1 But the men were really upset with Gideon and complained, "When you went to war with Midian, you didn’t ask us to help! Why did you treat us like that?"
2 Gideon answered:
Don’t be upset! Even though you came later, you were able to do much more than I did. It’s just like the grape harvest: The grapes your tribe doesn’t even bother to pick are better than the best grapes my family can grow. 3 Ps 83.11.Besides, God chose you to capture Raven and Wolf. I didn’t do a thing compared to you.
By the time Gideon had finished talking, the men of Ephraim had calmed down and were no longer angry with him.
Gideon Finishes Destroying the Midianite Army
4 After Gideonand his 300 troops had chased the Midianites across the Jordan River, they were exhausted. 5 The town of Succothwas nearby, so he went there and asked, "Please give my troops some food. They are worn out, but we have to keep chasing Zebahand Zalmunna, the two Midianitekings."
6 The town leaders of Succothanswered, "Why should we feed your army? We don’t know if you really will defeat Zebahand Zalmunna."
7 "Just wait!" Gideonsaid. "After the Lordhelps me defeat them, I’m coming back here. I’ll make a whip out of thorns and rip the flesh from your bones."
8 After leaving Succoth, Gideon went to Penueland asked the leaders there for some food. But he got the same answer as he did at Succoth. 9 "I’ll come back safe and sound," Gideon said, "but when I do, I’m going to tear down your tower!"8.9 tower: Towers were often part of a town wall.
10 Zebahand Zalmunnawere in Karkor8.10 Karkor: About 160 kilometers east of the Dead Sea.with an army of 15,000 troops. They were all that was left of the army of the eastern nations, because 120,000 of their warriors had been killed in the battle.
11 Gideonreached the enemy camp by going east along Nomad8.11 Nomad: A person who lives in a tent and moves from place to place.Road past Nobahand Jogbehah. He made a surprise attack, 12 and the enemy panicked. Zebahand Zalmunnatried to escape, but Gideon chased and captured them.
13 After the battle, Gideonset out for home. As he was going through Heres Pass, 14 he caught a young man who lived in Succoth. Gideon asked him who the town officials of Succothwere, and the young man wrote down 77 names.
15 Gideon went to the town officials and said, "Here are Zebahand Zalmunna. Remember how you made fun of me? You said, ‘We don’t know if you really will defeat those two Midianite kings. So why should we feed your worn-out army?’ "
16 Gideon made a whip from thorn plants and used it to beat the town officials. 17 Afterwards he went to Penuel, where he tore down the tower and killed all the town officials.8.17 all … officials: Or "every man in town."
18 Then Gideon said, "Zebahand Zalmunna, tell me about the men you killed at Tabor."
"They were a lot like you," the two kings answered. "They were dignified, almost like royalty."
19 "They were my very own brothers!" Gideon said. "I swear by the living Lordthat if you had let them live, I would let you live."
20 Gideon turned to Jether, his oldest son. "Kill them!" Gideon said.
But Jetherwas young,8.20 young: Gideon wanted to insult the kings by having a young boy kill them.and he was too afraid to even pull out his sword.
21 "What’s the matter, Gideon?" Zebahand Zalmunnaasked. "Do it yourself, if you’re not too much of a coward!"
Gideonjumped up and killed them both. Then he took the gold ornaments from the necks of their camels.
The Israelites Ask Gideon To Be Their King
22 After the battle with the Midianites, the Israelites said, "Gideon, you rescued us! Now we want you to be our king. Then after your death, your son and then your grandson will rule."
23 "No," Gideonreplied, "I won’t be your king, and my son won’t be king either. Only the Lordis your ruler. 24 But I will ask you to do one thing: Give me all the earrings you took from the enemy."
The enemy soldiers had been Ishmaelites,8.24 Ishmaelites: According to Genesis 25.1,2, 12, both Ishmaelites and Midianites were descendants of Abraham. It is possible that in this passage "Ishmaelites" has the meaning "nomadic traders," while "Midianites" (verses 22,26-29) refers to their ethnic origin.and they wore gold earrings.
