Guillaume Rouillé (vers 1518-1589) , Gedeon, Promptuarii Iconum Insigniorum, 1553
Saint Gédéon
Juge dans la tribu de
Manassé (XIVe siècle av. J.-C.)
Ancien Testament :
"Yerubbaal", fils de Yoash.
Juge en Israël, il en fut
également le général à la tête des armées qui permirent aux tribus de ne pas
être envahies par les Madianites.
Lire au livre des Juges,
chapitres 5, 6,
7 et 8.
Quand il eut reçu du
Seigneur le signe de la rosée sur la toison, il détruisit l'autel de Baal avec
la force de Dieu et délivra le peuple d'Israël de la main de ses ennemis.
Commémoraison de saint
Gédéon, de la tribu de Manassé. Il fut juge en Israël au XIVe siècle avant le
Christ, et quand il eut reçu du Seigneur le signe de la rosée sur la toison, il
détruisit l'autel de Baal avec la force de Dieu et délivra le peuple d'Israël
de la main de ses ennemis.
Martyrologe romain
SOURCE : https://nominis.cef.fr/contenus/saint/1773/Saint-Gedeon.html
Gédéon,
détail d'une tenture "Vie de la Vierge Lenoncourt" conservée au
Palais du Tau, Reims.
LIVRE DES JUGES, chapitre
6
01 Les fils d’Israël
firent ce qui est mal aux yeux du Seigneur, et le Seigneur les abandonna à
Madiane pendant sept ans.
02 Madiane imposa sa
puissance à Israël. À cause de Madiane, les fils d’Israël aménagèrent dans les
montagnes des failles, des grottes et des lieux escarpés.
03 Chaque fois
qu’Israël avait fait les semailles, Madiane montait avec Amalec et les fils de
l’Orient ; ils attaquaient Israël ;
04 ils campaient
auprès d’eux et dévastaient les produits du pays jusqu’aux abords de Gaza. Ils
ne laissaient à Israël ni vivres, ni moutons, ni bœufs, ni ânes ;
05 ils arrivaient
avec leurs troupeaux et leurs tentes, comme une multitude de sauterelles. Eux
et leurs chameaux étaient innombrables, et ils envahissaient le pays pour le
ravager.
06 À cause de
Madiane, Israël fut réduit à une grande misère, et les fils d’Israël crièrent
vers le Seigneur.
07 Comme ils
criaient vers le Seigneur au sujet de Madiane,
08 le Seigneur leur
envoya un prophète, qui leur dit : « Ainsi parle le Seigneur, Dieu
d’Israël : C’est moi qui vous ai fait monter d’Égypte et vous ai fait sortir
de la maison d’esclavage.
09 Je vous ai
délivrés de la main des Égyptiens et de tous ceux qui vous opprimaient ;
je les ai chassés devant vous et je vous ai donné leur pays.
10 Je vous ai
dit : “Je suis le Seigneur, votre Dieu. Vous ne craindrez pas les dieux
des Amorites dont vous habitez le pays.” Mais vous n’avez pas écouté ma
voix ! »
11 L’ange du
Seigneur vint s’asseoir sous le térébinthe d’Ofra, qui appartenait à Joas, de
la famille d’Abiézer. Gédéon, son fils, battait le blé dans le pressoir, pour
le soustraire au pillage des Madianites.
12 L’ange du
Seigneur lui apparut et lui dit : « Le Seigneur est avec toi,
vaillant guerrier ! »
13 Gédéon lui
répondit : « Pardon, mon Seigneur ! Si le Seigneur est avec
nous, pourquoi tout ceci nous est-il arrivé ? Que sont devenus tous ces
prodiges que nous ont racontés nos pères ? Ils nous disaient :
“Est-ce que le Seigneur ne nous a pas fait monter d’Égypte ?” Mais
aujourd’hui le Seigneur nous a abandonnés, en nous livrant au pouvoir de
Madiane… »
14 Alors le Seigneur
regarda Gédéon et lui dit : « Avec la force qui est en toi, va sauver
Israël du pouvoir de Madiane. N’est-ce pas moi qui t’envoie ? »
15 Gédéon
reprit : « Pardon, mon Seigneur ! Comment sauverais-je
Israël ? Mon clan est le plus faible dans la tribu de Manassé, et moi je
suis le plus petit dans la maison de mon père ! »
16 Le Seigneur lui
répondit : « Je serai avec toi, et tu battras les Madianites comme
s’ils n’étaient qu’un seul homme. »
17 Gédéon lui
dit : « Si j’ai trouvé grâce à tes yeux, donne-moi un signe que c’est
bien toi qui me parles.
18 Ne t’éloigne pas
d’ici avant que je revienne vers toi. Je vais chercher mon offrande et je la
placerai devant toi. » Le Seigneur répondit : « Je resterai
jusqu’à ton retour. »
19 Gédéon s’en alla,
il prépara un chevreau, et avec une mesure de farine il fit des pains sans
levain. Il mit la viande dans une corbeille, et le jus dans un pot, puis il
apporta tout cela sous le térébinthe et le lui présenta.
20 L’ange de Dieu
lui dit : « Prends la viande et les pains sans levain, pose-les sur
ce rocher et répands le jus. » Gédéon obéit.
21 Alors l’ange du
Seigneur étendit le bâton qu’il tenait à la main, et il toucha la viande et les
pains sans levain. Le feu jaillit de la roche, consuma la viande et les pains
sans levain, et l’ange du Seigneur disparut.
