Hakim-hakim 8:22-27

Gideon Rejects a Crown but Makes an Ephod

8:22 The men of Israel said to Gideon, “Rule over us – you, your son, and your grandson. For you have delivered us from Midian’s power.” ¹  8:23 Gideon said to them, “I will not rule over you, nor will my son rule over you. The Lord will rule over you.” 8:24 Gideon continued, ²  “I would like to make one request. Each of you give me an earring from the plunder you have taken.” ³  (The Midianites ⁴  had gold earrings because they were Ishmaelites.) 8:25 They said, “We are happy to give you earrings.” ⁵  So they ⁶  spread out a garment, and each one threw an earring from his plunder onto it. 8:26 The total weight of the gold earrings he requested came to seventeen hundred gold shekels. ⁷  This was in addition to the crescent-shaped ornaments, jewelry, ⁸  purple clothing worn by the Midianite kings, and the necklaces on the camels. ⁹  8:27 Gideon used all this to make ¹⁰  an ephod, ¹¹  which he put in his hometown of Ophrah. All the Israelites ¹²  prostituted themselves to it by worshiping it ¹³  there. It became a snare to Gideon and his family.

[8:22]  ¹ tn Heb “hand.”

[8:24]  ² tn Heb “said to them.”

[8:24]  ³ tn Heb “Give to me, each one, an earring from his plunder.”

[8:24]  ⁴ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the Midianites) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:25]  ⁵ tn Heb “We will indeed give.”

[8:25]  ⁶ tc In the LXX the subject of this verb is singular, referring to Gideon rather than to the Israelites.

[8:26]  ⁷ sn Seventeen hundred gold shekels would be about 42.7 pounds (19.4 kilograms) of gold.

[8:26]  ⁸ tn Or “pendants.”

[8:26]  ⁹ tn Heb “the ornaments which were on the necks of their camels.”

[8:27]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “made it into.”

[8:27]  ¹¹ sn In Exod 28:4-6 and several other texts an ephod is described as a priestly or cultic garment. In some cases an ephod is used to obtain a divine oracle (1 Sam 23:9; 30:7). Here the ephod is made of gold and is described as being quite heavy (70-75 lbs?). Some identify it as an idol, but it was more likely a cultic object fashioned in the form of a garment which was used for oracular purposes. For discussion of the ephod in the OT, see C. F. Burney, Judges, 236-43, and R. de Vaux, Ancient Israel, 349-52.

[8:27]  ¹² tn Heb “Israel” (a collective singular).

[8:27]  ¹³ tn The words “by worshiping it” are supplied in the translation for clarity.