y. 25. And they took two princes of the Midianites,
N this chapter we are told how Gideon pacified the Epbraimites, who complained becaufe they were not fent untoto fight the Médienites, y, 1, 2, 3. how he purfued the Médianites, until he taok their two kings, and on his return chaftized the ved us thus, neglected them, overlooked them, which they took as a reproach to them, and asif he had bore them ill-will: that thou called us not when thou wentet to fight with the Midianites? that he did not call them firft, when he called other tribes, men of Succoth and Penuel, becaufe they refufed to relieve his men with food as they were purfuing, y¥. 4—17. how he flew the two kings of Midian, y. 18—21, and after this conqueft refufed to take the government of J/rgel when. offered him, y. 22, 23. how he requefted of the J/raelites the earrings they had taken from the Midianites, with which he weakly made an ephod, which proved a Snare to his houle, ¥. 24027. how that the people were in peace forty years during his life, and that he had a numerous iffue, and died in a good old age, ¥. 28-32. but that after his death the J/- raelites fell into idolatry, and were ungrateful to his family, ¥. 23, 34> 35:
as Afber, Zebulun, and Naphtali, when they were as near or nearer, and more nearly allied, being both the defcendants of Fofeph; and were the tribe that Faced had given the preference to; and being of proud. fpirits they envied the glory that Gideon, who was of the tribe of Manafeb, had got; and by which they werejealous he would advance that tribe above theirs: and they did chide with, him foarply; wled rough words and ill language, and threw out many keen and biting expreffions, which difcovered great anger and wrath, envy and ill-will.
¥. 2. And he faid unto them, &c.] In a very mild and gentle manner, giving foft words, which turn away wrath: what have I done in comparifon y. 1. And the men of Ephraim faid unto bim, 8c.) To Gideon, when they brought him the heads of Oreb and Zeeb taking this to be a proper opportunity to expoftulate and chide with him, when they had done fo much fervice: why haft thou ferof you? he and his men, he fignifies, had only blew trumpets, broke pitchers, and held torches; it was the Lord that did all, and fet the Midianites one againft another to flay each other; and in the purfuit as yet he had only picked up and flain fome common foldiers, when they had taken two princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb, and had brought'their heads in triumph to him: is not the gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim, better than the vintage of the family of Abiezer, of which’ Gideon was; the meaning is, that whereas he began the fight, which may be called the vintage, and they had finifhed it, which was like gleaning; yet what they did laft was much preferable to what was done by him at firft; or the princes of Midian, which they taken in the purfuit, and was like gleaning after vintage, were equal, yea fuperior, to all the camp of Midian, or that part of it that had fallen into his hands. The Targum is, ‘* are not the weak of the houfe of Ephraim, better than the {trong of thefe men of Succoth would thare with others; the?” were the arguments, and cogent ones they were, to perfuade them to give his weary troops forme re-_ Abiezer?) frefhment.: " y¥. 6. And the princes of Succoth frid, 8c.) The chief magiftrates of the place made anfiver, one’ in the name of the reft, for the word aid is in’ the fingular number: are the hands of Zebab and Zalmunna now in thine bonds? that is, are they hadjtaken prifoners, and hand-cuffed, or their hands. albound behind them, ‘and put into the Hands of Gideon, to do with them as he pleafed? no, they were not; and they fuggeft they never would, deriding him and his fmall number of men as not a match for thefe kings, whom, perhaps a little before, the houfe of Abiezer?” they had feen pafs by with 15,000 men; with y¥. 3. God hath delivered into your hands the princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb, &c.] A high honour this conferred upon you, and with which you mayj be well contented: and what was I able to do in comparifon of you? what he had done in defeating and purfuing the army of Midian, in flaying and taking any of them prifoners, was nothing in] comparifon of what they had done;
demand in an authoritative manner, as he might -have done as.a general, but in a way of intreaty; and the arguments he ufes are, for they be faint; for want of food, through the long fatigue from midnight hitherto, in the purfuit of the-enemy, and which was not over: aud I am purfuing after Zebah and Zalmunna, kings of Midian; who had ‘fled with 15,000 men, and were now, as Farchi| I conjectures, deftroying the countries of Reuben and ‘Gad, and the «half tribe of Manafeb, and now -Gideon and his men were clofely purfuing them, ‘in hopes of. taking them,.and fo compleat -the conqueft, and thoroughly deliver J/rae/from their bondage on both fides Jordan, the benefits of whom his little army would not be able to encounter, fhould they turn and fall upon them, which they fuppofed would be the cafe; and therefore fay they, when thefe arein thine hands, which they thought would never be, it will be time enough, that we fhould give bread to thine army? for they feared fhould they do that, thefe kings would hear nay, he fig-jof it, and they fhould fuffer for it, and their bondage be harder than it was before; fo felfith and diffident in themfelves, fo cruel and uncompaffionate to their brethren, and fo ungrateful to:their deliverers, which ftirred up the fpirit of this humble and good man to great refentment.
nifies, that he was not capable of doing any thing worth mentioning without them; the glory of finifhing this conqueft was referved for them: fhen their anger was abated towards him when he had faid that, it being what gratified their pride and was pleafing to them; and this conduct of Gideon fhewed him to be a wife and humble man.
y.7. And Gideon faid, &c.] In anfwer to the princes of Succoth: therefore when the Lord bath delivered Zebah and Zalmunna into mine hand; of which he made no doubt, having the promife of God that he would deliver theshoft of Midian into his hand, on which his faith refted; and having it in great part performed already, moft firmly believed the full performance of it; fee ch: vii. 7, 9: then Iwill tear your flelb with the thorns of the wilderne/s, and with briers; which grew in a wildernefs near this city, and from whence, as Kimcbi didjthinks, it had its name; the word Succoth being ufed: for thorns in Fob xli. 7. and the fenfe is, either that he would fcourge them with thorns and briers; or, as the Targum, thruft their flefh upon them; which Kimchi interprets of cafting their naked bodies upon thorns and briers, and then tre ing on them with the feet; or draw a cart over b.|them, as they thus lay, in liké manner as it was ufual to do’ when corn was threfhed out fee i xxviii. 27.
¥. 4. And Gideon came to Fordan, and paffed over, &c.] That river; fee the note on ch. vii. 25. 4e and 300 men that were with bim, at the defeat of the Midianites in the valley of Fezreel; fo that neither at that, nor in the purfuit of them hitherto, had he loft one man: faint, yet purfuing them; they were’faint with being up all night, and continually blowing their trumpets; and had been uponthe purfuit of their enemies ever fince the defeat; and yet though they were {fo faint, they not leave off the purfuit, but were eager at it.