25 The Israelite soldiers replied, "Of course we will give you the earrings." Then they spread out a robe on the ground and tossed the earrings on it. 26 The total weight of this gold was nearly 20 kilograms. In addition, there was the gold from the camels' ornaments and from the beautiful jewelry worn by the Midianitekings. Gideon also took their purple robes.
27-29 Gideonreturned to his home in Ophrahand had the gold made into a statue, which the Israelites soon started worshiping. They were unfaithful to God, and even Gideonand his family were trapped into worshiping the statue.8.27-29 statue … statue: Or "sacred priestly vest … vest."
The Midianiteshad been defeated so badly that they were no longer strong enough to attack Israel. And so Israelwas at peace for the remaining 40 years of Gideon’s life.
Gideon Dies
30 Gideonhad many wives and 70 sons. 31 He even had a wife8.31 wife: This translates a Hebrew word for a woman who was legally bound to a man, but without the full privileges of a wife.who lived at Shechem.8.31 who lived at Shechem: Sometimes marriages were arranged so that the wife lived with her parents, and the husband visited her from time to time.They had a son, and Gideon named him Abimelech.
32 Gideonlived to be an old man. And when he died, he was buried in the family tomb in his hometown of Ophrah, which belonged to the Abiezer clan.
33 Soon after Gideon’s death, the Israelites turned their backs on God again. They set up idols of Baal and worshiped Baal Berith8.33 Baal Berith: Or "Baal of the Agreement" or "the Lord of the Agreement."as their god. 34 The Israelites forgot that the Lordwas their God, and that he had rescued them from the enemies who lived around them. 35 Besides all that, the Israelites were unkind to Gideon’s family, even though Gideonhad done so much for Israel.
Lugar Bíblico
Região / Território
Midian
Hoje: Al Bad
מִדְיָןmidyanΜαδιάνMadian
Midian is the land of Jethro, priest and father-in-law of Moses, and of the Midianites, who raided the crops of Israel until they were pursued by Gideon and his men (Judges 7:25).
Gideon, son of Joash, also called Jerubbaal, broke down the altar of Baal and, with three hundred men, delivered Israel from the Midianites; he refused to be king (Judges 7:7).
The Jordan is the river in the middle of which Joshua set up twelve stones, where the priests carrying the ark of the covenant had stood. The boundary of the land went down along the river to the Salt Sea (Joshua 4:9).
Succoth is the town whose leaders refused bread to Gideon, who was pursuing Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian; on his return, Gideon punished these leaders with desert thorns and briers (Judges 8:16).
Midian is the land of Jethro, priest and father-in-law of Moses, and of the Midianites, who raided the crops of Israel until they were pursued by Gideon and his men (Judges 7:25).
Succoth is the town whose leaders refused bread to Gideon, who was pursuing Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian; on his return, Gideon punished these leaders with desert thorns and briers (Judges 8:16).
Gideon, son of Joash, also called Jerubbaal, broke down the altar of Baal and, with three hundred men, delivered Israel from the Midianites; he refused to be king (Judges 7:7).
Succoth is the town whose leaders refused bread to Gideon, who was pursuing Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian; on his return, Gideon punished these leaders with desert thorns and briers (Judges 8:16).
Penuel is the place named by Jacob when he said he saw God face to face. The tower of Penuel was torn down and the men of the city were killed; Jeroboam also built up Penuel (Genesis 32:30).
Succoth is the town whose leaders refused bread to Gideon, who was pursuing Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian; on his return, Gideon punished these leaders with desert thorns and briers (Judges 8:16).
Gideon, son of Joash, also called Jerubbaal, broke down the altar of Baal and, with three hundred men, delivered Israel from the Midianites; he refused to be king (Judges 7:7).
Gideon, son of Joash, also called Jerubbaal, broke down the altar of Baal and, with three hundred men, delivered Israel from the Midianites; he refused to be king (Judges 7:7).
Succoth is the town whose leaders refused bread to Gideon, who was pursuing Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian; on his return, Gideon punished these leaders with desert thorns and briers (Judges 8:16).
