Juízes 8

Juízes 8

MacArthur - Gideon's threatened discipline of Succoth's leaders for refusing to help their brothers came due. He had them dragged under heavy weights over thorns and briers, which painfully tore their bodies. This was a cruel torture to which ancient captives were often subjected. He did it on his return, not wanting to delay the pursuit (v. 16). (See MacArthur Study Bible or borrow a copy of The MacArthur study Bible) Spurgeon defends Gideon's threats and subsequent actions - Some have said that this showed resentment and harshness, but when a man is at war, he is not in the habit of sprinkling his adversaries with rosewater. War is in itself so great an evil that there are many other evils necessarily connected with it. It seems to me that if, when Gideon was trying to deliver his own countrymen, they scoffed at him, and refused him bread for his soldiers in the day of their hunger, they deserved to be punished with great severity. Thrash (01758)(dush) means to tread, thresh out, trample, the first OT referring to threshing grain (Dt 25:4, cf 1Chr 21:20, Isa 28:27, 28, Hos 10:11), of a man trampled by a wild beast (Job 39:15). Dush is used with a figurative meaning of Israel's threshing the mountains (her enemies) (Isa. 41:15, Isa 25:10); of the Arameans' devastation of Israel's army and chariots under Jehoahaz, as if they were the dust left over after threshing grain (2Ki. 13:7); of the Lord's devastation and trampling of Moab like straw in a manure pile (Isa. 25:10; cf. Amos 1:3; Hab. 3:12). Gilbrant - Basic to the meaning of this verb is the idea of trampling. It is most commonly translated "to thresh." It has a number of cognates in the Semitic world. The threshing floors of ancient Israel were usually in an elevated location near the village in order to catch the west wind for winnowing. They were usually communally owned, except in the case of some wealthy people. According to Isa. 28:27, different threshing methods were used for different kinds of grain: "Caraway is not threshed with a sledge, nor is a cartwheel rolled over cummin; caraway is beaten out with a rod, and cummin with a stick" (NIV). Several instruments were used in threshing. The threshing sledge was used to separate the grain from the husk and consisted of a wooden frame with sharp teeth of stone or metal (Isa. 41:15; Amos 1:3). The cart wheel was probably similar to the sledge except that it had wheels (Isa. 28:28). Oxen were often driven over the piles of grain (Deut. 25:4). The sieve was used to separate out the dirt (Amos 9:9; Isa. 30:28; Luke 22:31). The winnowing fork was used to throw the grain in the air to allow the wind to separate the chaff from the grain (Isa. 30:24). Workers and grain owners often slept on the threshing floor in order to protect their grain against theft (Ruth 3:7; 1 Sam. 23:1). Sometimes the verb "to thresh" is used figuratively in the OT. The Bible records that Jehoahaz and the army of Israel had been beaten down so badly by the king of Aram that they were like dust at threshing time (2 Ki. 13:7). The Lord described the treatment of Gilead by Damascus as having "threshed Gilead with threshing instruments of iron" (Amos 1:3). The Lord is said to thresh the nations in his anger (Hab. 3:12). This and other similar occurrences are better understood by the more basic meaning of "to trample" (cf. Isa. 25:10; Job 39:15). (Complete Biblical Library) Harold Stigers - Isaiah 28:27 mentions that different methods were used for different size grains, threshing for larger sizes, and the rod for tapping out the cummin. The instruments of threshing are seldom mentioned, although Isaiah speaks of the cart wheel (Isaiah 28:28) and the threshing sledge with teeth (Isaiah 41:15). Grain was separated from chaff by winnowing, when the wind was favorable. The fan (Isaiah 30:24) or the whisk broom was used to sweep away the dust as it settled out or blew away. Finally the grain was passed through a sieve to separate the dirt (cf. Amos 9:9; Isaiah 30:28; Luke 22:31). dûsh is also used figuratively. The breaking action of threshing speaks of the defeat of the adversaries of Hazael of Damascus (2 Kings 13:7). dûsh is used in Gideon's threat against the elders of Succoth (Judges 8:7), and of the subjugation of Gilead by Syria (Amos 1:3). It is also used of Israel's victory over her enemies (Micah 4:13; Isaiah 41:15). On the latter verse, see E. J. Hamlin, JNES 13: 185-90. Hamlin argues that in Isaiah 41:15ff. the mountains and hills are mentioned because they were the sites of pagan worship. (Here is link to online TWOT) Dush - 14x - continue to thresh(1), thrash(1), thresh(3), threshed(2), threshing(4), trample(1), trampled(1), trodden down(2). Deut. 25:4; Jdg. 8:7; 2 Ki. 13:7; 1 Chr. 21:20; Job 39:15; Isa. 25:10; Isa. 28:27; Isa. 28:28; Isa. 41:15; Jer. 50:11; Hos. 10:11; Amos 1:3; Mic. 4:13; Hab. 3:12 Judges 8:8 And he went up from there to Penuel, and spoke similarly to them; and the men of Penuel answered him just as the men of Succoth had answered. Ge 32:30-31 1Ki 12:25 Judges 8 Resources Related Passage: Genesis 32:30-31 So Jacob named the place Peniel, for he said, “I have seen God face to face, yet my life has been preserved.” 31 Now the sun rose upon him just as he crossed over Penuel, and he was limping on his thigh. NO BREAD AT PENUEL And he went up from there to Penuel: Penuel (wikipedia) is modern day Tulul adh-Dhahab. See this map and note that Gideon has now moved about 6 miles east of Succoth (pursuing the kings who were fleeing east and south back to Midian), where he received the same cold (cruel) response from the people of Peniel. In this very place (Penuel or Peniel = "face of God") Jacob had wrestled with God and God had changed his name to Israel (Ge 32:28-30 - cf Gideon's name change - Jdg 6:32+). These fellow Israelites (all descended from Jacob/Israel) in effect refused to believe that God could or would give victory to Gideon and his pathetic band of 300 weary men! Gideon vowed that he would return (note "WHEN" not "IF" again in Jdg 8:9) demolish the fortified tower that had made Peniel an important city (Jdg 8:9). ISBE Penuel or Peniel (Face of God) - This is the form of the name in Genesis 32:30 . In the next verse and elsewhere it appears as "Penuel." The name is said to have been given to the place by Jacob after his night of wrestling by the Jabbok, because, as he said, "I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved." It was a height evidently close by the stream over which Jacob passed in the morning. Some have thought it might be a prominent cliff, the contour of which resembled a human face. Such a cliff on the seashore to the South of Tripoli was called theoú prósōpon , "face of God" (Strabo xvi. 2, 15 f). In later times a city with a strong tower stood upon it. This lay in the line of Gideon's pursuit of the Midianites. When he returned victorious, he beat down the place because of the churlishness of the inhabitants (Judges 8:8 , Judges 8:9 , Judges 8:17 ). It was one of the towns "built" or fortified by Jeroboam (1 Kings 12:25 ). And the men of Penuel answered him just as the men of Succoth had answered.- Similar to Succoth, their words were cruel and without compassion. No bread for Gideon and his men.