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Judges
Chapter
8
{Verses
Chapter 7:22 - Verse 8:12:
The Pursuit and Exploitation of Victory Continues}
{Continuity
of the Destruction of Southern Column Continues}
1~~And
the men of Ephraim kept on saying unto him
{means is a confrontation},
"
'What is this thing you have done to us?'
{idiom: literally 'why have you served us thus?'}
in
not calling us when you marched
to
fight with the Midianites?"
And they did chide with him {Gideon} sharply.
{Note: This verse is out of Historical Sequence. This is the Hebrew style of writing where they complete a topic - this one being the destruction of southern column of Arabs. The action happens after Gideon destroys the Arabs fleeing East - which is coming up.}
{Note: The men of the tribe of Ephraim have always been a jealous tribe. God knew that they would try to take the credit for the victory to themselves so He directed Gideon not to call them earlier.}
2~~And
he {Gideon} said unto them,
"What
have I done now in comparison of you?
Is
not the gleaning/blending {`olelah} of the grapes of Ephraim
{when the grapes of a year are not great - not /'vintage' - then
they are blended together to make wine that is at least
drinkable}
better
than the vintage of Abiezer
{so the 'vintage' would be the best possible 'production' from the
men Abiezer}?
{Note: The men of Ephraim were either great warriors or were great in the wine industry. So, Gideon is saying that the best 'years of crops' of the clan of Abiezer is not as good as the worst 'grapes' that came from the tribe of Ephraim - a vineyard analogy they would understand. And, part of the arrogance means the arrogant loves to have their ego stoked.}
3~~
'Elohiym/Godhead has given the leaders/sheiks/princes of Midian,
Raven/Oreb
and the Wolf/Zeeb into your hands.
Now
what was I able to do in comparison with you?
{this is a gracious, humble response by Gideon - he did a lot, but it
is God Who judges}
Therefore,
their {arrogant and jealous} spirit soften toward him,
when
he had spoken these words.
{Now
Back to Chronological Order - Gideon Chases Column Fleeing East}
4~~So
Gideon and the three hundred men who were with him,
came
to Jordan {River} and crossed over . . . weary, yet pursuing
{this
group of Arabs were fleeing over the traditional caravan trail -
now they are up in the land of the Jewish tribe of Gad - Gideon's
men have had little to no sleep in the last 24 hrs and broke their
ration containers so have had no food. They are weary and are
really operating on 'soul energy' only}.
{Pursuit
of the Eastern Column of Fleeing Arabs By Gideon and His Grenadiers}
5~~And
he {Gideon} said to the men of Succoth
{the men of Gad are the 'cowboys' - the cattlemen - they normally
are great soldiers but here they are afraid of retaliation by the
Arabs IF Gideon would fail},
"Please/I
pray you, please give loaves of bread
to
the men who follow me . . . for they are weary
{notice a great leader LEADS - Gideon has taken point where he
can quickly make decisions - but it is a dangerous place to be in
battle}
and
I am pursuing after Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian."
{Note:
The men of Gad know this because the Arabs already passed through!}
6~~And
the princes of Succoth replied,
"Are
the palms of the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna
already
in your hand,
that
we should give bread to your army?"
{Note: When armies surrendered in this day, they put their hands on the ground and placed their heads in their palms. So this means, 'have you already defeated these two kings? If not they will look for retribution from us if we help you! Another manifestation of reversionism - only their lives matter - the 'better red than dead' crowd.}
7~~And
Gideon said {a harsh reproach},
"Therefore
when Jehovah/God has given Zebah and Zalmunna
into
my hand
{perfect
tense - though in the future, completed action in Gideon's
soul},
then
I will thresh/tear {duwsh} your flesh
{duwsh - to tear like when a bear would thrash its prey}
with
the cactus of the desert and with thorns.
{Note: The men of the tribe of Gad were the cowboys. They realized that Gideon was saying he was coming back to drag them through the desert where they would be torn up by the cactus plants.}
8``And he {Gideon} went up from there to Penuel, and spoke unto them in the same manner.
And the men of Penuel answered him the same as the men of Succoth had answered him.
9``And
he {Gideon} spoke also unto the men of Penuel, saying,
"When
I come again in victory/prosperity
{meaning after he defeats the Arabs},
I
will tear down this fortification
{migdal - Penuel was a fortified city}.
10~~Now
Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor,
and
their armies/hosts with them,
a
concentration of about fifteen thousand men . . .
all
that remained of the entire army
of
the sons of the east {the Bedouins} . . .
for
the casualties/'fallen ones' were
a
hundred and twenty thousand men swordsmen/
'those
who drew sword'
{so the sons of the east started with 135,000 soldiers}.
{Note: Remember that there are still 15,000 Arabs to Gideon's 301 Grenadiers. If the Arabs have a chance to set up a rear guard, Gideon would be in trouble. And, with the delay in getting food, they got that time.}
11~~And
Gideon made an assault by means of
the
'tent dwellers path'
{we would call it a gypsy trail through the mountains}
on
the east of Nobah and Jogbehah,
and
annihilated the army/host when the camp was
{thought
to be} secure.
{Note: The Arabs set up the rear guard action and waited for Gideon on the traditional caravan trail. But instead, Gideon surprised them by going on the Gypsy trail and hit them on their flank and routed them. All these Arabs were killed or captured.}
12~~And
when Zebah and Zalmunna fled,
he
{Gideon and his men} pursued them,
and
captured the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna,
and
routed/'caused to be routed' all the army/host.
{Verses
13-21: Punishment of War Criminals and Traitors}
13~~Then
Gideon, the son of Joash,
returned
from battle {of Karkor}
on
the 'assent of cherec'/'the sunrise trail' {ma`aleh cherec}.