¥. 5. And he faid to the men of Succoth, 8c.} The inhabitants of that place, the principal men of it, which lay in his way ashe was purfuing the Midianites in their flight to their own country; for this was a city on the other fide Yordan, and in the tribe of Gad, and was inhabited by J/raelites, Fo xiii. 27. it had its name from the booths or tents owhich Facob erected here, ‘Gen. xxxiii. 17. give I pray you loaves of bread unto the people that follow ‘me; he did not defire them to quit their habitations and families, and‘join him in purfuing his and their enemies, or to’ furnifh him and his men with arms; only to give them fome provifions, and that not dainties, but loaves of bread; or morféls of bread‘, and broken pieces;
y. 8. And he went up thence to Penuel, &c.) A place not far from Succoth, and to which alfo Facod gave name, from the Lord’s appearing to him there face to face, Gen. xxxii. 30. but here was nothing of God in this place now: and /pake unto them likewife; defired bread for his men, as he had and thefe he did notjof the inhabitants of Succoth: and the men of Pe- #uel anfwered bim, as the men of Succoth had anfwered him; denied him his requeft in the fame jeering manner. coil y. 9. And he {pake alfo unto the men of Penuel, &c.] Ina threatening -way, as he had fpoken to the men of Succoth: faying, when I come again in peace. having conquered all his enemies, and delivered rael from their bondage, and reftored peace and profperity to them, of which he had no doubt: J will break down this tower; pointing to it, and which ftood in their city, and in which they placed their confidence; and when he threatened them, boafted of it as their fecurity.
which! y.10. Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Kar- kor, &c.] Ferom* under this word fays, there was in his time a caftle called Carcaria, a day’s from Petra, which was the metropolis of Jdumea; but whether the fame with this is not clear: their boft with them, about 15,000 men; number Gideon and his 300 men were very un- ‘equal; and yet, faint and weary as they were, clofely purfued them, attacked and conquered ing them. ‘fo/ephus” very wrongly makes this number to be about 18,000: all that were left of the hofts of the children of the eaft; the 4rabians, who with the Amalekites joined the Midianites in this expedition 5 and perhaps the remainder of the army chiefly confifted of Arabians, the others having moftly fuffered in the valley of Fezreel, at the fords of ‘Fordan: for there fell 120,000 men that drew {word; befides infirm men, women, and children, which may reafonably be fuppofed; that this hoft confifted of 135,000 fighting men.
y.13. And Gideon the fon of Foafb returned from battle, &c.| To Penuel and Succoth, to chaftife them for their ill treatment of him and his men: before the fun was up; by which it appears that it was in the night that he fell upon the hoft at Karkor, which muft be the night following; it could not be the fame night in which he had defeated them in the valley of Fezreel,; though Vatablus thinks this battle was begun and finifhed in one night; but there were, according to this hiftory, fo giany things done after the firft defeat, as fending theffengers to mount Epbraim and the Ephraimites, upon the taking the fords of ordan, and bringing the heads of Oreb and Zeed to Gideon,| expoftulating with him, ahd his anfwer to them, journey and his ftay at Succoth and Penuel; which make it more probable that the day following was and fpent in the purfuit, and that it was the night after to which that that the whole affair was finifhed; and before fun-rife, Gideow returned to Penuel and Succoth jagain; fo Ben Gerfom and Abarbinel, but accordto the Targum, Farchi, and Kimchi, this phrafe is to be rendered defore the fun-fet, whilft it yet appeared, and was above the horizon; and fo it mutt be in the day-time that he purfued the two kings and took them, and returned before fun-fet, Abendana obferves the word for Jun may be the name of a place, and fo the Septuagint, Syriac, andjand s4rabic verfions call it the afcent of Ares or Heres; as if it was the name of the place from whence Gideon returned, fo called in like manner folas the afcent of Akrabbim, and the like. YW. 14. And caught a young man of the men of Succoth, and enquired of him, &c.\ Juft before he came to the city, he {pied a young man which belonged to it, and laid hold on him, and enquired of him;)about the chief magiftrates of the city, who they were, what their names, and their places of abode: and he defcribed unto him the princes of Succoth, and the elders thereof, even 77 men; by which it appears that this was no inconfiderable city to have fo many princes and elders in it; thefe the young man defcribed to Gideon, what fort of men they were, what their names, and where they dwelt: or he wrote unto him’; wrote down their names, and what part of the city they dwelt in; or Gideon took down in writing for himfelf their names and places of abode from the young man, that he might not forget: and in this Gideon fhewed great wifdom, and ftrict juftice; being defirous to punifh only the delinquents, and not the innocent with the wicked, the people with their rulers; for tho’ he afked bread of the men of Succoth, the anfwer was returned in the ill-natured manner it was by the princes, y.11. And Gideon went up by the way of them| that dwell in tents, 8cc.] That is, of the Arabians and Kedarenes, who dwelt in tents for the fake of feeding their flocks, as the Targum and Farchi he did not purfue them in the direCt road, but went a round about way, where thefe people dwelt, that he might furprize the hoft of the kings of Midian at an unawares: and he came upon them, oz tbe eaft of Nobab and Fogbebab; the firft was in the tribe of Manaffeb, and the latter in the tribe of Gad, and’both it feetms were on the confines of thofe tribes; fee Numb. xxxii. 35,42. the Targum calls the latter Ramatha; both words have the fignification of height in them, this city very probably being built on an eminence. According to Bunting * Penuel was two miles from Succoth, Nobab two miles from Penuel, and Fogbebah four miles from Nobab, and Karkor four miles from Fogbebab, whither he purfued the kings, and took them, after he had difcomfited the army: and /mote the boft, or the boft was fecure; having got over Fordan, and it being night very probably, they thought themfelves fafe from Gideon’s army, who they could have no thought that they would come up with them fo foon, being on foot, weary, and fatigued.
