Hakim-hakim 8:27-35
Konteks8:27 Gideon used all this to make 1 an ephod, 2 which he put in his hometown of Ophrah. All the Israelites 3 prostituted themselves to it by worshiping it 4 there. It became a snare to Gideon and his family.
8:28 The Israelites humiliated Midian; the Midianites’ fighting spirit was broken. 5 The land had rest for forty years during Gideon’s time. 6 8:29 Then Jerub-Baal son of Joash went home and settled down. 7 8:30 Gideon fathered seventy sons through his many wives. 8 8:31 His concubine, 9 who lived in Shechem, also gave him a son, whom he named Abimelech. 10 8:32 Gideon son of Joash died at a very 11 old age and was buried in the tomb of his father Joash located in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.
8:33 After Gideon died, the Israelites again prostituted themselves to the Baals. They made Baal-Berith 12 their god. 8:34 The Israelites did not remain true 13 to the Lord their God, who had delivered them from all the enemies who lived around them. 8:35 They did not treat 14 the family of Jerub-Baal (that is, Gideon) fairly in return for all the good he had done for Israel.
[8:27] 1 tn Heb “made it into.”
[8:27] 2 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] 3 tn Heb “Israel” (a collective singular).
[8:27] 4 tn The words “by worshiping it” are supplied in the translation for clarity.
[8:28] 5 tn Heb “Midian was humbled before the Israelites, and they no longer lifted their heads.”
[8:28] 6 tn Heb “in the days of Gideon.”
[8:29] 7 tn Heb “went and lived in his house.”
[8:30] 8 tn Heb “Gideon had seventy sons who went out from his thigh, for he had many wives.” The Hebrew word יָרֵךְ (yarekh, “thigh”) is a euphemism here for the penis.
[8:31] 9 sn A concubine was a slave woman in ancient Near Eastern societies who was the legal property of her master, but who could have legitimate sexual relations with her master. A concubine’s status was more elevated than a mere servant, but she was not free and did not have the legal rights of a free wife. The children of a concubine could, in some instances, become equal heirs with the children of the free wife. After the period of the Judges concubines may have become more of a royal prerogative (2 Sam 21:10-14; 1 Kgs 11:3).
[8:31] 10 sn The name Abimelech means “my father is king.”
[8:33] 12 sn Baal-Berith was a local manifestation of the Canaanite storm god. The name means, ironically, “Baal of the covenant.” Israel’s covenant allegiance had indeed shifted.
[8:35] 14 tn Heb “did not do loyalty with,” or “did not act faithfully toward.”
