The Meaning of Judges 8:19 Explained

Judges 8:19

KJV: 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.

YLT: And he saith, 'My brethren -- sons of my mother -- they; Jehovah liveth, if ye had kept them alive -- I had not slain you.'

Darby: And he said, "They were my brothers, the sons of my mother; as the LORD lives, if you had saved them alive, I would not slay you."

ASV: And he said, They were my brethren, the sons of my mother: as Jehovah liveth, if ye had saved them alive, I would not slay you.

Discover Judges 8:19

CONTEXT: What is the Context of Judges 8:19?

MEANING: What does Judges 8:19 Mean?

WORDS: What do the individual words in Judges 8:19 mean?

RELATIONS: What do the major concepts mean in Judges 8:19?

What is the context of Judges 8:19?

KJV Reverse Interlinear

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.

What does Judges 8:19 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 8:19 mean?

And he said my brothers the sons of my mother They [were] [As] lives Yahweh if you had let live them not I would kill you

וַיֹּאמַ֕ר אַחַ֥י בְּנֵֽי־ אִמִּ֖י הֵ֑ם חַי־ יְהוָ֗ה ל֚וּ הַחֲיִתֶ֣ם אוֹתָ֔ם לֹ֥א הָרַ֖גְתִּי אֶתְכֶֽם

וַיֹּאמַ֕ר	And he said
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular Root: אָמַר Sense: to say, speak, utter.
אַחַ֥י	my brothers
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, first person common singular Root: אָח Sense: brother.
בְּנֵֽי־	the sons
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct Root: בֵּן Sense: son, grandson, child, member of a group.
אִמִּ֖י	of my mother
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct, first person common singular Root: אֵם Sense: mother.
הֵ֑ם	They [were]
Parse: Pronoun, third person masculine plural Root: הֵם Sense: they, these, the same, who.
חַי־	[As] lives
Parse: Noun, masculine singular Root: חַי Sense: living, alive.
יְהוָ֗ה	Yahweh
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular Root: יהוה Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
הַחֲיִתֶ֣ם	you had let live
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Perfect, second person masculine plural Root: חָיָה Sense: to live, have life, remain alive, sustain life, live prosperously, live for ever, be quickened, be alive, be restored to life or health.
הָרַ֖גְתִּי	I would kill
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, first person common singular Root: הָרַג Sense: to kill, slay, murder, destroy, murderer, slayer, out of hand.

What are the major concepts related to Judges 8:19?

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