Judges 8:11 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And Gideon went up by the way of the tent dwellers east of Nobah and Jogbehah and attacked the army, for the army felt secure.

NIV: Gideon went up by the route of the nomads east of Nobah and Jogbehah and attacked the unsuspecting army.

NASB: Gideon went up by the way of those who lived in tents to the east of Nobah and Jogbehah, and he attacked the camp when the camp was unsuspecting.

CSB: Gideon traveled on the caravan route east of Nobah and Jogbehah and attacked their army while the army felt secure.

NLT: Gideon circled around by the caravan route east of Nobah and Jogbehah, taking the Midianite army by surprise.

KJV: And Gideon went up by the way of them that dwelt in tents on the east of Nobah and Jogbehah, and smote the host: for the host was secure.

NKJV: Then Gideon went up by the road of those who dwell in tents on the east of Nobah and Jogbehah; and he attacked the army while the camp felt secure.

Gideon and his 300 fighters (Judges 7:8) followed the remnant of the Midianite raiders: bandits from the east who had been oppressing Israel (Judges 6:1–5). Just more than a tenth of the original enemy army remains (Judges 7:22–25). They are led by kings named Zebah and Zalmunna and making their way back to their homeland (Judges 8:4–10).

This verse gives insight into how Gideon and his men were able to flank the Midianites and catch them by surprise. The Midianites feel secure; they rest as they camp in the region known as Karkor. They assume any large force pursuing them would be easy to notice. What did they have to fear from the Israelites now that they were so far from the Jordan River?

Gideon follows a path called the "way of the tent dwellers" to catch up to the Midianites. This takes his group east of two towns called Nobah and Jogbehah. Nobah is unknown to modern scholars. Jogbehah is thought to be a town along an old caravan route, northwest of Rabbah in modern-day Amman, Jordan. Gideon and his men once again use the element of surprise to attack on the unprepared enemy.

Judges 8:1–21 begins with a confrontation between Gideon and the men of Ephraim. Gideon defuses the situation with diplomacy. With his original 300 fighters, he chases down the remnant of the Midianite army led by two kings known as Zebah and Zalmunna. Once the Midianites are defeated and the kings are captured, Gideon punishes the men of two Israelite towns who refused to help him. He then reveals to the captured kings that they murdered his own brothers at Mount Tabor. He kills them and takes their distinctive jewelry as spoils of war.

Gideon soothes the anger of the men of Ephraim. Then, with his 300 fighting men, he chases the remnant of the Midianite army. After a difficult pursuit, he finally catches and defeats them in the wilderness. Gideon then returns to two Israelite towns who refused to help him along the way. He flogs the leaders of one town and kills the men of the other. He then executes the captured enemy kings. Gideon collects tribute from Israel but declines to become their official king. He lives to gain seventy sons, many wives, and at least one Canaanite concubine. When Gideon dies, Israel immediately returns to idol worship.

Judges 8 follows the great victory described at the end of the previous chapter. This passage begins with Gideon awkwardly soothing the anger of Ephraimites while trying to chase down an escaping enemy. After capturing the Midianite kings, Gideon punishes two towns for failing to aid their fellow Israelites. Gideon refuses to become a literal king but collects tribute from the people and lives like a king all his days, with many wives and sons. The people return to idol worship after his death. Soon after, the concubine's son, Abimelech, murders Gideon's other sons and briefly rules before meeting a gruesome death.

The Book of Judges describes Israel's history from the death of Joshua to shortly before Israel's first king, Saul. Israel fails to complete God's command to purge the wicked Canaanites from the land (Deuteronomy 7:1–5; 9:4). This results in a centuries-long cycle where Israel falls into sin and is oppressed by local enemies. After each oppression, God sends a civil-military leader, labeled using a Hebrew word loosely translated into English as "judge." These appointed rescuers would free Israel from enemy control and govern for a certain time. After each judge's death, the cycle of sin and oppression begins again. This continues until the people of Israel choose a king, during the ministry of the prophet-and-judge Samuel (1 Samuel 1—7).