Translations
Original
Notes
In the ancient Near East, people often tore the flesh of a defeated enemy (compare Amos 1:3; Micah 4:13).
At this point, Gideon seemed as focused on revenge as on victory. His earlier conversations with the Lord suddenly stopped. The group of 300 men made a final attack on the Midianites.
Gideon chased the fleeing Midianite kings through the Jabbok gorge and then south toward Rabbah, following the caravan route onto the Transjordan plateau.
Succoth and Peniel were Israelite cities, but their loyalty to Gideon, a new general, was weak. The tribes east of the Jordan were often under Midianite pressure and seemed to fear them.
Gideon's time as a judge ends the first era of judges.
Events
People
Gideon: Judge of Israel; defeated Midianites; tested and reassured by God Zalmunna: Midianite king defeated by Gideon Zebah: Midianite king defeated by Gideon
Glossary
Topics
Gideon: Leads an Army Against and Defeats the Midianites God: Preserver: Under Gideon Israel: Under the Judges: Seven Years of Bondage to the Midianites; Delivered by Gideon Patriotism: Lacking in The Inhabitants of Succoth and Penuel Retaliation: Gideon on the Princes of Succoth Succoth: A City Which Was Located Probably East of the Jordan River: People of, Punished by Gideon Zalmunna: King of Midian Zebah: King of Midian