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Judges 8:27

in Judges 8

From all this Gideon made an ephod, which he placed in Ophrah, his hometown. But soon all Israel prostituted themselves by worshiping it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and his household.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And Gideon made an ephod thereof, and put it in his city, even in Ophrah: and all Israel played the harlot after it there; and it became a snare unto Gideon, and to his house.

KJV

And Gideon made an ephod thereof, and put it in his city, even in Ophrah: and all Israel went thither a whoring after it: which thing became a snare unto Gideon, and to his house.

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This verse in Judges 8

Commentary

4 notes on this verse
And Gideon made an ephod thereof,.... That is, of some of this gold; for such a quantity could never have been expanded on an ephod only, even taking it not for a linen ephod, but such an one as the high priest wore, made of gold, of blue, purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, with curious work, together with a curious girdle of the same work; unless we suppose such a breastplate with it, of twelve precious stones, as Aaron had; and with little images of teraphim or cherubim in it, as Dr. Spencer thinks (i).

This site's exposition

And Gideon made an ephod thereof

An ephod in Exodus 28 is a garment worn by the high priest, carrying the breastplate with the Urim and Thummim, so a gold one set up in a private town is an instrument for enquiring of God away from the tabernacle at Shiloh. The verb for what Israel then does is the book's word for Baal worship, went thither a whoring after it, and it returns six verses later at verse 33. Snare is the word the angel used at 2:3 of the gods of the nations Israel failed to drive out, and the snare here is made out of the spoil of a victory God gave. Four verses after refusing a crown Gideon leaves an object his own house will fall over.

The record, by era

The Nineteenth Century2 voices
The ephod was that particular part of the high priest’s dress which was necessary to be worst when he inquired of God by Urim and Thummim. It seems that Gideon being now the civil ruler, desired to have an ephod of his own, kept in his own city, to he worn by the priest whenever Gideon might summon him to inquire of the Lord for him. His relations with the tribe of Ephraim probably made him unwilling to resort to Shiloh. Compare the act of Jeroboam 1Ki 12:28.

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

Gideon made an ephod thereof, and put it in his city, . . . Ophrah--That no idolatrous use was in view, nor any divisive course from Shiloh contemplated, is manifest from Jud 8:33.

The words behind it

17 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.

  • וַיַּעַשׂ֩and he made

    vaiyaasH6213 →2628 times

  • אוֹת֨וֹ<obj.> it

    ʾotoH853 →10935 times

  • גִדְע֜וֹןGideon

    gidonH1439 →39 times

  • לְאֵפ֗וֹדinto an ephod

    leefodH646 →49 times

  • וַיַּצֵּ֨גand he placed

    vaiyatzegH3322 →16 times

  • אוֹת֤וֹ<obj.> it

    ʾotoH853 →10935 times

  • בְעִירוֹ֙in city his

    veiroH5892 →1090 times

  • בְּעָפְרָ֔הin Ophrah

    beaferahH6084 →8 times

  • וַיִּזְנ֧וּand they acted as prostitutes

    vaiyiznuH2181 →94 times

  • כָֽל־all

    khol-H3605 →5413 times

  • יִשְׂרָאֵ֛לIsrael

    yisraelH3478 →2507 times

  • אַחֲרָ֖יוafter it

    ʾacharavH310 →715 times

  • שָׁ֑םthere

    shamH8033 →834 times

  • וַיְהִ֛יand it became

    vayhiH1961 →3559 times

  • לְגִדְע֥וֹןfor Gideon

    legidonH1439 →39 times

  • וּלְבֵית֖וֹand for household his

    uleveitoH1004 →2046 times

  • לְמוֹקֵֽשׁ׃<into> a snare

    lemokeshH4170 →

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

Related verses

18 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.

