He said to the men of Succoth, “Please give loaves of bread to the people who follow me; for they are faint, and I am pursuing after Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian.”
The princes of Succoth said, “Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in your hand, that we should give bread to your army?”
Gideon said, “Therefore when Yahweh has delivered Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand, then I will tear your flesh with the thorns of the wilderness and with briers.”
He went up 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.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv5–7 Hebrew, that are at my feet.
Hebrew, that are at my feet.
Or, some small portion.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv5–8 Jdg 8:5 And he said unto the men of…
Jdg 8:5 And he said unto the men of Succoth, Give, I pray you, loaves of bread unto the people that follow me; for they [be] faint, and I am pursuing after Zebah and Zalmunna, kings of Midian.
Ver. 5. Loaves of bread.] Or, Morsels, or cakes that may be soon baked, and we not hindered in our pursuit. Thus Gideon performed all the parts of a good general: he not only knew how to overcome an enemy, but also how to use the victory.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv5–8 Succoth; a place beyond Jordan, Gen 33:17; Jos 13:27;…
Succoth; a place beyond Jordan, Gen 33:17; Jos 13:27; Psa 60:6.
Kings of Midian; where before this time were five kings at once, Num 31:8, who either reigned separately in divers parts of the land, or governed by common counsel and consent, as sometimes there were two or three Roman emperors together.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv5–8 And he said to the men of Succoth,.... The…
And he said to the men of Succoth,.... The inhabitants of that place, the principal men of it, which lay in his way as he was pursuing the Midianites in their flight to their own country; for this was a city on the other side Jordan, and in the tribe of Gad and was inhabited by Israelites, Jos 13:27 it had its name from the booths or tents which Jacob erected here, Gen 33:17.
give, I pray you, loaves of bread unto the people that follow me; he did not desire them to leave their habitations and families, and join him in pursuing his and their enemies, or to furnish him and his men with arms; only to give them some provisions and that not dainties, but loaves of bread; or "morsels of bread" (t), and broken pieces; and these he did not demand in an authoritative manner, as he might have done as a general, but in a way of entreaty; and the arguments he uses are:
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for they be faint; for want of food, through the long fatigue from midnight hitherto, in the pursuit of the enemy, and which was not over:
and I am pursuing after Zebah and Zalmunna, kings of Midian; who had fled with 15,000 men, and were now, as Jarchi conjectures, destroying the countries of Reuben and Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh; and now Gideon and his men were closely pursuing them, in hopes of taking them, and so complete the conquest, and thoroughly deliver Israel from their bondage on both sides Jordan, the benefits of which these men of Succoth would share with others; these were the arguments, and cogent ones they were, to persuade them to give his weary troops some refreshment.
(t) "buccellas panis", Vatablus; "tractas panis", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator; so the Targum.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On v8 Penuel - Another city beyond Jordan; both were in…
Penuel - Another city beyond Jordan; both were in the tribe of Gad.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv5–7 Verse 5. Give, I pray you, loaves of bread]…
Verse 5. Give, I pray you, loaves of bread] As Gideon was engaged in the common cause of Israel, he had a right to expect succour from the people at large. His request to the men of Succoth and Penuel was both just and reasonable.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv6–7 Jdg 8:6. Are the hands of Zeba and Zalmunna…
Jdg 8:6. Are the hands of Zeba and Zalmunna now in thy hand? — Art thou so foolish as to think with thy three hundred faint and weary soldiers to conquer and destroy fifteen thousand men? Thus they make light of the advantage he had gained, and tauntingly tell him, that he had not yet got these kings into his hands, that they should run the danger of giving him and his men food, and so afterward have those kings to fall upon them. Thus they show the most dastardly and ungenerous spirit, and shut up the bowels of their compassion against their brethren, who, with extreme toil, and at the hazard of their lives, were endeavouring to deliver them and the rest of their country from a cruel slavery. Were these Israelites! Surely they were worshippers of Baal, or in the interest of Midian.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv5, 6, 8 Succoth was in the tribe of Gad which was…
Succoth was in the tribe of Gad which was entirely trans-Jordanic Jos 13:27; and the ruins are at Sukkot, on the east of Jordan, a little south of Bethshan.
Give, I pray you etc. - Gideon might fairly expect so much aid from the trans-Jordanic tribes, and from so considerable a town as Succoth Jdg 8:14.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv5–7 Soccoth. "The tents," where Jacob had encamped, Genesis xxxiii.…
Soccoth. "The tents," where Jacob had encamped, Genesis xxxiii. It belonged to the tribe of Dan. (Menochius) --- The people of this town, as well as the ancients of Phanuel, returned an insolent reply to the just request of Gedeon. In cases of such extremity, all are bound to assist the defenders of their country; and the refusal is punished as a sort of rebellion, 2 Kings xxv. 10. (Calmet)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv5–8 he said unto the men of Succoth--that is, a…
he said unto the men of Succoth--that is, a place of tents or booths. The name seems to have been applied to the whole part of the Jordan valley on the west, as well as on the east side of the river, all belonging to the tribe of Gad (compare Gen 33:17; Kg1 7:46; with Jos 13:27). Being engaged in the common cause of all Israel, he had a right to expect support and encouragement from his countrymen everywhere.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv5, 7, 8 5. Succoth — A town of considerable size, as…
5. Succoth — A town of considerable size, as appears from its having seventy-seven princes and elders. Jdg_8:14. It took its name from Jacob’s having there put up booths (Hebrews, succoth) for himself and his cattle.
