Judges 8:8 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And from there he went up to Penuel, and spoke to them in the same way, and the men of Penuel answered him as the men of Succoth had answered.

NIV: From there he went up to Peniel and made the same request of them, but they answered as the men of Sukkoth had.

NASB: Then he went up from there to Penuel and spoke similarly to them; and the men of Penuel answered him just as the men of Succoth had answered.

CSB: He went from there to Penuel and asked the same thing from them. The men of Penuel answered just as the men of Succoth had answered.

NLT: From there Gideon went up to Peniel and again asked for food, but he got the same answer.

KJV: And he went up thence to Penuel, and spake unto them likewise: and the men of Penuel answered him as the men of Succoth had answered him.

NKJV: Then he went up from there to Penuel and spoke to them in the same way. And the men of Penuel answered him as the men of Succoth had answered.

A small force of 300 fighting men, led by Gideon, is attempting to chase down fleeing remnants of Midianite oppressors (Judges 6:1–5; 7:22–25). The retreating enemy is led by two kings known as Zebah and Zalmunna. Gideon's men are exhausted and need food. The chase follows the Jabbok River (Genesis 32:22–24) east, away from the Jordan River. This eventually led to the Israelite town of Succoth in the territory of the tribe of Gad. In a cold, fearful rejection, the people of Succoth refused Gideon's request for supplies. This was driven by fear over what the Midianites would do if Gideon failed to obtain victory (Judges 8:4–7). Gideon promises that when he returns, the people of Succoth will be flogged for their disloyalty.

Now Gideon and his men have come to Penuel, just further east along the Jabbok. The people of Penuel also refused to provide their fellow Israelite soldiers with bread. This is almost certainly due to the same fear of the Midianites as seen in Succoth. In doing so, both towns show more loyalty toward Israel's oppressors than to Israel's God-sent deliverer (Judges 2:16; 6:11–12). Gideon describes the consequences of Penuel's choice in the following verse.

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).