Judges 8:26
in Judges 8The weight of the gold earrings he had requested was 1,700 shekels, in addition to the crescent ornaments, the pendants, the purple garments of the kings of Midian, and the chains from the necks of their camels.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the weight of the golden ear-rings that he requested was a thousand and seven hundred shekels of gold; besides the crescents, and the pendants, and the purple raiment that was on the kings of Midian, and besides the chains that were about their camels’ necks.
KJV
And the weight of the golden earrings that he requested was a thousand and seven hundred shekels of gold; beside ornaments, and collars, and purple raiment that was on the kings of Midian, and beside the chains that were about their camels’ necks.
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This verse in Judges 8
Commentary
7 notes on this verseThe weight of the golden ear-rings - was a thousand and seven hundred shekels of gold - Taking the shekel at half an ounce weight, the sum of the gold collected in ear-rings was seventy pounds ten ounces; and worth, as gold now rates, about £3,100 sterling. This computation of the weight of the golden ear-rings, taken from the slaughtered Ishmaelites, will bring to the reader’s mind the slaughter of the Roman knights by the Carthaginians at the battle of Cannae, from whose spoils Hannibal sent three bushels of gold rings to the city of Carthage!
This site's exposition
Let me make a request of you
on Judges 8:24-26
The request follows the refusal in the same breath, and it asks for gold. The verse calls the enemy Ishmaelites where the chapter says Midianites, as Genesis 37:25-28 does of the traders who carried Joseph off. Israel "spread out a garment" and gave gladly, as for the tabernacle at Exodus 35:22 and the calf at Exodus 32:2-3, and 1,700 shekels come near fifty pounds weight.
This site's exposition
was 1,700 shekels
Adam Clarke reckons the shekel at half an ounce and arrives at seventy pounds ten ounces of gold, worth about 3,100 pounds sterling in his day. He sets it beside the three bushels of gold rings Hannibal sent to Carthage after Cannae. The kings' purple and the camels' chains came on top.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
, where we find that he did not put them to so good a use as one would have wished. The destruction of these two kings, and that of the two princes ( ch. vii. 25 ) is long afterwards pleaded as a precedent in prayer for the ruin of others of the church's enemies, Ps. lxxxiii.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation
And the weight of the golden earrings he requested was one thousand and seven hundred shekels of gold,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Gideon said unto them, I would desire a request of you--This was the contribution of an earring (singular). As the ancient Arabians (Ishmaelites and Midianites being synonymous terms, Ge 37:25, 28) were gorgeously adorned with barbaric pearl and gold, an immense amount of such valuable booty had fallen into the hands of the Israelitish soldiers.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
If the Ishmaelite nose-rings were half a shekel in weight, then 1,700 shekels weight of gold implied that 3,400 persons wearing, gold rings had been slain. The “collars” were rather “ear-drops.”
The words behind it
25 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיְהִ֗י | vayhi | and it was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| מִשְׁקַ֞ל | mishkal | [the] weight of | H4948 → | |
| נִזְמֵ֤י | nizmei | [the] earrings of | H5141 → | 17 times |
| הַזָּהָב֙ | hazahav | <the> gold | H2091 → | 389 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֣ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| שָׁאָ֔ל | shaal | he asked for | H7592 → | 171 times |
| אֶ֥לֶף | ʾelef | one thousand | H505 → | 505 times |
| וּשְׁבַע־ | usheva'- | and seven | H7651 → | 394 times |
| מֵא֖וֹת | meot | hundred<s> | H3967 → | 581 times |
| זָהָ֑ב | zahav | gold | H2091 → | 389 times |
| לְ֠בַד | levad | <to> apart | H905 → | 200 times |
| מִן־ | min- | from | H4480 → | 1188 times |
