Judges 6:4
in Judges 6encamping against them as far as Gaza and destroying the produce of the land. They left Israel with no sustenance, neither sheep nor oxen nor donkeys.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
and they encamped against them, and destroyed the increase of the earth, till thou come unto Gaza, and left no sustenance in Israel, neither sheep, nor ox, nor ass.
KJV
And they encamped against them, and destroyed the increase of the earth, till thou come unto Gaza, and left no sustenance for Israel, neither sheep, nor ox, nor ass.
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This verse in Judges 6
Commentary
5 notes on this verseEncamped against them - Wandering hordes of Midianites, Amalekites, and Ishmaelites came, in the times of harvest and autumn, and carried away their crops, their fruit, and their cattle. And they appear to have come early, encamped in the plains, and watched the crops till they were ready to be carried off. This is frequently the case even to the present day. Till thou come unto Gaza - That is, the whole breadth of the land, from Jordan to the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. Thus the whole land was ravaged, and the inhabitants deprived of the necessaries of life.
This site's exposition
destroying the produce of the land
on Judges 6:4-6
The raids are timed to the harvest and leave "neither sheep nor oxen nor donkeys", taking the seed and the plough animals together. Raiders on camels without number outrun any farmer on foot, and the locust image returns at 7:12. Verse 6 is the fourth of six times Israel cries out to the Lord, after 3:9, 3:15 and 4:3, and the one answered first by a prophet.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And they encamped against them,....
Now here we may see, [1.] The justice of God in the punishment of their sin. They had neglected to honour God with their substance in tithes and offerings, and had prepared that for Baal with which God should have been served, and now God justly sends an enemy to take it away in the season thereof, Hos. ii.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Gaza indicates the extreme point south to which they spread their devastations, crossing the Jordan near Bethshan (Scythopolls), and entering by the valley of Jezreel, and sweeping along the whole of the maritime plain or Shephelah.
The words behind it
16 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיַּחֲנ֣וּ | vaiyachanu | and they encamped | H2583 → | 143 times |
| עֲלֵיהֶ֗ם | ʾaleihem | on them | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| וַיַּשְׁחִ֙יתוּ֙ | vaiyashchitu | and they destroyed | H7843 → | 146 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| יְב֣וּל | yevul | [the] produce of | H2981 → | |
| הָאָ֔רֶץ | haaretz | the land | H776 → | 2504 times |
| עַד־ | ʾad- | until | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| בּוֹאֲךָ֖ | boakha | coming you | H935 → | 2568 times |
| עַזָּ֑ה | ʾazah | Gaza | H5804 → | 21 times |
| וְלֹֽא־ | velo'- | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יַשְׁאִ֤ירוּ | yashiru | they left | H7604 → | 133 times |
| מִֽחְיָה֙ | michyah | sustenance | H4241 → | |
| בְּיִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל | beyisrael | in Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| וְשֶׂ֥ה | veseh | and a sheep | H7716 → | |
| וָשׁ֖וֹר | vashor | and an ox | H7794 → | |
| וַחֲמֽוֹר׃ | vachamor | and a donkey | H2543 → | 96 times |
וַיַּחֲנ֣וּand they encamped
vaiyachanuH2583 →143 times
עֲלֵיהֶ֗םon them
ʾaleihemH5921 →5755 times
וַיַּשְׁחִ֙יתוּ֙and they destroyed
vaiyashchituH7843 →146 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
יְב֣וּל[the] produce of
yevulH2981 →
הָאָ֔רֶץthe land
haaretzH776 →2504 times
עַד־until
ʾad-H5704 →1261 times
בּוֹאֲךָ֖coming you
boakhaH935 →2568 times
עַזָּ֑הGaza
ʾazahH5804 →21 times
וְלֹֽא־and not
velo'-H3808 →5168 times
יַשְׁאִ֤ירוּthey left
yashiruH7604 →133 times
מִֽחְיָה֙sustenance
michyahH4241 →
בְּיִשְׂרָאֵ֔לin Israel
beyisraelH3478 →2507 times
וְשֶׂ֥הand a sheep
vesehH7716 →
וָשׁ֖וֹרand an ox
vashorH7794 →
וַחֲמֽוֹר׃and a donkey
vachamorH2543 →96 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Leviticus 26:16then this is what I will do to you: I will bring upon you sudden terror, wasting disease, and fever that will destroy your sight and drain your life. You will sow your seed…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 5:17
They will devour your harvest and food; they will consume your sons and daughters; they will eat up your flocks and herds; they will feed on your vines and fig trees. With the sword…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Job 31:8
then may another eat what I have sown, and may my crops be uprooted.
- Micah 6:15
You will sow but not reap; you will press olives but not anoint yourselves with oil; you will tread grapes but not drink the wine.
- 1 Samuel 2:33
And every one of you that I do not cut off from My altar, your eyes will fail and your heart will grieve. All your descendants will die by the sword of men.
- Deuteronomy 28:21–22
The LORD will make the plague cling to you until He has exterminated you from the land that you are entering to possess.
- Jeremiah 5:17
Through
Micah 6:15You will sow but not reap; you will press olives but not anoint yourselves with oil; you will tread grapes but not drink the wine.
it leads to
- Zephaniah 1:13
Their wealth will be plundered and their houses laid waste. They will build houses but not inhabit them, and plant vineyards but never drink their wine.
- Amos 5:11
Therefore, because you trample on the poor and exact from him a tax of grain, you will never live in the stone houses you have built; you will never drink the wine from the…
- Zephaniah 1:13
Through
Deuteronomy 28:33A people you do not know will eat the produce of your land and of all your toil. All your days you will be oppressed and crushed.
it leads to
- Isaiah 1:7
Your land is desolate; your cities are burned with fire. Foreigners devour your fields before you—a desolation demolished by strangers.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Isaiah 1:7
Where this verse is studied
About Judges
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.