Judges 8:12 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And Zebah and Zalmunna fled, and he pursued them and captured the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, and he threw all the army into a panic.

NIV: Zebah and Zalmunna, the two kings of Midian, fled, but he pursued them and captured them, routing their entire army.

NASB: When Zebah and Zalmunna fled, he pursued them and captured the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, and routed the entire army.

CSB: Zebah and Zalmunna fled, and he pursued them. He captured these two kings of Midian and routed the entire army.

NLT: Zebah and Zalmunna, the two Midianite kings, fled, but Gideon chased them down and captured all their warriors.

KJV: And when Zebah and Zalmunna fled, he pursued after them, and took the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, and discomfited all the host.

NKJV: When Zebah and Zalmunna fled, he pursued them; and he took the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, and routed the whole army.

Though the text does not say so, it seems clear Lord is still with Gideon and his 300 men. They have pursued the remnant of the Midianite army (Judges 7:22–25) across the Jordan River and out into the wilderness. Despite no help from local Israelites (Judges 8:4–9), they have finally caught the enemy and launched a surprise attack. The Midianites are caught resting, believing they had escaped the Israelites (Judges 8:10–11).

The attack once more drives the Midianites into a panic. This might mean they turned on each other, with the same confusion they showed when they first attacked. The text provides little detail, indicating only that their panic allowed a much larger group to be defeated once more by Gideon's 300 warriors (Judges 7:8).

Zebah and Zalmunna, the two Midianite kings, run for their lives, but Gideon captures them both. The Lord has delivered them into his hands, just as He promised (Judges 8:7). Gideon has now fully completed the task God gave to him to defeat the oppressors who had brought the tribes of Israel so low (Judges 6:1–5).

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).

Accessed 5/8/2024 10:19:43 PM