Judges 8:14
in Judges 8There he captured a young man of Succoth and interrogated him. The young man wrote down for him the names of the seventy-seven leaders and elders of Succoth.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And he caught a young man of the men of Succoth, and inquired of him: and he described for him the princes of Succoth, and the elders thereof, seventy and seven men.
KJV
And caught a young man of the men of Succoth, and enquired of him: and he described unto him the princes of Succoth, and the elders thereof, even threescore and seventeen men.
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This verse in Judges 8
Commentary
8 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
Gideon son of Joash returned from the battle
on Judges 8:13-14
Where the King James says the young man described the leaders, the Hebrew verb is the ordinary word for writing, and the Berean reads "wrote down for him". Keil and Delitzsch take it that he wrote the seventy-seven names down, putting reading and writing in an ordinary townsman's hands in the Judges period. Gideon reaches Succoth holding a list of every man who refused him.
This site's exposition
wrote down for him the names
Albert Barnes reads the seventy-seven as a council of seventy elders, on the pattern of Numbers 11:16, with perhaps seven princes above them. The written list, he notes, let Gideon punish the guilty and spare the rest of the town. The judgment falls on named men.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
Are the hands, &c. - Art thou so foolish, to think with thy three hundred faint and weary soldiers, to conquer and destroy an host of fifteen thousand Men? Thus the bowels of their compassion were shut up against their brethren. Surely they were worshippers of Baal, or in the interest of Midian.
And caught a young man of the men of Succoth, and inquired of him,....
His 300 men were now the ministers of his justice; they secured all these princes, and brought them before Gideon, who showed them his royal captives in chains. "These are the men you thought me an unequal match for, and would give me no assistance in the pursuit of,"
Cowards will seem valiant when the danger is over, but those consult their reputation who try not their courage when danger is near. Gideon's answer was very calm and peaceable, and was intended not so much to justify himself as to please and pacify them,
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
He described unto him the princes of Succoth - The young man probably gave him the names of seventy persons, the chief men of Succoth, who were those who were most concerned in refusing him and his men the refreshment he requested.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The written (see the margin) list would enable Gideon to punish the guilty and spare the innocent people. Succoth was governed by a sanhedrim or council of seventy elders (compare Num 11:16), with perhaps seven others of superior rank called princes.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
With the sun high. Before sunset, with the sun still visible high above the horizon.
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
15 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּלְכָּד־ | vaiyilkod- | and he captured | H3920 → | 121 times |
| נַ֛עַר | naar | a young man | H5288 → | 239 times |
| מֵאַנְשֵׁ֥י | meanshei | one of [the] men of | H582 → | 566 times |
| סֻכּ֖וֹת | sukot | Succoth | H5523 → | 18 times |
| וַיִּשְׁאָלֵ֑הוּ | vaiyishalehu | and he enquired of him | H7592 → | 171 times |
| וַיִּכְתֹּ֨ב | vaiyikhto | and he wrote down | H3789 → | |
| אֵלָ֜יו | ʾelav | to him | H413 → | 5510 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| שָׂרֵ֤י | sarei | [the] officials of | H8269 → | 421 times |
| סֻכּוֹת֙ | sukot | Succoth | H5523 → | 18 times |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| זְקֵנֶ֔יהָ | zekeneiha | elders its | H2205 → | 178 times |
| שִׁבְעִ֥ים | shivim | seventy | H7657 → | 91 times |
| וְשִׁבְעָ֖ה | veshivah | and seven | H7651 → | 394 times |
| אִֽישׁ׃ | ʾish | man | H376 → | 1663 times |
וַיִּלְכָּד־and he captured
vaiyilkod-H3920 →121 times
נַ֛עַרa young man
naarH5288 →239 times
מֵאַנְשֵׁ֥יone of [the] men of
meansheiH582 →566 times
סֻכּ֖וֹתSuccoth
sukotH5523 →18 times
וַיִּשְׁאָלֵ֑הוּand he enquired of him
vaiyishalehuH7592 →171 times
וַיִּכְתֹּ֨בand he wrote down
vaiyikhtoH3789 →
אֵלָ֜יוto him
ʾelavH413 →5510 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
שָׂרֵ֤י[the] officials of
sareiH8269 →421 times
סֻכּוֹת֙Succoth
sukotH5523 →18 times
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
זְקֵנֶ֔יהָelders its
zekeneihaH2205 →178 times
שִׁבְעִ֥יםseventy
shivimH7657 →91 times
וְשִׁבְעָ֖הand seven
veshivahH7651 →394 times
אִֽישׁ׃man
ʾishH376 →1663 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
About Judges
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: Joshua, Judges, Ruth and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.