¥. 15. And he came unto the men of Succoth, &c.]} Entered the city, and befpoke the inhabitants of it Jin the following manner: and faid, bebold, Zebab and Zalmunna with whom ye did upbraid me; as not in his hands, and never would be, he being with his 300 men an unequal match to them with 15,000; but he had taken them, and brought them with him, and perhaps fpared them for this very reafon, to, let them fee they were in his hands, and how calls upon them to behold them with their own eyes, concerning whom they had flouted and jeered him: faying, are the hands of Zebah and Zal- |munna now in thy hand, that we should give bread unto thy men that are weary; he deliverstheir own, exprefs words, which he had carefully obferved and laid up fn his memory, for their greater conviction and confufion; only adds the character of his men that they were weary, to expofe their vile ingratitude the more, that they fhould refufe them a few loaves of bread, who were faint and weary. in the fervice of them.
y. 12. And when Zebah and Zalmunna fled,\ &c.] Their hoft being fmitten and thrown into confufion by the fudden approach of Gideon’s army; and who probably attacked them in fomewhat like manner as before, blowing their trumpets, and| calling out the fword of the Lord and of Gideon, which were fuch terrifying founds to them, that they fled at once: he purfued after them, and took the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, and difcomfited all the boft, or terrified them, fo that they fled fome one way and fome another, and the kings being left alone were eafily taken.
y. 16. And he took the elders of the city, &c.J All of them, efpecially thofe of them who had been moft guilty, and had them to a proper place, where they might be made public examples of: and thorns of the wildernefs, and briers; which were near at hand, and foon cut up, for which he gave orders to proper perfons: and with them he taught the men of Succoth; either the inhabitants of he place, as diftin& fromthe elders, by whofe punifhment he taught them to be cautious not to follow fuch examples, or to behave ill to their fuperiors; or the princes and elders of the city are meant by he did’ not. mean brethren in a large fenfe, as all. the IJ/raelites were, but in a ftri& fenfe, being fo nearly related as his mother’s children: as the Lord liveth, if ye had faved them alive, I would not flay the men of it, whom Gideon taught or chaftized you; for pot being Canaanites, he was not obliged with thorns and briers; and fo it is ufual with us for a parent or mafter to fay to his child or fervant that has offended, I will seach you to do fo or fo, or to do otherwife, when he threatens to chaftize: or with them be made them to know *; that is, their fin and the heinoufnefs of it, by the punifhment he inflied on them. dardinel thinks the word know has the fignification of mercy in it, as in Exod. ii. 25. in that he did not punifh in general the men of that city, only the elders of it. The Targum is, ** he broke upon them, or by them, the men of Succoth;” fo Farchi and others; that is, he broke the briers and thorns upon them, fcourging them with them; or rather, broke and tore their flefh by them: whether they died or no, is not certain.
y.17. And he beat down the tower of Penuel, &c.] As he threatened he would, ¥. 9. whether this was before or after he had chaftized the elders of Succoth, is not clear; one would think by the courfe he fteered going from Succoth to Penuel, as he went he fhould come to Penuel firft at his return; however, he demolifhed their tower in which they trufted: and flew the men of the city; perhaps they might, as Kimchi conjectures, refift when he went about to beat down their tower; on which a fray might enfue, in which they were flain; or they might upon his approach, fenfible of the offence they had given him, fly to their tower for fafety, and were killed in it when that was beaten down about them. In what manner this was done is not faid; no doubt they had inftruments in thofe days for demolifhing fuch edifices.
y¥. 18. Then faid he unto Zebab and Zalmunna, &c.]- Not at Penuel or Succoth, but when he had brought them into the land of Canaan, and perhaps to his own city Ophrah: what manner of men were they whom ye flew at Tabor? mount Tabor, to which thefe men had betaken and hid themfelves, in fome caves and dens there; fee ch. vi. 2. and thefe kings fome little time before the battle had taken them, and flew them, of which it feems Gideonhad notice; and fome of his brethren being not to be found, he fufpected they were the perfons, and therefore afked this queftion: and they anfwered, as thou art, fo were they; very much like him’ in countenance by the law of God to put them todeath; and by the law of nations, as they had furrendered themfelves, and were made prifoners of war, they ought to have been faved; but as they appeared to be murderers, and had flain the J/rae/ites in cold blood, they deferved to dye; and the perfons they had flain being Gideon’s brethren, he was the avenger of blood, and it became him to put them to death.
¥. 20. And he faid unto Fether his firft-born, up and flay them, &c.] Being the near kinfman of his father’s brethren, whom thefe kings had flain, was a ptoper perfon to avenge their blood on them; and the rather Gideon might order him todo it, for the greater mortification of the kings, to die by the hand of a youth; and for the honour of his fon, to be the flayer of two kings, and to inure him to draw his {word againft the enemies of J/- rael, and embolden him to. do fuch exploits: dut the youth drew not bis fword, for he feared, because he was yeha youth, his not drawing his fword was not out of difobedience to his father, but through fear of the kings; not of their doing him any hurt, being bound; but there was perhaps a ferocity, as well as majefty in their countenances,, rare made the young man timorous and: fearul.
¥. 21. Then Zebab and Zalmunna faid, rife thou and fall upon us, &c.] Since they muft die, they chofe rather to die by the hand of fo great a man and valiant a commander as Gideon, which was more honourable than to die by the hand of a youth: for as the man is, fo is his frength; fignifying, that as he was a ftout, able man, he had ftrength fufficient to difpatch them at once, which. his fon had not, and therefore they muft have died a lingering and painful death; wherefore as they confulted their honour, fo their eafe, in defiring to die by the hand of Gideon: and Gideon arofe and ew. Lebab and Zalmunna; nor was it unufual in thofe early times for great perfonages, as judges and generals, to be executioners of others, as were Samuel and Benaiah, 1 Sam. xv. 33. 1 Kings ii. 25, 3:4.. and took away the ornaments that were on their camel’s necks 5 the Targum calls them chains, as in ¥. 26. no doubt of gold; fo the horfes of king and ftature, ftout, able-bodied men, of a graceful and-majeftic appearance.' Abarbinel takes it to be a curfe on Gideow, be thou, orthou fhalt be as they are; as they died by the hand of the Midzanites,)moon; fo fhalt thou 3’ but the former fenfe feems beft, and agrees with what follows:
¥. 19. And be faid, they were my brethren, even the fons of my mother, 8cc.\ His ‘brethren by his mother’s fide, but not by his father’s fide; or the phrafe the fons of my mother is added, to fhew that Zatimus had golden poitrels or collars hanging down their breafts. They were, according to Farchi, Kimchi, and Ben Gerfom, in the form of the ee J/ iii. 18. fome have thought chat thefe were worn in honour of 4farte, or the mddn, the each one refembled the) goddefs of the Phenicians, from whom thefe people had borrowed that idolatry.
children of a king; being brought up in a delicate manner, as thefe ‘perfons feemed to have been: according to Farchi and Kimobi, the fenfe is, they were like him, and had all one and the fame form and lovely afpect, refembling kings children; according to Bex Gerfom they were in general very! much like Gideon, and one of them was like his children, who ‘were then prefent, particularly eldeft fon, as appears from y. 20.
