Judges 8:16
in Judges 8Then he took the elders of the city, and using the thorns and briers of the wilderness, he disciplined the men of Succoth.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And he took the elders of the city, and thorns of the wilderness and briers, and with them he taught the men of Succoth.
KJV
And he took the elders of the city, and thorns of the wilderness and briers, and with them he taught the men of Succoth.
⋯
This verse in Judges 8
Commentary
7 notes on this verseHe taught the men of Succoth - Instead of וידע he taught, Houbigant reads וידש he tore; and this is not only agreeable to what Gideon had threatened, Jdg 8:7, but is supported by the Vulgate, Septuagint, Chaldee, Syriac, and Arabic. The Hebrew text might have been easily corrupted in this place by the change of ש shin into ע ain, letters very similar to each other.
This site's exposition
about whom you taunted me
on Judges 8:15-17
Verse 15 throws the taunt of verse 6 back at Succoth, marking the reckoning as exact. Where the Berean reads "he disciplined the men of Succoth", the King James keeps the Hebrew idiom with the verb taught. Penuel loses its tower and its men, more than verse 9 named.
This site's exposition
he disciplined the men of Succoth
Adam Clarke reports Houbigant's reading he tore, a one-letter change supported by the Latin, Greek, Chaldee and Syriac versions. Clarke adds that tore fits the threat of verse 7. Matthew Henry keeps the received word and takes the thorns as correction meant to make the elders know who Gideon was.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
The correction he gave them was intended, not for destruction, but wholesome discipline, to make them wiser and better for the future. He made them know (so the word is), made them know themselves and their folly, God and their duty, made them know who Gideon was, since they would not know by the success wherewith God had crowned him.
Are the hands, &c. - Art thou so foolish, to think with thy three hundred faint and weary soldiers, to conquer and destroy an host of fifteen thousand Men? Thus the bowels of their compassion were shut up against their brethren. Surely they were worshippers of Baal, or in the interest of Midian.
And he took the elders of the city,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
He taught - Thought to be a false reading, for “he threshed,” as in Jdg 8:7 margin.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
Tore with them. "Broke apart" with them. 2 This is Targum Yonasan’s translation.
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. 5 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
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּקַּח֙ | vaiyikach | and he took | H3947 → | 966 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| זִקְנֵ֣י | ziknei | [the] elders of | H2205 → | 178 times |
| הָעִ֔יר | hair | the city | H5892 → | 1090 times |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| קוֹצֵ֥י | kotzei | [the] thorns of | H6975 → | |
| הַמִּדְבָּ֖ר | hamidbar | the wilderness | H4057 → | 270 times |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הַֽבַּרְקֳנִ֑ים | habarkonim | the briers | H1303 → | |
| וַיֹּ֣דַע | vaiyoda' | and he taught | H3045 → | 945 times |
| בָּהֶ֔ם | bahem | with <the> them | ||
| אֵ֖ת | ʾet | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אַנְשֵׁ֥י | ʾanshei | [the] men of | H582 → | 566 times |
| סֻכּֽוֹת׃ | sukot | Succoth | H5523 → | 18 times |
וַיִּקַּח֙and he took
vaiyikachH3947 →966 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
זִקְנֵ֣י[the] elders of
zikneiH2205 →178 times
הָעִ֔ירthe city
hairH5892 →1090 times
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
קוֹצֵ֥י[the] thorns of
kotzeiH6975 →
הַמִּדְבָּ֖רthe wilderness
hamidbarH4057 →270 times
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
הַֽבַּרְקֳנִ֑יםthe briers
habarkonimH1303 →
וַיֹּ֣דַעand he taught
vaiyoda'H3045 →945 times
בָּהֶ֔םwith <the> them
bahem
אֵ֖ת<obj.>
ʾetH853 →10935 times
אַנְשֵׁ֥י[the] men of
ʾansheiH582 →566 times
סֻכּֽוֹת׃Succoth
sukotH5523 →18 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
Proverbs 10:13Wisdom is found on the lips of the discerning, but a rod is for the back of him who lacks judgment.
it leads to
- Proverbs 26:3
A whip for the horse, a bridle for the donkey, and a rod for the backs of fools!
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Proverbs 6:32
He who commits adultery lacks judgment; whoever does so destroys himself.
- Proverbs 26:3
Through
Micah 7:4The best of them is like a brier; the most upright is sharper than a hedge of thorns. The day for your watchmen has come, the day of your visitation. Now is the time…
it leads to
- Isaiah 22:5
For the Lord GOD of Hosts has set a day of tumult and trampling and confusion in the Valley of Vision—of breaking down the walls and crying to the mountains.
- Ezekiel 2:6
But you, son of man, do not be afraid of them or their words. Do not be afraid, though briers and thorns surround you, and you dwell among scorpions. Do not be afraid of…
- Isaiah 10:3
What will you do on the day of reckoning when devastation comes from afar? To whom will you flee for help? Where will you leave your wealth?
- 2 Samuel 23:6–7
But the worthless are all like thorns raked aside, for they can never be gathered by hand.
- Isaiah 22:5
Through
Proverbs 19:29Judgments are prepared for mockers, and beatings for the backs of fools.
it leads to
- Proverbs 10:13
Wisdom is found on the lips of the discerning, but a rod is for the back of him who lacks judgment.
- Proverbs 9:12
If you are wise, you are wise to your own advantage; but if you scoff, you alone will bear the consequences.
- Proverbs 10:13
Where this verse is studied
About Judges
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; 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); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.