Gideon
기드온
Named at Judges 6:11 as the son of Joash: the LORD’s angel comes and sits under the oak which was in Ophrah, that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, while Gideon is beating out wheat in the wine press, to hide it from the Midianites. At 6:14 the LORD looks at him and says, “Go in this your might, and save Israel from the hand of Midian. Haven’t I sent you?”, and at 6:24 Gideon builds an altar there to the LORD, and calls it “The LORD is Peace.” At 6:25–28 he takes ten men of his servants and does by night as the LORD had spoken to him, and the altar of Baal is broken down and the Asherah that was by it is cut down; 6:32 says, “Therefore on that day he named him Jerub-Baal, saying, ‘Let Baal contend against him, because he has broken down his altar.’” At 6:34 the LORD’s Spirit comes on Gideon, and he blows a trumpet, and Abiezer is gathered together to follow him. At 6:36–40 he says to God, “If there is dew on the fleece only, and it is dry on all the ground, then I’ll know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you have spoken,” and it is so; he says again, “Please let me make a trial just this once with the fleece,” and God does so that night. At 7:1–8 Jerubbaal, who is Gideon, and all the people who were with him encamp beside the spring of Harod; twenty-two thousand of the people return, ten thousand remain, and Gideon retains the three hundred men who lapped. At 7:9–22 he goes down with Purah his servant to the outermost part of the armed men who were in the camp, and hears the dream of a cake of barley bread and its interpretation, and he worships; he divides the three hundred men into three companies, and puts into the hands of all of them trumpets and empty pitchers, with torches within the pitchers; and when they blow the three hundred trumpets, the LORD sets every man’s sword against his fellow and against all the army. At 8:1–3 the men of Ephraim rebuke him sharply, and he says, “God has delivered into your hand the princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb! What was I able to do in comparison with you?”, and their anger is abated toward him. At 8:4–21 he passes over the Jordan with the three hundred men and pursues Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian; he takes them, teaches the men of Succoth with thorns of the wilderness and briers, breaks down the tower of Penuel, and arises and kills Zebah and Zalmunna. At 8:22–23 the men of Israel ask him to rule over them, and he says, “I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you. The LORD shall rule over you.” At 8:24–27 he asks each of them for the earrings of his plunder, makes an ephod out of the gold, and puts it in Ophrah, his city; all Israel plays the prostitute with it there, and it becomes a snare to Gideon and to his house. 8:28 says the land had rest forty years in the days of Gideon. 8:30–32 says, “Gideon had seventy sons conceived from his body, for he had many wives. His concubine who was in Shechem also bore him a son, and he named him Abimelech. Gideon the son of Joash died in a good old age, and was buried in the tomb of Joash his father, in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.” At 8:35 the children of Israel do not show kindness to the house of Jerubbaal, that is, Gideon, according to all the goodness which he had shown to Israel.
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AI-assisted comparison with the cited narrative; not independent historical verification.
- 1SA 12:6–12, engwebp
6Samuel said to the people, “It is the LORD who appointed Moses and Aaron, and that brought your fathers up out of the land of Egypt.
7Now therefore stand still, that I may plead with you before the LORD concerning all the righteous acts of the LORD, which he did to you and to your fathers.
8“When Jacob had come into Egypt, and your fathers cried to the LORD, then the LORD sent Moses and Aaron, who brought your fathers out of Egypt, and made them to dwell in this place.
9But they forgot the LORD their God; and he sold them into the hand of Sisera, captain of the army of Hazor, and into the hand of the Philistines, and into the hand of the king of Moab; and they fought against them.
10They cried to the LORD, and said, ‘We have sinned, because we have forsaken the LORD and have served the Baals and the Ashtaroth; but now deliver us out of the hand of our enemies, and we will serve you.’
11The LORD sent Jerubbaal, Bedan, Jephthah, and Samuel, and delivered you out of the hand of your enemies on every side; and you lived in safety.
12“When you saw that Nahash the king of the children of Ammon came against you, you said to me, ‘No, but a king shall reign over us,’ when the LORD your God was your king.
- HEB 11:32–40, engwebp
32What more shall I say? For the time would fail me if I told of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets—
33who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked out righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions,
34quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, from weakness were made strong, grew mighty in war, and caused foreign armies to flee.
35Women received their dead by resurrection. Others were tortured, not accepting their deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection.
36Others were tried by mocking and scourging, yes, moreover by bonds and imprisonment.
37They were stoned. They were sawn apart. They were tempted. They were slain with the sword. They went around in sheep skins and in goat skins; being destitute, afflicted, ill-treated—
38of whom the world was not worthy—wandering in deserts, mountains, caves, and the holes of the earth.
39These all, having been commended for their faith, didn’t receive the promise,
40God having provided some better thing concerning us, so that apart from us they should not be made perfect.
- JDG 6:11–24, engwebp
11The LORD’s angel came and sat under the oak which was in Ophrah, that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite. His son Gideon was beating out wheat in the wine press, to hide it from the Midianites.