¥. 22. Then the men of I[rael faid unto Gideon, &c.] Some time after his return, the chief mén of J/rae/ having met in a body, and confulted matters. but; among themfelves, fent a deputation to Gdeon with an offer of the government of them: rule thou over us, both thou and thy fon, and thy fon’s fon alfo, his! by which they meant, that he would take the kingly Itis faid in the! sovernment of them, -and which they propofed to kings. Peele in his pofterity for ages to come; for as a judge in J/rael, he hada fort of rule and government of them under God already, but amounted not to regal power and authority; and_this was what the people of //rae/ were fond of, that they
Mifnah* all the I/raelites are the children of might be like their neighbours; and this they tempted Gideon with, who had done fuch very wonderful and extraordinary things for them, which they alledge as a reafon: for thou heft delivered us from the baud of Midian’, from the bondage they were in to ther, and therefore fir to “be aking over them.
¥.23. And Gideon faid unto them, I will not rile over you, &c.] Not that he declined the government of them a3 a judge, to which he was raifed of God, but as aking, for which he had no authority and call from God; the choice of a king belonging to him, and not to the people: neither shail my fon rule over you 5 which Abarbinel thinks he fpake as a prophet, and under the infpiration of the Holy Spirit; for after his death neither Fether his eldeft fon, nor any of the reft of his legitimate fons, ruled over them; for they were all flain by Abimelech, the fon of bis concubine, who was made king: the Lord fhall rule over you, as he did ¥ their government was a theocracy, which they would have changed, but Gideon would not agree to it.
¥. 24. And Gideon faid unto them, I would defire a requeft of you, &e.} Which he thought they would. fearcely deny, and it was now a fair opportunity to make it, fince they had offered him a crown, Or to be king over them: and the favour he afked was, that you would give me every man the ear rings of bis prey or, an ear-ring of his prey; for it is in thesfingular number; every man one earring, as Abarbinel interprets it; for though they might have more, yet only one ear-ring of every manis defired: for they bad golden ear-rings, becaufe they were Ifpmaelites; fo the Midianites and Thmaelites are fpoken of as the fame, they being mixed and dwelling together, or very near each other, Gew. xxxvii. 25, 28, 36. and Kimchi accounts for itthus, why the Midianites are called [/bmaelites; becaufe they were the fons of Keturab, and Keturah was Hagar the mother of J/bmael. “The Targum calls them Arabians, and who it feems ufed to wear ear-rings, as men in the éaftern countries did; fee Gen. xxxv. 4. Exod. xxxii.2, 3. So Pliny fays‘ in the eaft it was reckoned ornamental for men to wear gold in their ears.
¥.25. And thiy anfwered, we will willingly give them, &c.] Or, iz giving we will give“; give them with al] their hearts, moft freely and chearfully: and they fpreada garment, and did caft therein every man the ear-rings of his prey 5 every man one, which would amount to no more than 300; though perhaps thofe who joined in the purfuit might take many more, or otherwife the weight of them would not amount to what in the next verfe they are faid to weigh. av ate
¥.26. And the weight of the golden ear-rings be requefted was 1700 foekels of gold, &c.] Which, as Scheuchzer * computes was 810 ounces, 5 drams, x feruple, and 10 grains, of the weight of phyficians; but as reckoned by Montanus ‘ amounted to 850 ounces, and were of the value of 6800 crowns of gold; and according to Woaferus ®, it amounted to 3400 Hungarian pieces of gold, and of their money at Zurich upwards of 15413 pounds, and of our money 2380 pounds: defides ornaments, fuch as were upon the necks of the camels, y¥. 21. for the fame word is ufed here as there: and col- lars the Targum renders it a crown, and Ben Me. lech fays in the Arabic language the word figniifies clear cryftal; but Kimchi and Ben Gerfom take them to be golden veéfléls, in which they put faéte, or fome odoriferous liquor, and {fo were properly finelling bottles: and purple raiment that was on the kings of Midian, which it feems was the colour that kings wore, as they now do; fo Strabo » fays of the kings of Arabia, that they are clothed in purple: and befides the chains that were about their camel’s necks; which feem to be different from the other ornaments about thém, fince another word is here ufed; now all thefe feem to have been what fell to his fhare, as the general of the army; and not what were given him by the people.
