Judges 6:2
in Judges 6and the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel. Because of the Midianites, the Israelites prepared shelters for themselves in the mountains, caves, and strongholds.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel; and because of Midian the children of Israel made them the dens which are in the mountains, and the caves, and the strongholds.
KJV
And the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel: and because of the Midianites the children of Israel made them the dens which are in the mountains, and caves, and strong holds.
⋯
This verse in Judges 6
Commentary
7 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
into the hand of Midian
on Judges 6:1-3
This is the fifth of the seven times the book says the Israelites "did evil in the sight of the LORD". Midian descends from Abraham by Keturah at Genesis 25:2, so the raiders are distant kin. Seven years is the book's shortest servitude so far.
This site's exposition
prepared shelters for themselves in the mountains
Albert Barnes notes that the word behind these shelters occurs only here. He explains it as ravines cut by torrents that Israel made into hiding places. Matthew Henry judges that Israel was a match for Midian in strength, and he traces the hiding to sin, which dispirits men.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
): The hand of Midian prevailed, purely by their multitude. God had promised to increase Israel as the sand on the sea shore; but their sin stopped their growth and diminished them, and then their enemies, though otherwise every way inferior to them, overpowered them with numbers.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
And the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel,....
Had it not been for this, we cannot but think Israel a match for the Midianites, and able enough to make head against them; but the heart that departs from God is lost, not only to that which is good, but to that which is great. Sin dispirits men, and makes them sneak into dens and caves.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
Made them the dens which are in the mountains - Nothing can give a more distressing description of the state of the Israelites than what is here related. They durst not reside in the plain country, but were obliged to betake themselves to dens and caves of the mountains, and live like wild beasts, and were hunted like them by their adversaries.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The word rendered “dens” is only found in this passage. It is best explained of ravines hollowed out by torrents, which the Israelites made into hiding-places.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
Acted wickedly. Until this period, Scripture states, "They resumed [acting wickedly]" since their iniquities accumulated. However, through this hymn. Sung by Devorah and Barak [ch.5]. they were granted forgiveness for all that they had perpetrated.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 2 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
19 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַתָּ֥עָז | vataoz | and it prevailed | H5810 → | |
| יַד־ | yad- | [the] hand of | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| מִדְיָ֖ן | midyan | Midian | H4080 → | 59 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | over | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| מִפְּנֵ֨י | mipenei | <from> because of | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| מִדְיָ֜ן | midyan | Midian | H4080 → | 59 times |
| עָשֽׂוּ | ʾasu | they made | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| לָהֶ֣ם׀ | lahem | for <the> themselves | ||
| בְּנֵ֣י | benei | [the] people of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הַמִּנְהָרוֹת֙ | haminharot | the dens | H4492 → | |
| אֲשֶׁ֣ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| בֶּֽהָרִ֔ים | beharim | [are] in the mountains | H2022 → | 546 times |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הַמְּעָר֖וֹת | hamearot | the caves | H4631 → | |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הַמְּצָדֽוֹת׃ | hametzadot | the strongholds | H4679 → |
וַתָּ֥עָזand it prevailed
vataozH5810 →
יַד־[the] hand of
yad-H3027 →1618 times
מִדְיָ֖ןMidian
midyanH4080 →59 times
עַל־over
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֑לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
מִפְּנֵ֨י<from> because of
mipeneiH6440 →2123 times
מִדְיָ֜ןMidian
midyanH4080 →59 times
עָשֽׂוּthey made
ʾasuH6213 →2628 times
לָהֶ֣ם׀for <the> themselves
lahem
בְּנֵ֣י[the] people of
beneiH1121 →4930 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֗לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הַמִּנְהָרוֹת֙the dens
haminharotH4492 →
אֲשֶׁ֣רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
בֶּֽהָרִ֔ים[are] in the mountains
beharimH2022 →546 times
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
הַמְּעָר֖וֹתthe caves
hamearotH4631 →
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
הַמְּצָדֽוֹת׃the strongholds
hametzadotH4679 →
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
Hebrews 11:38The world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and hid in caves and holes in the ground.
it leads to
- 1 Kings 18:4
for when Jezebel had slaughtered the prophets of the LORD, Obadiah had taken a hundred prophets and hidden them, fifty men per cave, providing them with food and water.)
- 1 Samuel 22:1
So David left Gath and took refuge in the cave of Adullam. When his brothers and the rest of his father’s household heard about it, they went down to him there.
- 1 Kings 19:9
There Elijah entered a cave and spent the night. And the word of the LORD came to him, saying, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
- Isaiah 57:1
The righteous perish, and no one takes it to heart; devout men are swept away, while no one considers that the righteous are guided from the presence of evil.
- 1 Samuel 24:1–3
After Saul had returned from pursuing the Philistines, he was told, “David is in the wilderness of En-gedi.”
- 1 Kings 18:4
Through
Leviticus 26:17And I will set My face against you, so that you will be defeated by your enemies. Those who hate you will rule over you, and you will flee when no one pursues you.
it leads to
- Leviticus 17:10
If anyone from the house of Israel or a foreigner living among them eats any blood, I will set My face against that person and cut him off from among his people.
- Leviticus 26:36–37
As for those of you who survive, I will send a faintness into their hearts in the lands of their enemies, so that even the sound of a windblown leaf will put them to…
- Leviticus 17:10
Through
1 Samuel 14:11So the two of them showed themselves to the outpost of the Philistines, who exclaimed, “Look, the Hebrews are coming out of the holes in which they were hiding!”
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 13:6
Seeing that they were in danger because their troops were hard-pressed, the men of Israel hid in caves and thickets, among the rocks, and in cellars and cisterns.
- 1 Samuel 13:6
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies12
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; 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.