Study Desk

His friend answered him and said, "This cannot be anything except the sword of Gideon son of Jehoash, a man of Israel; God has given Midian and the entire camp into his hand."

And each stood in his place all around the camp, and all the camp ran, and they cried out as they fled.

When they blew the three hundred trumpets, Yahweh set the sword of each one against his neighbor throughout the whole camp, and the camp fled as far as Beth Shittah toward Zererah, up to Abel Meholah, the border by Tabbath.

And he said to Jether, his firstborn, "Get up, kill them." But the boy did not draw his sword, for he was afraid because he was still a boy.

Zebah and Zalmunna said, "Get up yourself, and strike us, for as is the man, so is his power." So Gideon got up and killed Zebah and Zalmunna, and he took the crescent ornaments that were on the necks of their camels.

And Gideon said to them, "Let me make a request of you, that each of you give to me an ornamental ring from his plunder." (They had ornamental rings of gold, because they were Ishmaelites.)

They said, "We will gladly give them," and they spread out a garment, and everyone threw there an ornamental ring of his plunder.

Gideon made an ephod out of it, and he put it in his town in Ophrah, and all Israel prostituted themselves to it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and his family.

Jerub-Baal son of Joash lived in his own house.

Now Gideon had seventy sons, his own offspring, for he had many wives.

His concubine who was in Shechem also bore for him a son, and he named him Abimelech.

And Gideon son of Joash died at a good old age, and he was buried in the tomb of Jehoash his father, in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

And Abimelech son of Jerub-Baal went to Shechem, to the relatives of his mother, and he said to them and to the house of his mother's father,

And his mother's relatives spoke all these words concerning him to all the lords of Shechem; and they supported Abimelech, for they said, "He is our relative."

And he went to his father's house at Ophrah, and he killed his brothers, the sons of Jerub-Baal, seventy men, on one stone. But Jotham the youngest son of Jerub-Baal survived, because he hid himself.

"So then, if you have acted in good faith and sincerity in making Abimelech king, and if you have dealt well with Jerub-Baal and his house, and have dealt with him according to his accomplishments—

for my father fought and risked his life for you and delivered you from the hand of Midian;

but today you have risen against the house of my father and killed his sons, seventy men on one stone, and you have made Abimelech, the son of his slave woman, a king over the lords of Shechem, because he is your relative—

if you have acted in good faith and sincerity with Jerub-Baal and his house this day, then rejoice in Abimelech, and let him also rejoice in you.

And Jotham escaped and fled, and went to Beer; he remained there because of Abimelech his brother.