12The LORD’s angel appeared to him, and said to him, “The LORD is with you, you mighty man of valor!”
13Gideon said to him, “Oh, my lord, if the LORD is with us, why then has all this happened to us? Where are all his wondrous works which our fathers told us of, saying, ‘Didn’t the LORD bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the LORD has cast us off, and delivered us into the hand of Midian.”
14The LORD looked at him, and said, “Go in this your might, and save Israel from the hand of Midian. Haven’t I sent you?”
15He said to him, “O Lord, how shall I save Israel? Behold, my family is the poorest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.”
16The LORD said to him, “Surely I will be with you, and you shall strike the Midianites as one man.”
17He said to him, “If now I have found favor in your sight, then show me a sign that it is you who talk with me.
18Please don’t go away until I come to you, and bring out my present, and lay it before you.” He said, “I will wait until you come back.”
19Gideon went in and prepared a young goat and unleavened cakes of an ephah of meal. He put the meat in a basket and he put the broth in a pot, and brought it out to him under the oak, and presented it.
20The angel of God said to him, “Take the meat and the unleavened cakes, and lay them on this rock, and pour out the broth.” He did so.
21Then the LORD’s angel stretched out the end of the staff that was in his hand, and touched the meat and the unleavened cakes; and fire went up out of the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened cakes. Then the LORD’s angel departed out of his sight.
22Gideon saw that he was the LORD’s angel; and Gideon said, “Alas, Lord GOD! Because I have seen the LORD’s angel face to face!”
23The LORD said to him, “Peace be to you! Don’t be afraid. You shall not die.”
24Then Gideon built an altar there to the LORD, and called it “The LORD is Peace.” To this day it is still in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.
- JDG 6:25–27, engwebp
25That same night, the LORD said to him, “Take your father’s bull, even the second bull seven years old, and throw down the altar of Baal that your father has, and cut down the Asherah that is by it.
26Then build an altar to the LORD your God on the top of this stronghold, in an orderly way, and take the second bull, and offer a burnt offering with the wood of the Asherah which you shall cut down.”
27Then Gideon took ten men of his servants, and did as the LORD had spoken to him. Because he feared his father’s household and the men of the city, he could not do it by day, but he did it by night.
- JDG 6:28–32, engwebp
28When the men of the city arose early in the morning, behold, the altar of Baal was broken down, and the Asherah was cut down that was by it, and the second bull was offered on the altar that was built.
29They said to one another, “Who has done this thing?” When they inquired and asked, they said, “Gideon the son of Joash has done this thing.”
30Then the men of the city said to Joash, “Bring out your son, that he may die, because he has broken down the altar of Baal, and because he has cut down the Asherah that was by it.”
31Joash said to all who stood against him, “Will you contend for Baal? Or will you save him? He who will contend for him, let him be put to death by morning! If he is a god, let him contend for himself, because someone has broken down his altar!”
32Therefore on that day he named him Jerub-Baal, saying, “Let Baal contend against him, because he has broken down his altar.”
- JDG 6:33–35, engwebp
33Then all the Midianites and the Amalekites and the children of the east assembled themselves together; and they passed over, and encamped in the valley of Jezreel.
34But the LORD’s Spirit came on Gideon, and he blew a trumpet; and Abiezer was gathered together to follow him.
35He sent messengers throughout all Manasseh, and they also were gathered together to follow him. He sent messengers to Asher, to Zebulun, and to Naphtali; and they came up to meet them.
- JDG 6:36–40, engwebp
36Gideon said to God, “If you will save Israel by my hand, as you have spoken,
37behold, I will put a fleece of wool on the threshing floor. If there is dew on the fleece only, and it is dry on all the ground, then I’ll know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you have spoken.”
38It was so; for he rose up early on the next day, and pressed the fleece together, and wrung the dew out of the fleece, a bowl full of water.
39Gideon said to God, “Don’t let your anger be kindled against me, and I will speak but this once. Please let me make a trial just this once with the fleece. Let it now be dry only on the fleece, and on all the ground let there be dew.”
40God did so that night; for it was dry on the fleece only, and there was dew on all the ground.
- JDG 7:1–8, engwebp
1Then Jerubbaal, who is Gideon, and all the people who were with him, rose up early and encamped beside the spring of Harod. Midian’s camp was on the north side of them, by the hill of Moreh, in the valley.
2The LORD said to Gideon, “The people who are with you are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hand, lest Israel brag against me, saying, ‘My own hand has saved me.’
3Now therefore proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, ‘Whoever is fearful and trembling, let him return and depart from Mount Gilead.’” So twenty-two thousand of the people returned, and ten thousand remained.
4The LORD said to Gideon, “There are still too many people. Bring them down to the water, and I will test them for you there. It shall be, that those whom I tell you, ‘This shall go with you,’ shall go with you; and whoever I tell you, ‘This shall not go with you,’ shall not go.”