Gen_33:17. It was on the east of the Jordan, but its site has not been certainly identified with any modern town.
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I am pursuing — He was engaged in the Lord’s work, and had reason to expect assistance from the towns through which he passed.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv5–8 5. Succoth] On the E. of Jordan, in the…
5. Succoth] On the E. of Jordan, in the territory of Gad (Jos_13:27), near Penuel (cf. Gen_33:17), and below it (went up Jdg_8:8); and Penuel, as we learn from Gen_32:22; Gen_32:30 f., lay not far from the ford of Jabbok (Nahr ez-Zerḳâ). The question is, were Succoth and Penuel north or south of the Jabbok? On the whole, a position S. of the river satisfies the conditions of the narratives: Penuel near the point where the road coming E. from es-Salṭ crosses the road which comes down the Jordan valley from the north (the Ghôr route), i.e. 3 miles due E. of the ford ed-Dâmiyeh; and Succoth to the W. of Penuel, and lower down in the Jordan valley, cf. Psa_60:6. See Driver, Expos. Times xiii. 457 ff., Genesis, 300 ff. In the Jerus. Talmud Succoth is identified with Tar‘çla (now Deir ‘Allâ), N. of the Jabbok (Shebi‘ith ix. 38 d); the identification probably rests only on a guess.
Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian] Contrast Jdg_7:25, and cf. Psa_83:11. The Hebr. pronunciation of these Midianite names is intended to convey a contemptuous meaning, ‘Sacrifice,’ ‘Shadow (i.e. protection, Num_14:9) withheld,’ which of course was not the real one. Zalmunna, strictly perhaps Ṣalm-na‘, appears to contain the name of the god Ṣalm, who is mentioned in the Aramaic inscriptions (fifth century b.c.) from Tçma in N. Arabia; in Assyrian also Ṣalmu, i.e. ‘the dark’ (a name of the planet Saturn) or ‘the image,’ seems to be used of a divinity1[39].
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[39] See NSI., p. 196 f.; KAT.3, p. 475 f.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv5–8 (5) Unto the men of Succoth.—The name Succoth means…
(5) Unto the men of Succoth.—The name Succoth means “booths,” and the place was so named, or re-named, because of the “booths” which had been erected there by Jacob on his return from Padanaram (Gen_33:17; Jos_13:27). It was situated in the tribe of Gad, and is probably the Sukkot mentioned by Burckhardt as on the east of Jordan, south wards from Bethshean. The “valley of Succoth” is mentioned in Psa_60:6; Psa_108:7.
Loaves of bread.—The loaves are round cakes (ciccar). His request was a very modest and considerate one. He did not “requisition” them for forces, or for intelligence, or for any active assistance, because he might bear in mind that they on the east of Jordan would, in case of any reverse or incomplete victory, be the first to feel the vengeance of the neighbouring-Midianites. But to supply bread to their own hungry countrymen, who were fighting their battles, was an act of common humanity which even the Midianites could not greatly resent.
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Unto the people that follow me.—Literally, which is at my feet, as in Jdg_4:10.
Zebah and Zalmunna.—These were Emîrs of higher rank than the Sheykhs Oreb and Zeeb, though Josephus calls them only “leaders,” while he calls Oreb and Zeeb “kings.” Zebah means “a sacrifice,” perhaps one who had been consecrated by his parents to the gods of Midian. Zalmunna seems to mean “shadow of an exile,” or, according to Gesenius, “shelter is denied him”—an unintelligible name, but perhaps due to some unknown incident. They are called “kings of Midian” (malkai Midian), as in Num_31:8. Oreb and Zeeb are only called Sarim, the same title as that given to Sisera (Jdg_4:2), and in the next verse to the elders of Succoth.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv5–8 Succoth. On the east side of Jordan, as appears…
Succoth. On the east side of Jordan, as appears plainly from the narrative in Gen_33:17, Gen_33:18; for we read there that Jacob journeyed from Mount Gilead to Mahanaim, thence to Penuel, and from Pe-nuel to Succoth, so called from the booths or tabernacles which he made for his cattle; and that after leaving Succoth he came to the city of Shechem (called Shalem)," in the land of Canaan," showing that Succoth was not in the land of Canaan. In Jos_13:27 we are also distinctly told that Succoth was in the trans-Jordanic tribe of Gad (which lay south of the Jabbok), in the valley of the Jordan, where its proximity to Mahanaim (vers. 26, 30) shows it to be the same place as Jacob"s Succoth, which was also near the Jabbok. (Gen_32:22) The identification of Succoth with any modern representative is very uncertain. Jerome mentions a trans-Jordanic place named Soc-hoth, in the region of Beth-shan, or Scythe-polls; and Burkhardt also mentions a place described by him as "the ruins of Sukkot," two hours from Bysan (Beth-shan), and on the cast of Jordan. But this, as well as the Sakut of Robinson and Van de Velde, on the west of Jordan, about ten miles south of Beth-shan, is too far north for the Suceoth of Jacob, which is shown to be the same as the Succoth of Gideon by the connection of the latter with Penuel (ver. 8), and which, as above noticed, is shown to be the same as the Succoth of Joshua 13 by its proximity to Mahanaim. We must await some further light before we can decide the exact position of Succoth.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On v6 The princes of Succoth . . . The men…
Jdg_8:6-17
The princes of Succoth . . . The men of Penuel.