22 Alors Gédéon
comprit que c’était l’ange du Seigneur, et il dit : « Malheur à moi,
Seigneur mon Dieu ! Pourquoi donc ai-je vu l’ange du Seigneur face à
face ? »
23 Le Seigneur lui
répondit : « Que la paix soit avec toi ! Sois sans
crainte ; tu ne mourras pas. »
24 À cet endroit,
Gédéon bâtit un autel au Seigneur sous le vocable de Seigneur-de-la-paix.
Jusqu’à ce jour, cet autel est encore à Ofra d’Abiézer.
25 Cette nuit-là, le
Seigneur dit à Gédéon : « Prends le taureau de ton père et un
deuxième taureau âgé de sept ans. Puis tu démoliras l’autel de Baal qui est à
ton père, et tu couperas le Poteau sacré qui se trouve à côté de lui.
26 Tu bâtiras au
Seigneur ton Dieu un autel selon les règles, au sommet de cette citadelle. Tu
prendras alors le deuxième taureau et tu l’offriras en holocauste sur le bois
du Poteau sacré que tu auras coupé. »
27 Gédéon prit alors
avec lui dix de ses serviteurs et fit ce que lui avait ordonné le Seigneur.
Mais, comme il craignait sa famille et les gens de la ville, plutôt que de le
faire de jour, il préféra agir de nuit.
28 Le lendemain, les
gens de la ville, levés de bon matin, virent que l’autel de Baal était
renversé, que le Poteau sacré qui se trouvait à côté de lui avait été coupé, et
qu’un taureau avait été offert en holocauste sur l’autel qui venait d’être
bâti.
29 Ils se dirent
alors les uns aux autres : « Qui a fait cela ? » Ils
cherchèrent et s’informèrent, et ils dirent : « C’est Gédéon, fils de
Joas, qui a fait cela. »
30 Les gens de la
ville dirent à Joas : « Fais sortir ton fils ! Il doit mourir,
car il a détruit l’autel de Baal et coupé le Poteau sacré qui se trouvait à
côté de lui. »
31 Mais Joas
répondit à ceux qui se tenaient près de lui : « Est-ce à vous de
défendre Baal ? Est-ce à vous de le sauver ? Celui qui défendra Baal
sera mis à mort avant le matin. Si Baal est dieu, qu’il se défende lui-même,
puisqu’on a renversé son autel ! »
32 Ce jour-là, on
donna à Gédéon le nom de Yeroubbaal, c’est-à-dire : « Que Baal s’en
prenne à lui », puisqu’il a renversé son autel.
33 Tout Madiane,
Amalec et les fils de l’Orient se coalisèrent et, ayant passé le Jourdain,
vinrent camper dans la plaine de Yizréel.
34 l’Esprit du
Seigneur revêtit Gédéon, celui-ci sonna du cor, et Abiézer se regroupa derrière
lui.
35 Il envoya des
messagers dans tout Manassé qui, lui aussi, se regroupa derrière lui ; il
envoya des messagers dans Asher, dans Zabulon et dans Nephtali, qui montèrent à
leur rencontre.
36 Gédéon dit alors
à Dieu : « Si vraiment, comme tu l’as dit, tu veux te servir de moi
pour sauver Israël,
37 je vais étendre
une toison de laine sur l’aire de battage et, s’il n’y a de rosée que sur la
toison et si tout le sol est sec, je saurai que c’est par moi que tu veux sauver
Israël, comme tu l’as dit. »
38 Il en fut ainsi.
Le lendemain, Gédéon se leva ; il pressa la toison, il en exprima la
rosée, une pleine coupe.
39 Gédéon dit encore
à Dieu : « Que ta colère ne s’enflamme pas contre moi !
Laisse-moi te parler encore une fois ! Permets-moi de faire une fois
encore l’épreuve de la toison : que seule la toison soit sèche, et qu’il y
ait de la rosée sur tout le sol ! »
40 Dieu fit ainsi
cette nuit-là : seule la toison fut sèche, et il y eut de la rosée sur tout
le sol.
SOURCE : https://www.aelf.org/bible/Jg/6
Maarten van Heemskerck, Gédéon remercie Dieu
pour le miracle de la rosée
(Gideon thanks God for the Miracle of the Dew), volet de retable, Musée des Beaux-Arts de Strasbourg
Maarten van Heemskerck, Gédéon remercie Dieu
pour le miracle de la rosée
(Gideon thanks God for the Miracle of
the Dew), volet de retable, Musée des Beaux-Arts de Strasbourg
LIVRE DES JUGES, chapitre
7
01 Yeroubbaal –
c’est-à-dire Gédéon – et tout le peuple qui était avec lui se levèrent de bon
matin et vinrent camper près de Ein-Harod. Le camp de Madiane se trouvait plus
au nord, au pied de la colline de Moré, dans la vallée.
02 Le Seigneur dit à
Gédéon : « Le peuple qui est avec toi est trop nombreux pour que je
livre Madiane entre ses mains. Israël pourrait s’en glorifier et dire :
“C’est ma main qui m’a sauvé.”
03 Et maintenant,
crie ceci au peuple : “Ceux qui ont peur et tremblent, qu’ils s’en
retournent et partent par le mont Galaad !” » Vingt-deux mille hommes
s’en retournèrent, et il en resta dix mille.
