The Meaning of Judges 8:25 Explained

Judges 8:25

KJV: And they answered, We will willingly give them. And they spread a garment, and did cast therein every man the earrings of his prey.

YLT: And they say, 'We certainly give;' and they spread out the garment, and cast thither each the ring of his prey;

Darby: And they answered, "We will willingly give them." And they spread a garment, and every man cast in it the earrings of his spoil.

ASV: And they answered, We will willingly give them. And they spread a garment, and did cast therein every man the ear-rings of his spoil.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And they answered,  We will willingly  give  [them]. And they spread  a garment,  and did cast  therein every man  the earrings  of his prey. 

What does Judges 8:25 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 8:25 mean?

So they answered gladly we will give [them] and they spread out - a garment and threw into it each man the earrings from his plunder
וַיֹּאמְר֖וּ נָת֣וֹן נִתֵּ֑ן וַֽיִּפְרְשׂוּ֙ אֶת־ הַשִּׂמְלָ֔ה וַיַּשְׁלִ֣יכוּ שָׁ֔מָּה אִ֖ישׁ נֶ֥זֶם שְׁלָלֽוֹ

וַיֹּאמְר֖וּ  So  they  answered 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
נָת֣וֹן  gladly 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Infinitive absolute
Root: יָתַן 
Sense: to give, put, set.
נִתֵּ֑ן  we  will  give  [them] 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, first person common plural
Root: יָתַן 
Sense: to give, put, set.
וַֽיִּפְרְשׂוּ֙  and  they  spread  out 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: פָּרַשׂ  
Sense: to spread, spread out, stretch, break in pieces.
אֶת־  - 
Parse: Direct object marker
Root: אֹות 
Sense: sign of the definite direct object, not translated in English but generally preceding and indicating the accusative.
הַשִּׂמְלָ֔ה  a  garment 
Parse: Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: שִׂמְלָה  
Sense: wrapper, mantle, covering garment, garments, clothes, raiment, a cloth.
וַיַּשְׁלִ֣יכוּ  and  threw 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Hifil, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: שָׁלַךְ  
Sense: to throw, cast, hurl, fling.
שָׁ֔מָּה  into  it 
Parse: Adverb, third person feminine singular
Root: שָׁם  
Sense: there, thither.
אִ֖ישׁ  each  man 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: אִישׁ 
Sense: man.
נֶ֥זֶם  the  earrings  from 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: נֶזֶם  
Sense: ring, nose ring, earring.
שְׁלָלֽוֹ  his  plunder 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: שָׁלָל  
Sense: prey, plunder, spoil, booty.

What are the major concepts related to Judges 8:25?

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