Judges 12, Shibboleth

Jehpthah, warrior, ruffian, son of a prostitute, has called on YHWH and has then defeated the Ammonites.

Judges 12:1-4, Ephraim, again

The men of Ephraim called out their forces, crossed over to Zaphon and said to Jephthah, "Why did you go to fight the Ammonites without calling us to go with you? We're going to burn down your house over your head."

Jephthah answered, "I and my people were engaged in a great struggle with the Ammonites, and although I called, you didn't save me out of their hands. When I saw that you wouldn't help, I took my life in my hands and crossed over to fight the Ammonites, and the LORD gave me the victory over them. Now why have you come up today to fight me?"

Jephthah then called together the men of Gilead and fought against Ephraim. The Gileadites struck them down because the Ephraimites had said, "You Gileadites are renegades from Ephraim and Manasseh."

Just as with Gideon, we hear of the men of Ephraim whining that they did not get to fight. This time the result is warfare between Ephraim and the men of Gilead, soldiers of Jephthah. This is the first account of warfare between the tribes of Israel.

Judges 12:5-6, Shibboleth

The Gileadites captured the fords of the Jordan leading to Ephraim, and whenever a survivor of Ephraim said, "Let me cross over," the men of Gilead asked him, "Are you an Ephraimite?"

If he replied, "No,"they said, "All right, say `Shibboleth.'" If he said, "Sibboleth," because he could not pronounce the word correctly, they seized him and killed him at the fords of the Jordan. 

Forty-two thousand Ephraimites were killed at that time.

Each language or dialect has some sounds it does not make or cannot hear. Adults in that linguistic environment have difficulties learning these new sounds. (Examples abound: the rolled 'r' of Mexican speech, the umlauts of German speech, Chinese difficulties with r/l....)  In this case, the Ephraimites cannot pronounce 'sh', and hear only 's'. That dialectical difficulty is used against them. This passage, with its strange word, has brought the word "shibboleth" (שִׁבֹּל) into the English language; "shibboleth" now represents a custom or tradition that separates people.

An Old Testament times the Hebrew alphabet had 22 letters. Eventually, the letter sin/shin (שְׂ/שִׁ) became two letters, and so, whether one studies biblical Hebrew or modern Hebrew, one will learn that there are 23 Hebrew letters. Is that change related to the difficulties of separating s from sh?

The account of Ephraimites killed is "42 eleph". This could be 42 "clans" or "military units".  The number 42,000 exceeds the total population of Ephraim according to the census in Numbers 26:37. (See a Sunday essay on "The Problem of Large Numbers in the Old Testament.")

Judges 12: 7-15, Ibzan, Elon, Abdon

Jephthah led Israel six years. Then Jephthah the Gileadite died, and was buried in a town in Gilead.

After him, Ibzan of Bethlehem led Israel. He had thirty sons and thirty daughters. He gave his daughters away in marriage to those outside his clan, and for his sons he brought in thirty young women as wives from outside his clan. Ibzan led Israel seven years. Then Ibzan died, and was buried in Bethlehem.

After him, Elon the Zebulunite led Israel ten years. Then Elon died, and was buried in Aijalon in the land of Zebulun.

After him, Abdon son of Hillel, from Pirathon, led Israel. He had forty sons and thirty grandsons, who rode on seventy donkeys. He led Israel eight years. Then Abdon son of Hillel died, and was buried at Pirathon in Ephraim, in the hill country of the Amalekites.

There are more judges, powerful men with many sons and daughters. The narrator hurries through these three judges in order to get to the most colorful -- and most broken -- judge of them all.  

First published July 6, 2023; updated July 6, 2026

Herem, Fully Devoted

The Hebrew language is a rich and ancient language with many words that do not carry over directly into English. These words are often translated with a variety of English words or phrases. We will look at some of these as we go through the Old Testament.  As we study the book of Joshua, we need to look at the word herem.

חֵרֶם

The New International Version of the Bible, which I have been using for this blog, often translates herem as "totally destroyed." In one edition of the NIV, that translation often comes with a footnote acknowledging that the word could also be translated "fully devoted." Throughout the book of Joshua, the word is used to describe property or people conquered during the battle for a city. The first such city is Jericho, where the term herem is used in Joshua's instructions in Joshua 6:17. 

There is a strange duality in the word. Something that was "fully devoted" to YHWH was unavailable to us in the mortal realm. If it was a sacrificed bull, the bull was burnt and turned over to God. If precious metals, jewelry, beautiful cloths were "fully devoted" then they were put into the temple treasury. (See Joshua 6:19 for the instructions on property seized at Jericho.) But if pagan people, during the Joshua campaigns, were to be "fully devoted" to YHWH then, like the sacrificed bull, they were to be killed, destroyed. The strange duality of the word comes in the fact that sometimes herem meant "set aside as sacred" and other times meant "destroyed" -- in either case, the herem objects were separated from normal human environment.

Any modern reader of the Old Testament book of Joshua will react to God's commandments to annihilate the people of Canaan! These divine commands are explained (in the text) as a reaction by YHWH to the gross immorality of the Canaanites (such as child sacrifice) as first suggested in Genesis 15:12-21 and as a protection against the rampant idolatry of the people. This "total destruction" may have allowed a few local inhabitants to convert to worship of YHWH (Rahab in Joshua 2, Ruth much later) or to make treaties (the Gibeonites in Joshua 9.)