¥.27. And Gideon made an ephod thereof, &c.)} That is, of fome of this gold; for fucha quantity could never have been expended on an ephod only, even taking it not fora linen ephod, but fuch an one as the high prieft wore, made of gold, of blue, purple, and fcarlet, and fine twined linen, with curious work, together with a curious girdle of rhe fame work; unlefs we fuppofe fuch a breaft-plate with it, of 12 precious ftones, as daron had; and with little images of Teraphim, or Cherubim in it, as Dr. Spencer thinksi!. The Yews/ commentators generally underftand this ephod to be tnade as a memorial of the great falvation God had wrought by his hands for //rael, and of the wonderful things $ oS done by him; fo Farchi, Kimchi, and Ben Gerfom, but fuch a garment, whether worn by him, or hung up in fome certain place, feems not fo proper and pertinent to perpetuate the memory of his victories, as a monument or pillar would have been; it looks therefore more likely to be done with a religious view, which afterwards wag perverted to fuperftitious ufes; and whereas Gideon had built an altar already by the command of God, and had facrificed upon it, he might think himfelf authorized as a prieft, and therefore provided this ephod for himfelf; or however for a prieft he might think of taking into his family, and fo ufe it as an oracle to confult upon {pecial oceafions, withott going to Shilob, the Ephraimites having difpleafed him in their rough expoftulations with him; and fo R, Jfaiah interprets it of a kind of divination or oracle which gave anfwers: and put itin bis city, even in Opbrab; hung it up in fome proper place as a monument of his victories, as is generally thought; or in a ftructure built on purpofe for it, to which he might refort as to an oracle: and ail Ifrael went thither a-whoring after it; made an idol of it and worfhipped it, and fo committed fpiritual fornication, which is idolatry. Some render it, after him *; not after the ephod, but after Gideon; that is, after his death, fo Yarchi; no ill ufe was made of it in Gideon’s time, though he cannot be altogether excufed from fin and weaknefs in making it; but after his. death it was foon made an ill ufe of: which thing proved afnare to Gideon and to bis houfe; it was a fnare to himif he confulted it as an oracle, which could not be without fin, fince the only Urim and Thummim to be confulted were in the breaft-plate of the high-prieft at the tabernacle; and it was what led his family into idolatry, and was the ruin of it, as well as it reflected great difcredit and difgrace upon fo good and bravea man:
302: FUDG ES. Eh.viiy.28—34, fome read the words!. to Gideon, that is, to bis or family; he being fo good a man. himfelf, it is not thought that he could be enfnared into idolatry ielf; though it is apparent that men as wife and as good haye fallen into it, as particularly Solgmou. Aptana od sae & foe alfo barebim a fon; _ y. 28. Thus was Midian fubdued before the children of Ifrael, &c) By the hand of Gideon hum-j bled and brought under, their power over J/rael was broken, and they delivered out of theirhands: fo that they lifted up their beads no more, in.aproud houfe s|\bine of Gideon’s feems not to have:been taken into his houfe at all, but lived at Shechem, perhaps in her father’s houfe, and here Gideay met with — when he went to Shechem as a judge to try cau eS 5 her name, according to Jof/epbus', was Drumas as bis other wives did 5 perhaps all the children he had were fons, and this was one over and above the 70, and not to be reckoned into that number: whofe namie he called Abimelech; which fignifies, my father a king; which he gave him either in memory of the offer made and haughty manner to infult them, and in an ho- {tile way to invade and opprefs them; fuch a blow was given them that they could not recover themfelves, nor do we read of any effort of theirs ever after, or.of their giving or attempting to give any difturbance to J/rae/, or any other nation: ead the country was in gquietne/s forty years in the days of Gideon;,'that is,the land of Canaan; it was free from wars with Midian, or any other people, and enjoyed undifturbed peace and tranquillity. According to bifhop Wher *, this was the 4oth year from the reft reftored by Deborah and Barak; accordiag to Abarbinel and others, thefe go years are to be reckoned. from the beginning of the yitude; that is, the feven years oppreffion under the Midianites are included in them; but I cannot fee that in this inftance, and-in others before met with, years of bondage can be counted with years of peace and profperity, and go under that general name. The true fenfe feems to be, that after the Tiraelites had been in fubjection to the Midianites for feven years, and Gideow had delivered them, that) from thence forward they had reft and‘quietnels 40 years, which in all probability was the time Gideon lived after his victories.. latry:
_ ¥. 29. And Ferubbaal the fon of Foafo, &c. is, Gideon, Ferubbaal being another name of his; fee ch. vi. 32. and vii: 1. wept and dwelt in. bis own boufe; which was at Opbrab, as appears from ch. ix. g. the war. being ended, he difbanded his army, and retired to his own houfe; not that he lived altogether a private life there, butas a judge him to be king of J/rael, or through forefight of what this fon of. his would be; or he might be moved to it by the mother from pride and vanity, and which name might afterwards infpire the young man to be made aking, as he was’; and the account given of his mame is becaufe of the narrative of him in the following chapter, W. 32. And Gideon the fon of foafo died in a good ald age, éc.| Having lived it feems forty years after his war with Midian, bleffed with a large family, much wealth and riches, great eredit ‘and. andjefteem among his people, and in favour with God and men: and was buried in the fepulchre of Foajb fer-j4is father, in Ophrab of the Abiezrites; a city which belonged to the family of the abgezrates, who were of the tribe of Aéenaffeh, in which Gideon lived, and his father before him; and where there was a family vault, in which he was interred. In the days of this judge ’tis fuppofed™ was the famous expedition of the Argonauts to Colchis, to fetch from thence the golden fleece. ae y- 33. Andit came to pass as foon as Gideon wa dead,; that ibe children of Ifrael turned again, &c.] From God, and the pure worfhip of him, to idoand went a-whoring after Baalim, the.gods Thatjof the Phwnicians and Canaanites, the feveral Baals of other nations, the lords many which they ferved, thefe they committed fpisitual whoredom with; thatis, idolatry: particularly aad made Baal Berith their God;. which was the idol of the Shechemites, as appears from a temple- being built at Shechem for it, ch. ix. 5. and had its name either in J/rael. from Berytus, a city of Phenicia, of which Mela™
¥. 30. And Gideon had 70 fous,of his body begotten, &c.| Not after his viétories, for itis plain he had children before; mention is made of.fetber, his firft-born, asa youth able to draw afword, flay with it, ¥. 20. but this was the number of his fons, both before and after, anda large number it was; and the phrafe of is body begotten, or that went out of bis thigh, is uted to fhew that they were his own fons, begotten in wedlock, and not fons that he had taken into his family by adoption, or that hewas father-in-law to, having married awoman or women that had fons by a former hufband; but thefe were all his own: far be bad many wives; which though not agreeable to the original law of marriage was cuftomary in thofe times, and vith good men, and was connived at;
a reafon accounting for his having fo many fons. _ ¥.31. And bis concubine that was in Shechem, &c.] Which was not an harlot, but a fecondary or and Pliny¢ make mention, and where this Baal might be’ firft worfhipped; it was 400 furlongs from Sidon, and was in after-times a feat of learnandling?; of this city was Sanchoniatho, a Phenician all hiftorian, who is faid to receive many’ things he writes about the Fews from Yerombalus, fuppofed to be Ferubbaal, or Gideon; fee the note on ch. vik 32. and who tells $ us, that Croxus or Ham gave this city to Neptune and the Cadiri, and who alfo relates: that Beruth is the name of a Phenician deity. Though it may be rather this idal had its name from its fuppofed concern in covenants, the word Berith fignifying a covenant; and k the Tergum and Syriac verfion call him the lord coveevenjnant; and the Septuagint and Vulgate ‘Latin verfions and thisisjare, ‘‘ and they made 4 covenant with Baal, that ‘jhe fhould be their god;” as if he had his name from hence; though rather from his prefiding over covenants, as Janus is faid* todo, and from his.
half-wife; fuch were generally taken from hand-'! maids, and of the meaner fort, and were. not in fuch efteem as proper wives, had not the management of houfhold affairs, only a fhare in the bed, and their children did notinherit. This concu-! y. that kept them; the fame with Jupiter Fidius Ultor, and Sponfor* with the Romans, and Horcius * with the Greeks. EN ' iat 34. And the children of Ifrael remembered not yas > 336. Sophocles in Philoftete, prope finem.
avenging the breach of them, and rewarding thofe,
Pom ge oles MAT oe he * A;
the Lord their God, &c.] Or, as the Targum, the ‘worfhip of the Lord their God; they forgot him, and forfook him, which fhewed bafe ingratitude: who bad delivered them out of the hands of their enemies on every fide; not only out of the hands of Midian, but all other nations round about them, | as Edom, Moab, dinmon, &c. not one attempting to opprefs them.