04 Le Seigneur dit à
Gédéon : « Ce peuple est encore trop nombreux ! Fais-le
descendre au bord de l’eau, et là, pour toi, je le mettrai à l’épreuve. Celui
dont je te dirai : “Il doit aller avec toi”, il ira avec toi, et celui
dont je te dirai : “Il ne doit pas aller avec toi”, il n’ira
pas ! »
05 Alors Gédéon fit
descendre le peuple au bord de l’eau, et le Seigneur dit à Gédéon :
« Tous ceux qui laperont l’eau comme des chiens avec leur langue, tu les
mettras à part. Tu feras de même pour ceux qui se mettront à genoux pour
boire. »
06 Ceux qui lapèrent
en portant la main à la bouche furent au nombre de trois cents ; tout le
reste du peuple s’était mis à genoux pour boire de l’eau.
07 Le Seigneur dit à
Gédéon : « C’est avec les trois cents hommes qui ont lapé que je vous
sauverai et que je livrerai Madiane entre tes mains. Que le reste du peuple
s’en aille chacun chez soi. »
08 Les trois cents
hommes prirent les provisions du peuple ainsi que leurs cors. Puis Gédéon
renvoya tous les hommes d’Israël, chacun à sa tente, ne retenant que les trois
cents. Le camp de Madiane était au-dessous du sien, dans la vallée.
09 Cette nuit-là, le
Seigneur dit à Gédéon : « Lève-toi, descends au camp, car je le livre
entre tes mains.
10 Mais si tu as
peur de descendre, va d’abord au camp avec Poura, ton serviteur.
11 Tu entendras ce
qu’on y dit. Ton courage en sera fortifié, et tu pourras alors descendre dans
le camp. » Gédéon alla donc avec Poura, son serviteur, jusqu’aux
avant-postes du camp.
12 Madiane, Amalec
et tous les fils de l’Orient étaient étendus dans la vallée, aussi nombreux que
des sauterelles. Leurs chameaux étaient innombrables, comme est innombrable le
sable au bord de la mer.
13 Au moment où
Gédéon arrivait, un homme racontait un songe à son camarade : « Je
viens d’avoir un songe : une galette de pain d’orge tournoyait dans le
camp de Madiane ; elle arriva jusqu’à la tente, la heurta, la fit tomber
et la bouleversa. Et voilà la tente effondrée ! »
14 Son camarade lui
répondit : « Ce ne peut être que l’épée de Gédéon, fils de Joas,
l’Israélite. Dieu livre entre ses mains Madiane et tout son camp. »
15 Quand Gédéon eut
entendu le récit du songe et son interprétation, il se prosterna, puis revint
au camp d’Israël et dit : « Levez-vous, car le Seigneur livre entre vos
mains le camp de Madiane. »
16 Gédéon sépara les
trois cents hommes en trois groupes. Il leur remit à tous des cors et des
cruches vides dans lesquelles ils mirent des torches.
17 Il leur
dit : « Vous me regarderez et vous ferez comme moi ! Quand je
serai arrivé à la limite du camp, vous ferez comme je ferai.
18 Je sonnerai du
cor, ainsi que tous ceux qui seront avec moi. Alors, vous aussi, vous sonnerez
du cor tout autour du camp, et vous direz : “Pour le Seigneur et pour
Gédéon !” »
19 Gédéon et les
cent hommes qui étaient avec lui arrivèrent à la limite du camp vers
minuit ; on venait de relever les sentinelles. Ils sonnèrent du cor et
brisèrent les cruches qu’ils tenaient à la main.
20 Alors les trois
groupes sonnèrent du cor et brisèrent les cruches. De la main gauche, ils
saisirent les torches et ils crièrent : « Guerre pour le Seigneur et
pour Gédéon ! »
21 Pendant qu’ils
étaient debout autour du camp, chacun à sa place, tous les hommes du camp se
mirent à courir, à pousser des cris, et ils s’enfuirent.
22 Et, tandis que
retentissaient les trois cents cors, le Seigneur fit que, dans tout le camp,
chacun tourna l’épée contre son compagnon. Tous s’enfuirent jusqu’à
Beth-ha-Shitta, du côté de Céréra, et jusqu’au bord de la rivière d’Abel-Mehola,
près de Tabbath.
23 Alors les hommes
d’Israël venus de Nephtali, d’Asher et de tout Manassé se regroupèrent et
poursuivirent Madiane.
24 Gédéon envoya des
messagers dans toute la montagne d’Éphraïm pour dire : « Descendez à
la rencontre de Madiane et occupez avant eux les points d’eau jusqu’à
Beth-Bara, ainsi que le Jourdain. » Tous les hommes d’Éphraïm se
regroupèrent et ils occupèrent les points d’eau jusqu’à Beth-Bara, ainsi que le
Jourdain.
25 Ils s’emparèrent
des deux chefs de Madiane, Oreb et Zéèb. Ils tuèrent Oreb au Rocher d’Oreb, et
Zéèb au Pressoir de Zéèb. Puis ils poursuivirent Madiane et rapportèrent à
Gédéon les têtes d’Oreb et de Zéèb, par-delà le Jourdain.
SOURCE : https://www.aelf.org/bible/Jg/7
Tissot
Drawing 205 Gideon asks bread of the men of Succoth (Judges 8 5). Pen and ink
sketch by James Tissot for his painted illustrations of the Old Testament; one
of 200 worked up by other artists after his death and published as
chromolithographs by Maurice Brunoff in 1904 (photo: Phillip Medhurst). The
John Rylands Library (Manchester) copy is an "exemplaire unique"
containing Tissot's original pen and ink sketches for this printed work. (John
Rylands Library Special Collections R16279).