Succoth is the town whose leaders refused bread to Gideon, who was pursuing Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian; on his return, Gideon punished these leaders with desert thorns and briers (Judges 8:16).
Penuel is the place named by Jacob when he said he saw God face to face. The tower of Penuel was torn down and the men of the city were killed; Jeroboam also built up Penuel (Genesis 32:30).
Mount Tabor is the mountain where Barak went up with ten thousand men of Naphtali and Zebulun at the Lord’s command given through Deborah, and from which he went down with them the day the Lord gave Sisera into his hands (Judges 4:14).
Gideon, son of Joash, also called Jerubbaal, broke down the altar of Baal and, with three hundred men, delivered Israel from the Midianites; he refused to be king (Judges 7:7).
Gideon, son of Joash, also called Jerubbaal, broke down the altar of Baal and, with three hundred men, delivered Israel from the Midianites; he refused to be king (Judges 7:7).
Midian is the land of Jethro, priest and father-in-law of Moses, and of the Midianites, who raided the crops of Israel until they were pursued by Gideon and his men (Judges 7:25).
Gideon, son of Joash, also called Jerubbaal, broke down the altar of Baal and, with three hundred men, delivered Israel from the Midianites; he refused to be king (Judges 7:7).
Gideon, son of Joash, also called Jerubbaal, broke down the altar of Baal and, with three hundred men, delivered Israel from the Midianites; he refused to be king (Judges 7:7).
Midian is the land of Jethro, priest and father-in-law of Moses, and of the Midianites, who raided the crops of Israel until they were pursued by Gideon and his men (Judges 7:25).
Gideon, son of Joash, also called Jerubbaal, broke down the altar of Baal and, with three hundred men, delivered Israel from the Midianites; he refused to be king (Judges 7:7).
Gideon, son of Joash, also called Jerubbaal, broke down the altar of Baal and, with three hundred men, delivered Israel from the Midianites; he refused to be king (Judges 7:7).
Midian is the land of Jethro, priest and father-in-law of Moses, and of the Midianites, who raided the crops of Israel until they were pursued by Gideon and his men (Judges 7:25).
Jacob, son of Isaac, bought the birthright from Esau, wrestled with God at Penuel, and received the name Israel; his twelve sons gave rise to the tribes (Genesis 32:28).
Significado: “One who takes by the heel (supplanter)”
Jacob, son of Isaac, bought the birthright from Esau, wrestled with God at Penuel, and received the name Israel; his twelve sons gave rise to the tribes (Genesis 32:28).
Significado: “One who takes by the heel (supplanter)”
Gideon, son of Joash, also called Jerubbaal, broke down the altar of Baal and, with three hundred men, delivered Israel from the Midianites; he refused to be king (Judges 7:7).
Gideon, son of Joash, also called Jerubbaal, broke down the altar of Baal and, with three hundred men, delivered Israel from the Midianites; he refused to be king (Judges 7:7).
Shechem is a city in the hill country of Ephraim where Joshua made a covenant with the people, the citizens turned against Abimelech, and Israel gathered to make Rehoboam king (Joshua 24:25).
Abimelech, son of Gideon by a concubine in Shechem, killed seventy of his brothers to reign and died at Thebez when a woman threw a millstone on him (Judges 9:53).
Gideon, son of Joash, also called Jerubbaal, broke down the altar of Baal and, with three hundred men, delivered Israel from the Midianites; he refused to be king (Judges 7:7).
Gideon, son of Joash, also called Jerubbaal, broke down the altar of Baal and, with three hundred men, delivered Israel from the Midianites; he refused to be king (Judges 7:7).
Gideon, son of Joash, also called Jerubbaal, broke down the altar of Baal and, with three hundred men, delivered Israel from the Midianites; he refused to be king (Judges 7:7).
Gideon, son of Joash, also called Jerubbaal, broke down the altar of Baal and, with three hundred men, delivered Israel from the Midianites; he refused to be king (Judges 7:7).