5So he brought down the people to the water; and the LORD said to Gideon, “Everyone who laps of the water with his tongue, like a dog laps, you shall set him by himself; likewise everyone who bows down on his knees to drink.”
6The number of those who lapped, putting their hand to their mouth, was three hundred men; but all the rest of the people bowed down on their knees to drink water.
7The LORD said to Gideon, “I will save you by the three hundred men who lapped, and deliver the Midianites into your hand. Let all the other people go, each to his own place.”
8So the people took food in their hand, and their trumpets; and he sent all the rest of the men of Israel to their own tents, but retained the three hundred men; and the camp of Midian was beneath him in the valley.
- JDG 7:9–15, engwebp
9That same night, the LORD said to him, “Arise, go down into the camp, for I have delivered it into your hand.
10But if you are afraid to go down, go with Purah your servant down to the camp.
11You will hear what they say; and afterward your hands will be strengthened to go down into the camp.” Then went he down with Purah his servant to the outermost part of the armed men who were in the camp.
12The Midianites and the Amalekites and all the children of the east lay along in the valley like locusts for multitude; and their camels were without number, as the sand which is on the seashore for multitude.
13When Gideon had come, behold, there was a man telling a dream to his fellow. He said, “Behold, I dreamed a dream; and behold, a cake of barley bread tumbled into the camp of Midian, came to the tent, and struck it so that it fell, and turned it upside down, so that the tent lay flat.”
14His fellow answered, “This is nothing other than the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel. God has delivered Midian into his hand, with all the army.”
15It was so, when Gideon heard the telling of the dream and its interpretation, that he worshiped. Then he returned into the camp of Israel and said, “Arise, for the LORD has delivered the army of Midian into your hand!”
- JDG 7:16–22, engwebp
16He divided the three hundred men into three companies, and he put into the hands of all of them trumpets and empty pitchers, with torches within the pitchers.
17He said to them, “Watch me, and do likewise. Behold, when I come to the outermost part of the camp, it shall be that, as I do, so you shall do.
18When I blow the trumpet, I and all who are with me, then blow the trumpets also on every side of all the camp, and shout, ‘For the LORD and for Gideon!’”
19So Gideon and the hundred men who were with him came to the outermost part of the camp in the beginning of the middle watch, when they had but newly set the watch. Then they blew the trumpets and broke in pieces the pitchers that were in their hands.
20The three companies blew the trumpets, broke the pitchers, and held the torches in their left hands and the trumpets in their right hands with which to blow; and they shouted, “The sword of the LORD and of Gideon!”
21They each stood in his place around the camp, and all the army ran; and they shouted, and put them to flight.
22They blew the three hundred trumpets, and the LORD set every man’s sword against his fellow and against all the army; and the army fled as far as Beth Shittah toward Zererah, as far as the border of Abel Meholah, by Tabbath.
- JDG 7:23–25, engwebp
23The men of Israel were gathered together out of Naphtali, out of Asher, and out of all Manasseh, and pursued Midian.
24Gideon sent messengers throughout all the hill country of Ephraim, saying, “Come down against Midian and take the waters before them as far as Beth Barah, even the Jordan!” So all the men of Ephraim were gathered together and took the waters as far as Beth Barah, even the Jordan.
25They took the two princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb. They killed Oreb at Oreb’s rock, and Zeeb they killed at Zeeb’s wine press, as they pursued Midian. Then they brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon beyond the Jordan.
- JDG 8:1–3, engwebp
1The men of Ephraim said to him, “Why have you treated us this way, that you didn’t call us when you went to fight with Midian?” They rebuked him sharply.
2He said to them, “What have I now done in comparison with you? Isn’t the gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim better than the vintage of Abiezer?
3God has delivered into your hand the princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb! What was I able to do in comparison with you?” Then their anger was abated toward him when he had said that.
- JDG 8:4–9, engwebp
4Gideon came to the Jordan and passed over, he and the three hundred men who were with him, faint, yet pursuing.
5He 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.”
6The princes of Succoth said, “Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in your hand, that we should give bread to your army?”
7Gideon said, “Therefore when the LORD has delivered Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand, then I will tear your flesh with the thorns of the wilderness and with briers.”
8He 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.
9He spoke also to the men of Penuel, saying, “When I come again in peace, I will break down this tower.”
- JDG 8:10–12, engwebp
10Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor, and their armies with them, about fifteen thousand men, all who were left of all the army of the children of the east; for there fell one hundred twenty thousand men who drew sword.
11Gideon went up by the way of those who lived in tents on the east of Nobah and Jogbehah, and struck the army; for the army felt secure.
12Zebah and Zalmunna fled and he pursued them. He took the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, and confused all the army.
- JDG 8:13–17, engwebp
13Gideon the son of Joash returned from the battle from the ascent of Heres.
14He caught a young man of the men of Succoth, and inquired of him; and he described for him the princes of Succoth, and its elders, seventy-seven men.
