Judges 8 · Verse 13

Judges 8:13

And Gideon the son of Joash returned from battle before the sun was up,
Judges 8:13, King James Version

Judges 8:13 in other translations

BSBAfter this, Gideon son of Joash returned from the battle along the Ascent of Heres.
WEBGideon the son of Joash returned from the battle from the ascent of Heres.
ASVAnd Gideon the son of Joash returned from the battle from the ascent of Heres.
YLTAnd Gideon son of Joash turneth back from the battle, at the going up of the sun,
DARBYAnd Gideon the son of Joash returned from the battle, from the ascent of Heres.
BBEThen Gideon, the son of Joash, went back from the fight:
WebsterAnd Gideon the son of Joash returned from battle before the sun had risen,

What does Judges 8:13 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
13. Gideon returned from battle before the sun was up--He seems to have returned by a nearer route to Succoth, for what is rendered in our version "before the sun was up," means "the heights of Heres, the sun-hills."

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 13 Returned from battle before the sun was up - This does not appear to be a proper translation of מלמעלה החרס milmaaleh hechares. It should be rendered from the ascent of Chares: this is the reading of the Septuagint, the Syriac, and the Arabic.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Judges 8:13-17
The active servants of the Lord meet with more dangerous opposition from false professors than from open enemies; but they must not care for the behaviour of those who are Israelites in name, but Midianites in heart. They must pursue the enemies of their souls, and of the cause of God, though they are ready to faint through inward conflicts and outward hardships. And they shall be enabled to persevere. The less men help, and the more they seek to hinder, the more will the Lord assist. Gideon's warning being slighted, the punishment was just. Many are taught with the briers and thorns of affliction, who would not learn otherwise.

Matthew Henry, 1706 · public domain

Judges 8:13 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וַיָּ֛שָׁבvai.Ya.shovand he returnedH7725
גִּדְע֥וֹןgid.'onGideonH1439
בֶּן\־ben-[the] son ofH1121
יוֹאָ֖שׁyo.'AshJoashH3101
מִן\־min-fromH4480
הַמִּלְחָמָ֑הha.mil.cha.Mahthe battleH4421
מִֽלְמַעֲלֵ֖הmil.ma.'a.Lehfrom to [the] ascent ofH4608
הֶחָֽרֶס\׃he.Cha.res<the> HeresH2776

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
before.The words {milmäâleh haichaires} should, most probably be rendered "from the ascent of Chares;" which is the reading of the LXX. Syriac, Arabic, and Houbigant.
13

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Judges 8:12

    And when Zebah and Zalmunna fled, he pursued after them, and took the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, and discomfited all the host.

  • Judges 8:13

    And Gideon the son of Joash returned from battle before the sun was up,

  • Judges 8:14

    And caught a young man of the men of Succoth, and enquired of him: and he described unto him the princes of Succoth, and the elders thereof, even threescore and seventeen men.

Read all of Judges 8

Judges 8:13 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Y Gedeón hijo de Joas volvió de la batalla antes que el sol subiese;
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Et Gédéon, fils de Joas, revint de la bataille, de la montée de Hérès.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Und Gideon, der Sohn Joas, kehrte aus dem Streite zurück, von der Anhöhe Heres herab.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Revertensque de bello ante solis ortum,