Gédéon demande des vivres à ceux de Soccoth, "La Sainte Bible : Ancien Testament . . . / Compositions par J.-James Tissot"; 2 volumes. Paris: M. de Brunoff & Cie, 1904.
LIVRE DES JUGES, chapitre
8
01 Les gens
d’Éphraïm dirent à Gédéon : « Qu’est-ce que tu nous as fait là ?
Tu ne nous as pas appelés quand tu es parti combattre Madiane. » Et ils se
querellèrent violemment avec lui.
02 Gédéon leur
répondit : « Je n’ai rien fait, en comparaison de ce que vous avez
fait. Ce qu’on ramasse après la vendange dans la vigne d’Éphraïm ne vaut-il pas
mieux que la récolte d’Abiézer ?
03 C’est entre vos
mains que Dieu a livré les chefs de Madiane, Oreb et Zéèb. Que pouvais-je faire
en comparaison de ce que vous avez fait ? » Cette parole calma leurs
esprits.
04 Gédéon arriva au
Jourdain et le passa avec ses trois cents hommes. Ils étaient épuisés par la
poursuite.
05 Gédéon dit aux
gens de Souccoth : « Donnez donc des couronnes de pain à la troupe
qui marche avec moi, car ils sont épuisés. Je poursuis Zéba et Salmounna, les
rois de Madiane. »
06 Mais les chefs de
Souccoth répondirent : « Tiens-tu déjà en ton pouvoir Zéba et
Salmounna, pour que nous donnions du pain à ton armée ? »
07 « Eh bien,
répliqua Gédéon, quand le Seigneur m’aura livré Zéba et Salmounna, je vous
écraserai avec les épines et les chardons du désert ! »
08 Il monta de là à
Penouël, il parla de la même manière, et les gens de Penouël répondirent comme
l’avaient fait les gens de Souccoth.
09 Gédéon répliqua
aux gens de Penouël : « Quand je reviendrai sain et sauf, je
détruirai cette tour ! »
10 Zéba et Salmounna
se trouvaient dans le Qarqor avec leurs armées, qui comptaient environ quinze
mille hommes, tout ce qui restait de l’armée des fils de l’Orient : cent
vingt mille guerriers étaient tombés.
11 Gédéon monta par
la route des nomades, à l’est de Nobah et de Yogboha, et il battit l’armée,
alors qu’elle se croyait en sécurité.
12 Zéba et Salmounna
s’enfuirent, mais Gédéon les poursuivit, s’empara des deux rois de Madiane et
sema la panique dans toute l’armée.
13 Gédéon, fils de
Joas, revint du combat par la montée de Hèrès.
14 Il arrêta un
jeune homme de Souccoth, et il l’interrogea. Celui-ci écrivit pour lui les noms
des chefs et des anciens de Souccoth : soixante-dix-sept hommes.
15 Gédéon se rendit
alors auprès des gens de Souccoth et il leur dit : « Voici Zéba et Salmounna,
à propos desquels vous m’aviez mis au défi, en me disant : “Tiens-tu déjà
en ton pouvoir Zéba et Salmounna, pour que nous donnions du pain à tes hommes
épuisés ?” »
16 Il prit les
anciens de la ville et, avec des épines et des chardons du désert, il donna une
leçon aux hommes de Souccoth.
17 Il renversa aussi
la tour de Penouël et tua les habitants de la ville.
18 Puis il dit à
Zéba et à Salmounna : « Comment étaient les hommes que vous avez tués
au Tabor ? » Ils répondirent : « Ils étaient comme toi. Ils
avaient chacun l’air d’un fils de roi. »
19 Il leur
dit : « C’étaient mes frères, les fils de ma mère ! Par la vie
du Seigneur, si vous les aviez laissé vivre, je ne vous tuerais pas. »
20 Puis il dit à
Yéter, son fils aîné : « Lève-toi et tue-les ! » Mais le
garçon ne tira pas son épée : il n’osait pas, car il était encore jeune.
21 Zéba et Salmounna
dirent alors : « Lève-toi toi-même et frappe-nous, car la bravoure,
c’est l’homme. » Alors Gédéon se leva et tua Zéba et Salmounna, et il prit
les amulettes en forme de croissants de lune qui étaient au cou de leurs
chameaux.
22 Les gens d’Israël
dirent à Gédéon : « Sois notre maître, toi, puis ton fils, puis ton
petit-fils, car tu nous as sauvés de la main de Madiane. »
23 Gédéon
répondit : « Moi, je ne serai pas votre maître, pas plus que mon
fils. C’est le Seigneur qui sera votre maître. »
24 Gédéon
ajouta : « Je veux vous faire une requête : Que chacun de vous
me donne un anneau de son butin. » Les ennemis avaient en effet des
anneaux d’or, car c’étaient des Ismaélites.
25 « Nous les
donnerons volontiers », répondirent-ils. Ils étendirent un manteau, et
chacun y jeta un anneau de son butin.
26 Le poids des
anneaux d’or qu’il avait demandés s’éleva à celui de mille sept cents pièces
d’or, sans compter les amulettes, les pendants d’oreille, les vêtements de
pourpre que portaient les rois de Madiane et les colliers qui étaient au cou de
leurs chameaux.
27 Gédéon en fit un
objet de culte, un éphod, qu’il installa dans sa ville, à Ofra. Tout Israël
vint s’y prostituer, et cet éphod devint un piège pour Gédéon et pour sa maison.
28 Madiane fut
soumis par les fils d’Israël et ne releva plus la tête. Ainsi, au temps de
Gédéon, le pays fut en repos pendant quarante ans.