The "herem" instructions in Joshua were part of a plan to make the nation of Israel a special devoted theocracy, ruled by YHWH. The nation was then to be a beacon to the rest of the world. Those instructions were unique to the early nation of Israel. After the book of Joshua, the remainder of the Old Testament is a testimony to the failure of that theocracy, first through a set of broken and dysfunctional judges and then through a period of equally dysfunctional kings.  

One should be very careful about reading the book of Joshua into our modern culture. The only Biblical theocracy was Israel and it was, in many ways, an abject failure.  

Regardless of the country one resides in today, that country 

is not a theocracy and there is no instruction regarding herem! 

For the Christian, this is clearest in passages such as John 8:1-11 where Jesus confronts men who want to stone an adulteress and in 1 Corinthians 5:9-12 where Paul suggests discipline for a persistent sexual practice and then tells the church not to judge those outside the church! In neither case is there a hint of a theocracy. There is no suggestion that one might apply either herem or the Old Testament Law to the general populace.

Russell Moore has a thoughtful warning about abusing the Joshua text in an article, The Joshua Generation and the Paradox of Power, in Christianity Today.  The concept of a ruling religious Taliban is not a Christian concept!

The concept of herem, with Hebrew letters H-R-M, meaning "set aside" or "sacred", evolved into an Arabic word, harim, a sacred sanctuary where women lived. (See here and here.) The modern spelling for that word is harem. A harem is a safe place "fully devoted" to women.  That word has then lost the connotation "totally destroyed" -- unless, I guess, you are an adult male crashing the harem!

First published June 11, 2023; updated July 5, 2026

Judges 11, Jephthah

A number of judges have come and gone, as Israel descends into idolatry and slavery. The latest oppressors are the Philistines (invading from the Mediterranean coast to the west) and Ammonites (invading from the east.) The people of Israel have once again cried out to YHWH and begged for both forgiveness and salvation. YHWH has decided (somewhat reluctantly?) to answer their plea, but there may be few people of character left for YHWH to use. 

Judges 11:1-3, Jephthah

Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty warrior. His father was Gilead; his mother was a prostitute. Gilead's wife also bore him sons, and when they were grown up, they drove Jephthah away. "You are not going to get any inheritance in our family," they said, "because you are the son of another woman."

So Jephthah fled from his brothers and settled in the land of Tob, where a group of adventurers gathered around him and followed him.

Jephthah, the son of a prostitute, is driven away by his step brothers. Exiled to a land call Tob, he draws a gang of ruffians around him. (The location of Tob is unclear but was probably east of Gilead, which itself was just east of the Jordan.)

Judges 11:4-10, Commitment to Jephthah

Some time later, when the Ammonites made war on Israel, the elders of Gilead went to get Jephthah from the land of Tob. "Come," they said, "be our commander, so we can fight the Ammonites."

Jephthah said to them, "Didn't you hate me and drive me from my father's house? Why do you come to me now, when you're in trouble?"

The elders of Gilead said to him, "Nevertheless, we are turning to you now; come with us to fight the Ammonites, and you will be our head over all who live in Gilead."

Jephthah answered, "Suppose you take me back to fight the Ammonites and the LORD gives them to me--will I really be your head?"

The elders of Gilead replied, "The LORD is our witness; we will certainly do as you say."

The elders of Gilead change their mind and go to Jephthah and ask him to lead an army.  (Presumably there is something they recognize in Jephthah, most likely his leadership of a band of warriors in a nearby region.)

As we move through the book of Judges, we see less and less of YHWH.  Here the name YHWH is invoked in a conversation between the elders of Gilead and Jephthah but there is no indication that the people are following the covenant of Moses or have any interest in throwing off the idolatry mentioned in the previous chapter.

Judges 11:11-13, Conversation with Ammonites

So Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and commander over them. And he repeated all his words before the LORD in Mizpah.

Then Jephthah sent messengers to the Ammonite king with the question: "What do you have against us that you have attacked our country?"

The king of the Ammonites answered Jephthah's messengers, "When Israel came up out of Egypt, they took away my land from the Arnon to the Jabbok, all the way to the Jordan. Now give it back peaceably."

Jephthah is made commander of the people of Gilead and now seems to directly invoke YHWH at Mizpah. He begins a communication with the Ammonite leaders, who claim they want their land back, land taken previously when the Israelites came out of Egypt.

Judges 11:14-22, Response of Jephthah

Jephthah sent back messengers to the Ammonite king, saying: "This is what Jephthah says: Israel did not take the land of Moab or the land of the Ammonites. But when they came up out of Egypt, Israel went through the desert to the Red Sea and on to Kadesh. Then Israel sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, `Give us permission to go through your country,' but the king of Edom would not listen. They sent also to the king of Moab, and he refused. So Israel stayed at Kadesh.

Next they traveled through the desert, skirted the lands of Edom and Moab, passed along the eastern side of the country of Moab, and camped on the other side of the Arnon. They did not enter the territory of Moab, for the Arnon was its border.

"Then Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, who ruled in Heshbon, and said to him, `Let us pass through your country to our own place.'

Sihon, however, did not trust Israel to pass through his territory. He mustered all his men and encamped at Jahaz and fought with Israel.

"Then the LORD, the God of Israel, gave Sihon and all his men into Israel's hands, and they defeated them. Israel took over all the land of the Amorites who lived in that country, capturing all of it from the Arnon to the Jabbok and from the desert to the Jordan.