¥. 35. Neither foewed they kindnefs to the houfe of ‘Ferubbaal, namely Gideon, &c.)}: But on the ape t8 chapter contains an account of the craft and cruelty of dbimelech, by which he got himfelf made king of the Shechemites, y. 1—6. of the parable of Fotham, the youngeft fon of Gideon, concerning the trees, in which he expofes their folly in making Abimelech king, and foretels the ruin of them both, ¥. 7—21. of the contentions which arofe between ddimelech, arid the men of Shecbeim, increafed by Gaal the fon of Eved, y¥. 22—-29. who was drawn into a battle with Adimelech, and beaten and forced to fly, y. 30—,41. but the quarrel between Abimelech and the men of Shechem ceafed not, but ftill continued, which iffued in the entire ruin of the city and the inhabitants of
¥. 1. And Avimelech the fon of Ferubbaal went to Shechem, unto bis mother’s brethren, &c.} It feems that though the mother of Abimelech lived at Sheebem, he was taken and brought up in his father’s houfe at Opbrab, where he was when! he died; and trom hence he came to Shecbem, to pay a vifit to his uncles there; whether his mother was now living, is not certain: and communed with thems; about the death of his father, the ftate of his family, and the government of J/rael: and with all the family of the boufe of bismother’s fathey; that defcended from his grandfather, the feveral branches of them, and of the family, the heads of them at leaft: /aying; as follows.
¥. 2. Speak, I pray you, in the ears of all the men of Shechem, &c.| Which, though the Zergum calls the inhabitants of the place, Bex Melech better interprets it, the lords of Shechem, as the phrafe will bear to be rendered; for it is more likely he would have this firit whifpered and fuggefted to the principal men of the city, before the common people were acquainted with it, and indeed in order to ule their influence with them: whether is better for you, cilber that all the fous of Ferubbaal, which are 70 perfons, reign over you, or that one reign aver you? intimating thereby, that though Gideon his father had refufed the regal government when offered him, it was but reafonable that his fons, or fome one of them fhould be tried, whether it would be acceptable to them; nay, he would infinuate, that the fons of Gideon, who were 70 in number, were either contending with one another about it, or contriving to divide the government among them, and therefore defired it might be moved to confideration, whether it would not be more eligible to fix upon forme one perfon to be their ruler, than to be under the government of 70°; or, in other words, whether ir was not better to have - one king than 70 kings; but in reality there was no neceffity for any confultation about this matter, the fons of judges never fucceeded their fathers in
& Em 303 contrary, great unkindnefs and cruelty, flaying his 70 fons, ‘as related in the following chapter: according to all the goodne/s which be bad fbewed unto I/rael; in expofing his life to danger for their fake, in delivering them out of the hands of their oppreffors, in adminiftring juftice to them, in protecting them in their civil and religious liberties, and leaving them in the quiet and peaceable poffeffion of them.
Scndahirs government; nor does it appear that any of Gydeon’s fons had any thought about it, nor any defire to be made kings, as appears from ‘fotbam’s parable; and this was only a wicked infinuation of this man’s, with an ambitious view of getting the kingdom to himfelf, as follows: remember alfo that I am your bone and your fielh; was of the fame tribe and city with them, born among them, his mother always living with them, and he having now many near relations by his mother’s fide that dwelt there; and therefore whilft they had this affair of government under confideration, he would have them think of him to be their king, which would be to their honour, and to their advantage, to have one fo nearly related to them on the throne, from whom they might expe€t many favours.
¥. 3. And bis mother’s brethren fpake of him in the ears of the men of Shechem all thefe words, &c.
Got them together in fome certain place, and laid before them all that Abimelech had fugeetted to them, and {pake in his favour to them: and their hearts inclined to follow Abimelech, for they faid be is our brother; being fond of kingly government, as the Ijraelites generally were, it feemed moft agreeable to them to have one king over them, and none more acceptable than one fo nearly related to them, who they doubted not from his alliance to them, would be ready to oblige them on all occafions.
y.4. And they gave him 70 pieces of filver out of the boufe of Baal-berith;, &c.] The temple of their idol; of this name fee ch. viii. 33. out of the money which had been dedicated to his fervice by free will-offering, or out of a bank which they. depofited there for greater fafety, and perhaps out of a fuperititious notion of its being more profperous and fuccefsful: of what value thele pieces weré, is not certain; by pieces of filver, commonly fhekels, are meant; but thefe are thought to be of too little value to be given to a man to raifé an army with, or carry on a icheme to advance himfelf to the throne; and talents are judged to be too large a fum for fuch a city to contribute out of a temple of theirs, and that but lately built, as it muft be fince the death of Gideon; they are therefore thought to be pounds, as the Vulgate Latin verfion renders ic; however, in the tale of them there feems to be fome reference to the number of Gideon’s fons, who were to be deftroyed by bribing men with this fum, which was the {cheme concerted between Abimelech and the men of Shechem, wherewith Abimélech bired vain and light berfons, which followed him; perhaps 70 of them, giving to each a piece or pound of filver; thefe were a bafe fcoundrel fort of people, that lived in an idle feandalous manner, a jort of free booters, that lived upon what they could lay hold on in a way of force and rapine; men of light heads and empty brains, and whofe pockets were as light
-: - So.) tele Yow | PA 125% ee hed! 304 JUDGES WChix'y.5 74 Cae awe b1%5 and empty as their heads, and fit to engage in enterprife, though ever fo barbarous, for the fake of a little money. ': _» flemn manner of addrefs
¥.5. And hewent to bis father’s houfe at Ophrah, &c.] Which, according to Bunting *, was 10 miles from Shechem: and flew bis brethren the fons of Ferubbaal, being 70 perfons upon one ftone; any unto them, hearken unto me, ye men of Shechem,. tha God may bearken unto you; which was a very foto them, tending to_ cite attention, as having fomewhat of importan to fay to them, and fuggefting, that if they did not hearken to him, God would not hearkea to them injwhen they cried to him, and therefore. it behoved — which he was affifted by the ruffians he had hired, with 70 pieces of filver; thefe were laid one after another upon one and the fame {tone, as being convenient for the execution of them; or as ferving as an altar on which they were facrificed to Baa, out of
. whofe temple the money was taken to hire the exe- jthem to attend: it is an adjuration of them to hearken to him, or a with that God would not hearken to them if they were inattentive to him.
