Jude — Capítulo 8

8:1-3 Ephraim, the dominant tribe of the north-central hill country, produced only a minor judge, Tola (10:1). The Ephraimites resented their omission from the battle, if only because they hoped for a share of the spoils. When summoned, they did the job at hand. Gideon gave a gracious and humble answer, which turned away Ephraim’s anger (see Prov 15:1; contrast Jephthah, Judg 12:1-4). Gideon’s and Ephraim’s victories over Oreb and Zeeb and their armies became the stuff of legend (cp. Ps 83:11-12; Isa 10:26).

8:4-12 At this point, Gideon seemed as bent on revenge as on victory, and there is an abrupt cessation of his earlier dialogue with the Lord. The core of 300 men made this final run against the Midianites. • Gideon pursued the fleeing kings of Midian through the Jabbok gorge, then southward toward Rabbah, following the caravan route onto the Transjordan plateau. • Succoth and Peniel were Israelite cities, but their loyalty to Gideon, an upstart general, was thin. The tribes east of the Jordan were continually exposed to the Midianites’ pressure and apparently feared the Midianites.

8:7 It was a common practice in the ancient Near East to tear the flesh of a defeated foe (cp. Amos 1:3; Mic 4:13).

8:8-9 this tower: Towers were common in the period and have been excavated at both Succoth and Shechem (see 9:46-49).

8:10-12 Apparently the Midianite remnant with its two kings felt reasonably secure, having reached the Transjordan plateau en route to their traditional desert haunts. This put them well beyond typically Israelite territory. As he had done before (7:19-22), Gideon took the Midianite army by surprise. He captured the two kings and routed the army, thus eliminating the threat of Midianite retribution feared by the leaders of Succoth and Peniel.

8:13-17 The return journey was probably a straight course (through the unknown Heres Pass) rather than the circular approach needed for the ambush. • That a typical young man from Succoth could write down the names is evidence that the newly developed alphabetic writing system had taken root in Israel. • Gideon’s practice of retribution and execution was the norm in his time, though Gideon’s reputation as the Lord’s servant was better served by his skillful diplomacy (8:1-3) than by vindictive punishment.

8:18-21 It is not clear just when the slaughter at Tabor took place; it may have occurred during the earlier battle.

8:20-21 Matters of honor dominated this interaction. Death at the hand of a woman or a child was considered dishonorable (5:24-27; 9:54).

8:21 royal ornaments (or “crescent necklaces,” Isa 3:18): Desert nomads tended to carry their wealth with them; jewelry maximized value for weight.

8:24 Ishmaelites and Midianites were both descendants of Abraham (Gen 16:15; 25:2).

8:27 An ephod was normally considered part of the priestly garments (Exod 28:6-30); one was also worn by Samuel and David (1 Sam 2:18; 2 Sam 6:14; 1 Chr 15:27). But here, as in Judg 17:5 and 18:14-18, the ephod appears to have been some kind of gold image, which in turn became an object of idolatrous worship.

8:28 When there was peace in the land (see study note on 3:7-11) before Abimelech, it was for multiples of twenty years (3:11, 30; 5:31). After Gideon, the lengths were shorter. Israel’s ongoing apostasy led to increased social instability (cp. chs 17–21).

8:29-32 Advanced age is generally a sign of divine blessing, but Gideon was tarnished by a decline of spiritual blessing and leadership.

8:31 concubine: See study note on 19:1.

8:33-35 Gideon’s ephod (8:27) quickly became part of a pagan shrine honoring images of the ever-present Canaanite deity Baal, here called Baal-berith (“Baal of the covenant”). Fundamental to this apostasy were the twin themes of forgetting the Lord and his works and disloyalty to godly leadership. Remembering is basic to biblical, covenantal worship, from the time of the Exodus (Exod 12:14, 24) to the ongoing Christian celebration of the Lord’s Supper (1 Cor 11:25). • loyalty: See study note on Judg 1:24.