Judges 6:3

Translations

Modern

Whenever the Israelites planted their crops, the Midianites, Amalekites, and other people of the east would come up and invade them,

Traditional

And so it was, when Israel had sown, that the Midianites came up, and the Amalekites, and the children of the east, even they came up against them;

Literal

And it came to pass, when Israel had sown, that Midian came up, and Amalek and the sons of the East, and they came up against him.

Latin

Cumque sevisset Israël, ascendebat Madian et Amalec, ceterique orientalium nationum:

Original

Hebrew

English

Whenever the Israelites planted their crops, the Midianites, Amalekites, and other people of the east would come up and invade them,

Notes

Judges 6:1–6

After forty years of peace, religious blending caused political instability, and roaming nomads forced the Israelites to live as fugitives.
The Midianites, once thought to be purely nomadic and based in northwest Arabia, are now known to have built cities and, for a time, controlled much of the Arabian Peninsula and southern Transjordan (the area east of the Jordan). They are joined by the Amalekites (who were earlier part of a Moabite coalition; see study note on Judges 3:12–13) and the mysterious people of the east (compare 1 Kings 4:30; Ezekiel 25:4, 10). The attacks were seasonal but very destructive.

Theme notes and profiles

Gideon

Events

Subjugation by Midianc. 1258 BC

Related verses

Judges 3:13
After enlisting the Ammonites and Amalekites to join forces with him, Eglon attacked and defeated Israel, taking possession of the City of Palms.
Judges 6:33
Then all the Midianites, Amalekites, and other people of the east gathered together, crossed over the Jordan, and camped in the Valley of Jezreel.
Judges 7:12
Now the Midianites, Amalekites, and all the other people of the east had settled in the valley like a swarm of locusts, and their camels were as countless as the sand on the seashore.
Judges 8:10
Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor with their army of about fifteen thousand men—all that were left of the armies of the people of the east. A hundred and twenty thousand swordsmen had already fallen.
Genesis 29:1
Jacob resumed his journey and came to the land of the people of the east.
Isaiah 65:21–22
They will build houses and dwell in them; they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
1 Kings 4:30
Solomon’s wisdom was greater than that of all the men of the East, greater than all the wisdom of Egypt.
Job 1:3
…and he owned 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, 500 female donkeys, and a very large number of servants. Job was the greatest man of all the people of the East.
Deuteronomy 28:30–33
You will be pledged in marriage to a woman, but another man will violate her. You will build a house but will not live in it. You will plant a vineyard but will not enjoy its fruit.
Micah 6:15
You will sow but not reap; you will press olives but not anoint yourselves with oil; you will tread grapes but not drink the wine.
Leviticus 26:16
…then this is what I will do to you: I will bring upon you sudden terror, wasting disease, and fever that will destroy your sight and drain your life. You will sow your seed in vain, because your enemies will eat it.
Job 31:8
…then may another eat what I have sown, and may my crops be uprooted.

People

Israel: Patriarch, son of Isaac, father of twelve tribes

Places

Amalek: A nomadic people, descendants of Esau, enemies of Israel East: A direction associated with invading armies and nomadic tribes Midian: A nation descended from Abraham; oppressed Israel in the time of the judges

Glossary

Amalek, Amalekites Armageddon Asher (Tribe) Caravan Children of the East Gilead (Place) Judges, Book of Midian, Midianite Numbers, Book of People of the East Zebah and Zalmunna

Topics

Armies: Compared to Grasshoppers Midianites: Allowed to Oppress Israel The Amalekites with Midian, Oppressed Israel

Judges 6:3

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