The Meaning of Judges 8:18 Explained

Judges 8:18

KJV: 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 he said to Zebah and Zalmun'na, "Where are the men whom you slew at Tabor?" They answered, "As you are, so were they, every one of them; they resembled the sons 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.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

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. 

What does Judges 8:18 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 8:18 mean?

And he said to Zebah and Zalmunna what kind of men [were they] whom you killed at Tabor so they answered as you [are] so [were] they [each] one resembled the son of a king
וַיֹּ֗אמֶר אֶל־ זֶ֙בַח֙ וְאֶל־ צַלְמֻנָּ֔ע אֵיפֹה֙ הָאֲנָשִׁ֔ים אֲשֶׁ֥ר הֲרַגְתֶּ֖ם ؟ בְּתָב֑וֹר וַֽיֹּאמרוּ֙‪‬‪‬‪‬ כָּמ֣וֹךָ כְמוֹהֶ֔ם אֶחָ֕ד כְּתֹ֖אַר בְּנֵ֥י הַמֶּֽלֶךְ

וַיֹּ֗אמֶר  And  he  said 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
זֶ֙בַח֙  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.
צַלְמֻנָּ֔ע  Zalmunna 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: צַלְמֻנָּע  
Sense: a Midianite king slain by Gideon.
אֵיפֹה֙  what  kind 
Parse: Interrogative
Root: אֵיפֹה  
Sense: where?.
הָאֲנָשִׁ֔ים  of  men  [were  they] 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine plural
Root: אִישׁ 
Sense: man.
אֲשֶׁ֥ר  whom 
Parse: Pronoun, relative
Root: אֲשֶׁר 
Sense: (relative part.).
הֲרַגְתֶּ֖ם  you  killed 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, second person masculine plural
Root: הָרַג  
Sense: to kill, slay, murder, destroy, murderer, slayer, out of hand.
؟ בְּתָב֑וֹר  at  Tabor 
Parse: Preposition-b, Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: תָּבֹור  
Sense: a mountain in the plain of Esdraelon rising abruptly and insulated except for a narrow ridge on the west connecting it to the hills of Nazareth.
וַֽיֹּאמרוּ֙‪‬‪‬‪‬  so  they  answered 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
כָּמ֣וֹךָ  as  you  [are] 
Parse: Preposition, second person masculine singular
Root: כְּמֹו  
Sense: like, as, the like of which conj.
כְמוֹהֶ֔ם  so  [were]  they 
Parse: Preposition, third person masculine plural
Root: כְּמֹו  
Sense: like, as, the like of which conj.
אֶחָ֕ד  [each]  one 
Parse: Number, masculine singular
Root: אֶחָד  
Sense: one (number).
כְּתֹ֖אַר  resembled 
Parse: Preposition-k, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: תֹּאַר  
Sense: shape, form, outline, figure, appearance.
בְּנֵ֥י  the  son 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: בֵּן 
Sense: son, grandson, child, member of a group.
הַמֶּֽלֶךְ  of  a  king 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: מֶלֶךְ 
Sense: king.

What are the major concepts related to Judges 8:18?

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