Judges 8:18 - Meaning and Application

Judgment began at the house of God, in the fair correction of the men of Succoth and Penuel, who were Israelites. But it did not end there. The kings of Midian had already served to show Gideon’s victories and honor his triumph, and now they too must answer for what they had done.

First, they are charged with the murder of Gideon’s brothers some time earlier at Mount Tabor. When the Israelites, out of fear of the Midianites, hid in caves and mountain shelters (Judges 6:2), those young men likely took refuge on that mountain. There, these two kings found them and slaughtered them in cold blood. When Gideon asks what kind of men they were (Judges 8:18), he is not unsure or looking for proof. He already knew enough, and he was not so unconcerned about his brothers’ blood as to leave the matter alone.

Instead, he asks the question so that their own answer will make their crime look even worse, and their punishment more just. They had to admit that, though the men were found in a low and helpless condition, they had faces marked by uncommon nobility and dignity. They looked something like Gideon himself at that moment. They seemed like sons of a king, born for something greater.

Second, once they have confessed the murder, Gideon acts not only as Israel’s judge, but also as the avenger of blood, that is, the nearest kinsman responsible for punishing murder. He could have put them to death for their crimes against Israel in general, as he had done with Oreb and Zeeb (Judges 7:25). But here he says, “They were my brothers” (Judges 8:19). Their other sins might have been left to the people to judge, but his brothers’ blood cried out to him now that he had the power to avenge it.

So their blood must be shed by his hand, even though they were kings. They little expected to hear of this so long after. Yet murder often does not go unpunished even in this life.

Third, Gideon carries out the execution himself, since he was the avenger of blood. He tells his son to kill them, because the boy was a close relation to the slain men and could serve as his father’s helper. In this way, Gideon would train him in justice and courage (Judges 8:20). But the young man asks to be excused, since he was still only a youth and not used to such work. Courage does not always come through family lines.

The prisoners also ask Gideon to do it himself (Judges 8:21). If they must die, they would rather die by his own hand, which would seem more honorable and perhaps less painful. Under Gideon’s strong hand, they would be finished more quickly. “As is the man, so is his strength” means that the fully grown man should act with the strength expected of him, or that Gideon, now in full strength, should do the work himself.

Gideon quickly killed them, and then took the ornaments from the necks of their camels. These ornaments were like the moon, according to the margin, and were either signs of royal rank or perhaps marks of idol worship, since Ashteroth was linked with the moon, just as Baal was linked with the sun. He also took all their other ornaments, as later noted (Judges 8:26), though he did not afterward use them as well as one might have hoped.

Much later, the death of these two kings, along with the death of the two princes (Judges 7:25), is used in prayer as a pattern for the ruin of God’s enemies. The psalmist says, “Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb, and all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna” (Psalm 83:11).