15He came to the men of Succoth, and said, “See Zebah and Zalmunna, concerning whom you taunted me, saying, ‘Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in your hand, that we should give bread to your men who are weary?’”
16He took the elders of the city, and thorns of the wilderness and briers, and with them he taught the men of Succoth.
17He broke down the tower of Penuel, and killed the men of the city.
- JDG 8:18–21, engwebp
18Then he said to Zebah and Zalmunna, “What kind of men were they whom you killed at Tabor?” They answered, “They were like you. They all resembled the children of a king.”
19He said, “They were my brothers, the sons of my mother. As the LORD lives, if you had saved them alive, I would not kill you.”
20He said to Jether his firstborn, “Get up and kill them!” But the youth didn’t draw his sword; for he was afraid, because he was yet a youth.
21Then Zebah and Zalmunna said, “You rise and fall on us; for as the man is, so is his strength.” Gideon arose, and killed Zebah and Zalmunna, and took the crescents that were on their camels’ necks.
- JDG 8:22–23, engwebp
22Then the men of Israel said to Gideon, “Rule over us, both you, your son, and your son’s son also; for you have saved us out of the hand of Midian.”
23Gideon said to them, “I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you. The LORD shall rule over you.”
- JDG 8:24–27, engwebp
24Gideon said to them, “I do have a request: that you would each give me the earrings of his plunder.” (For they had golden earrings, because they were Ishmaelites.)
25They answered, “We will willingly give them.” They spread a garment, and every man threw the earrings of his plunder into it.
26The weight of the golden earrings that he requested was one thousand and seven hundred shekels of gold, in addition to the crescents, and the pendants, and the purple clothing that was on the kings of Midian, and in addition to the chains that were about their camels’ necks.
27Gideon made an ephod out of it, and put it in Ophrah, his city. Then all Israel played the prostitute with it there; and it became a snare to Gideon and to his house.
- JDG 8:28, engwebp
28So Midian was subdued before the children of Israel, and they lifted up their heads no more. The land had rest forty years in the days of Gideon.
- JDG 8:29–32, engwebp
29Jerubbaal the son of Joash went and lived in his own house.
30Gideon had seventy sons conceived from his body, for he had many wives.
31His concubine who was in Shechem also bore him a son, and he named him Abimelech.
32Gideon the son of Joash died in a good old age, and was buried in the tomb of Joash his father, in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.
- JDG 8:33–35, engwebp
33As soon as Gideon was dead, the children of Israel turned again and played the prostitute following the Baals, and made Baal Berith their god.
34The children of Israel didn’t remember the LORD their God, who had delivered them out of the hand of all their enemies on every side;
35neither did they show kindness to the house of Jerubbaal, that is, Gideon, according to all the goodness which he had shown to Israel.
- JDG 9:1–6, engwebp
1Abimelech the son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem to his mother’s brothers, and spoke with them and with all the family of the house of his mother’s father, saying,
2“Please speak in the ears of all the men of Shechem, ‘Is it better for you that all the sons of Jerubbaal, who are seventy persons, rule over you, or that one rule over you?’ Remember also that I am your bone and your flesh.”
3His mother’s brothers spoke of him in the ears of all the men of Shechem all these words. Their hearts inclined to follow Abimelech; for they said, “He is our brother.”
4They gave him seventy pieces of silver out of the house of Baal Berith, with which Abimelech hired vain and reckless fellows who followed him.
5He went to his father’s house at Ophrah, and killed his brothers the sons of Jerubbaal, being seventy persons, on one stone; but Jotham the youngest son of Jerubbaal was left, for he hid himself.
6All the men of Shechem assembled themselves together with all the house of Millo, and went and made Abimelech king by the oak of the pillar that was in Shechem.
- JDG 9:16–21, engwebp
16“Now therefore, if you have dealt truly and righteously, in that you have made Abimelech king, and if you have dealt well with Jerubbaal and his house, and have done to him according to the deserving of his hands
17(for my father fought for you, risked his life, and delivered you out of the hand of Midian;
18and you have risen up against my father’s house today and have slain his sons, seventy persons, on one stone, and have made Abimelech, the son of his female servant, king over the men of Shechem, because he is your brother);
19if you then have dealt truly and righteously with Jerubbaal and with his house today, then rejoice in Abimelech, and let him also rejoice in you;
20but if not, let fire come out from Abimelech and devour the men of Shechem and the house of Millo; and let fire come out from the men of Shechem and from the house of Millo and devour Abimelech.”
21Jotham ran away and fled, and went to Beer and lived there, for fear of Abimelech his brother.
- JDG 9:22–25, engwebp
22Abimelech was prince over Israel three years.
23Then God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the men of Shechem; and the men of Shechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech,
24that the violence done to the seventy sons of Jerubbaal might come, and that their blood might be laid on Abimelech their brother who killed them, and on the men of Shechem who strengthened his hands to kill his brothers.