29 Yeroubbaal –
c’est-à-dire Gédéon –, fils de Joas, alla résider dans sa maison.
30 Il eut
soixante-dix fils, issus de lui, car il avait beaucoup de femmes.
31 Sa concubine, qui
habitait Sichem, lui enfanta, elle aussi, un fils, qu’il nomma Abimélek.
32 Gédéon, fils de
Joas, mourut après une heureuse vieillesse et il fut enseveli dans le tombeau
de Joas, son père, à Ofra d’Abiézer.
33 Après la mort de
Gédéon, les fils d’Israël recommencèrent à se prostituer aux Baals et ils adoptèrent
pour Dieu Baal-Berith.
34 Ils ne se souvinrent
plus du Seigneur, leur Dieu, qui les avait délivrés de la main de tous leurs
ennemis d’alentour,
35 et ils ne firent
preuve d’aucune fidélité envers la maison de Yeroubbaal-Gédéon, après tout le
bien qu’il avait fait à Israël.
SOURCE : https://www.aelf.org/bible/Jg/8
Bad
Doberan ( Mecklenburg ). Minster: Altar of Cross - Mary's side ( 1370s ): An
angel announces Gideon his victory against the Midianites.
Bad
Doberan ( Mecklenburg ). Münster: Kreuzaltar - Marienseite ( ca,1370 ): Ein
Engel verkündet Gideon seinen Sieg über die Midianiter.
Les personnages de
l’Ancien Testament : Gédéon, le héros sauveur
Philippe-Emmanuel
Krautter | 31 juillet 2018
Tout au long de l’été,
(re)découvrez les personnages de la Bible avec Aleteia. Aujourd’hui, Gédéon,
juge d’Israël.
Gédéon, juge et guerrier,
compte parmi cette succession de héros qui viendront sauver le peuple d’Israël
de l’oppression ennemie après avoir péché contre Dieu. Anticipant sur la
royauté à venir, ceux qui porteront le nom de Juges dirigeront les Israélites
sur le champ de bataille comme au quotidien.
Un paysan élu
Originaire de la tribu de
Manassé, Gédéon est un paysan qui subit comme tous les autres Israélites les
razzias de bédouins et pillards du désert syro-arabe, dont les Madianites et
Amalécites. C’est une époque troublée. Le peuple d’Israël peine à lutter contre
sa tendance à l’idolâtrie avec notamment le culte si présent de Baal, la
divinité cananéenne de l’orage et de la pluie qui avec le Nouveau Testament de
« Baalzebub » se transformera en Belzébuth ou Satan.
La rencontre avec l'ange
Alors qu’il bat du blé
pour le soustraire aux razzias, l’ange du Seigneur apparaît à Gédéon, comme il
était apparu naguère à Abraham, et lui révèle : « Yahvé avec toi, lui
dit-il, vaillant guerrier ». Par ce signe, l’humble paysan devient
guerrier. Mais, Gédéon, circonspect, s’étonne et interroge l’ange en lui
demandant comment il se fait que son peuple subisse tant d’épreuves si Dieu est
avec lui. Éternelle question sur le destin de l’homme et des épreuves qu’il a à
subir, interrogation à laquelle l’ange répond : « Va avec la force
qui t’anime… ».
Des signes divins
sollicités
Mais Gédéon est un homme
prudent et il n’est pas sans savoir que sa condition de paysan est peu
compatible avec celle d’un sauveur d’Israël, aussi, demande-t-il à l’ange de
lui accorder un signe. À l’offrande que Gédéon lui présente, l’ange met le feu
avec son bâton, levant ainsi tous ses doutes… ou presque. Il comprend qu’il a
pour mission de lutter contre Baal et ses admirateurs, ce qu’il fait en
détruisant son autel et le pieu sacré. Mais encore empreint de doute, c’est Dieu
directement maintenant qu’il interpelle lui demandant un autre signe :
qu’une toison soit humide de rosée au matin alors que le sol resterait sec, ce
qui se réalise le lendemain. Gédéon met pourtant une dernière fois Dieu à
l’épreuve en sollicitant de lui un dernier prodige inverse : que la toison
soit sèche alors que le sol serait détrempé, ce qui s’accomplit de nouveau la
nuit suivante. C’est donc bien à lui avec le soutien de Dieu que revient la
tâche de libérer son peuple et de devenir juge.
Les victoires de Gédéon
Fort de cet appui divin,
Gédéon mène une guerre sainte contre les oppresseurs et, avec une troupe
nombreuse, s’apprête à attaquer les Madianites, lorsque Yahvé lui intime de
réduire leur nombre pour démontrer la force de sa victoire. Des milliers de
soldats composant son armée, seuls 300 seront retenus qui, par la ruse, feront
croire à l’ennemi à leur grand nombre provoquant leur déroute. Dieu accompagne
Gédéon comme il accompagnera tous ses prophètes. C’est la victoire éclatante
qui vaut à Gédéon la proposition de devenir le roi de son peuple, ce qu’il
décline. Une fois encore, prudent, Gédéon leur répond que seul « Yahvé
sera votre souverain ». Cependant, après la mort de Gédéon au terme de
quarante ans de paix, Israël rechutera dans l’idolâtrie et recommencera à se
prostituer aux Baals avant que ne soit désigné un nouveau juge, un schéma qui
se répétera encore bien longtemps.
SOURCE : https://fr.aleteia.org/2018/07/31/les-personnages-de-lancien-testament-gedeon-le-heros-sauveur/
Joshua
and Gideon. Stone relief on Marktbrunnen, Hildesheim.
