Judges 8:17
in Judges 8He also pulled down the tower of Penuel and killed the men of the city.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And he brake down the tower of Penuel, and slew the men of the city.
KJV
And he beat down the tower of Penuel, and slew the men of the city.
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This verse in Judges 8
Commentary
6 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The men of the city - Perhaps the rulers; who, it is likely, had possession of the tower or citadel, and so could tyrannize over the people. Gideon killed the great men, and beat down their towers, but did not injure the inhabitants.
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
pulled down the tower of Penuel
Albert Barnes takes the men of the city to be its rulers, who held the tower and could lord it over the people. On that reading Gideon killed the great men and left the townsfolk unharmed. The tower and its holders fell together.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
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 beat down the tower of Penuel,....
Judgment began at the house of God, in the just correction of the men of Succoth and Penuel, who were Israelites, but it did not end there. The kings of Midian, when they had served to demonstrate Gideon's victories, and grace his triumphs, must now be reckoned with. They are indicted for the murder of Gideon's brethren some time ago at Mount Tabor.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
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
8 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| מִגְדַּ֥ל | migdal | [the] tower of | H4026 → | 48 times |
| פְּנוּאֵ֖ל | penuel | Penuel | H6439 → | 9 times |
| נָתָ֑ץ | natatz | he tore down | H5422 → | 42 times |
| וַֽיַּהֲרֹ֖ג | vaiyaharog | and he killed | H2026 → | 167 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אַנְשֵׁ֥י | ʾanshei | [the] men of | H582 → | 566 times |
| הָעִֽיר׃ | hair | the city | H5892 → | 1090 times |
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
מִגְדַּ֥ל[the] tower of
migdalH4026 →48 times
פְּנוּאֵ֖לPenuel
penuelH6439 →9 times
נָתָ֑ץhe tore down
natatzH5422 →42 times
וַֽיַּהֲרֹ֖גand he killed
vaiyaharogH2026 →167 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
אַנְשֵׁ֥י[the] men of
ʾansheiH582 →566 times
הָעִֽיר׃the city
hairH5892 →1090 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
6 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
1 Kings 12:25Then Jeroboam built Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim and lived there. And from there he went out and built Penuel.
it leads to
- Judges 8:8
From there he went up to Penuel and asked the same from them, but the men of Penuel gave the same response as the men of Succoth.
- Genesis 32:30–31
So Jacob named the place Peniel, saying, “Indeed, I have seen God face to face, and yet my life was spared.”
- Judges 9:45–49
And all that day Abimelech fought against the city until he had captured it and killed its people. Then he demolished the city and sowed it with salt.
- 1 Kings 15:17
Baasha king of Israel went to war against Judah and fortified Ramah to prevent anyone from leaving or entering the territory of Asa king of Judah.
- 2 Chronicles 11:5–12
Rehoboam continued to live in Jerusalem, and he built up cities for defense in Judah.
- Judges 8:8
Through
Judges 8:9So Gideon told the men of Penuel, “When I return in triumph, I will tear down this tower!”
it leads to
- 1 Kings 22:27–28
and tell them that this is what the king says: ‘Put this man in prison and feed him only bread and water until I return safely.’”
- 1 Kings 22:27–28
Where this verse is studied
About Judges
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments; 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.