# Judges 08 📖: Gideon's Final Years [[📚 Explore the Bible Books]] [[-Judges Overview]] | [[Judges 07]] | [[Judges 09]] > [!info] Table of Contents > [[#📜 Scripture Text (NET)]] > [[#📖 Verse-by-Verse Commentary]] > [[#🤔 Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights]] > [[#🧠 Chapter Summary]] > [[#✝️ Christ in This Chapter]] > [[#🔎 Key Principles / 🛟 Life Application]] > [[#💬 Discussion Questions]] > [[#✍️ Key Verses to Remember]] > [[#🔗 Related Passages/Cross Reference]] > [[#🙏 Devotional Reflection]] > [[#📂 Internal Notes]] ## 📜 Scripture Text (NET) (The NET Bible: New English Translation. Biblical Studies Press, 2005) [[#Verse 01.]] The Ephraimites said to him, “Why have you done such a thing to us? You did not summon us when you went to fight the Midianites!” They argued vehemently with him.  [[#Verse 02.]] He said to them, “Now what have I accomplished compared to you? Even Ephraim’s leftover grapes are better quality than Abiezer’s harvest!  [[#Verse 03.]] It was to you that God handed over the Midianite generals, Oreb and Zeeb! What did I accomplish to rival that?” When he said this, they calmed down. ### Gideon Tracks Down the Midianite Kings [[#Verse 04.]] Now Gideon and his 300 men had crossed over the Jordan River, and even though they were exhausted, they were still chasing the Midianites.  [[#Verse 05.]] He said to the men of Sukkoth, “Give some loaves of bread to the men who are following me, because they are exhausted. I am chasing Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian.”  [[#Verse 06.]] The officials of Sukkoth said, “You have not yet overpowered Zebah and Zalmunna. So why should we give bread to your army?”  [[#Verse 07.]] Gideon said, “Since you will not help, after the Lord hands Zebah and Zalmunna over to me, I will thresh your skin with desert thorns and briers.” [[#Verse 08.]] He went up from there to Penuel and made the same request. The men of Penuel responded the same way the men of Sukkoth had.  [[#Verse 09.]] He also threatened the men of Penuel, warning, “When I return victoriously, I will tear down this tower.” [[#Verse 10.]] Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor with their armies. There were about 15,000 survivors from the army of the eastern peoples; 120,000 sword-wielding soldiers had been killed. [[#Verse 11.]] Gideon went up the road of the nomads east of Nobah and Jogbehah and ambushed the surprised army.  [[#Verse 12.]] When Zebah and Zalmunna ran away, Gideon chased them and captured the two Midianite kings, Zebah and Zalmunna. He had surprised their entire army. [[#Verse 13.]] Gideon son of Joash returned from the battle by the pass of Heres.  [[#Verse 14.]] He captured a young man from Sukkoth and interrogated him. The young man wrote down for him the names of Sukkoth’s officials and city leaders—seventy-seven men in all.  [[#Verse 15.]] He approached the men of Sukkoth and said, “Look what I have! 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?’”  [[#Verse 16.]] He seized the leaders of the city, along with some desert thorns and briers; he then “threshed” the men of Sukkoth with them.  [[#Verse 17.]] He also tore down the tower of Penuel and executed the city’s men. [[#Verse 18.]] He said to Zebah and Zalmunna, “Describe for me the men you killed at Tabor.” They said, “They were like you. Each one looked like a king’s son.”  [[#Verse 19.]] He said, “They were my brothers, the sons of my mother. I swear, as surely as the Lord is alive, if you had let them live, I would not kill you.”  [[#Verse 20.]] He ordered Jether his firstborn son, “Come on! Kill them!” But Jether was too afraid to draw his sword, because he was still young.  [[#Verse 21.]] Zebah and Zalmunna said to Gideon, “Come on, you strike us, for a man is judged by his strength.” So Gideon killed Zebah and Zalmunna, and he took the crescent-shaped ornaments that were on the necks of their camels. ### Gideon Rejects a Crown but Makes an Ephod [[#Verse 22.]] The men of Israel said to Gideon, “Rule over us—you, your son, and your grandson. For you have delivered us from Midian’s power.”  [[#Verse 23.]] Gideon said to them, “I will not rule over you, nor will my son rule over you. The Lord will rule over you.”  [[#Verse 24.]] Gideon continued, “I would like to make one request. Each of you give me an earring from the plunder you have taken.” (The Midianites had gold earrings because they were Ishmaelites.)  [[#Verse 25.]] They said, “We are happy to give you earrings.” So they spread out a garment, and each one threw an earring from his plunder onto it.  [[#Verse 26.]] The total weight of the gold earrings he requested came to 1,700 gold shekels. This was in addition to the crescent-shaped ornaments, jewelry, purple clothing worn by the Midianite kings, and the necklaces on the camels.  [[#Verse 27.]] Gideon used all this to make an ephod, which he put in his hometown of Ophrah. All the Israelites prostituted themselves to it by worshiping it there. It became a snare to Gideon and his family. ### Gideon’s Story Ends [[#Verse 28.]] The Israelites humiliated Midian; the Midianites’ fighting spirit was broken. The land had rest for forty years during Gideon’s time.  [[#Verse 29.]] Then Jerub Baal son of Joash went home and settled down.  [[#Verse 30.]] Gideon fathered seventy sons through his many wives.  [[#Verse 31.]] His concubine, who lived in Shechem, also gave him a son, whom he named Abimelech.  [[#Verse 32.]] Gideon son of Joash died at a very old age and was buried in the tomb of his father Joash located in Ophrah of the Abiezrites. ### Israel Returns to Baal Worship [[#Verse 33.]] After Gideon died, the Israelites again prostituted themselves to the Baals. They made Baal Berith their god.  [[#Verse 34.]] The Israelites did not remain true to the Lord their God, who had delivered them from all the enemies who lived around them.  [[#Verse 35.]] They did not treat the family of Jerub Baal (that is, Gideon) fairly in return for all the good he had done for Israel. ## 📖 Verse-by-Verse Commentary ###### Overall. ###### Verse 01. ###### Verse 02. ###### Verse 03. ###### Verse 04. ###### Verse 05. ###### Verse 06. ###### Verse 07. ###### Verse 08. ###### Verse 09. ###### Verse 10. ###### Verse 11. ###### Verse 12. ###### Verse 13. ###### Verse 14. ###### Verse 15. ###### Verse 16. ###### Verse 17. ###### Verse 18. ###### Verse 19. ###### Verse 20. ###### Verse 21. ###### Verse 22. ###### Verse 23. ###### Verse 24 ###### Verse 25. ###### Verse 26. ###### Verse 27. ###### Verse 28. ###### Verse 29. ###### Verse 30. ###### Verse 31. ###### Verse 32. ###### Verse 33. ###### Verse 34. ###### Verse 35. ## 🤔 Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights 1. Gideon's saying about the gleanings of Ephraim (8:2) was a proverb meaning their small part was greater than his whole effort. 2. The officials of Sukkoth and Penuel refused to feed Gideon's tired army (8:6, 8). Both towns were east of the Jordan. 3. A young man of Sukkoth wrote down the names of seventy-seven officials (8:14), a hint that writing was more widespread than some assume. 4. Gideon executed Zebah and Zalmunna because they had killed his brothers at Tabor (8:18-21). 5. Gideon's son Jether was too young and afraid to kill the kings (8:20). 6. The crescent ornaments on the camels (8:21, 26) were moon-shaped decorations. 7. The gold earrings Gideon collected weighed 1,700 shekels (8:26), roughly 40 pounds. 8. An ephod was a priestly garment (Exodus 28:6-14). Gideon's became an object of worship. 9. Gideon had many wives and seventy sons (8:30). 10. Baal-Berith means "lord of the covenant" (8:33), a false god worshiped at Shechem. ## 🧠 Chapter Summary > [!note] 🌱 Still growing. This section is on its way. ## ✝️ Christ in This Chapter Christ is the true King of His people. Gideon rightly said the Lord would rule over Israel (8:23), and God has given Jesus a throne and a kingdom that will never end (Luke 1:32-33). ## 🔎 Key Principles / 🛟 Life Application > [!note] 🌱 Still growing. This section is on its way. ## 💬 Discussion Questions 1. Gideon calmed the angry Ephraimites with humility (8:1-3). How can a gentle answer turn away conflict in your relationships? 2. Gideon refused the crown but made an ephod that became a snare (8:23-27). How can good intentions still lead people away from God? 3. After Gideon died, Israel forgot the Lord who rescued them (8:33-35). How do we guard against forgetting God's past faithfulness? ## ✍️ Key Verses to Remember - 📖 verses 2-3: Gideon answers Ephraim with humility and calms their anger. - 📖 verse 23: Gideon says the Lord will rule over Israel. - 📖 verse 27: Gideon's ephod becomes a snare to him and his family. ## 🔗 Related Passages/Cross Reference - 🔗 [[Proverbs 15#Verse 01.|Proverbs 15:1]] - A gentle answer turns away wrath. - 🔗 [[1 Samuel 08#Verse 07.|1 Samuel 8:7]] - Israel rejects the Lord as King. - 🔗 [[Luke 01#Verse 32.|Luke 1:32-33]] - Jesus' kingdom will never end. - 🔗 [[Exodus 28#Verse 06.|Exodus 28:6]] - The ephod for the high priest. - 🔗 [[Psalm 83#Verse 11.|Psalm 83:11]] - Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb. ## 🙏 Devotional Reflection 📝 SOAP: [[Judges 08 - SOAP|Is All Fair in Love and War?]] ## 📂 Internal Notes