Judges 8:8
in Judges 8From 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.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And he went up thence to Penuel, and spake unto them in like manner; and the men of Penuel answered him as the men of Succoth had answered.
KJV
And he went up thence to Penuel, and spake unto them likewise: and the men of Penuel answered him as the men of Succoth had answered him.
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This verse in Judges 8
Commentary
6 notes on this verseAnd he went up thence to Penuel,.... A place not far from Succoth, and to which also Jacob gave name, from the Lord's appearing to him there face to face, Gen 32:30 but here was nothing of God in this place now: and spoke unto them likewise; desired bread for his men, as he had of the inhabitants of Succoth: and the men of Penuel answered him as the men of Succoth had answered him; denied him his request in the same jeering manner.
This site's exposition
I will tear your flesh with the thorns
on Judges 8:7-9
Both threats are carried out later, the thorns and briers at verse 16 and the tower at verse 17. Penuel is where Jacob wrestled and became Israel at Genesis 32:30, so both towns that refuse Gideon carry Jacob's own names. No word from God is recorded over either threat.
This site's exposition
gave the same response
Albert Barnes places Succoth in the Jordan valley and Penuel up in the hills south of the Jabbok. Gideon climbs from one to the other along Jacob's road, travelling it in the reverse direction. John Gill hears the same jeer repeated in the second town.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Berith, some think, was Berytus, the place where the Phoenicians worshipped this idol. The name signifies the Lord of a covenant. Perhaps he was so called because his worshippers joined themselves by covenant to him, in imitation of Israel's covenanting with God; for the devil is God's ape.
God gives notice of danger, and space to repent, that sinners may flee from the wrath to come. The warning being slighted, the punishment, though very severe, was really very just.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Succoth was in the valley or Ghor of the Jordan Jdg 8:5, and Penuel apparently in the mountain. No identification of Penuel has taken place. It was south of the Brook Jabbok, and on Jacob’s way to Succoth. Gideon, journeying in the opposite direction to Jacob, comes from Succoth to Penuel.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיַּ֤עַל | vaiyaal | and he went up | H5927 → | 890 times |
| מִשָּׁם֙ | misham | from there | H8033 → | 834 times |
| פְּנוּאֵ֔ל | penuel | Penuel | H6439 → | 9 times |
| וַיְדַבֵּ֥ר | vaydaber | and he spoke | H1696 → | 1141 times |
| אֲלֵיהֶ֖ם | ʾaleihem | to them | H413 → | 5510 times |
| כָּזֹ֑את | kazot | like this | H2063 → | 603 times |
| וַיַּעֲנ֤וּ | vaiyaanu | and they answered | H6030 → | 331 times |
| אוֹתוֹ֙ | ʾoto | <obj.> him | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אַנְשֵׁ֣י | ʾanshei | [the] men of | H582 → | 566 times |
| פְנוּאֵ֔ל | fenuel | Penuel | H6439 → | 9 times |
| כַּאֲשֶׁ֥ר | kaasher | just as | H834 → | 5497 times |
| עָנ֖וּ | ʾanu | they had answered | H6030 → | 331 times |
| אַנְשֵׁ֥י | ʾanshei | [the] men of | H582 → | 566 times |
| סֻכּֽוֹת׃ | sukot | Succoth | H5523 → | 18 times |
וַיַּ֤עַלand he went up
vaiyaalH5927 →890 times
מִשָּׁם֙from there
mishamH8033 →834 times
פְּנוּאֵ֔לPenuel
penuelH6439 →9 times
וַיְדַבֵּ֥רand he spoke
vaydaberH1696 →1141 times
אֲלֵיהֶ֖םto them
ʾaleihemH413 →5510 times
כָּזֹ֑אתlike this
kazotH2063 →603 times
וַיַּעֲנ֤וּand they answered
vaiyaanuH6030 →331 times
אוֹתוֹ֙<obj.> him
ʾotoH853 →10935 times
אַנְשֵׁ֣י[the] men of
ʾansheiH582 →566 times
פְנוּאֵ֔לPenuel
fenuelH6439 →9 times
כַּאֲשֶׁ֥רjust as
kaasherH834 →5497 times
עָנ֖וּthey had answered
ʾanuH6030 →331 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
5 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 8:17
He also pulled down the tower of Penuel and killed the men of the city.
- 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.
- 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 9:1
Now Abimelech son of Jerubbaal went to his mother’s brothers at Shechem and said to them and to all the clan of his mother,
- 1 Kings 12:1
Then Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had gone there to make him king.
- Judges 8:17
Where this verse is studied
About Judges
This page draws on 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); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: Joshua, Judges, Ruth and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.