25The men of Shechem set an ambush for him on the tops of the mountains, and they robbed all who came along that way by them; and Abimelech was told about it.
- JDG 9:26–29, engwebp
26Gaal the son of Ebed came with his brothers and went over to Shechem; and the men of Shechem put their trust in him.
27They went out into the field, harvested their vineyards, trod the grapes, celebrated, and went into the house of their god and ate and drank, and cursed Abimelech.
28Gaal the son of Ebed said, “Who is Abimelech, and who is Shechem, that we should serve him? Isn’t he the son of Jerubbaal? Isn’t Zebul his officer? Serve the men of Hamor the father of Shechem, but why should we serve him?
29I wish that this people were under my hand! Then I would remove Abimelech.” He said to Abimelech, “Increase your army and come out!”
- JDG 9:56–57, engwebp
56Thus God repaid the wickedness of Abimelech, which he did to his father in killing his seventy brothers;
57and God repaid all the wickedness of the men of Shechem on their heads; and the curse of Jotham the son of Jerubbaal came on them.
AI-assisted, human review pending, 2026-09-26
Machine comparison on 2026-10-07: the wording raised none of the 3 rules against the passages this entry cites. No person has read it.
Unresolved interpretation: Jerubbesheth of 2 Samuel 11:21 and Jerubbaal of Judges
- Judges 6:28–29 has the men of the city inquire and say, “Gideon the son of Joash has done this thing”, and 6:32 says, “Therefore on that day he named him Jerub-Baal, saying, ‘Let Baal contend against him, because he has broken down his altar.’” The Korean Revised Version reads 그 날에 기드온을 여룹바알이라 하였으니.
Source evidence (1)
AI-assisted comparison with the cited narrative; not independent historical verification.
- JDG 6:28–32, engwebp
28When the men of the city arose early in the morning, behold, the altar of Baal was broken down, and the Asherah was cut down that was by it, and the second bull was offered on the altar that was built.
29They said to one another, “Who has done this thing?” When they inquired and asked, they said, “Gideon the son of Joash has done this thing.”
30Then the men of the city said to Joash, “Bring out your son, that he may die, because he has broken down the altar of Baal, and because he has cut down the Asherah that was by it.”
31Joash said to all who stood against him, “Will you contend for Baal? Or will you save him? He who will contend for him, let him be put to death by morning! If he is a god, let him contend for himself, because someone has broken down his altar!”
32Therefore on that day he named him Jerub-Baal, saying, “Let Baal contend against him, because he has broken down his altar.”
- JDG 6:28–32, engwebp
- Judges 9:1 names “Abimelech the son of Jerubbaal”, and 9:50–55 says that Abimelech went to Thebez and took it; there was a strong tower within the city, and all the men and women of the city fled there; Abimelech came near to the door of the tower to burn it with fire, and a certain woman cast an upper millstone on Abimelech’s head, and broke his skull; he called hastily to the young man, his armor bearer, and said to him, “Draw your sword and kill me, that men not say of me, ‘A woman killed him’”, and his young man thrust him through, and he died.
Source evidence (2)
AI-assisted comparison with the cited narrative; not independent historical verification.
- JDG 9:1–6, engwebp
1Abimelech the son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem to his mother’s brothers, and spoke with them and with all the family of the house of his mother’s father, saying,
2“Please speak in the ears of all the men of Shechem, ‘Is it better for you that all the sons of Jerubbaal, who are seventy persons, rule over you, or that one rule over you?’ Remember also that I am your bone and your flesh.”
3His mother’s brothers spoke of him in the ears of all the men of Shechem all these words. Their hearts inclined to follow Abimelech; for they said, “He is our brother.”
4They gave him seventy pieces of silver out of the house of Baal Berith, with which Abimelech hired vain and reckless fellows who followed him.
5He went to his father’s house at Ophrah, and killed his brothers the sons of Jerubbaal, being seventy persons, on one stone; but Jotham the youngest son of Jerubbaal was left, for he hid himself.
6All the men of Shechem assembled themselves together with all the house of Millo, and went and made Abimelech king by the oak of the pillar that was in Shechem.
- JDG 9:50–55, engwebp
50Then Abimelech went to Thebez and encamped against Thebez, and took it.
51But there was a strong tower within the city, and all the men and women of the city fled there, and shut themselves in, and went up to the roof of the tower.
52Abimelech came to the tower and fought against it, and came near to the door of the tower to burn it with fire.
53A certain woman cast an upper millstone on Abimelech’s head, and broke his skull.
54Then he called hastily to the young man, his armor bearer, and said to him, “Draw your sword and kill me, that men not say of me, ‘A woman killed him.’ His young man thrust him through, and he died.”
55When the men of Israel saw that Abimelech was dead, they each departed to his place.
- JDG 9:1–6, engwebp
- 2 Samuel 11:21 gives, in Joab’s charge to the messenger, the words the king may say if his wrath arises: “Who struck Abimelech the son of Jerubbesheth? Didn’t a woman cast an upper millstone on him from the wall, so that he died at Thebez?” The Korean Revised Version reads 성에서 where WEB has “from the wall”.
