Judges 8:11
in Judges 8And Gideon went up by way of the caravan route east of Nobah and Jogbehah, and he attacked their army, taking them by surprise.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Gideon went up by the way of them that dwelt in tents on the east of Nobah and Jogbehah, and smote the host; for the host was secure.
KJV
And Gideon went up by the way of them that dwelt in tents on the east of Nobah and Jogbehah, and smote the host: for the host was secure.
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This verse in Judges 8
Commentary
4 notes on this verseA commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Jogbehah is supposed to be Ramoth-gilead; and, therefore, the Midianites must have found refuge at or near Abela, "Abel-cheramim," "the plain of the vineyards."
This site's exposition
Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor
on Judges 8:10-12
Karkor lies far east of the Jezreel valley where chapter 7 began, so three hundred exhausted men have crossed Jordan and gone deep into open desert after a broken army. The count is fifteen thousand left of a hundred and twenty thousand that drew sword, the loss already made by the panic of 7:22 when every man's sword was set against his fellow. The host was secure means the camp reckoned itself past pursuit, and the same idea returns at Judges 18:7 and 18:27 of Laish, a people at quiet and secure the day before they are destroyed.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And Gideon went up by the way of them that dwell in tents,....
It should seem, he set upon the enemy by night, as he had done before, for the host was secure. The security of sinners often proves their ruin, and dangers are most fatal when least feared. His success was very encouraging to resolution and industry in a good cause.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
By way of the tent dwellers. By way of the lands of Kedar and Arabia, whose inhabitants were wilderness tent dwellers. Since they were occupied exclusively as shepherds, they could not dwell in houses.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
14 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיַּ֣עַל | vaiyaal | and he went up | H5927 → | 890 times |
| גִּדְע֗וֹן | gidon | Gideon | H1439 → | 39 times |
| דֶּ֚רֶךְ | derekh | [the] way of | H1870 → | 707 times |
| הַשְּׁכוּנֵ֣י | hashekhunei | those [who] dwell | H7931 → | 129 times |
| בָֽאֳהָלִ֔ים | voohalim | in <the> tents | H168 → | 345 times |
| מִקֶּ֥דֶם | mikedem | from [the] east | H6924 → | 87 times |
| לְנֹ֖בַח | lenoach | of Nobah | H5025 → | |
| וְיָגְבֳּהָ֑ה | veyagebohah | and Jogbehah | H3011 → | |
| וַיַּךְ֙ | vaiyakh | and he attacked | H5221 → | 499 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הַֽמַּחֲנֶ֔ה | hamachaneh | the army | H4264 → | 215 times |
| וְהַֽמַּחֲנֶ֖ה | vehamachaneh | and the army | H4264 → | 215 times |
| הָ֥יָה | hayah | it was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| בֶֽטַח׃ | vetach | security | H983 → |
וַיַּ֣עַלand he went up
vaiyaalH5927 →890 times
גִּדְע֗וֹןGideon
gidonH1439 →39 times
דֶּ֚רֶךְ[the] way of
derekhH1870 →707 times
הַשְּׁכוּנֵ֣יthose [who] dwell
hashekhuneiH7931 →129 times
בָֽאֳהָלִ֔יםin <the> tents
voohalimH168 →345 times
מִקֶּ֥דֶםfrom [the] east
mikedemH6924 →87 times
לְנֹ֖בַחof Nobah
lenoachH5025 →
וְיָגְבֳּהָ֑הand Jogbehah
veyagebohahH3011 →
וַיַּךְ֙and he attacked
vaiyakhH5221 →499 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הַֽמַּחֲנֶ֔הthe army
hamachanehH4264 →215 times
וְהַֽמַּחֲנֶ֖הand the army
vehamachanehH4264 →215 times
הָ֥יָהit was
hayahH1961 →3559 times
בֶֽטַח׃security
vetachH983 →
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
1 Thessalonians 5:3While people are saying, “Peace and security,” destruction will come upon them suddenly, like labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.
it leads to
- Luke 21:34–35
But watch yourselves, or your hearts will be weighed down by dissipation, drunkenness, and the worries of life—and that day will spring upon you suddenly like a snare.
- Matthew 24:37–39
As it was in the days of Noah, so will it be at the coming of the Son of Man.
- Luke 17:26–30
Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man:
- Revelation 18:7–8
As much as she has glorified herself and lived in luxury, give her the same measure of torment and grief. In her heart she says, ‘I sit as queen; I am not a widow…
- Psalms 73:18–20
Surely You set them on slick ground; You cast them down into ruin.
- Luke 21:34–35
Through
Judges 18:27After they had taken Micah’s idols and his priest, they went to Laish, to a tranquil and unsuspecting people, and they struck them with their swords and burned down the city.
it leads to
- Joshua 19:47
(Later, when the territory of the Danites was lost to them, they went up and fought against Leshem, captured it, and put it to the sword. So they took possession of Leshem, settled there,…
- Judges 18:7
So the five men departed and came to Laish, where they saw that the people were living securely, like the Sidonians, tranquil and unsuspecting. There was nothing lacking in the land and no oppressive…
- Judges 18:10
When you enter, you will come to an unsuspecting people and a spacious land, for God has delivered it into your hand. It is a place where nothing on earth is lacking.”
- Joshua 19:47
About Judges
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on 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); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: Joshua, Judges, Ruth and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.