Judges 8

Zebah and Zalmunna

1 Now the Ephraimites asked Gideon, “Why have you treated us like this? Why didn’t you call us when you went to fight Midian?” And they challenged him vigorously.

2 But he answered them, “What have I accomplished compared to you? Aren’t the gleanings of Ephraim’s grapes better than the full grape harvest of Abiezer?

 3 God gave Oreb and Zeeb, the Midianite leaders, into your hands. What was I able to do compared to you?” At this, their resentment against him subsided.

4 Gideon and his three hundred men, exhausted yet keeping up the pursuit, came to the Jordan and crossed it. 

5 He said to the men of Sukkoth, “Give my troops some bread; they are worn out, and I am still pursuing Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian.”

6 But the officials of Sukkoth said, “Do you already have the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna in your possession? Why should we give bread to your troops?”

7 Then Gideon replied, “Just for that, when the Lord has given Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand, I will tear your flesh with desert thorns and briers.”

8 From there he went up to Peniel[a] and made the same request of them, but they answered as the men of Sukkoth had. 

9 So he said to the men of Peniel, “When I return in triumph, I will tear down this tower.”

10 Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor with a force of about fifteen thousand men, all that were left of the armies of the eastern peoples; a hundred and twenty thousand swordsmen had fallen. 

11 Gideon went up by the route of the nomads east of Nobah and Jogbehah and attacked the unsuspecting army. 

12 Zebah and Zalmunna, the two kings of Midian, fled, but he pursued them and captured them, routing their entire army.

13 Gideon son of Joash then returned from the battle by the Pass of Heres. 

14 He caught a young man of Sukkoth and questioned him, and the young man wrote down for him the names of the seventy-seven officials of Sukkoth, the elders of the town. 

15 Then Gideon came and said to the men of Sukkoth, “Here are Zebah and Zalmunna, about whom you taunted me by saying, ‘Do you already have the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna in your possession? Why should we give bread to your exhausted men?’” 

16 He took the elders of the town and taught the men of Sukkoth a lesson by punishing them with desert thorns and briers. 17 He also pulled down the tower of Peniel and killed the men of the town.

18 Then he asked Zebah and Zalmunna, “What kind of men did you kill at Tabor?”

“Men like you,” they answered, “each one with the bearing of a prince.”

19 Gideon replied, “Those were my brothers, the sons of my own mother. As surely as the Lord lives, if you had spared their lives, I would not kill you.” 

20 Turning to Jether, his oldest son, he said, “Kill them!” But Jether did not draw his sword, because he was only a boy and was afraid.

21 Zebah and Zalmunna said, “Come, do it yourself. ‘As is the man, so is his strength.’” So Gideon stepped forward and killed them, and took the ornamentsoff their camels’ necks.

Gideon’s Ephod

22 The Israelites said to Gideon, “Rule over us—you, your son and your grandson—because you have saved us from the hand of Midian.”

23 But Gideon told them, “I will not rule over you, nor will my son rule over you. The Lord will rule over you.” 

24 And he said, “I do have one request, that each of you give me an earring from your share of the plunder.” (It was the custom of the Ishmaelites to wear gold earrings.)

25 They answered, “We’ll be glad to give them.” So they spread out a garment, and each of them threw a ring from his plunder onto it. 

26 The weight of the gold rings he asked for came to seventeen hundred shekels,[b] not counting the ornaments, the pendants and the purple garments worn by the kings of Midian or the chainsthat were on their camels’ necks. 

27 Gideon made the gold into an ephod, which he placed in Ophrah, his town. All Israel prostituted themselves by worshiping it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and his family.

Gideon’s Death

28 Thus Midian was subdued before the Israelites and did not raise its head again. During Gideon’s lifetime, the land had peace forty years.

29 Jerub-Baal son of Joash went back home to live. 

30 He had seventy sons of his own, for he had many wives.

 31 His concubine, who lived in Shechem, also bore him a son, whom he named Abimelek. 

32 Gideon son of Joash died at a good old age and was buried in the tomb of his father Joash in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

33 No sooner had Gideon died than the Israelites again prostituted themselves to the Baals. They set up Baal-Berith as their god 

34 and did not remember the Lordtheir God, who had rescued them from the hands of all their enemies on every side. 

35 They also failed to show any loyalty to the family of Jerub-Baal (that is, Gideon) in spite of all the good things he had done for them.

Footnotes:

1. Judges 8:8 Hebrew Penuel, a variant of Peniel; also in verses 9 and 17
2. Judges 8:26 That is, about 43 pounds or about 20 kilograms

Obsersvation Questions

When did the resentment against Gideon subside? (verse 1-3)

Were Gideon and his three hundred men exhausted when they came up to the Jordan? (verse 4)

What events happened with the people of Sukkoth? (verses 5-7, 14-16)

What events happened with the people of Peniel? (verses 8-9, 17

How many swordsmen had fallen by the time Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor with a force of about fifteen thousand men? (Verse 10)

What route did Gideon take when he attacked the unsuspecting army? (verse 11)

Was the entire army of Zebah and Zalmunna routed? (verse 12)

What route did Gideon travel by when he returned from battle? (verse 13)

Who did Gideon question in verse 14?

Would Gideon have spared Zebah and Zalmunna if they had spared Gideon's brothers? (verse 19)

Why didn't Jether draw his sword? (verse 20)

What did Zebah and Zalmunna say when Jether didn't draw his sword? (verse 21)

Did the Israelites want Gideon to rule over them? (verse 22)

Did Gideon concede to rule over Israel? (verse 23)

Who's custom was it to wear gold earrings? (verse 24)

How were the rings collected? (verse 25)

What was the weight of the gold rings that Gideon asked for? (verse 26)

Who prostituted themselves by worshiping the ephod? (verse 27)

How long did the land have peace for? (verse 28)

Where did Jerub Ball go to live? (verse 29) (Judges 6)

How may sons did Gideon have? (verse 30)

Did Gideon have many wives? (verse 30)

Did Gideon's concubine also bear him a son? (verse 31)

What happened when Gideon died? (verse 33-35)

Who rescued the Israelites from the hands of all their enemies on every side? (verse 34)

Had Gideon done good things for Israel? (verse 35)

Thoughts

 But Gideon told them, “I will not rule over you, nor will my son rule over you. The Lord will rule over you.”  - verse 23