Source evidence (1)
AI-assisted comparison with the cited narrative; not independent historical verification.
- 2SA 11:18–25, engwebp
18Then Joab sent and told David all the things concerning the war;
19and he commanded the messenger, saying, “When you have finished telling all the things concerning the war to the king,
20it shall be that, if the king’s wrath arise, and he asks you, ‘Why did you go so near to the city to fight? Didn’t you know that they would shoot from the wall?
21Who struck Abimelech the son of Jerubbesheth? Didn’t a woman cast an upper millstone on him from the wall, so that he died at Thebez? Why did you go so near the wall?’ then you shall say, ‘Your servant Uriah the Hittite is also dead.’”
22So the messenger went, and came and showed David all that Joab had sent him for.
23The messenger said to David, “The men prevailed against us, and came out to us into the field; and we were on them even to the entrance of the gate.
24The shooters shot at your servants from off the wall; and some of the king’s servants are dead, and your servant Uriah the Hittite is also dead.”
25Then David said to the messenger, “Tell Joab, ‘Don’t let this thing displease you, for the sword devours one as well as another. Make your battle stronger against the city, and overthrow it.’ Encourage him.”
- 2SA 11:18–25, engwebp
Judges 6:32 gives Gideon the name Jerub-Baal (“on that day he named him Jerub-Baal”), and Judges 9:1 calls Abimelech “the son of Jerubbaal”; 2 Samuel 11:21, in Joab’s words, names “Abimelech the son of Jerubbesheth”. Both editions read 여룹베셋 / Jerubbesheth at 2 Samuel 11:21 and 여룹바알 / Jerubbaal in Judges. This collection records the Abimelech and the Thebez of Joab’s words under the entries Judges holds, and gives the name of 11:21 an entry of its own; it does not decide whether Jerubbesheth and Jerubbaal are one man.
All 21 relationships: AI-assisted, human review pending
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Joash (the Abiezrite) — Father of — Gideon
Evidence: Judges 6:28–32, Judges 8:29–32
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Gideon — Father of — Jether (firstborn of Gideon)
Evidence: Judges 8:18–21
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Gideon — Father of — Abimelech (son of Jerubbaal)
Evidence: Judges 9:1–6, Judges 9:26–29
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Gideon — Father of — Jotham (son of Jerubbaal)
Evidence: Judges 9:1–6, Judges 9:56–57
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Took part in (17) — The LORD’s angel comes to Ophrah and appears to Gideon, At the LORD’s word to throw down the altar of Baal, Gideon takes ten of his servants and does it by night, The morning the altar of Baal is found broken down, and the name Jerub-Baal, Midian encamps in the valley of Jezreel, and the LORD’s Spirit comes on Gideon, The fleece of wool on the threshing floor, and the dew, Twenty-two thousand of the people return, and Gideon retains the three hundred men, The dream of a cake of barley bread tumbling into the camp of Midian, The three companies blow the trumpets and break the pitchers, and the army flees, The men of Ephraim take the waters and kill Oreb and Zeeb, The men of Ephraim rebuke Gideon, and his answer, The answer of the princes of Succoth and of the men of Penuel when Gideon asks for loaves of bread, Gideon strikes the army at Karkor and takes the two kings of Midian, Gideon teaches the men of Succoth, breaks down the tower of Penuel, and kills the men of the city, Gideon kills Zebah and Zalmunna and takes the crescents, Gideon says he will not rule over the men of Israel, Gideon makes an ephod of the golden earrings and puts it in Ophrah, Gideon dies in a good old age and is buried in the tomb of Joash his father
A relationship with an event rests on the passages the event cites: each event’s page has them.
Verses tagged with this entry
Names in the World English Bible text that carry this entry’s tag. They are carried over from the tags on the Korean Revised Version, which are matched by name inside chapters that already have collected evidence, and a verse where the English says “he” carries none. All await human review. They are a separate list from the source passages above. An empty list does not mean the entry is absent from the text.
The LORD’s angel came and sat under the oak which was in Ophrah, that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite. His son Gideon was beating out wheat in the wine press, to hide it from the Midianites.
Gideon said to him, “Oh, my lord, if the LORD is with us, why then has all this happened to us? Where are all his wondrous works which our fathers told us of, saying, ‘Didn’t the LORD bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the LORD has cast us off, and delivered us into the hand of Midian.”
Gideon went in and prepared a young goat and unleavened cakes of an ephah of meal. He put the meat in a basket and he put the broth in a pot, and brought it out to him under the oak, and presented it.
Gideon saw that he was the LORD’s angel; and Gideon said, “Alas, Lord GOD! Because I have seen the LORD’s angel face to face!”
Then Gideon built an altar there to the LORD, and called it “The LORD is Peace.” To this day it is still in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.