| הַשַּׂהֲרֹנִ֨ים | hasaharonim | the ornaments | H7720 → | |
| וְהַנְּטִפ֜וֹת | vehanetifot | and the pendants | H5188 → | |
| וּבִגְדֵ֣י | uvigdei | and [the] garments of | H899 → | 217 times |
| הָאַרְגָּמָ֗ן | haargaman | <the> purple | H713 → | |
| שֶׁעַל֙ | sheal | that [were] on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| מַלְכֵ֣י | malkhei | [the] kings of | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| מִדְיָ֔ן | midyan | Midian | H4080 → | 59 times |
| וּלְבַד֙ | ulevad | and <to> apart | H905 → | 200 times |
| מִן־ | min- | from | H4480 → | 1188 times |
| הָ֣עֲנָק֔וֹת | haanakot | the necklaces | H6060 → | |
| אֲשֶׁ֖ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| בְּצַוְּארֵ֥י | betzaverei | [were] on [the] necks of | H6677 → | 42 times |
| גְמַלֵּיהֶֽם׃ | gemaleihem | camels their | H1581 → | 54 times |
וַיְהִ֗יand it was
vayhiH1961 →3559 times
מִשְׁקַ֞ל[the] weight of
mishkalH4948 →
נִזְמֵ֤י[the] earrings of
nizmeiH5141 →17 times
הַזָּהָב֙<the> gold
hazahavH2091 →389 times
אֲשֶׁ֣רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
שָׁאָ֔לhe asked for
shaalH7592 →171 times
אֶ֥לֶףone thousand
ʾelefH505 →505 times
וּשְׁבַע־and seven
usheva'-H7651 →394 times
מֵא֖וֹתhundred<s>
meotH3967 →581 times
זָהָ֑בgold
zahavH2091 →389 times
לְ֠בַד<to> apart
levadH905 →200 times
מִן־from
min-H4480 →1188 times
הַשַּׂהֲרֹנִ֨יםthe ornaments
hasaharonimH7720 →
וְהַנְּטִפ֜וֹתand the pendants
vehanetifotH5188 →
וּבִגְדֵ֣יand [the] garments of
uvigdeiH899 →217 times
הָאַרְגָּמָ֗ן<the> purple
haargamanH713 →
שֶׁעַל֙that [were] on
shealH5921 →5755 times
מַלְכֵ֣י[the] kings of
malkheiH4428 →2525 times
מִדְיָ֔ןMidian
midyanH4080 →59 times
וּלְבַד֙and <to> apart
ulevadH905 →200 times
מִן־from
min-H4480 →1188 times
הָ֣עֲנָק֔וֹתthe necklaces
haanakotH6060 →
אֲשֶׁ֖רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
בְּצַוְּארֵ֥י[were] on [the] necks of
betzavereiH6677 →42 times
גְמַלֵּיהֶֽם׃camels their
gemaleihemH1581 →54 times
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
Revelation 18:12cargo of gold, silver, precious stones, and pearls; of fine linen, purple, silk, and scarlet; of all kinds of citron wood and every article of ivory, precious wood, bronze, iron, and marble;
it leads to
- Revelation 17:4
The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls. She held in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the impurities of her sexual…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Revelation 17:4
Through
Esther 8:15Mordecai went out from the presence of the king in royal garments of blue and white, with a large gold crown and a purple robe of fine linen. And the city of Susa shouted…
it leads to
- Luke 16:19
Now there was a rich man dressed in purple and fine linen, who lived each day in joyous splendor.
- Proverbs 29:2
When the righteous flourish, the people rejoice, but when the wicked rule, the people groan.
- Genesis 41:42
Then Pharaoh removed the signet ring from his finger, put it on Joseph’s finger, clothed him in garments of fine linen, and placed a gold chain around his neck.
- Esther 1:6
Hangings of white and blue linen were fastened with cords of fine white and purple material to silver rings on the marble pillars. Gold and silver couches were arranged on a mosaic pavement of…
- Matthew 6:29
Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his glory was adorned like one of these.
- Luke 16:19
Through
John 19:2The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns, set it on His head, and dressed Him in a purple robe.
it leads to
- Mark 15:16–20
Then the soldiers led Jesus away into the palace (that is, the Praetorium) and called the whole company together.
- Mark 15:16–20
Through
Jeremiah 10:9Hammered silver is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz—the work of a craftsman from the hands of a goldsmith. Their clothes are blue and purple, all fashioned by skilled workers.
it leads to
- Psalms 115:4
Their idols are silver and gold, made by the hands of men.
- Psalms 115:4
About Judges

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); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