¥..8. The trees went forth on a time to anoint @
king over them, &c.| This is an apologue or fable, and a very fine and beautiful one; it is fitly ex- cutioners with. They are faid to be 70 that were flain, tho’? one efcaped, the round number being) given, as in many other inftances, as in Ge. xlvi. 27. John xx. 24. notwithflanding, yet Fotham the youngeft fon of Ferubbaal was left; or remained alive, not out of compaffion to his youth, but becaufe he could not be found: for he bid himfelf; for no doubt Abimelech, and his crew, were moft preffed to anfwer the defign, and the moft ancient of the kind, being made feven hundred years before the times of “fop, fo famous for his fables, and exceeds any thing written by him. By tue trees are meant the people of J//rae/ in general, and the Shechemites in particular, who had been for fome time very defirous of a king, but could not perfuade any of their great and good men to ac- forward to lay hold of the eldeft, and facrifice them firft, as being moft in his way; this gave Fotbam the youngeft not only notice of their defign, but an opportunity of providing for his fafety, or however his friends; for. it may be rendered, as in fome verfions, e was hidden», that is, by others.;
y.6. And all the men of Shechem gathered together, &c.] Upon the return of Abimelech, atter he with his banditti had committed the execrable murder of his brethren: and all the houfe of Millo; which -was either the men of.a place near to Shechem, or of his brother’s family, or of tome grand leading family in Shechem;, or it may mean the cept of that office: and they faid unto the ohivetree, reign thou over us; a fit emblem of a good man, endowed, with excellent virtues and qualifications for good, as David king of J/rael, who is compared to fuch a tree, P/ lii. 8. Sfarebi applies this to Osbuiel the firlt judge; but it may be better applied to Gideox, an excellent good man, — full of truits of righteoufnels, and eminently ufeful, and to whom kingly government was offered, and was refufed by him; and the men of Skechem could tcarcely fail of thinking of him; and applying it to him, as 7e/am was delivering his fable. nite ¥.9. But the olive-tree faid unto them, 8c.) In town-hall, where. the principal inhabitants met in full houfe, as Millo fignifies, on this o¢cafion:, and reply to the requelt of the trees: /hould I leave my fatne/s, wherewith Ly me they koncur Ged and man;
went and made Abimelech king; which was a moft bold and daring action; being done without afking counfel of God, without which no king was to be fet over J/rael, and by a fingle city, without the knowledge, advice and confent of the body of the people of Lrael: by the plain of the pillar that was in Shechem the place where they met together, and did this bufinefs in voting bimelech to be king, was near a place where a pillar was fet in Shechem, or by the oak of the pillar in Shechem, and fo may mean the ftone under an oak, which Fofoua placed there as a teftimony between God and the people, Jo/b. xxiv. 25, 26, 27. and here in the fame place where fo/bua convened the people of J/rael, and made his laft fpeech to them, was this bufinefs done.
y. 7. And when they told tt to Fotham, 8&c.] Or when it was told him that dimelech was made king in Shechem by fome of his friends: be went and fiood in the top of mount Gerizzims a mount near Shechem;, it hung over the city, as Jofepbus fays‘*, and fo avery proper place to ftand on and deliver a fpeech from it to the inhabitants of it; who, as the fame writer fays, were now keeping a feftival, on what account he fays not, perhaps to Baa/- Levith their idol; over-againft this mountain was another, called Zdc/, and between them a valley; and very likely they were affembled in this valley, where the children of J/rael ftood when the bletfings were delivered from Gerrizzim, and the curfes from Ebal; and if fo, fotham might be heard very by fatnefs, oil is meant, prefled out of the fruit of the olive-tree, and which was much made ule of, both in the burning of the lamps in the tabernacle, and in many facrifices, as the meat-offerings and others, whereby God was. honoured; and it was alfo made ule of in the inveftiture of the greatelt perfonages with the higheft offices among men, as kings, priefts and prophets, as well as eaten with pleafure and delight by all forts of men, and even by the greateft, and fo men are honoured by it: and go, to be promoted over the trees; defert fo ufeful a itation, in which it was planted and fixed,.to move to and fro, as the word fignifies, and reign over trees; fuggefting that it was unreafonable, at leaft not eligible to a good man to defert a private {tation in life, to which he was called of God, and in which he acted with honour and ufefulnefs to others, and take upon him a public office, attended with much care and trouble, and with neglect of private affairs, and with the lofs of much perfonal peace and comfert. ¥. 10, And the trees faid to the fig-tree, &e.j Another ufeful and fruit- bearing tree, and to which alfo good men are fometimes compared, fee Cant. ii. 13. come thou, and reign over us; which Ferchi applies to Deborah, but may be better applied to one of Gideon’s fons; who, though they had not a perfonal offer of kingly government ' themfelves, yet it was made to them through their father, and refufed as for himéelf, fo for them; and had it been offered to them, they would have well by the Shechemites: and he lifted up his voice and cried; that he might be heard by them: awd /aid rejected it, as Fotham feems to intimate by this -— parable.. pad xy. 1s. And the fig-tree faid unto them, 8c.] Rejecting the offer made: fhould I forfake my fweetnefs and my good fruit; for fuch the fruit of the fig-tree is, fweet and good: fo ‘Yulian* the emperor fhews from various authors, Ariffopbanes, Herodotus, and Homer, that nothing is fweeter than figs, excepting honey, and that no kind of fruit is better, and where they are, no good is wanting: and go to be promoted over the trees? the fame is defigned by this as the former.
y. 12. Then faid the trees unto the vine, 8ec.]} Another emblem of good and ufeful men; and it may be obferved, that Yotham takes no notice of any trees but fruitful ones till he comes to the bramble, and them only fuch as were well known, and of the greateft ufe, in the land of Judea, as olives, figs and vines, fee Deut. viii. 8. Had. iii. 17. come thou, and reign over us; this Farchi applies to Gideon; but fince there are three forts of trees brought into the fable, and when the kingdom was offered to Gideon, it was propofed to him, and to his fon, and his fon’s fon, and refufed, fome reference may be had unto it in this apologue. Adar- éinel thinks three forts of men are intended as proper perfons for rule and government, as honourable ones, fuch as are wealthy and rich, and alfo of good behaviour to God and man, as Gideon’s fons were; but Abimelech was all the reverfe.