Jephthah is giving the Ammonite king a history lesson, summarizing the exodus and the forty years of desert wandering. The emphasis here is probably not on history but is a verbal defense of Israel's side in the upcoming war.

Judges 11:23-27, Don't fight me!

"Now since the LORD, the God of Israel, has driven the Amorites out before his people Israel, what right have you to take it over? Will you not take what your god Chemosh gives you? Likewise, whatever the LORD our God has given us, we will possess.

Are you better than Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever quarrel with Israel or fight with them? For three hundred years Israel occupied Heshbon, Aroer, the surrounding settlements and all the towns along the Arnon. Why didn't you retake them during that time?

I have not wronged you, but you are doing me wrong by waging war against me. Let the LORD, the Judge, decide the dispute this day between the Israelites and the Ammonites."

Jephthah argues that the Ammonites took over the land of the defeated Amorites and that centuries have since gone by. In this dispute, Jephthah invokes the names of both YHWH (his God) and Chemosh (the god of the Ammonites.) Jephthah's view of YHWH is not clear but he does recount the history of Israel since the exodus.

Judges 11:28-33, Jephthah attacks the Ammonites

The king of Ammon, however, paid no attention to the message Jephthah sent him. Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah. He crossed Gilead and Manasseh, passed through Mizpah of Gilead, and from there he advanced against the Ammonites. 

And Jephthah made a vow to the LORD: "If you give the Ammonites into my hands, whatever comes out of the door of my house to meet me when I return in triumph from the Ammonites will be the LORD's, and I will sacrifice it as a burnt offering."

Then Jephthah went over to fight the Ammonites, and the LORD gave them into his hands. He devastated twenty towns from Aroer to the vicinity of Minnith, as far as Abel Keramim. Thus Israel subdued Ammon.

The Ammonites ignore Jephthah's argument. Jephthah then is suddenly under the influence of the "Spirit of YHWH" and advances on the Ammonites. In this process, Jephthah makes a rash vow. Barry Webb, in his commentary on Judges, argues that Jephthah has a very shallow view of God and essentially offers God a bribe.

The vow Jephthah makes is both strange and foolish.  (What does he expect to come out of his door to meet him?)

Judges 11:34-40, Foolish vows

When Jephthah returned to his home in Mizpah, who should come out to meet him but his daughter, dancing to the sound of tambourines! She was an only child. Except for her he had neither son nor daughter.

When he saw her, he tore his clothes and cried, "Oh! My daughter! You have made me miserable and wretched, because I have made a vow to the LORD that I cannot break."

"My father," she replied, "you have given your word to the LORD. Do to me just as you promised, now that the LORD has avenged you of your enemies, the Ammonites. But grant me this one request," she said. "Give me two months to roam the hills and weep with my friends, because I will never marry."

"You may go," he said. And he let her go for two months. She and the girls went into the hills and wept because she would never marry. After the two months, she returned to her father and he did to her as he had vowed. And she was a virgin. From this comes the Israelite custom that each year the young women of Israel go out for four days to commemorate the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite.

Jephthah's daughter, like Miriam before her, celebrates victory by dancing and playing on a drumhead. Her interlude in the hills with her friends initiates an Israelite custom for young women.

It is not clear what happens to Jephthah's only daughter.  She, at least, is "consecrated" to God and cannot marry.  A Jewish webpage suggests that the consecration need not include death. That website provides both some interpretation of the Hebrew words and the fact that the girl's virginity is mentioned, a rather useless statement if she is put to death. That site argues that her consecration is to serving God as a single woman. A Christian website makes a somewhat similar argument. Surely killing one's daughter in sacrifice violates the Mosaic Law; child sacrifice was practiced by the worshipers of Molech and vigorously condemned. However, Barry Webb, in his commentary on Judges, argues that Jephthah probably sees YHWH as the local god whom he bribed to defeat Chemosh, local god of Ammon.  In that case, Jephthah has little genuine knowledge of YHWH.

First published July 5, 2023; updated July 4, 2026

Judges 10, Cycles of Evil

We have seen the violence of a number of leaders, including Gideon and his son, Abimelech. Now we have a brief account of two more judges, followed by more idolatry and oppression.

Judges 10:1-2, Tola

After the time of Abimelech a man of Issachar, Tola son of Puah, the son of Dodo, rose to save Israel. He lived in Shamir, in the hill country of Ephraim. He led Israel twenty-three years; then he died, and was buried in Shamir.

A later judge, in the hill country of Ephraim, is Tola. Most important individuals have a lineage given; here Tola's ancestry is Dodo then Puah.

Judges 10:3-5, Jair

He was followed by Jair of Gilead, who led Israel twenty-two years. He had thirty sons, who rode thirty donkeys. They controlled thirty towns in Gilead, which to this day are called Havvoth Jair. When Jair died, he was buried in Kamon.

Jair, who has no apparent lineage, apparently liked the number 30, with 30 sons, 30 donkeys, 30 towns. Gilead is southeast of the Sea of Galilee, east of the Jordan river.

Judges 10:6-9, Serving all the various gods

Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD. They served the Baals and the Ashtoreths, and the gods of Aram, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the Ammonites and the gods of the Philistines. And because the Israelites forsook the LORD and no longer served him, he became angry with them. He sold them into the hands of the Philistines and the Ammonites, who that year shattered and crushed them. 