Deuteronomy 7:16You must destroy all the peoples the LORD your God will deliver to you. Do not look on them with pity. Do not worship their gods, for that will be a snare to you.9 worksPsalms 106:39They defiled themselves by their actions and prostituted themselves by their deeds.6 worksJudges 18:14Then the five men who had gone to spy out the land of Laish said to their brothers, “Did you know that one of these houses has an ephod, household gods, a graven image, and a molten idol? Now think about what you should do.”5 worksJudges 17:5Now this man Micah had a shrine, and he made an ephod and some household idols, and ordained one of his sons as his priest.5 worksJudges 18:17And the five men who had gone to spy out the land went inside and took the graven image, the ephod, the household idols, and the molten idol, while the priest stood at the entrance of the gate with the six hundred armed men.4 worksJudges 8:33And as soon as Gideon was dead, the Israelites turned and prostituted themselves with the Baals, and they set up Baal-berith as their god.4 works
The other 12 cross-references, with their words ▾
Exodus 23:33They must not remain in your land, lest they cause you to sin against Me. For if you serve their gods, it will surely be a snare to you.”3 worksJudges 6:24So Gideon built an altar to the LORD there and called it The LORD Is Peace. To this day it stands in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.3 worksHosea 3:4For the Israelites must live many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred pillar, and without ephod or idol.3 worksJudges 8:32–33Later, Gideon son of Joash died at a ripe old age and was buried in the tomb of his father Joash in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.2 worksPsalms 73:27Those far from You will surely perish; You destroy all who are unfaithful to You.2 worksIsaiah 8:20To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, they have no light of dawn.2 worksDeuteronomy 12:5Instead, you must seek the place the LORD your God will choose from among all your tribes to establish as a dwelling for His Name, and there you must go.2 worksExodus 28:6–35They are to make the ephod of finely spun linen embroidered with gold, and with blue, purple, and scarlet yarn.2 worksJudges 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 from the Midianites.2 worksHosea 4:12–14My people consult their wooden idols, and their divining rods inform them. For a spirit of prostitution leads them astray and they have played the harlot against their God.2 worksHosea 2:2Rebuke your mother, rebuke her, for she is not My wife, and I am not her husband. Let her remove the adultery from her face and the unfaithfulness from between her breasts.2 works1 Samuel 23:9–10When David learned that Saul was plotting evil against him, he said to Abiathar the priest, “Bring the ephod.”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

    Judges 17:5

    Now this man Micah had a shrine, and he made an ephod and some household idols, and ordained one of his sons as his priest.

    it leads to

    • Judges 18:14

      Then the five men who had gone to spy out the land of Laish said to their brothers, “Did you know that one of these houses has an ephod, household gods, a graven image,…

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

  • Through

    Deuteronomy 7:16

    You must destroy all the peoples the LORD your God will deliver to you. Do not look on them with pity. Do not worship their gods, for that will be a snare to you.

    it leads to

    • Exodus 23:33

      They must not remain in your land, lest they cause you to sin against Me. For if you serve their gods, it will surely be a snare to you.”

    • Deuteronomy 7:2

      and when the LORD your God has delivered them over to you to defeat them, then you must devote them to complete destruction. Make no treaty with them and show them no mercy.

    • Deuteronomy 13:8

      you must not yield to him or listen to him. Show him no pity, and do not spare him or shield him.

    • Deuteronomy 19:21

      You must show no pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, and foot for foot.

    • 1 Corinthians 15:33

      Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good character.”

  • Through

    Judges 18:14

    Then the five men who had gone to spy out the land of Laish said to their brothers, “Did you know that one of these houses has an ephod, household gods, a graven image,…

    it leads to

    • Judges 17:5

      Now this man Micah had a shrine, and he made an ephod and some household idols, and ordained one of his sons as his priest.

  • Through

    Psalms 106:39

    They defiled themselves by their actions and prostituted themselves by their deeds.

    it leads to

    • Ezekiel 20:18

      In the wilderness I said to their children: ‘Do not walk in the statutes of your fathers or keep their ordinances or defile yourselves with their idols.

About Judges

The Death of Samson — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain
The Death of Samson — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain
Judges: the study guide →Read Judges 8 →

This page draws on 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 (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 →