Judges 8:1 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Then the men of Ephraim said to him, “What is this that you have done to us, not to call us when you went to fight against Midian?” And they accused him fiercely.

NIV: Now the Ephraimites asked Gideon, 'Why have you treated us like this? Why didn't you call us when you went to fight Midian?' And they challenged him vigorously.

NASB: Then the men of Ephraim said to Gideon, 'What is this thing that you have done to us, not calling upon us when you went to fight against Midian?' And they quarreled with him vehemently.

CSB: The men of Ephraim said to him, "Why have you done this to us, not calling us when you went to fight against the Midianites? " And they argued with him violently.

NLT: Then the people of Ephraim asked Gideon, 'Why have you treated us this way? Why didn’t you send for us when you first went out to fight the Midianites?' And they argued heatedly with Gideon.

KJV: And the men of Ephraim said unto him, Why hast thou served us thus, that thou calledst us not, when thou wentest to fight with the Midianites? And they did chide with him sharply.

NKJV: Now the men of Ephraim said to him, “Why have you done this to us by not calling us when you went to fight with the Midianites?” And they reprimanded him sharply.

Empowered by God, Gideon (Judges 6:11) and the Israelites (Judges 7:15) routed the Midianites occupying the land (Judges 6:1–6). They had then chased them down, intent on wiping them out before they escaped across the Jordan River to the east and disappeared into the wilderness.

Unable to catch the fleeing Midianites from behind, Gideon sent messengers. They were to recruit people of Ephraim to cut off the fleeing enemy at the fords of the Jordan. The Ephraimites were successful—though some Midianites continued to escape—and brought the heads of two of the princes of Midian to Gideon (Judges 7:23–25).

Instead of celebrating their part in this great victory with Gideon, the men of Ephraim are upset. They immediately confront Gideon about not calling them to participate in the initial battle against Midian. They know that men of Naphtali, Asher, and Manasseh were summoned right away. The Ephraimites feel insulted by Gideon's snub.

Commentators suggest the Ephraimites may have believed Gideon was trying to keep the spoils of the battle away from them. Or, that they were being excluded from any lands that might be awarded after the battle. It's also possible they simply wanted to be part of any fight to vanquish the enemy that had dominated Israel for so long.

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).