Judges 8 Summaries

*“Then the men of Ephraim said to him, ‘What is this thing you have done to us, not calling us when you went to fight against Midian?’ And they contended with him vigorously.” (v.1)* In this verse, th...

*“But he said to them, ‘What have I done now in comparison with you? Is not the gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim better than the vintage of Abiezer?’” (v.2)* In this verse, Gideon speaks to the tribe...

*“God has given the leaders of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb, into your hands; and what was I able to do in comparison with you?” Then their anger toward him subsided when he said that.* (v.3) In this passage...

As we read *“Then Gideon and the 300 men who were with him came to the Jordan and crossed over, weary yet pursuing”* (v.4), we see Gideon, an Israelite leader who lived around the 12th century BC in t...

Gideon, one of the judges of Israel who likely served around the early 12th century BC, travels east of the Jordan River to a place called Succoth, which lay near the Jabbok River. In this scene, he i...

The men of Succoth display an attitude of doubt toward Gideon when *“The leaders of Succoth said, ‘Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna already in your hands, that we should give bread to your army?’” ...

Gideon, a leader of Israel around the late 12th century BC, stands before the people of Succoth and declares, *“All right, when the Lord has given Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand, then I will thrash y...

*He went up from there to Penuel and spoke similarly to them; and the men of Penuel answered him just as the men of Succoth had answered.* (v.8) Gideon had just received a refusal for provisions from ...

*So he spoke also to the men of Penuel, saying, “When I return safely, I will tear down this tower.” (v.9)* Here, Gideon, a judge of Israel who lived around the late 12th century BC to early 11th cent...

*“Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor, and their armies with them, about fifteen thousand men, all who were left of the entire army of the sons of the east; for the fallen were one hundred and twent...

*So Gideon went up by the way of those who lived in tents on the east of Nobah and Jogbehah and attacked the camp when the camp was unsuspecting.* (v.11) In this passage, Gideon, a military leader and...

*“When Zebah and Zalmunna fled, he pursued them and captured the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, and routed the entire army.”* (v.12) Gideon, who served as a judge of Israel during the late s...

“*Then Gideon the son of Joash returned from the battle by the ascent of Heres.* (v.13) Gideon, who lived around the 12th century BC in ancient Israel, had just completed a successful campaign against...

*“He captured a youth from Succoth and questioned him. Then the youth wrote down for him the princes of Succoth and its elders, seventy-seven men.” (v.14)* In this verse, Gideon—who served as a judge ...

*He came to the men of Succoth and said, “Behold Zebah and Zalmunna, concerning whom you taunted me, saying, ‘Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna already in your hand, that we should give bread to you...

*He took the elders of the city, and thorns of the wilderness and briers, and he disciplined the men of Succoth with them* (v.16). This verse pictures Gideon’s direct action against the leaders of Suc...

*“He tore down the tower of Penuel and killed the men of the city”* (v.17). Gideon, who was chosen by God to deliver Israel from Midianite oppression (Judges 6–7), here completes his pursuit of Israel...

*Then he said to Zebah and Zalmunna, “What kind of men were they whom you killed at Tabor?” And they said, “They were like you, each one resembling the son of a king.”* (v.18) In this verse, Gideon ad...

Gideon confronts Zebah and Zalmunna, the Midianite kings, after pursuing them across the Jordan. He accuses them of killing his own kin, recalling their familial bond in stark and emotional terms: *“T...

Gideon, a prominent judge of Israel who lived around the late 13th to early 12th century BC, had just captured the Midianite kings Zebah and Zalmunna, displaying God’s deliverance during a turbulent p...

In the Book of Judges, Gideon (also called Jerubbaal) stands as one of Israel’s most renowned leaders, living around the late 12th century BC. Gideon rose to prominence when the people of Israel found...

Then the text says, *“Then the men of Israel said to Gideon, ‘Rule over us, both you and your son, also your son’s son, for you have delivered us from the hand of Midian’”* (v.22). This request takes ...

*“But Gideon said to them, ‘I will not rule over you, nor shall my son rule over you; the LORD shall rule over you.’” (v.23)* Gideon, who lived during the tumultuous period of the judges around the la...

*“Yet Gideon said to them, ‘I would request of you, that each of you give me an earring from his spoil.’ (For they had gold earrings, because they were Ishmaelites.)” (Judges 8:24, NASB-95)* Gideon, w...

When the people responded to Gideon’s request, Scripture says, *“They said, ‘We will surely give them.’ So they spread out a garment, and every one of them threw an earring there from his spoil” (v.25...

The passage tells us that *“The weight of the gold earrings that he requested was 1,700 shekels of gold, besides the crescent ornaments and the pendants and the purple robes which the kings of Midian ...

*“Then Gideon made it into an ephod and placed it in his city, Ophrah, and all Israel played the harlot with it there, so that it became a snare to Gideon and his household.”* (Judges 8:27) In this ve...

The verse declares that *“So Midian was subdued before the sons of Israel, and they did not lift up their heads anymore. And the land was undisturbed for forty years in the days of Gideon.”* (v.28) Th...

Gideon, who is sometimes referred to by the name Jerubbaal, has recently subdued the Midianites with a mighty display of God’s power. *Then Jerubbaal the son of Joash went and lived in his own house (...

*“Now Gideon had seventy sons who were his direct descendants, for he had many wives.”* (Judges 8:30 NASB-95) In this verse, the biblical author records the remarkable family situation of Gideon, also...

*“His concubine who was in Shechem also bore him a son, and he named him Abimelech.” (v.31)* This short verse introduces the birth of Abimelech, the son of Gideon (also called Jerubbaal), one of the m...

*“Then Gideon the son of Joash died at a ripe old age and was buried in the tomb of his father Joash in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.” (v.32)* Gideon, also known by the name Jerubbaal (Judges 7:1 NASB-95)...

*Then it came about, as soon as Gideon was dead, that the sons of Israel again played the harlot with the Baals, and made Baal-berith their god* (v.33). Even though Gideon had faithfully led Israel ag...

*Thus the sons of Israel did not remember the LORD their God, who had delivered them from the hands of all their enemies on every side* (v.34). This verse takes place in the land of Canaan, situated i...

The people of Israel, after Gideon’s remarkable leadership and victories, “*nor did they show kindness to the household of Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) in accord with all the good that he had done to I...