¥. 13. And the vine faid unto them, &c.] By way of denial and refufal as the other two: jhall [ leave my wine, which cheereth God and man; which being ufed in the drink-offerings was acceptable to God, and of a fweet favour to him, Numd. xv. 7. and being drank by man, revives, refrefhes and makes glad, when before forrowful, drooping, faint and weary, Pf civ. 15. though fome by Elobim, rendered God, underftand great perfonages, as men of quality, magiftrates, ce. and by man the common people, and fo in ¥. 9. and go to be promoted over the trees; all {peak the fame language, being of the fame fentiment.
y.14. Then faid all the trees unto the bramble, &c.} Perceiving they could not prevail upon any of the ufeful and fruitful trees to take the government of them, they unite in a requeft to a bramble, {carce to be called a tree, and however a very barren and fruitlefs one, yea hurtful and diftreffing: come thou, and reign over us; this refpects Abimelech, and defcribes him as a mean perfon, the fon of a concubine, as having no goodnefs in him, not any good qualifications to recommend him to government, but all the reverfe, cruel, tyrannical and oppreffive; and this expofes the folly of the Shechemites, and their eagernefs to have a king at any rate, tho’ ever fo mean and defpicable, ufelefs and pernicious.
¥. 15. And the bramble faid unto the trees, &c.] Accepting of their offer at once: if ye im truth anoint me king over you; fufpecting they were not hearty and cordial in their choice and call to the kingly authority over them: then come and put your truft in my foadows promifing protection to them as his fubjects, requiring their confidence in him, and boafting of the good they fhould receive from him, as is common with wicked princes at their firft entering on their office; but, alas! what fhadow or Spence can there be in a bramble? if a man, attempts to put himfelf under it for fhelter, chem; which was both to the difgrace of Gideon, and his family, and of themfelves too, that a bafe fon of his fhould be made their king; when it would have been more to the credit of Gideon, ves he will find it will be of no ufe to him, but hartful, fince the nearer and clofer he comes to it, the more he will be fcratched and torn by it: and if not, let fire come out of the bramble, and devour the cedars of Lebanon, fignifying, that if they did not heartily fubmic to his government, and put confidence in him, and prove faithful to him, they fhould fmart for it, and feel his wrath and vengeance, even the greateft men among them, comparable to the cedars of Lebanon for thorns and brambles catching fire, as they eafily do, or fire being put to them, as weak as they are, and placed under the talleft and ftrongeft cedars, will foon fetch them down to the ground; and the words of the bramble, or Adimelech, proved true to the Shechemites, he is made to fpeak in this parable.
¥. 16. Now therefore, if ye have done truly and fincerely, in that ye have made Abimelech king, &c.
If they had done this confcientioufly, and in the uprightnefs of their hearts, to take fuch a bafe man, and a murderer, and make him their king, which Fotbam doubted, and put it in this manner to them, that they might confider of it themfelves: if ye have dealt well with Ferubbaal, and his house, if they could think fo, which furely they could not, when they reflected upon the murder of his family they had confented to: and have done unto him according to the defervings of his hands; to his memory, and to his family, according to the merit of his works which he had performed on theit account, next mentioned.
¥.17. For my father fought for you, &c.] In the valley of Fezreel, and at Karkor, where with 300 men he routed and deftroyed an army of 135,000: and adventured his life far, which, ac+ cording to our verfion, may feem to have refpeét to his going over Jordan, and following-the. AZ» dianites, fleecing into their country, and fighting them at Karkor, at a great diftance from his native place; but the phrafe in the original text is, be caft away bis life afar off*, made no account of it, expofed it to the greateft danger; or, as the Tar gum, ** he delivered his life as it were to deftru¢- tion:” and delivered you out of the band of Midian; from the oppreffion and bondage of the Midianites, under which they had laboured feven years.
y. 18. And ye are rifen up againft my father’s boufe this day, &c.] Which was an inftance of great ingratitude in them, after fuch fervices done for them, and favours received by them: and have ain bis fons, 70 perfons om one ftone; excepting one, himfelf, and he was intentionally flain, theit defign was to.cut off every one; and all being flain but one, the round number is given, and this being fo large, is the rather obferved; and though Abimelech committed the fact, the men of Shechem were acceffory to it, they gave him money, with which he hired men to affift him in it, fee y. 21.
tention, and encouraged him to it; and certain it is, they fhowed their approbation of it, by making Abimelech king after it, and therefore they are juttly charged with it: and have made Abimelech, the fon of bis handmaid, king over the men of She- and it is very probable they were privy to his ine- the reproach of the men of Shech wi and efpecially to the princes thereofy for by the men of Shechem are meant the’ lords, and great\ men} thereof, as Kimchi obferves; and great contempt is caft on Abilemech himlelf, ‘who is here reprefented as making “a very ‘poor figure, being by extraction the fon Of an handmaid, Fava king “only over the men of Shechem;and who made hich fo for no other reafon but ‘this, decaufe he is your brother; not becaufe he had any right'to the kingdom, or had any qualification for it, but becaufe his mother lived among them, and her family belonged to them, and fo he -was related to many of them, and they hoped on that account to have prefer ment and favours trom ‘i
9. If ye then have dealt truly and fincerely
ihe Jerdbbaal and bis boufe this day, 8&c.] If they could in their confciences think and believe they had done well, and acted the faithful and upright part by him and his family, which he left with them to confider of: then rejoice ye in Abimelech, and let him alfo rejoice in you, may you be happy in him as a king, and he be happy in you as his fubjects, and live peaceably and comfortably together; and this he fugeefts as a teft of their former con. duct, that fhould this alliance between Abimelech and them be attended. with happinefs, which he could not believe would be the cafe, then it would feem that they had done a tight part by Gideon and his family; but if they fhould be unhappy