Judges 8: Gideon (Part III)

Judges 8: Gideon's Triumph and Vengeance / Gideon's Idolatry / Death of Gideon

Today we continue our analysis of Gideon's story. See Part I and Part II for more information.

Gideon's Triumph and Vengeance: Judges 8.1-21
The Ephraimites are angry that Gideon did not call on them first when attacking the Midianites. Gideon responds that the gleaning (worst) of the grapes of Ephraim is better than the vintage (best) of his own tribe Abiezer, which he indicated earlier. Besides, the Ephraimites received the - er - choice parts of the army to put in in sacrificial terms: Oreb and Zeeb. This explanation quiets the Ephraimites.

Well, perhaps Gideon did not explain the entire situation to the Ephraimites (or more likely this next story coms from a different source) because he then pursues Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian. At Succoth Gideon asks for bread for his 300 men, so that he can catch them. But the officials of Succoth give him nothing and taunt him for not having already captured them. Gideon is angered by this, and vows that when the Lord has given Zebah and Zalmunna into his hands, he will trample the officials of Succoth with thorns and briers. When the people of Penuel similarly deny him, he vows to break down the tower there.

Gideon and his 300 men conquer the 15,000 remaining men - 120,000 had already fallen - and capture Zebah and Zalmunna. Gideon then finds a young man of Succoth and asks for the names of the 77 officials of Succoth. He is then able to make good on his promise in Succoth, as well as Penuel. When Gideon questions Zebah and Zalmunna about the men they killed at Tabor, they respond, "As you are, so were they, every one of them; they resembled the sons of a king." This speech is ironic in its elevation of the Abiezerite clan, the weakest of all Manasseh. Gideon replies that those were his brothers, and that he will avenge their deaths. He commands Jether his firstborn to kill Zeber and Zalmunna, but the boy seems to be hesitant like his father. Gideon therefore kills the two men himself, at their own suggestion.

Gideon's Idolatry: Judges 8.22-28
The Israelites ask Gideon to rule over them in a dynasty, but Gideon refuses, asserting that the Lord should rule over them. This is an act of humility, which makes his next action seem strange. Gideon asks that each man bring him a gold earring taken as booty. With this Gideon makes an Ephod, which he puts in Orphah, and which Gideon's family worships as a false god. But during his life, at least, the land had rest forty years.

Death of Gideon: Judges 8.29-35
Gideon had 70 sons, from many wives, as well as a concubine, who bears a son named Abimelech. [This will be important later on.]

As soon as Gideon dies, the people relapse into idol worship, forgetting God and Jerubball (Gideon) alike.

So goes the unfaithfulness cycle.