For eighteen years they oppressed all the Israelites on the east side of the Jordan in Gilead, the land of the Amorites. The Ammonites also crossed the Jordan to fight against Judah, Benjamin and the house of Ephraim; and Israel was in great distress.

The Philistines and Ammonites oppressed the two-and-a-half tribes of the Transjordan. The Philistines come from the west, all the way from the Mediterranean coast, while the Ammonites comes from the east, east of the Jordan. The Israelites are beset by invaders from both sides. This is caused because the Israelites have completely absorbed the idols of the many cultures around them, the fertility gods (Baals and Ashtoreths), the god of Aram, Sidon, Moab, ... all their neighbors.

Judges 10:10-14, Crying out

Then the Israelites cried out to the LORD, "We have sinned against you, forsaking our God and serving the Baals."

The LORD replied, "When the Egyptians, the Amorites, the Ammonites, the Philistines, the Sidonians, the Amalekites and the Maonites oppressed you and you cried to me for help, did I not save you from their hands? But you have forsaken me and served other gods, so I will no longer save you. Go and cry out to the gods you have chosen. Let them save you when you are in trouble!"

Once again, the people cry out.  YHWH seems to have had enough.  He responds, "Why don't you cry out to the gods you worship?"

Judges 10:15-18, Repentance

But the Israelites said to the LORD, "We have sinned. Do with us whatever you think best, but please rescue us now."

Then they got rid of the foreign gods among them and served the LORD. And he could bear Israel's misery no longer. When the Ammonites were called to arms and camped in Gilead, the Israelites assembled and camped at Mizpah. The leaders of the people of Gilead said to each other, "Whoever will launch the attack against the Ammonites will be the head of all those living in Gilead."

The people of Israel repent and once again, YHWH is merciful.  Salvation is coming. But as the idolatry of the country deepens, the quality of their judges drops.

First published July 4, 2023; updated July 3, 2026

Judges 9, Gideon's Son in Shechem

Gideon (Jerub-Baal) had a son by a concubine in a nearby town. That son, whose name means "my father is king", now seeks power.

Judges 9:1-4, Abimelech calls out the people of Shechem

Abimelech son of Jerub-Baal went to his mother's brothers in Shechem and said to them and to all his mother's clan, "Ask all the citizens of Shechem, `Which is better for you: to have all seventy of Jerub-Baal's sons rule over you, or just one man?' Remember, I am your flesh and blood."

When the brothers repeated all this to the citizens of Shechem, they were inclined to follow Abimelech, for they said, "He is our brother." They gave him seventy shekels of silver from the temple of Baal-Berith, and Abimelech used it to hire reckless adventurers, who became his followers.

Abimelech's mother is a native of Shechem and has many relatives in that town. Abimelech rouses the people of Shechem to support him, a true citizen of the town, against the seventy sons of Gideon living in nearby Ophrah.  Abimelech claims that these seventy sons will shortly rule Shechem and should be opposed. (Gideon's king-like attitude might have contributed to this belief.)

We note that the silver comes from the temple of Baal-Berith. Worship of Baal violates Israel's covenant with YHWH and Abimelech's father had previously pulled down the idol in Ophrah. It might be particularly galling here that Berith means "covenant" and so Baal-Berith is "Baal of the covenant", as opposed to YHWH's covenant!

Judges 9:5-6, Massacre

He went to his father's home in Ophrah and on one stone murdered his seventy brothers, the sons of Jerub-Baal. But Jotham, the youngest son of Jerub-Baal, escaped by hiding. Then all the citizens of Shechem and Beth Millo gathered beside the great tree at the pillar in Shechem to crown Abimelech king.

Abimelech massacres most of his step brothers. One escapes. The author of Judges identifies these brothers as being executed on "one stone", a symbol we will see again.

Abimelech presumably believes his father made a mistake in turning down the offer of kingship, a mistake Abimelech rectifies.

Judges 9:7-15, Jotham's fable

When Jotham was told about this, he climbed up on the top of Mount Gerizim and shouted to them, 

"Listen to me, citizens of Shechem, so that God may listen to you. One day the trees went out to anoint a king for themselves. They said to the olive tree, `Be our king.'

"But the olive tree answered, `Should I give up my oil, by which both gods and men are honored, to hold sway over the trees?'

"Next, the trees said to the fig tree, `Come and be our king.'

"But the fig tree replied, `Should I give up my fruit, so good and sweet, to hold sway over the trees?'

"Then the trees said to the vine, `Come and be our king.'

"But the vine answered, `Should I give up my wine, which cheers both gods and men, to hold sway over the trees?'

"Finally all the trees said to the thornbush, `Come and be our king.'

"The thornbush said to the trees, `If you really want to anoint me king over you, come and take refuge in my shade; but if not, then let fire come out of the thornbush and consume the cedars of Lebanon!'

Jotham tells a fable to the people of Shechem, accusing them of choosing a wild thornbush to be their king.

Judges 9:16-21, "Are you honorable?"

"Now if you have acted honorably and in good faith when you made Abimelech king, and if you have been fair to Jerub-Baal and his family, and if you have treated him as he deserves -- and to think that my father fought for you, risked his life to rescue you from the hand of Midian (but today you have revolted against my father's family, murdered his seventy sons on a single stone, and made Abimelech, the son of his slave girl, king over the citizens of Shechem because he is your brother) -- if then you have acted honorably and in good faith toward Jerub-Baal and his family today, may Abimelech be your joy, and may you be his, too!

