Judges 8:2
in Judges 8But Gideon answered them, “Now what have I accomplished compared to you? Are not the gleanings of Ephraim better than the grape harvest of Abiezer?
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And he said unto them, What have I now done in comparison with you? Is not the gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim better than the vintage of Abiezer?
KJV
And he said unto them, What have I done now in comparison of you? Is not the gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim better than the vintage of Abi–ezer?
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This verse in Judges 8
Commentary
5 notes on this verseIs not the gleaning, etc. - That is, The Ephraimites have performed more important services than Gideon and his men; and he supports the assertion by observing that it was they who took the two Midianitish generals, having discomfited their hosts at the passes of Jordan.
This site's exposition
Why hast thou served us thus
on Judges 8:1-3
Ephraim was called in at 7:24 to hold the waters against the fleeing Midianites, and it took Oreb and Zeeb; the complaint is that the call came late. Gideon answers by setting their gleaning above his whole campaign, the grapes of Ephraim against the vintage of Abiezer, and the anger is abated inside one verse. Judges 12:1 opens with the same tribe bringing the same charge to Jephthah, who answers differently, and forty and two thousand Ephraimites fall at the fords of Jordan. Matthew Henry reads verse 3 against Proverbs 15:1, a soft answer turneth away wrath.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And he said unto them,....
It is true even right works are often envied, Eccl. iv. Yet they are not so apt to be so when those who do them appear not to be proud of them. Those are malignant indeed who seek to cast down from their excellency those that humble and abase themselves, (2.) It is likewise the surest method of ending strife, for only by pride comes contention, Prov. xiii.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
A civil war with the great tribe of Ephraim would soon have turned Israel’s victory into mourning. Gideon therefore soothes their wounded pride by confessing that Ephraim had done more, though they had joined him so late in the day, than he had been able to effect in the whole campaign. The grape-gleaning of Ephraim was better than the whole vintage of Abi-ezer.
The words behind it
12 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֣אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֲלֵיהֶ֔ם | ʾaleihem | to them | H413 → | 5510 times |
| מֶה־ | meh- | what? | H4100 → | 752 times |
| עָשִׂ֥יתִי | ʾasiti | have I done | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| עַתָּ֖ה | ʾatah | now | H6258 → | 433 times |
| כָּכֶ֑ם | kakhem | like <the> you | ||
| הֲל֗וֹא | halo' | ¿ not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| ט֛וֹב | tov | good | H2896 → | 538 times |
| עֹלְל֥וֹת | olelot | [are] [the] gleanings of | H5955 → | |
| אֶפְרַ֖יִם | ʾefrayim | Ephraim | H669 → | 180 times |
| מִבְצִ֥יר | mivtzir | more than [the] grape harvest of | H1210 → | |
| אֲבִיעֶֽזֶר׃ | ʾaviezer | Abiezer | H44 → |
וַיֹּ֣אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
אֲלֵיהֶ֔םto them
ʾaleihemH413 →5510 times
מֶה־what?
meh-H4100 →752 times
עָשִׂ֥יתִיhave I done
ʾasitiH6213 →2628 times
עַתָּ֖הnow
ʾatahH6258 →433 times
כָּכֶ֑םlike <the> you
kakhem
הֲל֗וֹא¿ not
halo'H3808 →5168 times
ט֛וֹבgood
tovH2896 →538 times
עֹלְל֥וֹת[are] [the] gleanings of
olelotH5955 →
אֶפְרַ֖יִםEphraim
ʾefrayimH669 →180 times
מִבְצִ֥ירmore than [the] grape harvest of
mivtzirH1210 →
אֲבִיעֶֽזֶר׃Abiezer
ʾaviezerH44 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
5 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
Judges 6:11Then the angel of the LORD came and sat down under the oak in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, where his son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to hide it…
it leads to
- Joshua 17:2
So this allotment was for the rest of the descendants of Manasseh—the clans of Abiezer, Helek, Asriel, Shechem, Hepher, and Shemida. These are the other male descendants of the clans of Manasseh son of…
- Hebrews 11:32
And what more shall I say? Time will not allow me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets,
- Judges 13:3
The angel of the LORD appeared to the woman and said to her, “It is true that you are barren and have no children; but you will conceive and give birth to a son.
- Isaiah 63:9
In all their distress, He too was afflicted, and the Angel of His Presence saved them. In His love and compassion He redeemed them; He lifted them up and carried them all the days…
- Genesis 16:7
Now the angel of the LORD found Hagar by a spring of water in the desert—the spring along the road to Shur.
- Joshua 17:2
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 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.