Sandsteinrelief
am Marktbrunnen in Hildesheim mit den alttestamentlichen Heerführern
LA FORCE DE GÉDÉON
Gédéon, fils d'Israël,
est le cadet d'une famille appartenant au clan le plus faible des Hébreux. Il
est envoyé par le Seigneur pour combattre les ennemis de son peuple. Or son
seul soutien et sa seule arme sont les paroles du Seigneur : « Va, avec la
force qui t'anime… Je serai avec toi. »
Par une sorte d'énergie
contenue dans le récit1,
certains personnages bibliques sont comme des galets charriés par un torrent de
montagne. Ils roulent jusqu'à nous, en rebondissant de place en place. Ainsi en
est-il de Gédéon : son nom est cité parmi les ancêtres de Judith (Jdt 8,1),
sa victoire sur Madiân est célébrée par le prophète Isaïe comme le signe de
l'action du Seigneur en faveur de son peuple (Is 9,3 ; Is 10,26) et
le psalmiste évoque cet exploit guerrier pour appeler le Seigneur à son aide
(Ps 83,10-13). Et l'auteur de la lettre aux Hébreux le cite dans la longue
liste des témoins de la foi, célèbres pour leurs actes (He 11,32). Chaque
étape entretient la mémoire de ce héros, en associant sa force à l'intervention
libératrice de Dieu. Comment le nom de Gédéon est-il ainsi devenu l'emblème de
la vaillance et de la foi ? En remontant à la source de son histoire, relatée
aux chapitres 6 à 8 du livre des Juges, on peut découvrir tout
l'itinéraire nécessaire pour que ce simple fils d'Israël réalise l'œuvre
impulsée par cette parole énigmatique : « Va avec la force qui t'anime et
tu sauveras Israël du pouvoir de Madiân » (Jg 6,14)2.
Parmi les personnages bibliques amenés à se dépasser en vue d'une mission à
accomplir, Gédéon n'est pas le plus connu. Pourtant, il est l'un des plus
attachants.
Le livre des Juges peut
se rattacher au genre littéraire du roman historique, construit « autour
de figures exemplaires puisées pour la plupart dans le folklore populaire des
tribus d'Israël »3.
Il doit peut-être à cette provenance une caractéristique qui est « un
trait majeur du livre : son humour qui tient souvent le rapport au réel
historique à distance et invite le lecteur à un vrai travail critique
d'interprétation »4.
C'est donc en scrutant le récit des exploits de ce héros populaire qu'il est
possible de trouver une vérité qui nous éclaire.
Une force révélée
Le livre des Juges a
trait à un temps de l'histoire d'Israël : celui de son installation en Canaan.
La période du désert, avec ses épreuves, est achevée, de même que la conquête
proprement dite, relatée dans le livre de Josué. Le livre des Juges retrace la
prise de possession progressive des terres, du nord au sud de Canaan. C'est
cependant à nouveau un temps d'épreuve, car les tribus d'Israël doivent faire
face au danger que représentent des populations locales encore bien présentes
sur ce territoire. Ainsi, entre environ 1250 et 1205 avant notre ère, elles se
dotent de chefs appelés « juges » dont le rôle n'est pas de rendre la
justice mais de mener la guerre et d'administrer le territoire. Ce sont en fait
des libérateurs, ou plus exactement des « sauveurs ». Le livre des
Juges met en scène douze juges, six « petits » et six
« grands ». Avec Jephté et Samson, Gédéon fait partie des
« grands » dont les exploits sont plus largement rapportés.
À côté de la menace sur
le sol, un autre péril venait alors de la confrontation avec les cultes locaux,
en particulier celui de Baal, une divinité de la terre. Effectivement, les
Israélites se détournèrent de Yahvé, le Dieu de leurs pères, pour suivre
d'autres dieux (voir Jg 2,12). C'est cette situation et sa conséquence qui
sont rappelées avant l'entrée en scène de Gédéon : « Les fils d'Israël
firent ce qui est mal aux yeux de Yahvé ; Yahvé les livra pendant sept ans aux
mains de Madiân » (Jg 6,1). Madiân, peuple nomade alors ennemi
d'Israël, faisait régulièrement main basse sur les récoltes et les réserves des
Israélites, de même que sur leurs troupeaux, les privant ainsi de tout moyen de
subsistance. « Israël fut très affaibli à cause de Madiân, et les
Israélites crièrent vers Yahvé » (Jg 6,6). Un prophète leur est alors
envoyé pour leur rappeler tous les bienfaits de Yahvé : la libération de la
maison de servitude en Égypte, la délivrance de tous les oppresseurs et l'octroi
de leur pays. Mais ce prophète rappelle également la clause décisive :
« Je vous ai dit : “Je suis Yahvé votre Dieu. Vous ne craindrez pas les
dieux des Amorites dont vous habitez le pays !” Mais vous n'avez pas écouté ma
voix » (Jg 6,10). Par ces termes, Yahvé reproche à Israël de mettre
sa confiance dans des divinités païennes et de ne pas avoir foi en sa parole.
