“And Gideon had threescore and ten sons of his body begotten: for he had many wives.”
My Notes
What Does Judges 8:30 Mean?
"And Gideon had threescore and ten sons of his body begotten: for he had many wives." After his remarkable victory with 300 men, Gideon's story takes a DARK TURN. Seventy sons from many wives — this is the profile of a KING, not a judge. Gideon who refused the title of king (8:23 — 'I will not rule over you... the LORD shall rule over you') lived the LIFESTYLE of a king. The rejection of the title was noble. The adoption of the lifestyle contradicted it.
The phrase "threescore and ten sons" (shiv'im banim — seventy sons) is a ROYAL NUMBER: seventy sons suggests a large royal household with many wives — a harem typical of ancient Near Eastern kings. The number signals EXCESS, not just fertility. Gideon accumulated wives and produced heirs at a rate that mirrors the very monarchy he publicly refused. The words said 'not king.' The life said 'king.'
The phrase "for he had many wives" (ki nashim rabbot hayu lo — for many wives were to him) is the narrator's EXPLANATION: the many sons come from the many wives, and the many wives come from the wealth and power that victory gave him. The progression is clear: victory → wealth → wives → sons → dynasty. The military success funded the personal excess. The God-given victory funded the self-given indulgence. The 300-man army that defeated Midian produced a 70-son household that rivaled monarchies.
Reflection Questions
- 1.What victory has led to accumulation that contradicts the values the victory was built on?
- 2.What does Gideon refusing the TITLE but adopting the LIFESTYLE teach about the gap between words and behavior?
- 3.How does the progression from victory to wealth to excess to tragedy describe a pattern you've seen?
- 4.What 'many wives' (accumulated excess from God-given success) are you building that will produce future consequences?
Devotional
Gideon said 'I will not rule over you' (8:23). Noble words. Beautiful theology. And then he married MANY wives and fathered SEVENTY sons — the lifestyle of the very king he claimed not to be. The title was refused. The lifestyle was adopted. The mouth said no. The life said yes.
The progression is a WARNING: victory leads to wealth. Wealth leads to accumulation. Accumulation leads to excess. Excess leads to dynasty-building. Gideon went from hiding wheat in a winepress (6:11) to fathering seventy sons from many wives. The fearful farmer became the unofficial king. The transformation happened not through coronation but through ACCUMULATION — wife by wife, son by son, the royal lifestyle assembled itself.
The seventy sons MATTER for the next chapter: Abimelech, son number seventy-one (from a concubine in Shechem — verse 31), will murder all seventy brothers to seize power (chapter 9). The household that Gideon's excess built becomes the slaughterhouse that Abimelech's ambition destroys. The many wives produced many sons, and the many sons became many victims. The excess generated the tragedy.
This is the Bible's honesty about HEROES: the same Gideon who trusted God with 300 men couldn't trust God with his personal life. The man of radical faith on the battlefield was a man of radical accumulation at home. The fleece-layer became the wife-collector. The courage and the compromise coexisted in the same person. Heroes are not perfect. Victories don't prevent failures.
What victory in your life has led to accumulation that contradicts the very values the victory was built on?
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
And his concubine that was in Shechem,.... Which was not an harlot, but a secondary or half wife; such were generally…
We have here the conclusion of the story of Gideon. 1. He lived privately, Jdg 8:29. He was not puffed up with his great…
of his body begotten Only again in Gen 46:26 (-which came out of his loins") and Exo 1:5 P, cf. Gen 35:11 P. The more…
Cross References
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