Difference between revisions of "Gideon" - New World Encyclopedia

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Gideon was the son of a man called Joash the Abiezrite, of the tribe of Manasseh, in the town of Ophrah. The family, like many Israelites of the time, maintained an altar devoted to the [[Canaan]]ite deity [[Baal]], as well as a belief in the Hebrew God [[Yahweh]].
 
Gideon was the son of a man called Joash the Abiezrite, of the tribe of Manasseh, in the town of Ophrah. The family, like many Israelites of the time, maintained an altar devoted to the [[Canaan]]ite deity [[Baal]], as well as a belief in the Hebrew God [[Yahweh]].
  
An angel comes to Gideon while he is treshing wheat in a winepress, an action made necessary by Midianite domination. "Yahweh is with you, mighty warrior!" the angel declares. Gideon, an unlikely champion, doubts both his calling and God's power, saying: "If the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our fathers told us about." (Judges 6:13) When the angel persists and commands him to save Israel from the Midianite power, Gideon protests: "How can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family."  
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An angel comes to Gideon while he is treshing wheat in a winepress, an action made necessary by Midianite domination. "Yahweh is with you, mighty warrior!" the angel declares. Gideon, an unlikely champion, doubts both his calling and God's power, saying: "If the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our fathers told us about?" (Judges 6:13) When the angel persists and commands him to save Israel from the Midianite power, Gideon protests: "How can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family."  
 
{{Book of Judges}}
 
{{Book of Judges}}
  
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Still uncertain of his calling, Gideon then tests God by asking him, on successive nights, to cause a woolen fleece to be wet, then dry. God obliging complies. The episode is the origin of the saying "laying the fleece before the Lord" to signify asking God for a confirming sign. (Judges 6:36-40)
 
Still uncertain of his calling, Gideon then tests God by asking him, on successive nights, to cause a woolen fleece to be wet, then dry. God obliging complies. The episode is the origin of the saying "laying the fleece before the Lord" to signify asking God for a confirming sign. (Judges 6:36-40)
  
God instructed Gideon that the men he had gathered were too many. With so many men, there would be reason for Gideon's army to claim the victory as their own, instead of giving the credit to God. He instructed Gideon to send home those men who were afraid. 22,000 men returned home and 10,000 remained:
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The tribes respond to Gideon's call and assemble at Mount [[Gilead]], but God instructs Gideon that the troops are too numerous. God is concenred that He get the primary credit for the victory. He instructs Gideon to send home those men who "tremble with fear." The Bible reports that 22,000 men return home while 10,000 remain.
  
:<sup>4</sup>Then the Lord said to Gideon, "You still have too many men. Take them down to the water, and I will separate them for you there. If I tell you a man should go with you, he will go. If I tell you a man should not go with you, he will not go." <sup>5</sup>Gideon took the men down to the water, and the Lord told him, "Separate everyone who laps up the water with his tongue like a dog, from everyone who gets down on his knees to drink." <sup>6</sup>There were three hundred men who scooped up water in their hands and lapped it; all the others got down on their knees to drink. <sup>7</sup> The Lord said to Gideon, "I will rescue you and give you victory over the Midianites with the three hundred men who lapped the water. Tell everyone else to go home." ''(Judges 7:4-7, Good News Bible)''
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This number is still too great in God's view. He separates the remaining men by having Gideon obeserve how the men drink water from a stream. Gideon is to retain only those who drink by scooping the water into their hands first rather than drinking directly from the stream. In the end a force of only 300 remains.  
  
God waited until night fell before instructing Gideon to attack the Midianite camp. Gideon gave each of his men a trumpet, a torch, and a clay jar. They quietly surrounded the enemy camp, each torch hidden inside a jar. At Gideon's signal, every man blew his trumpet and broke his jar. God confused the Midianites, and made them turn on one another. The confused survivors ran and continued to retreat across [[Israel]].
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With a huge Midianite encamped in the nearby valley, Gideon gives each of his men a trumpet, a torch, and a clay jar. They quietly surround the enemy camp, with their torches hidden inside their jars. At Gideon's signal, every man blows his trumpet and breakes his jar. The surpized Midianites are thrown into a panic, turning on one another. The confused survivors retreated. Gideon then calls for a large number of men from neighboring Israelite tribes to pursue the Midianites and cut off their retreat. Two Midianite chiefs are captured and executed, their heads being presented to Gideon. The Israelites thus gain control of a substantial section of the Jordan River valley formerly under Midianite control.
 
 
Although God did not instruct him to do so, Gideon then called for a large number of men to pursue the Midianites and cut off their retreat. He eventually caught them and subsequently murdered [[Zebah]] and [[Zalmunna]], the two Midianite Kings, in cold blood, in order to avenge his brothers, who had been killed in battle.
 
  
 
The Israelites pleaded with Gideon to be their king, but he refused, telling them that only God was their ruler. Interestingly, however, he carries on to make an "[[ephod]]" out of the gold won in battle, which causes the whole of Israel again to turn away from God, and marries a large but unspecified number of women. He also had a concubine who bore him a son that he named [[Abimelech (Judges)|Abimelech]] (which means "my father is king"). There was peace in Israel for forty years during the life of Gideon.
 
