Judges 8:23
in Judges 8But Gideon replied, “I will not rule over you, nor will my son. The LORD shall rule over you.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Gideon said unto them, I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you: Jehovah shall rule over you.
KJV
And Gideon said unto them, I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you: the Lord shall rule over you.
⋯
This verse in Judges 8
Commentary
6 notes on this verseThe Lord shall rule over you - Few with such power at their command would have acted as Gideon. His speech calls them back to their first principles, and should have excited in them both shame and contrition. How different is this speech from that of Oliver Cromwell when the commons offered him the crown of England!
This site's exposition
Rule over us
on Judges 8:22-23
Israel offers a dynasty three generations deep and credits the deliverance from Midian to Gideon himself. That credit is what 7:2 cut the army to three hundred to prevent, lest Israel say "My own hand has saved me". Gideon answers, "The LORD shall rule over you", the ground Samuel stands on at 1 Samuel 8:7, when Israel asks for a king and is told it has rejected God.
This site's exposition
The LORD shall rule over you
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown draw the line Gideon draws: he would act as judge, but the Lord alone was King of Israel. Adam Clarke contrasts the refusal with Oliver Cromwell's speech when the Commons offered him the crown of England. The refusal covers his son as well.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And Gideon said unto them, I will not rule over you,....
He thought the honour of doing good was recompence enough for all his services, which needed not to be rewarded with the honour of bearing sway. He that is greatest, let him be your minister.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
But Gideon knew too well, and revered too piously the principles of the theocracy, to entertain the proposal for a moment. Personal and family ambition was cheerfully sacrificed to a sense of duty, and every worldly motive was kept in check by a supreme regard to the divine honor. He would willingly act as judge, but the Lord alone was King of Israel.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֤אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֲלֵהֶם֙ | ʾalehem | to them | H413 → | 5510 times |
| גִּדְע֔וֹן | gidon | Gideon | H1439 → | 39 times |
| לֹֽא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| אֶמְשֹׁ֤ל | ʾemshol | I will rule | H4910 → | 81 times |
| אֲנִי֙ | ʾani | I | H589 → | 874 times |
| בָּכֶ֔ם | bakhem | over <the> you | ||
| וְלֹֽא־ | velo'- | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יִמְשֹׁ֥ל | yimshol | he will rule | H4910 → | 81 times |
| בְּנִ֖י | beni | son my | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| בָּכֶ֑ם | bakhem | over <the> you | ||
| יְהוָ֖ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| יִמְשֹׁ֥ל | yimshol | he will rule | H4910 → | 81 times |
| בָּכֶֽם׃ | bakhem | over <the> you |
וַיֹּ֤אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
אֲלֵהֶם֙to them
ʾalehemH413 →5510 times
גִּדְע֔וֹןGideon
gidonH1439 →39 times
לֹֽא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
אֶמְשֹׁ֤לI will rule
ʾemsholH4910 →81 times
אֲנִי֙I
ʾaniH589 →874 times
בָּכֶ֔םover <the> you
bakhem
וְלֹֽא־and not
velo'-H3808 →5168 times
יִמְשֹׁ֥לhe will rule
yimsholH4910 →81 times
בְּנִ֖יson my
beniH1121 →4930 times
בָּכֶ֑םover <the> you
bakhem
יְהוָ֖הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
יִמְשֹׁ֥לhe will rule
yimsholH4910 →81 times
בָּכֶֽם׃over <the> you
bakhem
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
Isaiah 33:22For the LORD is our Judge, the LORD is our lawgiver, the LORD is our King. It is He who will save us.
it leads to
- Acts 5:31
God exalted Him to His right hand as Prince and Savior, in order to grant repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel.
- James 4:12
There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?
- Zephaniah 3:15–17
The LORD has taken away your punishment; He has turned back your enemy. Israel’s King, the LORD, is among you; no longer will you fear any harm.
- Isaiah 25:9
And in that day it will be said, “Surely this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He has saved us. This is the LORD for whom we have waited. Let us…
- Isaiah 12:2
Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. For the LORD GOD is my strength and my song, and He also has become my salvation.”
- Acts 5:31
Through
2 Corinthians 1:24Not that we lord it over your faith, but we are fellow workers with you for your joy, because it is by faith that you stand firm.
it leads to
- 1 Peter 5:3
not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.
- 1 Peter 5:3
Through
Judges 2:18Whenever the LORD raised up a judge for the Israelites, He was with that judge and saved them from the hands of their enemies while the judge was still alive; for the LORD was…
it leads to
- Joshua 1:5
No one shall stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so will I be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.
- Deuteronomy 32:36
For the LORD will vindicate His people and have compassion on His servants when He sees that their strength is gone and no one remains, slave or free.
- Joshua 1:5
About Judges
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; 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.