C'est dans ce contexte
qu'un jour vient s'asseoir l'ange de Yahvé sous un arbre sacré, un térébinthe,
situé dans la ville d'Ophra et appartenant à un homme nommé Yoash, du clan
d'Abiézer. Le fils de Yoash, Gédéon, est occupé à mettre son blé à l'abri de
Madiân quand l'ange de Yahvé le salue : « Yahvé avec toi, […] vaillant
guerrier ! » (Jg 6,12). Gédéon réagit vivement : si « Yahvé est
avec nous », comment expliquer le malheur d'Israël ? La réponse de Yahvé
est sans détours ; elle ne donne pas d'explication, mais une mission :
« Va avec la force qui t'anime et tu sauveras Israël du pouvoir de Madiân.
N'est-ce pas moi qui t'envoie ? » (Jg 6,14). Gédéon voit de réels
obstacles à ce dessein : étant le plus jeune dans une famille qui appartient au
clan le plus faible en Manassé, comment pourrait-il sauver Israël ? Envahi du
sentiment de sa faiblesse devant la mission pour laquelle il a été choisi, Gédéon
est tenté, comme Moïse (Ex 4,10), de se dérober. Mais Yahvé lui donne
l'assurance de son appui : « Je serai avec toi, et tu battras Madiân comme
si c'était un seul homme » (Jg 6,16).
Gédéon veut alors
s'assurer que cette parole est bien celle de Yahvé. Il demande à recevoir un
signe par le moyen d'une offrande. Le récit de cette scène frappe par la
simplicité avec laquelle Gédéon prie Yahvé de bien vouloir attendre la
préparation de l'offrande, et la simplicité avec laquelle celui-ci acquiesce :
« Je resterai jusqu'à ton retour » (Jg 6,18). Gédéon dispose sur
un rocher le chevreau et le pain sans levain, selon les indications de l'ange
de Yahvé. Celui-ci fait alors jaillir du rocher un feu qui consume les présents
et il disparaît. Devant cette manifestation, Gédéon s'effraie d'avoir vu l'ange
de Yahvé face à face. Mais Yahvé lui-même calme sa crainte en l'assurant qu'il
ne mourra pas. Gédéon bâtit alors un autel à cet endroit et le nomme :
« Yahvé Paix ! » (Jg 6,24).
Comme une première preuve
de cette force nouvelle accordée à Gédéon, Yahvé lui demande de détruire
l'autel érigé en l'honneur de Baal, d'en bâtir un pour Yahvé son Dieu et
d'utiliser le bois de démolition du poteau sacré pour offrir en holocauste un
taureau provenant du troupeau de son père. Allant contre les habitudes
cultuelles de sa famille et de son clan, Gédéon exécute cet ordre de nuit. De
fait, le danger était réel, puisque les hommes de la ville réclament sa mort à
son père quand ils découvrent qu'il est l'auteur de cette destruction. Mais son
père intervient en sa faveur en affirmant que Baal, s'il est dieu, doit pouvoir
se défendre seul. L'exploit d'avoir renversé l'autel de Baal vaudra à Gédéon un
deuxième nom, Yerubbaal, « car, disait-on, “que Baal s'en prenne à lui,
puisqu'il a détruit son autel !” » (Jg 6,32).
Une force orientée
Après ces épreuves, la
mission de libération contre Madiân, Amaleq et d'autres nomades peut commencer.
La présence de Yahvé auprès de Gédéon se manifeste alors de façon décisive : il
« revêt » Gédéon de son esprit (Jg 6,34). Parmi les douze juges,
seuls quatre sont investis du souffle (ou de l'esprit) de Yahvé : Otniel
(Jg 3,10), Gédéon (Jg 6,34), Jephté (Jg 11,29) et Samson
(Jg 13,25 ; 14,6.19 ; 15,14). Mais l'intervention de l'esprit de Yahvé ne
se fait pas pour tous de manière identique, car « seul Gédéon est littéralement
“revêtu” de l'esprit, tandis que celui-ci est sur Otniel et
Jephté »5.
Fort de cet enveloppement, « comme si l'esprit lui tenait désormais au
corps » 6,
à la manière d'une armure, Gédéon convoque et réunit l'ensemble des tribus
appelées à combattre.
Mais, au moment d'engager
la bataille, Gédéon veut encore s'assurer de la volonté de Yahvé de sauver
Israël par sa main et demande un nouveau signe. Si une toison de laine
s'imprègne de rosée alors que le sol autour reste sec, il aura confirmation de
sa mission. Bien que le prodige ait eu lieu, Gédéon souhaite que la preuve soit
totale et, pour cela, il sollicite la réalisation de l'autre seule alternative
: que la toison reste sèche et le sol humide. L'insistance pourrait paraître
inconvenante, mais la requête est exprimée avec la même confiance que celle
d'Abraham intercédant pour Sodome (Gn 18,23-33). Cette scène accentue
encore l'impression de proximité établie entre les deux interlocuteurs.
Cette seconde
vérification étant faite, Gédéon s'engage dans les préparatifs du combat qui
aura lieu à l'ouest du Jourdain, en suivant fidèlement les directives de Yahvé.
Pour qu'Israël ne soit pas tenté de s'en attribuer seul la gloire, Yahvé
ordonne des réductions successives des troupes. En premier, les hommes qui ont
peur doivent retourner chez eux. Pour les dix mille restants, il faut appliquer
une sélection inattendue : seuls ceux qui auront lapé l'eau avec leur main
pourront combattre ; ceux qui se seront agenouillés pour boire ne seront pas
retenus. C'est ainsi qu'avec seulement trois cents hommes, Yahvé renouvelle
l'assurance de livrer Madiân dans la main de Gédéon.
Une ultime garantie est
offerte à Gédéon par Yahvé lui-même pour affermir son courage. Invité à
descendre au camp, Gédéon surprend le récit qu'un homme fait de son rêve : une
miche de pain d'orge venait renverser et détruire la tente de Madiân.
