words “they went” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[7:24] 10 tn Heb “to meet Midian.”
[7:24] 11 tn Heb “capture before them the waters.”
[7:24] 12 tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarification (also later in this verse).
[7:24] 13 tn Heb “And all the men of Ephraim were summoned.”
[7:24] 14 tn Heb “they captured the waters.”
[7:25] 15 sn The names Oreb and Zeeb, which mean “Raven” and “Wolf” respectively, are appropriate because the Midianites had been like scavengers and predators to Israel.
[7:25] 16 tn The Hebrew text repeats the verb “executed.” This has not been repeated in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[7:25] 18 tn Heb “beyond the Jordan.” The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text but has been supplied in the translation for clarity (also in 8:4).
[8:1] 19 tn Heb “by not summoning us.”
[8:2] 21 sn Ephraim’s leftover grapes are better quality than Abiezer’s harvest. Gideon employs an agricultural metaphor. He argues that Ephraim’s mopping up operations, though seemingly like the inferior grapes which are missed initially by the harvesters or left for the poor, are actually more noteworthy than the military efforts of Gideon’s family.
[8:3] 22 tn Heb “What was I able to do compared to you?”
[8:3] 23 tn Heb “Then their spirits relaxed from against him, when he spoke this word.”
[8:4] 24 tn Heb “And Gideon arrived at the Jordan, crossing over, he and the three hundred men who were with him, exhausted and chasing.” The English past perfect (“had crossed”) is used because this verse flashes back chronologically to an event that preceded the hostile encounter described in vv. 1-3. (Note that 7:25 assumes Gideon had already crossed the Jordan.)
[8:5] 25 tn Or perhaps, “sell.”
[8:5] 26 tn Heb “people.” The translation uses “men” because these were warriors and in ancient Israelite culture would have been exclusively males.
[8:5] 27 tn Heb “who are at my feet.”
[8:6] 28 tn Or perhaps, “sell.”
[8:6] 29 tn Heb “Are the palms of Zebah and Zalmunna now in your hand, that we should give to your army bread?” Perhaps the reference to the kings’ “palms” should be taken literally. The officials of Succoth may be alluding to the practice of mutilating prisoners or enemy corpses (see R. G. Boling, Judges [AB], 155).
[8:7] 31 sn I will thresh. The metaphor is agricultural. Threshing was usually done on a hard threshing floor. As farm animals walked over the stalks, pulling behind them a board embedded with sharp stones, the stalks and grain would be separated. See O. Borowski, Agriculture in Iron Age Israel, 63-65. Gideon threatens to use thorns and briers on his sledge.
[8:7] 33 tn This is apparently a rare instrumental use of the Hebrew preposition אֵת (’et, note the use of ב [bet] in v. 16). Some, however, argue that אֵת more naturally indicates accompaniment (“together with”). In this case Gideon envisions threshing their skin along with thorns and briers, just as the stalks and grain are intermingled on the threshing floor. See C. F. Burney, Judges, 229-30.
[8:8] 34 tn Heb “and spoke to them in the same way.”
[8:8] 35 tn Heb “The men of Penuel answered him just as the men of Succoth answered.”
[8:9] 36 tn Heb “said to.” The translation “threatened” is interpretive, but is clearly indicated by the context.
[8:9] 38 tn Or “safely.” Heb “in peace.”
[8:10] 39 tn Heb “About fifteen thousand [in number] were all the ones remaining from the army of the sons of the east. The fallen ones were a hundred and twenty thousand [in number], men drawing the sword.”
[8:11] 40 tn Heb “the ones living in tents.”
[8:11] 41 tn Heb “and attacked the army, while the army was secure.” The Hebrew term בֶטַח (vetakh, “secure”) probably means the army was undefended (see R. G. Boling, Judges [AB], 156), not suspecting an attack at that time and place.
[8:12] 42 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Gideon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[8:12] 43 tn Or “routed”; Heb “caused to panic.”
[8:14] 45 tn Heb “from the men of Succoth.”
[8:14] 46 tn Heb “wrote down for him the officials of Succoth and its elders, seventy-seven men.”
[8:15] 47 tn Heb “Look!” The words “what I have” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[8:15] 48 tn Heb “Are the palms of Zebah and Zalmunna now in your hand, that we should give to your exhausted men bread?”
[8:16] 50 tc The translation follows the reading of several ancient versions (LXX, the Syriac Peshitta, and Vulgate) in assuming the form וַיָּדָשׁ (vayyadash) from the verb דּוֹשׁ (dosh, “thresh”) as in v. 7. The MT reads instead the form וַיֹּדַע (vayyoda’, “make known”), a Hiphil form of יָדַע (yadah). In this case one could translate, “he used them [i.e., the thorns and briers] to teach the men of Succoth a lesson.”
[8:18] 52 tn Heb “each one like the appearance of sons of the king.”
[8:19] 53 tn The words “I swear” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[8:20] 55 tn Heb “did not draw his sword for he was afraid.”
[8:21] 56 tn The words “to Gideon” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
