The Meaning of Judges 8:15 Explained

Judges 8:15

KJV: And he came unto the men of Succoth, and said, Behold Zebah and Zalmunna, with whom ye did upbraid me, saying, Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in thine hand, that we should give bread unto thy men that are weary?

YLT: And he cometh in unto the men of Succoth, and saith, 'Lo Zebah and Zalmunna, with whom ye reproached me, saying, Is the hand of Zebah and Zalmunna now in thy hand that we give to thy men who are wearied bread?'

Darby: And he came to the men of Succoth, and said, "Behold Zebah and Zalmun'na, about whom you taunted me, saying, 'Are Zebah and Zalmun'na already in your hand, that we should give bread to your men who are faint?'"

ASV: And he came unto the men of Succoth, and said, Behold Zebah and Zalmunna, concerning whom ye did taunt me, saying, Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in thy hand, that we should give bread unto thy men that are weary?

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And he came  unto the men  of Succoth,  and said,  Behold Zebah  and Zalmunna,  with whom ye did upbraid  me, saying,  [Are] the hands  of Zebah  and Zalmunna  now in thine hand,  that we should give  bread  unto thy men  [that are] weary? 

What does Judges 8:15 Mean?

Context Summary

Judges 8:13-28 - The Snare Of Success
Clearly Gideon's family had passed through some terrible tragedy previous to this war of emancipation. He had not learned our Lord's teaching of forgiveness and acted on the usual maxims of his age. Possibly, also, he felt that he was the executioner of God's vengeance upon these chiefs, whose names, "Immolation" and "Trouble," were derived from their desperate deeds. As they stood anticipating death, they uttered a memorable sentence, "As the man is, so is his strength." The usefulness of our lives is not to be gauged by what we say or have or think, but by what we are. It is not gift but grace that leaves the deepest dint upon other lives. If you want to be strong in the arm, you must be pure and true at heart.
The gold and purple of the spoil enabled Gideon to make an ephod, presumably on the pattern of that described in Exodus 28:1-43. It was not exactly an idol but a kind of fetish, and it diverted the thoughts of the people from Shiloh and the spiritual worship of the unseen and eternal God. So apt is the human heart to cling to some outward emblem-it may be a crucifix, a wafer, or a church-and miss that worship in spirit and in truth for which the Father seeks. [source]

Chapter Summary: Judges 8

1  Gideon pacifies the Ephraimites
4  Succoth and Penuel refuse to deliver Gideon's army
10  Zebah and Zalmunna are taken
13  Succoth and Penuel are destroyed
17  Gideon revenges his brothers's death on Zebah and Zalmunna
22  He refuses government
24  His ephod the cause of idolatry
28  Midian subdued
29  Gideon's children, and death
33  The Israelites' idolatry and ingratitude

What do the individual words in Judges 8:15 mean?

And he came to the men of Succoth and said Here are Zebah and Zalmunna about whom you ridiculed me saying [Are] the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in your hand that we should give to your men weary bread
וַיָּבֹא֙ אֶל־ אַנְשֵׁ֣י סֻכּ֔וֹת וַיֹּ֕אמֶר הִנֵּ֖ה זֶ֣בַח וְצַלְמֻנָּ֑ע אֲשֶׁר֩ חֵרַפְתֶּ֨ם אוֹתִ֜י לֵאמֹ֗ר הֲ֠כַף זֶ֣בַח וְצַלְמֻנָּ֤ע עַתָּה֙ בְּיָדֶ֔ךָ כִּ֥י נִתֵּ֛ן לַאֲנָשֶׁ֥יךָ הַיְּעֵפִ֖ים לָֽחֶם

וַיָּבֹא֙  And  he  came 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: בֹּוא 
Sense: to go in, enter, come, go, come in.
אַנְשֵׁ֣י  the  men 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: אִישׁ 
Sense: man.
סֻכּ֔וֹת  of  Succoth 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: סֻכֹּות  
Sense: the site where Jacob put up booths for his cattle and built a house for himself; apparently east of the Jordan near the ford of the torrent Jabbok and later allotted to the tribe of Gad.
וַיֹּ֕אמֶר  and  said 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
הִנֵּ֖ה  Here  are 
Parse: Interjection
Root: הִנֵּה  
Sense: behold, lo, see, if.
זֶ֣בַח  Zebah 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: זֶבַח  
Sense: one of the two kings of Midian who commanded the great invasion of Palestine and finally were defeated by Gideon.
וְצַלְמֻנָּ֑ע  and  Zalmunna 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: צַלְמֻנָּע  
Sense: a Midianite king slain by Gideon.
אֲשֶׁר֩  about  whom 
Parse: Pronoun, relative
Root: אֲשֶׁר 
Sense: (relative part.).
חֵרַפְתֶּ֨ם  you  ridiculed 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Perfect, second person masculine plural
Root: חָרַף 
Sense: to reproach, taunt, blaspheme, defy, jeopardise, rail, upbraid.
אוֹתִ֜י  me 
Parse: Direct object marker, first person common singular
Root: אֹות 
Sense: sign of the definite direct object, not translated in English but generally preceding and indicating the accusative.
לֵאמֹ֗ר  saying 
Parse: Preposition-l, Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
הֲ֠כַף  [Are]  the  hands 
Parse: Article, Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: כַּף  
Sense: palm, hand, sole, palm of the hand, hollow or flat of the hand.
זֶ֣בַח  of  Zebah 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: זֶבַח  
Sense: one of the two kings of Midian who commanded the great invasion of Palestine and finally were defeated by Gideon.
וְצַלְמֻנָּ֤ע  and  Zalmunna 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: צַלְמֻנָּע  
Sense: a Midianite king slain by Gideon.
עַתָּה֙  now 
Parse: Adverb
Root: עַתָּה  
Sense: now.
בְּיָדֶ֔ךָ  in  your  hand 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, feminine singular construct, second person masculine singular
Root: יָד  
Sense: hand.
כִּ֥י  that 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: כִּי 
Sense: that, for, because, when, as though, as, because that, but, then, certainly, except, surely, since.
נִתֵּ֛ן  we  should  give 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, first person common plural
Root: יָתַן 
Sense: to give, put, set.
לַאֲנָשֶׁ֥יךָ  to  your  men 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, masculine plural construct, second person masculine singular
Root: אִישׁ 
Sense: man.
הַיְּעֵפִ֖ים  weary 
Parse: Article, Adjective, masculine plural
Root: יָעֵף  
Sense: to be or grow weary, be fatigued, be faint.
לָֽחֶם  bread 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: לֶחֶם  
Sense: bread, food, grain.

What are the major concepts related to Judges 8:15?

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