{Note: Gideon sent back on the gypsy trail the prisoners of war with some of his men as guards. He took some of the men and split off on another mountain trail called the 'sunrise trail' to come upon the men of Succoth from an unexpected direction.}
14~~And,
{as Gideon was moving along the sunrise trail, he}
caught
a young man of the men of Succoth,
and
interrogated him.
And
he {the young man} wrote down {kathab}
a
list of the princes/leaders of Succoth,
and
the elders thereof . . .
even
threescore {60} and seventeen men {so 77 total}.
{Note: An interesting SideNote is that this is the time of the Trojan Wars. . . but even this Jewish boy could WRITE. The Jews were very civilized even at this time - all as a result of having bible doctrine in their society. So, not all the people of Succoth were guilty, only the leaders of the community - and they would be punished.}
15~~And
he {Gideon} came unto the men of Succoth, and said,
"Behold
Zebah and Zalmunna . . .
with
whom you did taunt me, saying,
'Are
the palms of the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in your hand
that
we should give food to your men who are weary?'
16~~And
he seized the magistrates of the city
and
along with the thorns and cacti of the desert
he
caused to teach the men of Succoth
{the leaders of Succoth - 77 men - were dragged through the cacti
of the dessert until they were dead. But the other people of the
city were spared since they were innocent of the treachery of
their leaders}.
17~~Next,
he {Gideon}
assaulted/tore
down the fortified city of Penuel,
and
slaughtered/'killed with violence' the men of the city
{in this case, all the men of the city were part of the treachery to
not support Gideon so they all were put to death}.
{Trial
of the Two War Criminals - the Two Kings of the Arabs}
18~~Then
said he unto Zebah and Zalmunna
{the setting is in a war crime trial},
"What
manner of men were they whom you slew at Tabor?"
{we are only getting a bit of the end of the trial. These two have
admitted they killed the Jews who tried to stop their killing and
raping by attacking them. But the Arabs won to battle and took
prisoners. They then tortured and killed these Jewish men.}
And
they answered,
"They
were very much like you,
each
one resembled the children of a king."
{they were trying to use flattery to live. But . . . see the next
verse}
19~~And
he {Gideon} said,
"They
were my brothers . . . even the sons of my mother
{two of Gideon's brothers were tortured and killed by these Arabs}.
As
Jehovah/God lives, if you had permitted them to live,
I
would not kill you with violence."
{Gideon
Orders Son to Do Execution}
20~~And
he {Gideon} said unto Jether, his firstborn,
"Get
up, and kill them."
But
the young man would not draw his sword . . .
for
he was afraid . . .
because
he was yet a 'young man'/teenager {na`ar}.
{Note: It is considered a great disgrace for two great warriors to be killed (even under these circumstances) by a boy who has not even been to battle before.}
21~~Then
Zebah and Zalmunna spoke {to Gideon},
"Up
you, and fall upon us . . . for as the man, so is his valor
{meaning they want to be killed by a great warrior, not a boy
they might have even thought Gideon would reward their courage
and not put them to death}.
So
Gideon got up, and killed Zebah and Zalmunna,
and
took away the crescents/'golden eschuteon' {saharon}
that
were around the necks of the camels
{the symbols of rank of king of Arabs}.
{Verses 22-23: Gideon's Personal Victory over Approbation and Power Lust}
{Great
Temptation to a Military Leader - To be The Civilian Ruler}
22~~Then
the men of Israel said to Gideon,
"Rule
now {an order} over us . . .
both
you, and your son . . . also your son's son . . .
for
you have delivered us from the hand of Midian."
23~~And
Gideon replied unto them,
"I
will not rule over you,
neither
shall my son rule over you . . .
Jehovah/God
shall rule over you.
{Note: Truly great men recognize True authorities. Here is recognition of the Ultimate Authority. Israel is a Theocracy - it is ruled directly by God and Gideon pays his respect to the Civil Authority.}
24
And Gideon said unto them,
"I
would desire a request of you,
that
you would give me every man
the
earrings of his prey."
(For they had golden earrings, because they were Ishmaelites.)
25
And they answered,
"We
will willingly give them."
And
they spread a garment,
and
did cast therein every man the earrings of his prey.
26
And the weight of the golden earrings that he requested
was
a thousand and seven hundred shekels of gold . . .
beside
ornaments, and collars, and purple raiment
that
was on the kings of Midian,
and
beside the chains
that
were about their camels' necks.
27
And Gideon made an ephod thereof,
and
put it in his city, even in Ophrah.
And
all Israel went there a whoring after it . . .
which
thing became a snare unto Gideon,
and
to his house.
28
Thus was Midian subdued before the children of Israel,
so
that they lifted up their heads no more.
And the country was in quietness forty years in the days of Gideon.
29 And Jerubbaal the son of Joash went and dwelt in his own house.
30``And Gideon sired threescore and ten (70) sons of his body.
For he {Gideon} had many wives.
31
And his concubine that was in Shechem,
she
also bare him a son,
whose
name he called Abimelech.
32
And Gideon the son of Joash died in a good old age,
and
was buried in the sepulchre of Joash his father,
in
Ophrah of the Abiezrites.
33
And it came to pass,
as
soon as Gideon was dead,
that
the children of Israel turned again,
and
went a whoring after Baalim,
and
made Baal-berith their gods/'elohiym.
34
And the children of Israel remembered not
Jehovah/God
their 'Elohiym/Godhead,
Who
had delivered them out of the hands
of
all their enemies on every side.
35
Neither showed they kindness to the house of Jerubbaal,
namely,
Gideon,
according
to all the goodness
which
he had showed unto Israel.
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