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Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Judges 8:18-21

Judgment began at the house of God, in the just correction of the men of Succoth and Penuel, who were Israelites, but it did not end there. The kings of Midian, when they had served to demonstrate Gideon's victories, and grace his triumphs, must now be reckoned with. 1. They are indicted for the murder of Gideon's brethren some time ago at Mount Tabor. When the children of Israel, for fear of the Midianites, made themselves dens in the mountains (Jdg. 6:2), those young men, it is likely, took... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Judges 8:18

Then said he unto Zebah and Zalmunna ,.... Not at Penuel or Succoth, but when he had brought them into the land of Canaan, and perhaps to his own city Ophrah: what manner of men were they whom ye slew at Tabor ? Mount Tabor, to which these men had betaken and hid themselves, in some caves and dens there: see Judges 6:2 and these kings some little time before the battle had taken them, and slew them, of which it seems Gideon had notice; and some of his brethren being not to be found, he... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Judges 8:19

And he said, they were my brethren, even the sons of my mother ,.... His brethren by his mother's side, but not by his father's side; or the phrase the sons of my mother is added , to show that he did not mean brethren in a large sense, as all the Israelites were, but in a strict sense, being so nearly related as his mother's children: as the Lord liveth, if ye had saved them alive, I would not slay you ; for not being Canaanites, he was not obliged by the law of God to put them to... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Judges 8:20

And he said unto Jether, his firstborn, up, and slay them ,.... Being the near kinsman of his father's brethren, whom these kings had slain, was a proper person to avenge their blood on them; and the rather Gideon might order him to do it, for the greater mortification of the kings, to die by the hand of a youth; and for the honour of his son, to be the slayer of two kings, and to inure him to draw his sword against the enemies of Israel, and embolden him to do such exploits: but the... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Judges 8:21

Then Zebah and Zalmunna said, rise thou and fall upon us ,.... Since they must die, they chose rather to die by the hand of so great a man and valiant a commander as Gideon, which was more honourable than to die by the hand of a youth: for as the man is, so is his strength ; signifying, that as he was a stout able man, he had strength sufficient to dispatch them at once, which his son had not, and therefore they must have died a lingering and painful death: wherefore as they consulted... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Judges 8:18

What manner of men were they whom ye slew at Tabor ? - We have no antecedent to this question; and are obliged to conjecture one: it seems as if Zebah and Zalmunna had massacred the family of Gideon, while he was absent on this expedition. Gideon had heard some confused account of it, and now questions them concerning the fact. They boldly acknowledge it, and describe the persons whom they slew, by which he found they were his own brethren. This determines him to avenge... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Judges 8:20

He said unto Jether his first-born - By the ancient laws of war, prisoners taken in war might be either slain, sold, or kept for slaves. To put a captive enemy to death no executioner was required. Gideon slays Zebah and Zalmunna with his own hand. So Samuel is said to have hewn Agag in pieces, 1 Samuel 15:33 . Benaiah slew Joab, 1 Kings 2:25 . Saul orders his guards to slay the priests who had contributed to the escape of David, 1 Samuel 22:17 ; and David caused one of his... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Judges 8:21

Then Zebah and Zalmunna said , Rise , thou , and fall upon us - It was disgraceful to fall by the hands of a child; and the death occasioned by the blows of such a person must be much more lingering and tormenting. Some have even employed children to despatch captives. Civilis, a Roman knight, headed a revolt of the Gauls against Rome, in the year of the city 824. Of him Tacitus says, Hist. lib. iv., c. 61: Ferebatur parvulo filio quosdam captivorum sagittis jaculisque puerilibus... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Judges 8:18

What manner of men - literally, “Where are the men?” The sense, “what manner of men”, is merely gathered from the tenor of the answer. Gideon doubtless knew that his brethren had been killed by Zebah and Zalmunna, and the desire of avenging their death was one motive for his impetuous pursuit and attack. His question was rather a taunt, a bitter reproach to his captives, preparing them for their fate. Zebah and Zalmunna, in their answer, did not give evidence against themselves. Their hope was... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Judges 8:19

The sons of my mother - A much closer relation than that of brothers by the father only. (Compare Genesis 43:29; Deuteronomy 13:6; Psalms 69:8). This is the only hint preserved of the transaction. We cannot say exactly when the slaughter of Gideon’s brethren on Mount Tabor took place, whether before the outbreak of the war Judges 6:33, or in the retreat and flight of the Midianites Judges 7:22. read more

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