But if you have not, let fire come out from Abimelech and consume you, citizens of Shechem and Beth Millo, and let fire come out from you, citizens of Shechem and Beth Millo, and consume Abimelech!"

Then Jotham fled, escaping to Beer, and he lived there because he was afraid of his brother Abimelech.

Jotham challenges the people about their abandonment of his father, the man who threw off their oppressors, in favor of this (illegitimate?) upstart. Here we have Abimelech's mother identified as a slave girl of Gideon's, a derogatory statement about her status.

Jotham's "if ... then ..." statements are intended to communicate a prophecy. Since the people have not acted honorably, they will be consumed by a fire from Abimelech. And eventually Abimelech will also be consumed.

After this strong accusation, Jotham flees. We do not hear of him again.

(Beth Millo is either a village near to Shechem or part of the town of Shechem.)

Judges 9:22-25, An evil spirit creates division

After Abimelech had governed Israel three years, God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the citizens of Shechem, who acted treacherously against Abimelech.

God did this in order that the crime against Jerub-Baal's seventy sons, the shedding of their blood, might be avenged on their brother Abimelech and on the citizens of Shechem, who had helped him murder his brothers.

In opposition to him these citizens of Shechem set men on the hilltops to ambush and rob everyone who passed by, and this was reported to Abimelech.

The people of Shechem, already identified as ruffians, begin robbing local travelers. This is an act of YHWH, setting up a somewhat natural punishment for people who have already betrayed the family of Gideon.

Judges 9:26-29, Gaal's rebellion

Now Gaal son of Ebed moved with his brothers into Shechem, and its citizens put their confidence in him. After they had gone out into the fields and gathered the grapes and trodden them, they held a festival in the temple of their god. While they were eating and drinking, they cursed Abimelech.

Then Gaal son of Ebed said, "Who is Abimelech, and who is Shechem, that we should be subject to him? Isn't he Jerub-Baal's son, and isn't Zebul his deputy? Serve the men of Hamor, Shechem's father! Why should we serve Abimelech?

If only this people were under my command! Then I would get rid of him. I would say to Abimelech, `Call out your whole army!'"

Gaal calls the people of Shechem back to the service of Hamor, Shechem's father. This lineage goes back to Jacob's time, see Genesis 33:18-20. Recall that Shechem, son of Hamor, raped Jacob's daughter, Dinah, in Genesis 34.

Gaal, hearing curses of Abimelech at a pagan festival, takes the opportunity to suggest a rebellion.

This pagan harvest festival apparently occurs in the temple of Baal-Berith, suggesting that Baal-Berith was a fertility god.

Judges 9:30-34, Abimelech warned

When Zebul the governor of the city heard what Gaal son of Ebed said, he was very angry. Under cover he sent messengers to Abimelech, saying, "Gaal son of Ebed and his brothers have come to Shechem and are stirring up the city against you. Now then, during the night you and your men should come and lie in wait in the fields. In the morning at sunrise, advance against the city. When Gaal and his men come out against you, do whatever your hand finds to do."

So Abimelech and all his troops set out by night and took up concealed positions near Shechem in four companies.

Gaal, in his plans for rebellion, is betrayed and word gets to the governor of the city, who contacts Abimelech. An ambush is set, with Gaal the target. Apparently Gaal and his men are in Shechem, in a position of control, and Abimelech is outside the city. Abimelech is to advance on the city at night with plans to attack at dawn.

Judges 9:35-39, Gaal attacked, Zebul taunts

Now Gaal son of Ebed had gone out and was standing at the entrance to the city gate just as Abimelech and his soldiers came out from their hiding place.

When Gaal saw them, he said to Zebul, "Look, people are coming down from the tops of the mountains!" 

Zebul replied, "You mistake the shadows of the mountains for men."

But Gaal spoke up again: "Look, people are coming down from the center of the land, and a company is coming from the direction of the soothsayers' tree."

Then Zebul said to him, "Where is your big talk now, you who said, `Who is Abimelech that we should be subject to him?' Aren't these the men you ridiculed? Go out and fight them!"

So Gaal led out the citizens of Shechem and fought Abimelech.

Gaal sees the men of Abimelech approaching and is caught off guard by the number of enemy soldiers, appearing in different places. Zebul, who arranged this, says, "Where is your big talk now?" (A very modern turn of phrase.) And so the fight begins.

Note a landmark called "the soothsayers' tree". Is this a place where people might go to have their fortunes told?

Judges 9:40-45, Shechem destroyed

Abimelech chased him, and many fell wounded in the flight--all the way to the entrance to the gate. Abimelech stayed in Arumah, and Zebul drove Gaal and his brothers out of Shechem.

The next day the people of Shechem went out to the fields, and this was reported to Abimelech. So he took his men, divided them into three companies and set an ambush in the fields. When he saw the people coming out of the city, he rose to attack them. Abimelech and the companies with him rushed forward to a position at the entrance to the city gate. Then two companies rushed upon those in the fields and struck them down.

All that day Abimelech pressed his attack against the city until he had captured it and killed its people. Then he destroyed the city and scattered salt over it.

Abimelech attacks from the outside of the city while Zebul surprises Gaal from within the city, driving the soldiers into the open fields. Abimelech wins the battle the next day and then begins to destroy the city, taking vengeance on those who had first supported him. (We do not hear what happened to Gaal.)

