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Judges 8:20

in Judges 8

So he said to Jether, his firstborn, “Get up and kill them.” But the young man did not draw his sword; he was fearful because he was still a youth.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And he said unto Jether his first-born, Up, and slay them. But the youth drew not his sword; for he feared, because he was yet a youth.

KJV

And he said unto Jether his firstborn, Up, and slay them. But the youth drew not his sword: for he feared, because he was yet a youth.

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This verse in Judges 8

Commentary

5 notes on this verse

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

He said unto Jether his first-born - By the ancient laws of war, prisoners taken in war might be either slain, sold, or kept for slaves. To put a captive enemy to death no executioner was required. Gideon slays Zebah and Zalmunna with his own hand. So Samuel is said to have hewn Agag in pieces, 1Sa 15:33. Benaiah slew Joab, 1Ki 2:25. Saul orders his guards to slay the priests who had contributed to the escape of David, 1Sa 22:17; and David caused one of his attendants to slay the Amalekite who pretended to have slain Saul, 2Sa 1:15.

This site's exposition

unto Jether his firstborn, Up, and slay them

on Judges 8:20-21

Gideon lays the execution on his eldest son, which would have made the boy an avenger of blood in his own right, and Jether will not draw. The kings ask Gideon to strike them himself and give the reason, as the man is, so is his strength, asking to fall by a soldier's hand rather than a child's. The ornaments taken off the camels are crescents in the Hebrew, moon shapes worn as jewellery, and Isaiah 3:18 lists the same item among the finery stripped from the daughters of Zion.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

And he said unto Jether, his firstborn, up, and slay them,....

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

But, (1.) The young man himself desired to be excused; he feared, though they were bound and could make no resistance, because he was yet a youth, and not used to such work: courage does not always run in the blood.

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

It was Gideon’s place to act the part of the “avenger of blood” Num 35:12; Deu 19:6. The fierce manners of the age break out in the slaying of the captives (compare 1Sa 15:32-33), and in Gideon’s attempt to initiate his youthful son Jether in the stern work of slaying his country’s enemies.

The words behind it

15 Hebrew words

Every 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.

  • וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙and he said

    vaiyomerH559 →5305 times

  • לְיֶ֣תֶרto Jether

    leyeterH3500 →

  • בְּכוֹר֔וֹfirstborn his

    bekhoroH1060 →

  • ק֖וּםarise

    kumH6965 →628 times

  • הֲרֹ֣גkill

    harogH2026 →167 times

  • אוֹתָ֑ם<obj.> them

    ʾotamH853 →10935 times

  • וְלֹא־and not

    velo'-H3808 →5168 times

  • שָׁלַ֨ףhe drew

    shalafH8025 →25 times

  • הַנַּ֤עַרthe young man

    hanaarH5288 →239 times

  • חַרְבּוֹ֙sword his

    charboH2719 →413 times

  • כִּ֣יfor

    kiH3588 →4482 times

  • יָרֵ֔אhe was afraid

    yare'H3372 →315 times

  • כִּ֥יfor

    kiH3588 →4482 times

  • עוֹדֶ֖נּוּstill he

    odenuH5750 →490 times

  • נָֽעַר׃[was] a young man

    naarH5288 →239 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

4 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Joshua 10:24When they had brought the kings to Joshua, he summoned all the men of Israel and said to the army commanders who had accompanied him, “Come here and put your feet on the necks of these kings.” So the commanders came forward and put their feet on their necks.3 worksPsalms 149:9to execute the judgment written against them. This honor is for all His saints. Hallelujah!2 works1 Samuel 15:33But Samuel declared: “As your sword has made women childless, so your mother will be childless among women.” And Samuel hacked Agag to pieces before the LORD at Gilgal.2 works2 Samuel 1:15Then David summoned one of the young men and said, “Go, execute him!” So the young man struck him down, and he died.2 works

The walk

8 stops

Each 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

    Psalms 149:9

    to execute the judgment written against them. This honor is for all His saints. Hallelujah!

    it leads to

    • 1 Corinthians 6:2–3

      Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if you are to judge the world, are you not competent to judge trivial cases?

    • Psalms 148:14

      He has raised up a horn for His people, the praise of all His saints, of Israel, a people near to Him. Hallelujah!

  • Through

    1 Samuel 15:33

    But Samuel declared: “As your sword has made women childless, so your mother will be childless among women.” And Samuel hacked Agag to pieces before the LORD at Gilgal.

    it leads to

    • Judges 1:7

      Then Adoni-bezek said, “Seventy kings with their thumbs and big toes cut off have gathered the scraps under my table. As I have done to them, so God has repaid me.” And they brought…

    • Genesis 9:6

      Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man his blood will be shed; for in His own image God has made mankind.

  • Through

    Joshua 10:24

    When they had brought the kings to Joshua, he summoned all the men of Israel and said to the army commanders who had accompanied him, “Come here and put your feet on the necks…

    it leads to

    • Romans 16:20

      The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

    • Malachi 4:3

      Then you will trample the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day I am preparing,” says the LORD of Hosts.

    • Revelation 2:26–27

      And to the one who overcomes and continues in My work until the end, I will give authority over the nations.

    • Psalms 149:8–9

      to bind their kings with chains and their nobles with shackles of iron,

About Judges

The Death of Samson, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
The Death of Samson, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
Judges: the study guide →Read Judges 8 →

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); 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.

Read on in Judges 8 →