Then Gideon took ten men of his servants, and did as the LORD had spoken to him. Because he feared his father’s household and the men of the city, he could not do it by day, but he did it by night.
They said to one another, “Who has done this thing?” When they inquired and asked, they said, “Gideon the son of Joash has done this thing.”
Therefore on that day he named him Jerub-Baal, saying, “Let Baal contend against him, because he has broken down his altar.”
But the LORD’s Spirit came on Gideon, and he blew a trumpet; and Abiezer was gathered together to follow him.
Gideon said to God, “If you will save Israel by my hand, as you have spoken,
Gideon said to God, “Don’t let your anger be kindled against me, and I will speak but this once. Please let me make a trial just this once with the fleece. Let it now be dry only on the fleece, and on all the ground let there be dew.”
Then Jerubbaal, who is Gideon, and all the people who were with him, rose up early and encamped beside the spring of Harod. Midian’s camp was on the north side of them, by the hill of Moreh, in the valley.
The LORD said to Gideon, “The people who are with you are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hand, lest Israel brag against me, saying, ‘My own hand has saved me.’
The LORD said to Gideon, “There are still too many people. Bring them down to the water, and I will test them for you there. It shall be, that those whom I tell you, ‘This shall go with you,’ shall go with you; and whoever I tell you, ‘This shall not go with you,’ shall not go.”
So he brought down the people to the water; and the LORD said to Gideon, “Everyone who laps of the water with his tongue, like a dog laps, you shall set him by himself; likewise everyone who bows down on his knees to drink.”
The LORD said to Gideon, “I will save you by the three hundred men who lapped, and deliver the Midianites into your hand. Let all the other people go, each to his own place.”
When Gideon had come, behold, there was a man telling a dream to his fellow. He said, “Behold, I dreamed a dream; and behold, a cake of barley bread tumbled into the camp of Midian, came to the tent, and struck it so that it fell, and turned it upside down, so that the tent lay flat.”
His fellow answered, “This is nothing other than the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel. God has delivered Midian into his hand, with all the army.”
It was so, when Gideon heard the telling of the dream and its interpretation, that he worshiped. Then he returned into the camp of Israel and said, “Arise, for the LORD has delivered the army of Midian into your hand!”
When I blow the trumpet, I and all who are with me, then blow the trumpets also on every side of all the camp, and shout, ‘For the LORD and for Gideon!’”
So Gideon and the hundred men who were with him came to the outermost part of the camp in the beginning of the middle watch, when they had but newly set the watch. Then they blew the trumpets and broke in pieces the pitchers that were in their hands.
The three companies blew the trumpets, broke the pitchers, and held the torches in their left hands and the trumpets in their right hands with which to blow; and they shouted, “The sword of the LORD and of Gideon!”
Gideon sent messengers throughout all the hill country of Ephraim, saying, “Come down against Midian and take the waters before them as far as Beth Barah, even the Jordan!” So all the men of Ephraim were gathered together and took the waters as far as Beth Barah, even the Jordan.
They took the two princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb. They killed Oreb at Oreb’s rock, and Zeeb they killed at Zeeb’s wine press, as they pursued Midian. Then they brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon beyond the Jordan.
Gideon came to the Jordan and passed over, he and the three hundred men who were with him, faint, yet pursuing.
Gideon said, “Therefore when the LORD has delivered Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand, then I will tear your flesh with the thorns of the wilderness and with briers.”
Gideon went up by the way of those who lived in tents on the east of Nobah and Jogbehah, and struck the army; for the army felt secure.
Gideon the son of Joash returned from the battle from the ascent of Heres.
Then Zebah and Zalmunna said, “You rise and fall on us; for as the man is, so is his strength.” Gideon arose, and killed Zebah and Zalmunna, and took the crescents that were on their camels’ necks.
Then the men of Israel said to Gideon, “Rule over us, both you, your son, and your son’s son also; for you have saved us out of the hand of Midian.”
Gideon said to them, “I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you. The LORD shall rule over you.”
Gideon said to them, “I do have a request: that you would each give me the earrings of his plunder.” (For they had golden earrings, because they were Ishmaelites.)
Gideon made an ephod out of it, and put it in Ophrah, his city. Then all Israel played the prostitute with it there; and it became a snare to Gideon and to his house.
So Midian was subdued before the children of Israel, and they lifted up their heads no more. The land had rest forty years in the days of Gideon.
Jerubbaal the son of Joash went and lived in his own house.
Gideon had seventy sons conceived from his body, for he had many wives.
Gideon the son of Joash died in a good old age, and was buried in the tomb of Joash his father, in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.
As soon as Gideon was dead, the children of Israel turned again and played the prostitute following the Baals, and made Baal Berith their god.
neither did they show kindness to the house of Jerubbaal, that is, Gideon, according to all the goodness which he had shown to Israel.
