Judges 8:18
Then said he unto Zebah and Zalmunna, What manner of men were they whom ye slew at Tabor? And they answered, As thou art, so were they; each one resembled the children of a king.
Judges 8:18 in other translations
| BSB | Next, Gideon asked Zebah and Zalmunna, “What kind of men did you kill at Tabor?” “Men like you,” they answered, “each one resembling the son of a king.” |
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| WEB | Then he said to Zebah and Zalmunna, “What kind of men were they whom you killed at Tabor?” They answered, “They were like you. They all resembled the children of a king.” |
| ASV | Then said he unto Zebah and Zalmunna, What manner of men were they whom ye slew at Tabor? And they answered, As thou art, so were they; each one resembled the children of a king. |
| YLT | And he saith unto Zebah and unto Zalmunna, ‘How--the men whom ye slew in Tabor?' and they say, ‘As thou--so they, one--as the form of the king's sons.' |
| DARBY | Then said he to Zebah and Zalmunna, What sort of men were they that ye slew at Tabor? And they answered, As thou art, so were they; each one resembled the sons of a king. |
| BBE | Then he said to Zebah and Zalmunna, Where are the men whom you put to death at Tabor? And they gave answer, As you are, so were they; every one of them was like a king's son. |
| Webster | Then said he to Zebah and Zalmunna, What manner of men were they whom ye slew at Tabor? And they answered, As thou art, so were they; each one resembled the children of a king. |
What does Judges 8:18 mean?
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
18. Then said he unto Zebah and Zalmunna, What manner of men were they whom ye slew at Tabor?--This was one of the countless atrocities which the Midianite chiefs had perpetrated during their seven years' lawless occupancy. It is noticed now for the first time when their fate was about to be determined. each one resembled the children of a king--An Orientalism for great beauty, majesty of appearance, uncommon strength, and grandeur of form.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain
Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 18 What manner of men were they whom ye slew at Tabor? - We have no antecedent to this question; and are obliged to conjecture one: it seems as if Zebah and Zalmunna had massacred the family of Gideon, while he was absent on this expedition. Gideon had heard some confused account of it, and now questions them concerning the fact. They boldly acknowledge it, and describe the persons whom they slew, by which he found they were his own brethren. This determines him to avenge their death by slaying the Midianitish kings, whom he otherwise was inclined to save. He might have heard that his brethren had been taken prisoners, and might have hoped to have exchanged them for the kings now in his hand; but when he found they had been all slain, he decrees the death of their murderers. There is something in this account similar to that in the 12th Aeneis of Virgil: - When Turnus was overthrown, and supplicated for his life, and Aeneas was inclined to spare him; he saw the belt of his friend Pallas, whom Turnus had slain, and which he now wore as a trophy: this immediately determined the Trojan to sacrifice the life of Turnus to the manes of his friend. The story is well told: - Stetit acer in armis Aeneas, volvens oculos, dextramque repressit. Et jam jamque magis cunctantem flectere sermo Coeperat: infelix humero cum apparuit ingens Balteus, et notis fulserunt cingula bullis Pallantis pueri; victum quem vulnere Turnus Straverat, atque humeris inimicum insigne gerebat. Ille oculis postquam saevi monumenta doloris Exuviasque hausit: furiis accensus et ira Terribilis: Tune hinc spoliis indute meorum Eripiare mihi? - Pallas, te hoc vulnere Pallas Immolat; et poenam scelerato ex sanguine sumit. Hoc dicens furrum adverso sub pectore condit Fervidus. Virg. Aen. lib. xii., ver. 938. "In deep suspense the Trojan seem'd to stand, And, just prepared to strike, repress'd his hand. He roll'd his eyes, and every moment felt His manly soul with more compassion melt. When, casting down a casual glance, he spied The golden belt that glitter'd on his side; The fatal spoils which haughty Turnus tore From dying Pallas, and in triumph wore. Then roused anew to wrath, he loudly cries, (Flames, while he spoke, came flashing from his eyes), Traitor! dost thou! dost thou to grace pretend, Clad, as thou art, in trophies of my friend? - To his sad soul a grateful offering go; 'Tis Pallas, Pallas gives this deadly blow. He rais'd his arm aloft; and at the word, Deep in his bosom drove the shining sword." Dryden. The same principle impels Gideon to slay Zebah and Zalmunna which induced Aeneas to kill Turnus: and perhaps the ornaments which he took from their camels' necks, Jdg 8:21, were some of the spoils of his slaughtered brethren.
Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Judges 8:18-21
The kings of Midian must be reckoned with. As they confessed themselves guilty of murder, Gideon acted as the avenger of blood, being the next of kin to the persons slain. Little did they think to have heard of this so long after; but murder seldom goes unpunished in this life. Sins long forgotten by man, must be accounted for to God. What poor consolation in death from the hope of suffering less pain, and of dying with less disgrace than some others! yet many are more anxious on these accounts, than concerning the future judgment, and what will follow.
Matthew Henry, 1706 · public domain
Judges 8:18 in the original Hebrew
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Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).
Cross references for Judges 8:18
- Judges 4:6
And she sent and called Barak the son of Abinoam out of Kedesh–naphtali, and said unto him, Hath not the Lord God of Israel commanded, saying, Go and draw toward mount Tabor, and take with thee ten thousand men of the children of Naphtali and of the children of Zebulun?
- Jude 1:16
These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lusts; and their mouth speaketh great swelling words, having men’s persons in admiration because of advantage.
- Psalms 89:12
The north and the south thou hast created them: Tabor and Hermon shall rejoice in thy name.
- Psalms 12:2
They speak vanity every one with his neighbour: with flattering lips and with a double heart do they speak.
Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).
Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Context
- Judges 8:17
And he beat down the tower of Penuel, and slew the men of the city.
- Judges 8:18
Then said he unto Zebah and Zalmunna, What manner of men were they whom ye slew at Tabor? And they answered, As thou art, so were they; each one resembled the children of a king.
- Judges 8:19
And he said, They were my brethren, even the sons of my mother: as the Lord liveth, if ye had saved them alive, I would not slay you.
Judges 8:18 in other languages
| Spanish Reina-Valera 1909 | Luego dijo á Zeba y á Zalmunna: ¿Qué manera de hombres tenían aquellos que matasteis en Tabor? Y ellos respondieron: Como tú, tales eran aquellos ni más ni menos, que parecían hijos de rey. |
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| French Bible J.N. Darby 1885 | Et il dit à Zébakh et à Tsalmunna: Comment étaient les hommes que vous avez tués à Thabor? Et ils dirent: Comme toi, tels ils étaient; chacun d’eux comme la figure d’un fils de roi. |
| German Elberfelder 1871 | Und er sprach zu Sebach und zu Zalmunna: Wie waren die Männer, die ihr zu Tabor erschlagen habt? Und sie sprachen: Wie du, so waren sie, ein jeder an Gestalt gleich einem Königssohne. |
| Latin Clementine Vulgate | Dixitque ad Zebee et Salmana: Quales fuerunt viri, quos occidistis in Thabor? Qui responderunt: Similes tui, et unus ex eis quasi filius regis. |