639 matching verse commentaries
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Then the men of the city said unto Joash,.... The principal inhabitants of the place met together, and in a body went to Joash their chief magistrate, to have justice done in this case: bring out thy son, that he may die; they do not ask to have the cause tried by him, to hear what proof they had of the fact, or what Gideon had to say in his own...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And Joash said unto all that stood against him,.... Against his son; that were his accusers and adversaries, and required him to be given up to them, that they might put him to death: will ye plead for Baal? what, Israelites, and plead for Baal! or what need is there for this, cannot he plead for himself? will ye save him? what, take upon you to...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Therefore on that day he called him Jerubbaal,.... That is, Joash called his son Gideon by that name; who, some think, is the same with Jerombalus, the priest of the god Jevo, or Jehovah; from whom Sanchoniatho, an ancient Phoenician writer, as Philo Byblius says (w), received the principal things in his history respecting the Jews: saying, let...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Then all the Midianites, and the Amalekites, and the children of the east,.... The Arabians, Judges 6:3 were gathered together; not as being alarmed with this fact of Gideon in destroying the altar of Baal, and so came to avenge it; but it was their usual time of gathering together to come into Canaan, being harvest time, as appears by Gideon...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
But the Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon,.... Not the spirit of prophecy, as Maimonides (x), who calls this spirit the first degree of prophecy, but a spirit of fortitude and courage, as the Targum; the Spirit of God filled him, or, as in the Hebrew text, "clothed" (y) him with zeal, strength, and might, moved and animated him to engage with...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And he sent messengers through all Manasseh,.... Of which tribe he was; not only he called by the trumpet that part of the tribe, the Abiezrites, who were within the sound of it, but the rest of the tribe at a greater distance from him he sent messengers to, acquainting them with his design, and inviting them to his assistance. Some think this...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And Gideon said unto God,.... Not to a prophet of God who was there, of whom he asked the following signs to be done, as Ben Gersom, but to God in prayer, as Abarbinel: if thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said; not that he doubted of it, but was willing to have a confirmation of his faith; and perhaps his view was more for the...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Behold, I will put a fleece of wool on the floor,.... On the floor where he was threshing, where the angel first appeared to him, and which lay exposed to the open air, so that the dew might easily fall upon it: and if the dew be on the fleece only; the dew that falls from heaven in the night, when he proposed it should lie on the floor till...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And it was so,.... The Lord condescended to work this miracle for the confirmation of his faith, and for the encouragement of those that were with him; the fleece was wet with the dew of heaven, and all the ground about it dry: for he rose up early in the morning; being eagerly desirous of knowing whether his request would be granted, and how it...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And Gideon said unto God,.... In the same way as before, and on the morning when he had been favoured with the sight of the above miracle: let not thine anger be hot against me, and I will speak but this once; he was conscious to himself that it showed great presumption and boldness in him to repeat his request, and that it had the appearance of...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And God did so that night,.... The night following, the night being the season in which the dew falls: for it was dry upon the fleece only, and there was dew on all the ground; and this might signify, that not Gideon only, as before, should partake of the divine favour, but all the Israelites, who would share in the salvation wrought by him. Many...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
INTRODUCTION TO Judges 7 In this chapter we have an account of the army under Gideon gathered out of several tribes, which from 32,000 were reduced to three hundred, and we are told by what means this was done, Judges 7:1 and how he was directed to go into the host of the Midianites, where he heard one of them telling his dream to his fellow,...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Then Jerubbaal, who is Gideon,.... That being the name his father had lately given him, Judges 6:32 and all the people that were with him, rose up early; encouraged by the signs and miracles wrought, by which he was assured of success; he was eager to be about his work, and therefore rose early in the morning, and got his army together, and...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And the Lord said unto Gideon, the people that are with thee are too many,.... It appears, by what follows, that there were 32,000 of them, which was but a small army to engage with one of 100,000 more than they; for such was the army of the Midianites and their associates, see Judges 8:10 but the people were too many, says the Lord, for me to...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Now therefore go to, proclaim in the ears of the people,.... Such a proclamation as follows, was, according to the law of God, to be made when Israel went out to battle against their enemies, Deuteronomy 20:8; though it looks as if Gideon would not have made such proclamation, had he not been directed to it by the Lord, his army being so small in...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And the Lord said to Gideon, the people are yet too many,.... Though they were but just the number that Barak had with him, when he attacked Sisera's army and got the victory, which yet was ascribed to God, whose hand was manifestly seen in it; but as these might be supposed to be able men of valour that remained, they were too many for God to...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
So he brought them down to the water,....] His whole army of 10,000 men: and the Lord said unto Gideon, everyone that lappeth of the water with his tongue, as a dog lappeth, him shall thou set by himself; this has led some, as particularly Grotius, to think of the Egyptian dogs; of whom Aelianus relates (b), that they do not drink at once freely,...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And the number of them that lapped, putting their hand to their mouth,.... That is, that took up water in the hollow of their hands, which they lifted up to their mouths, and so lapped it, as the Egyptians about the Nile are said (d) to do, who drank not out of pots and cups, but used their hands to drink with: were three hundred men; only such a...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And the Lord said unto Gideon, by the three hundred men that lapped I will save and deliver the Midianites into thine hand,.... It is hard to say what character this action of the three hundred is expressive of, whether of weakness or of courage. Some think that those who drank upon their knees were faint and weary, and men of intemperance, and...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
So the people took victuals in their hands and their trumpets,.... That is, the three hundred took victuals of those that departed, as much as was necessary for them, and also their trumpets, being directed thereunto by Gideon, no doubt; perhaps they took all the trumpets they had; however, as many as would furnish every man with one. And from...