Judges 8:1
in Judges 8Then the men of Ephraim said to Gideon, “Why have you done this to us? Why did you fail to call us when you went to fight against Midian?” And they contended with him violently.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the men of Ephraim said unto him, Why hast thou served us thus, that thou calledst us not, when thou wentest to fight with Midian? And they did chide with him sharply.
KJV
And the men of Ephraim said unto him, Why hast thou served us thus, that thou calledst us not, when thou wentest to fight with the Midianites? And they did chide with him sharply.
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This verse in Judges 8
Commentary
7 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The success of Gideon’s enterprise mortified the pride of Ephraim, as the chief tribe, seeing that they had played a subordinate part. Compare Jdg 12:1.
This site's exposition
Why have you done this to us
on Judges 8:1-3
Ephraim, called in at 7:24, took Oreb and Zeeb, yet complains that the call came late. Gideon rates their work above his whole campaign, "the gleanings of Ephraim better than the grape harvest of Abiezer", and their anger subsides. The tribe brings the same charge to Jephthah at 12:1, who answers differently, and Matthew Henry reads verse 3 against Proverbs 15:1, "A gentle answer turns away wrath".
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
And the men of Ephraim said unto him,....
Hence we find Manasseh against Ephraim and Ephraim against Manasseh, Isa. ix. A brother offended is harder to be won than a strong city, and their contentions are as the bars of a castle, Prov. xviii. But how unjust was their quarrel with Gideon!
Note, Many are led into false ways by one false step of a good man. The beginning of sin, particularly of idolatry and will-worship, is as the letting forth of water, so it has been found in the fatal corruptions of the church of Rome; therefore leave it off before it be meddled with.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
But, piqued at not having been sharers in the glory of the victory, their leading men could not repress their wounded pride; and the occasion only served to bring out an old and deep-seated feeling of jealous rivalry that subsisted between the tribes (Isa 9:21). The discontent was groundless, for Gideon acted according to divine directions.
The men of Ephraim said - This account is no doubt displaced; for what is mentioned here could not have taken place till the return of Gideon from the pursuit of the Midianites; for he had not yet passed Jordan, Jdg 8:4. And it was when he was beyond that river that the Ephraimites brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to him, Jdg 7:25.
The words behind it
19 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּאמְר֨וּ | vaiyomeru | and they said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֵלָ֜יו | ʾelav | to him | H413 → | 5510 times |
| אִ֣ישׁ | ʾish | [the] man of | H376 → | 1663 times |
| אֶפְרַ֗יִם | ʾefrayim | Ephraim | H669 → | 180 times |
| מָֽה־ | mah- | what? | H4100 → | 752 times |
| הַדָּבָ֤ר | hadavar | [is] the thing | H1697 → | 1440 times |
| הַזֶּה֙ | hazeh | <the> this | H2088 → | 1180 times |
| עָשִׂ֣יתָ | ʾasita | [which] you have done | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| לָּ֔נוּ | lanu | to <the> us | ||
| לְבִלְתִּי֙ | levilti | to not | H1115 → | 112 times |
| קְרֹ֣אות | kerot | to summon | H7121 → | 733 times |
| לָ֔נוּ | lanu | <to> <the> us | ||
| כִּ֥י | ki | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| הָלַ֖כְתָּ | halakhta | you went | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| לְהִלָּחֵ֣ם | lehilachem | to fight | H3898 → | 177 times |
| בְּמִדְיָ֑ן | bemidyan | against Midian | H4080 → | 59 times |
| וַיְרִיב֥וּן | vayrivun | and they quarreled ! | H7378 → | 67 times |
| אִתּ֖וֹ | ʾito | with him | H854 → | 929 times |
| בְּחָזְקָֽה׃ | bechazekah | with force | H2394 → |
וַיֹּאמְר֨וּand they said
vaiyomeruH559 →5305 times
אֵלָ֜יוto him
ʾelavH413 →5510 times
אִ֣ישׁ[the] man of
ʾishH376 →1663 times
אֶפְרַ֗יִםEphraim
ʾefrayimH669 →180 times
מָֽה־what?
mah-H4100 →752 times
הַדָּבָ֤ר[is] the thing
hadavarH1697 →1440 times
הַזֶּה֙<the> this
hazehH2088 →1180 times
עָשִׂ֣יתָ[which] you have done
ʾasitaH6213 →2628 times
לָּ֔נוּto <the> us
lanu
לְבִלְתִּי֙to not
leviltiH1115 →112 times
קְרֹ֣אותto summon
kerotH7121 →733 times
לָ֔נוּ<to> <the> us
lanu
כִּ֥יthat
kiH3588 →4482 times
הָלַ֖כְתָּyou went
halakhtaH1980 →1546 times
לְהִלָּחֵ֣םto fight
lehilachemH3898 →177 times
בְּמִדְיָ֑ןagainst Midian
bemidyanH4080 →59 times
וַיְרִיב֥וּןand they quarreled !
vayrivunH7378 →67 times
אִתּ֖וֹwith him
ʾitoH854 →929 times
בְּחָזְקָֽה׃with force
bechazekahH2394 →
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
Ecclesiastes 4:4I saw that all labor and success spring from a man’s envy of his neighbor. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.
it leads to
- 1 John 3:12
Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did Cain slay him? Because his own deeds were evil, while those of his brother were righteous.
- Ecclesiastes 2:21
When there is a man who has labored with wisdom, knowledge, and skill, and he must give his portion to a man who has not worked for it, this too is futile and a…
- Ecclesiastes 1:14
I have seen all the things that are done under the sun, and have found them all to be futile, a pursuit of the wind.
- Ecclesiastes 2:26
To the man who is pleasing in His sight, He gives wisdom and knowledge and joy, but to the sinner He assigns the task of gathering and accumulating that which he will hand over…
- 1 Samuel 18:29–30
he grew even more afraid of David. So from then on Saul was David’s enemy.
- 1 John 3:12
Through
Job 5:2For resentment kills a fool, and envy slays the simple.
it leads to
- Ecclesiastes 7:9
Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger settles in the lap of a fool.
- Job 18:4
You who tear yourself in anger—should the earth be forsaken on your account, or the rocks be moved from their place?
- Ecclesiastes 7:9
Through
2 Samuel 19:41Soon all the men of Israel came to the king and asked, “Why did our brothers, the men of Judah, take you away secretly and bring the king and his household across the Jordan,…
it leads to
- Judges 12:1
Then the men of Ephraim assembled and crossed the Jordan to Zaphon. They said to Jephthah, “Why have you crossed over to fight the Ammonites without calling us to go with you? We will…
- Judges 12:1
About Judges
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.