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Patience under provocation
Instead of being supported, as they had good right to expect they would have been, by those who profess to be the Lords people, instances are by no means rare of men of Gideons stamp being met on their part by scoffs and insinuations, and positive refusals along with cold prudential admonitions to attend to their own business, and allow matters just to take their course. Nor is this all. There are some who go even farther still--men who, while professing to be the friends of truth, are found actually, out of deliberate malice, envy, or jealousy, refusing to lend a lending hand and casting obstacles in the way of accomplishing the reformation on which their generous hearts are set. Now of all this we are furnished with a striking illustration in what is here recorded as having passed between Gideon and the men of Succoth and Penuel. Yet mark how nobly he continued to restrain the impulse of his resentment--an example which naturally reminds us of that of one greater far than Gideon, when He met with treatment similar, yet worse still, at the hands of those whom He had come to seek and to save from a servitude more deplorable by far. Oh, how amazing was His long-suffering forbearance! How analogous also to the conduct of Gideon, while infinitely more worthy of our admiration, was the patient perseverance with which He went on His way, still carrying forward the work which His Father had given Him to do, and for the sake of those very people who thus shamefully requited His love and service and self-denial, exposed Himself to still greater privations and still severer sufferings than any He had yet borne! Oh, if we wonder at the behaviour of the Ephraimites and the men of Succoth and Penuel toward Gideon son of Joash under provocation so aggravated, what ought we to think of Jesus the Son of God in bearing with us as He does! Yet, from what afterwards took place, let us beware how we presume on the long-suffering to which we owe so much. If the promises of Christ are yea and amen, so also are His threatenings; let us never for one moment lose sight of that! Gideon contented himself meanwhile with simply threatening the men of Succoth and Penuel, the former that he would tear their flesh with thorns (Jdg_8:7), the latter that he would break down their tower (Jdg_8:8) But afterwards, when he returned from taking vengeance on his countrys enemies at Karkor, thereby crowning his enterprise with complete success, then he fulfilled these threatenings to the very letter. And even so it shall be with all the enemies of Jesus, with all who decline to come to the help of the Lord against the mighty, at that day when He shall come again, to be admired of all them that love Him, and to take vengeance on all besides. Sooner or later the judgment He has threatened shall descend upon them. (W. W. Duncan, M. A.)
Punishment of the selfish and mean-spirited
These men were blind to the glory of the common cause--selfish, poor-spirited creatures, that shut themselves up in their fenced cities, and were satisfied to let Gods soldiers starve, and Gods work come to an end for want of support, so long only as they had bread enough to satisfy their own hunger. This was a state of mind not to be corrected by a mere civil speech or explanation. Gideon taught them, not by expostulation, but by the sword and with the briers of the wilderness. Can we say that there are none now who merit the same punishment? none who resist every appeal to assist those who are faint by pursuing Gods work? There are still men who have no eye for spiritual importance, but measure all things by their outward appearance and by their relation to their own comfort; men who fortify themselves in their ungenerous selfishness by asking, as these men of Succoth did, What have you made of this pursuit in which you want us to assist you? what great good have you done, that we should help you? Are Zebah and Zalmunna already in your hands, that we should acknowledge you as useful men, and give you what you ask to help you on in your pursuit? For such persons, who despise the day of small things, who cannot recognise God if He takes on Him the form of a little child, nor His Church when it exists as a grain of mustard-seed, there remains the doom of seeing the whole work of God in the world finished without their aid, and of hearing the voice of God Himself in rebuke, Behold, ye despisers, and wonder and perish! (Marcus Dods, D.D.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv6, 8 Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in…
Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in your hand?
The leaders use a question to emphasize that the Israelites have not yet captured Zebah and Zalumnna. AT: "You have not captured Zebah and Zalmunna yet." (See: Rhetorical Question)
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Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna
Here "hands" refer to the whole body. (See: Synecdoche)
now in your hand
Here "hand" represents power or control. (See: Metonymy)
Why should we give bread to your army?
The leaders use a question to emphasize that they have no reason to give bread to the Israelites. AT: "We see no reason to give bread to your army." (See: Rhetorical Question and Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
I will tear your skin with the desert thorns and briers
The full meaning of this statement can be made explicit. AT: "I will make whips out of desert thorns and briers and use them to beat you and cut you" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
thorns and briers
sharp, pointed pieces on vines or tree limbs that stick out and can cut people and animals
translationWords
bread
Gideon
Yahweh
flesh
desert
thorn
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.