The Meaning of Judges 8:34 Explained

Judges 8:34

KJV: And the children of Israel remembered not the LORD their God, who had delivered them out of the hands of all their enemies on every side:

YLT: and the sons of Israel have not remembered Jehovah their God, who is delivering them out of the hand of all their enemies round about,

Darby: And the people of Israel did not remember the LORD their God, who had rescued them from the hand of all their enemies on every side;

ASV: And the children of Israel remembered not Jehovah their God, who had delivered them out of the hand of all their enemies on every side;

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And the children  of Israel  remembered  not the LORD  their God,  who had delivered  them out of the hands  of all their enemies  on every side: 

What does Judges 8:34 Mean?

Context Summary

Judges 8:29-35 - "through Slaughter To A Throne"
The Children of Israel were guilty of great fickleness and instability. They soon relapsed into Baal worship and forgot to show kindness to the family of their great leader. But such is the frailty of the human heart. However hot we may be for Christ today, we may be cold and distant tomorrow. It seems as if the great adversary taunts us with this as he did John Bunyan, to whom he kept whispering. "I'll cool you, I'll cool you." We must take our fickle hearts to our Lord, asking Him to keep us true and hot in our love. There are times when His friendship is the most real thing in life, but then the rainbow-glory fades in the sky. Let it not be so any more, O Lord, we beseech thee!
The terrible crime of Abimelech was extenuated by the people of Shechem, because his mother was one of themselves. Compare Judges 8:31 with 9:1, 18. But the mills of God were grinding out awful trouble for them all, Judges 9:56-57. Surely, in his lack of self-control, Gideon had much to answer for, Judges 8:30! The evil that men do lives after them. [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 8:34 mean?

Thus not did remember the sons of Israel - Yahweh their God who had delivered them from the hands of all their enemies on every side
וְלֹ֤א זָֽכְרוּ֙ בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל אֶת־ יְהוָ֖ה אֱלֹהֵיהֶ֑ם הַמַּצִּ֥יל אוֹתָ֛ם מִיַּ֥ד כָּל־ אֹיְבֵיהֶ֖ם מִסָּבִֽיב

וְלֹ֤א  Thus  not 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Adverb, Negative particle
Root: הֲלֹא 
Sense: not, no.
זָֽכְרוּ֙  did  remember 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: זָכַר 
Sense: to remember, recall, call to mind.
בְּנֵ֣י  the  sons 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: בֵּן 
Sense: son, grandson, child, member of a group.
יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל  of  Israel 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יִשְׂרָאֵל  
Sense: the second name for Jacob given to him by God after his wrestling with the angel at Peniel.
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.
יְהוָ֖ה  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
אֱלֹהֵיהֶ֑ם  their  God 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, third person masculine plural
Root: אֱלֹהִים  
Sense: (plural).
הַמַּצִּ֥יל  who  had  delivered 
Parse: Article, Verb, Hifil, Participle, masculine singular
Root: נָצַל  
Sense: to snatch away, deliver, rescue, save, strip, plunder.
מִיַּ֥ד  from  the  hands 
Parse: Preposition-m, Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: יָד  
Sense: hand.
כָּל־  of  all 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: כֹּל  
Sense: all, the whole.
אֹיְבֵיהֶ֖ם  their  enemies 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine plural construct, third person masculine plural
Root: אֹיֵב  
Sense: (Qal) enemy.
מִסָּבִֽיב  on  every  side 
Parse: Preposition-m, Adverb
Root: מוּסָב 
Sense: places round about, circuit, round about adv.