Juges 8

¹ The men of Ephraim said to him, “Why have you done this to us, not calling us when you went to fight against the Midianites?” And they argued with him violently.

² So he said to them, “What have I done now compared to you? Is not the gleaning of Ephraim better than the grape harvest of Abiezer?

³ God handed over to you Oreb and Zeeb, the two princes of Midian. What was I able to do compared to you?” When he said this, their anger against him subsided.

Note · Juges 8.1–3

Une parole qui reconnaît les autres peut interrompre la querelle

Gédéon valorise la contribution d’Éphraïm et désamorce son ressentiment. Il ne répond pas à la revendication d’honneur par une surenchère. Cette scène donne un point de comparaison pour les conflits suivants, notamment Juges 12, où une querelle comparable ne trouvera pas ce dénouement pacifié.

⁴ Gideon and the three hundred men came to the Jordan and crossed it. They were exhausted but still in pursuit.

⁵ He said to the men of Succoth, “Please give some loaves of bread to the troops under my command, because they are exhausted, for I am pursuing Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian.”

⁶ But the princes of Succoth asked, “Are Zebah and Zalmunna now in your hands that we should give bread to your army?”

⁷ Gideon replied, “Very well, when the Lord has handed Zebah and Zalmunna over to me, I will tear your flesh with thorns and briers from the wilderness!”

⁸ He went from there to Penuel and asked the same thing from them. The men of Penuel answered just as the men of Succoth had answered.

⁹ He also told the men of Penuel, “When I return safely, I will tear down this tower!”

¹⁰ Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor, and with them was their army of about fifteen thousand men, who were all those left of the entire army of the Qedemites. Those who had been killed were one hundred twenty thousand armed men.

¹¹ Gideon traveled on the caravan route east of Nobah and Jogbehah and attacked their army while the army felt secure.

¹² Zebah and Zalmunna fled, and he pursued them. He captured these two kings of Midian and routed the entire army.

¹³ Gideon son of Joash returned from the battle by the Ascent of Heres.

¹⁴ He captured a youth from the men of Succoth and interrogated him. The youth wrote down for him the names of the seventy-seven leaders and elders of Succoth.

¹⁵ Then he went to the men of Succoth and said, “Here are Zebah and Zalmunna. You taunted me about them, saying, ‘Are Zebah and Zalmunna now in your power that we should give bread to your exhausted men? ’”

¹⁶ So he took the elders of the city, and he took some thorns and briers from the wilderness, and he disciplined the men of Succoth with them.

¹⁷ He also tore down the tower of Penuel and killed the men of the city.

Note · Juges 8.4–17

Le besoin de soutien se transforme en représailles

Succoth et Penouel refusent d’aider une troupe dont elles doutent de la victoire. Gédéon revient les punir, jusqu’à tuer les hommes de Penouel. Leur refus est raconté, mais le texte ne transmet pas un ordre divin lui demandant ces représailles. Le rôle de libérateur ne rend pas automatiquement juste tout usage ultérieur de sa force.

¹⁸ He asked Zebah and Zalmunna, “What kind of men did you kill at Tabor?”
“They were like you,” they said. “Each resembled the son of a king.”

¹⁹ So he said, “They were my brothers, the sons of my mother! As the Lord lives, if you had let them live, I would not kill you.”

²⁰ Then he said to Jether, his firstborn, “Get up and kill them.” The youth did not draw his sword, for he was afraid because he was still a youth.

²¹ Zebah and Zalmunna said, “Get up and strike us down yourself, for a man is judged by his strength.” So Gideon got up, killed Zebah and Zalmunna, and took the crescent ornaments that were on the necks of their camels.

Note · Juges 8.18–21

La vengeance personnelle entre dans le récit de guerre

Gédéon identifie parmi les victimes des rois ses propres frères. Il demande à son jeune fils de les exécuter, mais celui-ci a peur. Ce détail ne doit pas devenir un reproche d’insuffisante virilité : le récit précise qu’il est encore un enfant. L’honneur guerrier des adultes ne donne pas un droit d’impliquer un enfant dans une mise à mort.

²² Then the Israelites said to Gideon, “Rule over us, you as well as your sons and your grandsons, for you delivered us from the power of Midian.”

²³ But Gideon said to them, “I will not rule over you, and my son will not rule over you; the Lord will rule over you.”

²⁴ Then he said to them, “Let me make a request of you: Everyone give me an earring from his plunder.” Now the enemy had gold earrings because they were Ishmaelites.

²⁵ They said, “We agree to give them.” So they spread out a cloak, and everyone threw an earring from his plunder on it.

²⁶ The weight of the gold earrings he requested was forty-three pounds of gold, in addition to the crescent ornaments and ear pendants, the purple garments on the kings of Midian, and the chains on the necks of their camels.

²⁷ Gideon made an ephod from all this and put it in Ophrah, his hometown. Then all Israel prostituted themselves by worshiping it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and his household.

²⁸ So Midian was subdued before the Israelites, and they were no longer a threat. The land had peace for forty years during the days of Gideon.

Note · Juges 8.22–28

Le refus du titre ne suffit pas à empêcher une emprise religieuse

Gédéon attribue la royauté à Dieu, puis recueille de l’or pour un éphod placé dans sa ville. Sa forme exacte n’est pas décrite avec assez de précision pour être reconstruite sûrement. L’effet cultuel, lui, est jugé sans ambiguïté par le narrateur : l’objet devient un piège pour le peuple et pour la maison du libérateur.

²⁹ Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) son of Joash went back to live at his house.

³⁰ Gideon had seventy sons, his own offspring, since he had many wives.

³¹ His concubine who was in Shechem also bore him a son, and he named him Abimelech.

³² Then Gideon son of Joash died at a good old age and was buried in the tomb of his father Joash in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

³³ When Gideon died, the Israelites turned and prostituted themselves by worshiping the Baals and made Baal-berith their god.

³⁴ The Israelites did not remember the Lord their God who had rescued them from the hand of the enemies around them.

³⁵ They did not show kindness to the house of Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) for all the good he had done for Israel.

Note · Juges 8.29–35

La fin heureuse d’un homme ne garantit pas l’avenir de sa maison

Les nombreux fils et la mention d’Abimélec préparent le récit suivant. Après la mort de Gédéon, l’oubli touche Dieu et la reconnaissance envers sa famille. Le livre reconnaît le bien accompli sans retirer sa critique précédente de l’éphod : une vie peut être racontée avec ses services et ses égarements.