Judges 9:46-40, Burned in a tower

On hearing this, the citizens in the tower of Shechem went into the stronghold of the temple of El-Berith.

When Abimelech heard that they had assembled there, he and all his men went up Mount Zalmon. He took an ax and cut off some branches, which he lifted to his shoulders. He ordered the men with him, "Quick! Do what you have seen me do!"

So all the men cut branches and followed Abimelech. They piled them against the stronghold and set it on fire over the people inside. So all the people in the tower of Shechem, about a thousand men and women, also died.

Trapping the remaining people in a tower, Abimelech burns the tower and those inside. Thus Jotham's prediction that this chaotic thornbush will burn the town is fulfilled.

Judges 9:50-54, A woman's millstone

Next Abimelech went to Thebez and besieged it and captured it.

Inside the city, however, was a strong tower, to which all the men and women--all the people of the city--fled. They locked themselves in and climbed up on the tower roof. Abimelech went to the tower and stormed it. But as he approached the entrance to the tower to set it on fire, a woman dropped an upper millstone on his head and cracked his skull.

Hurriedly he called to his armor-bearer, "Draw your sword and kill me, so that they can't say, `A woman killed him.'" So his servant ran him through, and he died.

Abimelech tries the same trick in another town -- collecting the citizens in a tower and then burning it down -- but a woman fatally injures him by dropping a millstone on his head. We are given no explanation for why nearby Thebez is attacked, but there Abimelech, who executed all his step brothers on a single stone in Ophrah, is himself killed by a single stone. As Jotham has foretold, Shechem got its revenge. 

Note Abimelech's last request -- he doesn't want people to say a woman killed him! Yet centuries later, Joab, commander of David's army, will recall this danger of getting too close to the wall (see 2 Samuel 11:18-21) and remembers that it was woman who did the killing. Abimelech, despite his great ambition, is remembered for his stupidity in getting so close to a city wall that a woman could kill him

Judges 9:55-57, Curse of Jotham realized

When the Israelites saw that Abimelech was dead, they went home. Thus God repaid the wickedness that Abimelech had done to his father by murdering his seventy brothers.

God also made the men of Shechem pay for all their wickedness. The curse of Jotham son of Jerub-Baal came on them.

Jotham had accused the people of Shechem of following a thornbush, and cursed them by saying, "May fire consume you!"  And his curse came true!

First published July 3, 2023; updated July 2, 2026

Judges 8, The Rule of Gideon

Gideon and his small army have defeated their Midianite oppressors. The timid Gideon has now become a mighty leader (under YHWH's direction) and is recognized as a mighty warrior.

Judges 8:1-3, Gideon verbally attacked

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 criticized him sharply.

But he answered them, "What have I accomplished compared to you? Aren't the gleanings of Ephraim's grapes better than the full grape harvest of Abiezer? God gave Oreb and Zeeb, the Midianite leaders, into your hands. What was I able to do compared to you?" 

    

At this, their resentment against him subsided.

The Ephraimites accuse Gideon of not inviting them to the original fight. Gideon responds by pointing out their involvement at the end of the battle and arguing that YHWH gave the Midianite kings to them. The Ephraimite leaders are mollified.

This represents the high point of Gideon's reign as leader and "judge." Now that he is a mighty warrior, his story begins to go downhill. Commentator Barry Webb points out that, from here on, there is no indication that Gideon seeks the guidance of YHWH or His messenger.

Judges 8:4-9, Request denied

Gideon and his three hundred men, exhausted yet keeping up the pursuit, came to the Jordan and crossed it. He said to the men of Succoth, "Give my troops some bread; they are worn out, and I am still pursuing Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian."

But the officials of Succoth said, "Do you already have the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna in your possession? Why should we give bread to your troops?"

Then Gideon replied, "Just for that, when the LORD has given Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand, I will tear your flesh with desert thorns and briers."

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

So he said to the men of Peniel, "When I return in triumph, I will tear down this tower."

Gideon has defeated the Midianites. Yet he pursues a possibly small band, led by two Midianite kings, Zebah and Zalmunna. Gideon and his men, exhausted and hungry, cross the Jordan and, east of that river, they ask for help from the men of Succoth and Peniel. (The Hebrews east of the Jordan tend to be left out in the politics of Israel; see the earlier episode Joshua 20:10-12.)  Unwisely, these people refuse to help the army of Gideon.

Judges 8:10-12, Zebah and Zalmunna

Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor with a force of about fifteen thousand men, all that were left of the armies of the eastern peoples; a hundred and twenty thousand swordsmen had fallen.

Gideon went up by the route of the nomads east of Nobah and Jogbehah and fell upon the unsuspecting army. Zebah and Zalmunna, the two kings of Midian, fled, but he pursued them and captured them, routing their entire army.

There is a smaller group of Midianites that must be defeated. The numbers given include 120 thousand fallen swordsmen. The Hebrew word eleph is, again, the word that is being translated "thousand". The smaller group may not have expected Gideon to cross the Jordan.

Judges 8:13-17, Retribution in Piniel

Gideon son of Joash then returned from the battle by the Pass of Heres. He caught a young man of Succoth and questioned him, and the young man wrote down for him the names of the seventy-seven officials of Succoth, the elders of the town.