Abimelech the son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem to his mother’s brothers, and spoke with them and with all the family of the house of his mother’s father, saying,
“Please speak in the ears of all the men of Shechem, ‘Is it better for you that all the sons of Jerubbaal, who are seventy persons, rule over you, or that one rule over you?’ Remember also that I am your bone and your flesh.”
He went to his father’s house at Ophrah, and killed his brothers the sons of Jerubbaal, being seventy persons, on one stone; but Jotham the youngest son of Jerubbaal was left, for he hid himself.
“Now therefore, if you have dealt truly and righteously, in that you have made Abimelech king, and if you have dealt well with Jerubbaal and his house, and have done to him according to the deserving of his hands
if you then have dealt truly and righteously with Jerubbaal and with his house today, then rejoice in Abimelech, and let him also rejoice in you;
that the violence done to the seventy sons of Jerubbaal might come, and that their blood might be laid on Abimelech their brother who killed them, and on the men of Shechem who strengthened his hands to kill his brothers.
Gaal the son of Ebed said, “Who is Abimelech, and who is Shechem, that we should serve him? Isn’t he the son of Jerubbaal? Isn’t Zebul his officer? Serve the men of Hamor the father of Shechem, but why should we serve him?
and God repaid all the wickedness of the men of Shechem on their heads; and the curse of Jotham the son of Jerubbaal came on them.
The LORD sent Jerubbaal, Bedan, Jephthah, and Samuel, and delivered you out of the hand of your enemies on every side; and you lived in safety.
What more shall I say? For the time would fail me if I told of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets—
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[Bibliadatum entry report] Entry: Gideon (person-gideon) Address: https://bibliadatum.org/en/wiki/person/gideon Current wording: Named at Judges 6:11 as the son of Joash: the LORD’s angel comes and sits under the oak which was in Ophrah, that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, while Gideon is beating out wheat in the wine press, to hide it from the Midianites. At 6:14 the LORD looks at him and says, “Go in this your might, and save Israel from the hand of Midian. Haven’t I sent you?”, and at 6:24 Gideon builds an altar there to the LORD, and calls it “The LORD is Peace.” At 6:25–28 he takes ten men of his servants and does by night as the LORD had spoken to him, and the altar of Baal is broken down and the Asherah that was by it is cut down; 6:32 says, “Therefore on that day he named him Jerub-Baal, saying, ‘Let Baal contend against him, because he has broken down his altar.’” At 6:34 the LORD’s Spirit comes on Gideon, and he blows a trumpet, and Abiezer is gathered together to follow him. At 6:36–40 he says to God, “If there is dew on the fleece only, and it is dry on all the ground, then I’ll know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you have spoken,” and it is so; he says again, “Please let me make a trial just this once with the fleece,” and God does so that night. At 7:1–8 Jerubbaal, who is Gideon, and all the people who were with him encamp beside the spring of Harod; twenty-two thousand of the people return, ten thousand remain, and Gideon retains the three hundred men who lapped. At 7:9–22 he goes down with Purah his servant to the outermost part of the armed men who were in the camp, and hears the dream of a cake of barley bread and its interpretation, and he worships; he divides the three hundred men into three companies, and puts into the hands of all of them trumpets and empty pitchers, with torches within the pitchers; and when they blow the three hundred trumpets, the LORD sets every man’s sword against his fellow and against all the army. At 8:1–3 the men of Ephraim rebuke him sharply, and he says, “God has delivered into your hand the princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb! What was I able to do in comparison with you?”, and their anger is abated toward him. At 8:4–21 he passes over the Jordan with the three hundred men and pursues Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian; he takes them, teaches the men of Succoth with thorns of the wilderness and briers, breaks down the tower of Penuel, and arises and kills Zebah and Zalmunna. At 8:22–23 the men of Israel ask him to rule over them, and he says, “I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you. The LORD shall rule over you.” At 8:24–27 he asks each of them for the earrings of his plunder, makes an ephod out of the gold, and puts it in Ophrah, his city; all Israel plays the prostitute with it there, and it becomes a snare to Gideon and to his house. 8:28 says the land had rest forty years in the days of Gideon. 8:30–32 says, “Gideon had seventy sons conceived from his body, for he had many wives. His concubine who was in Shechem also bore him a son, and he named him Abimelech. Gideon the son of Joash died in a good old age, and was buried in the tomb of Joash his father, in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.” At 8:35 the children of Israel do not show kindness to the house of Jerubbaal, that is, Gideon, according to all the goodness which he had shown to Israel. Cited evidence: 1SA 12:6–12, engwebp / HEB 11:32–40, engwebp / JDG 6:11–24, engwebp / JDG 6:25–27, engwebp / JDG 6:28–32, engwebp / JDG 6:33–35, engwebp / JDG 6:36–40, engwebp / JDG 7:1–8, engwebp (and 18 more of 26) Review state: ai-assisted / human-review-pending What looks wrong: (not written yet) --- This collection records what the text says and does not settle interpretation. A report about a reading that divides opinion may be registered as an unresolved issue rather than corrected.