The Israelites pleaded with Gideon to be their king, but he refused, telling them that only God was their ruler. Interestingly, however, he carries on to make an "[[ephod]]" out of the gold won in battle, which causes the whole of Israel again to turn away from God, and marries a large but unspecified number of women. He also had a concubine who bore him a son that he named [[Abimelech (Judges)|Abimelech]] (which means "my father is king"). There was peace in Israel for forty years during the life of Gideon.

Revision as of 18:30, 19 February 2007

Gideon and his men blow their trumpets

Gideon (גִּדְעוֹן, Standard Hebrew Gidʻon, Tiberian Hebrew Giḏʻôn), also known as Jerubbaal, is a judge appearing in the Book of Judges, in the Bible. His story is told in chapters 6 to 8. He is also named in the Epistle to the Hebrews as an example of a man of faith. He is the son of Joash, from the clan of Abiezer in the tribe of Manasseh. The name Gideon means "Destroyer", "Mighty warrior" or "Feller (of trees)".

Biblical Account

The story of Gideon begins with a prolog detailing the oppression of the Israelites by the Midianites. So strong was the Midianite pressure on the Israelite tribes that the latter were forced to live in caves and watch helpflessly as their crops and cattle were destroyed. And unnamed prophet appears who explains that the Israelites' troubles are due to their abandoning Yahweh in favor of the Amorite gods.

Gideon was the son of a man called Joash the Abiezrite, of the tribe of Manasseh, in the town of Ophrah. The family, like many Israelites of the time, maintained an altar devoted to the Canaanite deity Baal, as well as a belief in the Hebrew God Yahweh.

An angel comes to Gideon while he is treshing wheat in a winepress, an action made necessary by Midianite domination. "Yahweh is with you, mighty warrior!" the angel declares. Gideon, an unlikely champion, doubts both his calling and God's power, saying: "If the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our fathers told us about?" (Judges 6:13) When the angel persists and commands him to save Israel from the Midianite power, Gideon protests: "How can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family."

Judges in Bible
In the Book of Judges
Othniel
Ehud
Shamgar
Deborah
Gideon
Abimelech
Tola
Jair
Jephthah
Ibzan
Elon
Abdon
Samson
In the First Book of Samuel
Eli
Samuel

The angel reassures Gideon, who responds at last by offering a sacrifice and building a altar, which reported remained a place of religious significance until at least the time when the Book of Judges was compiled. On God's further instruction, Gideon destroys the clan's altar to Baal and replaces it with a "proper" altar devoted to Yahweh. Threatend with death for his crime, Gideon is protected by his father, who insists that Baal himself, not mere men, should be the one to execute judgment on his son.

Gideon then sent messengers to gather together men from the tribes of Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali, as well as his own tribe of Manasseh in order to meet an armed force of Midianites and the Amalekites that had crossed the Jordan River and were encamped in the Valley of Jezreel.

Still uncertain of his calling, Gideon then tests God by asking him, on successive nights, to cause a woolen fleece to be wet, then dry. God obliging complies. The episode is the origin of the saying "laying the fleece before the Lord" to signify asking God for a confirming sign. (Judges 6:36-40)

The tribes respond to Gideon's call and assemble at Mount Gilead, but God instructs Gideon that the troops are too numerous. God is concenred that He get the primary credit for the victory. He instructs Gideon to send home those men who "tremble with fear." The Bible reports that 22,000 men return home while 10,000 remain.

This number is still too great in God's view. He separates the remaining men by having Gideon obeserve how the men drink water from a stream. Gideon is to retain only those who drink by scooping the water into their hands first rather than drinking directly from the stream. In the end a force of only 300 remains.

With a huge Midianite encamped in the nearby valley, Gideon gives each of his men a trumpet, a torch, and a clay jar. They quietly surround the enemy camp, with their torches hidden inside their jars. At Gideon's signal, every man blows his trumpet and breakes his jar. The surpized Midianites are thrown into a panic, turning on one another. The confused survivors retreated. Gideon then calls for a large number of men from neighboring Israelite tribes to pursue the Midianites and cut off their retreat. Two Midianite chiefs are captured and executed, their heads being presented to Gideon. The Israelites thus gain control of a substantial section of the Jordan River valley formerly under Midianite control.

The Israelites pleaded with Gideon to be their king, but he refused, telling them that only God was their ruler. Interestingly, however, he carries on to make an "ephod" out of the gold won in battle, which causes the whole of Israel again to turn away from God, and marries a large but unspecified number of women. He also had a concubine who bore him a son that he named Abimelech (which means "my father is king"). There was peace in Israel for forty years during the life of Gideon.


Clan of Abiezer
Cadet Branch of the Tribe of Manasseh
Preceded by:
Barak
Judge of Israel Succeeded by: Abimelech

Rabbinical tradition

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