Then Gideon came and said to the men of Succoth, "Here are Zebah and Zalmunna, about whom you taunted me by saying, `Do you already have the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna in your possession? Why should we give bread to your exhausted men?'"

He took the elders of the town and taught the men of Succoth a lesson by punishing them with desert thorns and briers. He also pulled down the tower of Peniel and killed the men of the town.

Gideon returns to Peniel and gets revenge against this transjordan town. He captures and interrogates a young man of the town and punishes and kills various leaders. This is the first indication of violence against fellow Hebrews.

Peniel (פְנוּאֵל, meaning "face of God") was named by Jacob in Genesis 32:30-31, after he wrestled with God there.

Judges 8:18-21, Execution of Zebah and Zalmunna

Then he asked Zebah and Zalmunna, "What kind of men did you kill at Tabor?" 

"Men like you," they answered, "each one with the bearing of a prince."

Gideon replied, "Those were my brothers, the sons of my own mother. As surely as the LORD lives, if you had spared their lives, I would not kill you." Turning to Jether, his oldest son, he said, "Kill them!" But Jether did not draw his sword, because he was only a boy and was afraid.

Zebah and Zalmunna said, "Come, do it yourself. `As is the man, so is his strength.'" 

So Gideon stepped forward and killed them, and took the ornaments off their camels' necks.

Apparently Gideon has lost biological brothers in an earlier conflict at Tabor. We have not heard of this event before -- there has presumably been fighting around Mount Tabor since the time of Sisera and Deborah.  

Because these men killed his brothers, Gideon plans to execute the two kings. It is not clear if the earlier deaths were part of war or were simple murders. The Old Testament Law treats murder as different from killing during warfare and it is not clear if Gideon has the right to execute these two kings. The comments by the kings, that they killed ones "with the bearing of a prince" may be taunts (says Webb) -- these were "good" kills of strong warriors.

Gideon then asks his oldest son to kill the kings but the son is afraid. So, after being taunted by the two rulers, Gideon kills them himself. The taunt of the kings includes a proverb that suggests Gideon has cowardly passed on the ugly deed to others.

Webb points out some undercurrents to this story. Gideon is becoming more violent, more sure of himself, and we see how his violence conflicts with the attitude of his son. We also see a mention of his brothers as "princes." Is Gideon about to become king? Is Israel about to institute royalty and monarchies?

Judges 8:22-26, "Rule over us"

The Israelites said to Gideon, "Rule over us--you, your son and your grandson--because you have saved us out of the hand of Midian."

But Gideon told them, "I will not rule over you, nor will my son rule over you. The LORD will rule over you." And he said, "I do have one request, that each of you give me an earring from your share of the plunder." (It was the custom of the Ishmaelites to wear gold earrings.)

They answered, "We'll be glad to give them." So they spread out a garment, and each man threw a ring from his plunder onto it. The weight of the gold rings he asked for came to seventeen hundred shekels,  not counting the ornaments, the pendants and the purple garments worn by the kings of Midian or the chains that were on their camels' necks.

The might warrior, Gideon, is now invited to be king. A king, as opposed to a judge, would begin a dynasty, with sons and grandsons continuing the rule. Gideon refuses to be the ruler of Israel and, this time, mentions the name of YHWH. But he also asks for gold from the people.

Judges 8:27-28, A golden ephod to worship

Gideon made the gold into an ephod, which he placed in Ophrah, his town. All Israel prostituted themselves by worshiping it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and his family. Thus Midian was subdued before the Israelites and did not raise its head again. During Gideon's lifetime, the land enjoyed peace forty years.

Gideon uses the donated gold to create an "ephod", an object in the shape of sleeveless vest. It is not clear what Gideon intends with this statue -- it is possible it is a memorial of some type and intended, by him, as part of his worship of YHWH. But this golden object becomes an idol,  a "snare" to the people of Ophrah.  Gideon, called Jerub-Baal, "contender with Baal", began his reign by tearing down the idols in Ophrah and now ends his reign by creating a substitute. Despite the idolatry, it is reported that the land has peace.

Judges 8:29-32, Many sons and long life

Jerub-Baal son of Joash went back home to live. He had seventy sons of his own, for he had many wives.

His concubine, who lived in Shechem, also bore him a son, whom he named Abimelech.

Gideon son of Joash died at a good old age and was buried in the tomb of his father Joash in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

Gideon has many wives and at least one concubine (at nearby Shechem.) He has many sons. These are all the markings of a powerful man, one who might be viewed as a king. Indeed, the mistress in Shechem names her son Abimelech, which means "my father is king." This "son of a king" will have an important role in the next chapter.

Judges 8: 33-35, Gideon's legacy

No sooner had Gideon died than the Israelites again prostituted themselves to the Baals. They set up Baal-Berith as their god and did not remember the LORD their God, who had rescued them from the hands of all their enemies on every side.

They also failed to show kindness to the family of Jerub-Baal (that is, Gideon) for all the good things he had done for them.

After Gideon's death, the Israelites again pivot to the Baals. They ignore Gideon's earlier work and are misled by his golden vest idol. Gideon's legacy is a sad one and his son, Abimelech, will make it much worse.

First published July 1, 2023; updated July 1, 2026

Judges 7, Gideon's Three Hundred

Gideon, led by the messenger of YHWH, prepares to attack the Midianites.

Judges 7:1-3, Remove 22,000 men

Early in the morning, Jerub-Baal (that is, Gideon) and all his men camped at the spring of Harod. The camp of Midian was north of them in the valley near the hill of Moreh.

The LORD said to Gideon, "You have too many men for me to deliver Midian into their hands. In order that Israel may not boast against me that her own strength has saved her, announce now to the people, `Anyone who trembles with fear may turn back and leave Mount Gilead.'" 

So twenty-two thousand men left, while ten thousand remained.

Gideon says, "If you are frightened, go home!"  Two-thirds of the fighters take him up on this. YHWH wants no excuses.

Judges 7:4-8, Remove some more

But the LORD said to Gideon, "There are still too many men. Take them down to the water, and I will sift them for you there. If I say, `This one shall go with you,' he shall go; but if I say, `This one shall not go with you,' he shall not go."

So Gideon took the men down to the water. There the LORD told him, "Separate those who lap the water with their tongues like a dog from those who kneel down to drink." 

Three hundred men lapped with their hands to their mouths. All the rest got down on their knees to drink.

The LORD said to Gideon, "With the three hundred men that lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hands. Let all the other men go, each to his own place."

So Gideon sent the rest of the Israelites to their tents but kept the three hundred, who took over the provisions and trumpets of the others. Now the camp of Midian lay below him in the valley.

Gideon says, "If you drink by drawing the water up to your mouth with your hand, stay.  Otherwise go home."  Finally there are only 300 soldiers.

There have been a variety of suggestions as to why these two methods of drinking would separate soldiers. Those who kneel down to drink were sent home. The other posture (lapping water like a dog/lapping with their hands to their mouths) is not clear. Some claim this second posture, used by only 300 men, demonstrated alertness for battle. Other commentators disagree. Some claim that Gideon merely uses this method as a way to trim the army to a size acceptable by YHWH's messenger.

When the rest of the army leaves, Gideon holds onto the provisions, including some trumpets.

Judges 7:9-12, Listen in

During that night the LORD said to Gideon, "Get up, go down against the camp, because I am going to give it into your hands.  If you are afraid to attack, go down to the camp with your servant Purah
and listen to what they are saying. Afterward, you will be encouraged to attack the camp." So he and Purah his servant went down to the outposts of the camp.

The Midianites, the Amalekites and all the other eastern peoples had settled in the valley, thick as locusts. Their camels could no more be counted than the sand on the seashore.

YHWH instructs Gideon to listen in on some of the conversations of this large cohort.

Judges 7:13-14, One man's dream

Gideon arrived just as a man was telling a friend his dream. "I had a dream," he was saying. "A round loaf of barley bread came tumbling into the Midianite camp. It struck the tent with such force that the tent overturned and collapsed."

His friend responded, "This can be nothing other than the sword of Gideon son of Joash, the Israelite. God has given the Midianites and the whole camp into his hands."

Midianites are having bad dreams. Gideon overhears one Midianite predicting defeat, since God is on Gideon's side.

Judges 7:15-18, Gideon hears and worships

When Gideon heard the dream and its interpretation, he worshiped God. He returned to the camp of Israel and called out, "Get up! The LORD has given the Midianite camp into your hands."

Dividing the three hundred men into three companies, he placed trumpets and empty jars in the hands of all of them, with torches inside.

"Watch me," he told them. "Follow my lead. When I get to the edge of the camp, do exactly as I do. When I and all who are with me blow our trumpets, then from all around the camp blow yours and shout, `For the LORD and for Gideon.'"

Gideon, excited by what he overheard, prepares a surprise attack.  He appears to have access to 300 trumpets, jars and torches, left over from supplies for the greater army. The much smaller army that remains is divided into three companies, each man with trumpets, jars and torches. The torches are inside the jars so that the light of the torches is blocked.

Judges 7:19-22, Trumpets and broken jars

Gideon and the hundred men with him reached the edge of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, just after they had changed the guard. They blew their trumpets and broke the jars that were in their hands.

The three companies blew the trumpets and smashed the jars. Grasping the torches in their left hands and holding in their right hands the trumpets they were to blow, they shouted, "A sword for the LORD and for Gideon!"

While each man held his position around the camp, all the Midianites ran, crying out as they fled. When the three hundred trumpets sounded, the LORD caused the men throughout the camp to turn on each other with their swords. The army fled to Beth Shittah toward Zererah as far as the border of Abel Meholah near Tabbath.

In the dark the followers of Gideon blow trumpets, break jars and hold up torches. The sudden appearance of 300 jars and trumpets indicates a much larger army. The men of Gideon stay put, not attacking, but the Midianites react in terror and flee, attacking others in the chaos. So the Midianites are routed without a real attack by Gideons men.

Judges 7:23-25, Come down and help us

Israelites from Naphtali, Asher and all Manasseh were called out, and they pursued the Midianites.

Gideon sent messengers throughout the hill country of Ephraim, saying, "Come down against the Midianites and seize the waters of the Jordan ahead of them as far as Beth Barah." 

So all the men of Ephraim were called out and they took the waters of the Jordan as far as Beth Barah. They also captured two of the Midianite leaders, Oreb and Zeeb. They killed Oreb at the rock of Oreb, and Zeeb at the winepress of Zeeb. They pursued the Midianites and brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon, who was by the Jordan.

The men of Ephraim join in the rout. Two Midianite leaders are captured and executed. Their places of execution are then named after the killed Midianite chieftains.

First published June 30, 2023; updated June 30, 2026