L'interprétation en est donnée par un autre homme du camp : « Ce ne peut
être que l'épée de Gédéon, fils de Yoash, l'Israélite. Dieu a livré entre ses mains
Madiân et tout le camp ; la tente était tombée » (Jg 7,14). Après
avoir entendu ces paroles, Gédéon se prosterne, reconnaissant ainsi l'origine
divine de ce réconfort. Raffermi par l'annonce du succès de la mission, Gédéon
se fait le porte-parole de Yahvé pour y associer les combattants :
« Debout ! car Yahvé a livré entre vos mains le camp de Madiân »
(Jg 7,15). Il peut partager cette force avec ses compagnons engagés dans
le même combat de libération.
Gédéon doit maintenant
mener l'attaque. Pour signifier peut-être que la victoire sera celle de Yahvé,
les seules armes utilisées seront des cors et des torches placées dans des
cruches vides. Aux trois cents hommes répartis en trois groupes autour du camp,
Gédéon commande de faire comme il le fait lui-même : sonner du cor, saisir les
torches placées dans les cruches brisées et crier : « Pour Yahvé et pour
Gédéon ! » (Jg 7,18). Tandis que les hommes se tiennent sans bouger à
l'extérieur du camp, la confusion est totale à l'intérieur. Yahvé donne alors
une victoire complète à Gédéon et à ses hommes, sans qu'ils aient même à
combattre : « Pendant que les trois cents sonnaient du cor, Yahvé fit que
dans tout le camp chacun tournait son épée contre son camarade. Tous
s'enfuirent […] » (Jg 7,22).
Dans le récit, ce moment
décisif marque l'accomplissement de la mission pour laquelle Gédéon avait
bénéficié de l'aide de la puissance divine. La force qui était en lui s'y était
révélée de façon exceptionnelle. Après la victoire, il n'est plus fait écho
d'intervention directe de l'esprit de Yahvé. Mais la force de Gédéon se
manifeste d'une autre façon, dans le comportement d'un chef sage et avisé.
Ainsi, il doit faire face aux revendications des hommes d'Éphraïm qui lui
reprochent amèrement d'avoir combattu sans eux : avec habileté et fermeté, il
met leur action en valeur en leur rappelant que c'est bien entre leurs mains
qu'ont été livrés deux chefs de Madiân. Bien loin de s'attribuer le bénéfice de
son propre exploit et d'en tirer une gloire personnelle, Gédéon préfère le minimiser
pour maintenir la cohésion des tribus : « “Qu'ai-je pu faire en
comparaison de vous ?” Sur ces paroles, leur emportement contre lui se
calma » (Jg 8,3).
Parce qu'il les avait
sauvés du pouvoir de Madiân et parce qu'il avait réuni quatre tribus (Asher,
Zabulon, Nephtali et Manassé), les hommes d'Israël veulent faire de Gédéon leur
souverain, et lui donner un pouvoir qui deviendrait héréditaire. Mais, à cette
requête, Gédéon répond : « Ce n'est pas moi qui serai votre souverain, pas
plus que mon fils : Yahvé sera votre souverain ! » (Jg 8,23). Cette
déclaration est reconnue comme une prise de position antimonarchique de la part
des rédacteurs du livre des Juges. Mais on peut y lire aussi le signe de la
fidélité de Gédéon à Yahvé son Dieu qui avait suscité sa force dans sa mission
de juge sauveur et en qui seul il avait mis sa foi.
Gédéon reste un héros
très humain dans ses ambiguïtés. S'il ne reconnaît qu'à Yahvé le pouvoir de
gouverner, il se comporte cependant quelque peu comme un roi en demandant sa part
de butin : anneaux d'or, pendants d'oreille et manteaux de pourpre des rois de
Madiân. De ces objets précieux, il fait « un ephod qu'il
installa dans sa ville, à Ophra. Tout Israël s'y prostitua après lui et ce fut
un piège pour Gédéon et sa maison » (Jg 8,27). Avec l'édification de
cette statue, c'est donc un retour à l'idolâtrie après sa mort qui est annoncé.
Les Israélites recommencèrent en effet avec son fils Abimélek à adorer les
Baals, oubliant Yahvé qui les avait délivrés de leurs ennemis et la maison de
Gédéon à laquelle « ils ne montrèrent pas toute la gratitude méritée par
tout le bien qu'elle avait fait à Israël » (Jg 8,35). Israël était
redevable envers Gédéon d'un répit de quarante années de tranquillité, salut
provisoire dû à la bravoure et au jugement de ce chef.
Si, comme le souligne la
lettre aux Hébreux, c'est la foi qui a porté l'action héroïque de Gédéon,
n'est-ce pas d'abord parce qu'il a accepté la révélation en lui d'une force
d'abord inconnue de lui ? Ayant établi sa confiance en Yahvé, le Dieu qui
libère, il a été mené bien au-delà de ce qu'il aurait pu imaginer, pour
coopérer à la victoire sur les dangers qui menaçaient la vie de son peuple. Son
histoire montre qu'une telle force peut habiter l'ordinaire des jours aussi
bien que les événements exceptionnels, à condition de la recevoir et de faire
confiance à la manière dont elle surgit dans la vie.
1 Cf. Paul
Beauchamp, Cinquante portraits bibliques, Seuil, 2000, p. 159 :
« L'énergie qui est dans ces mots-là vient de Dieu, elle est entrée dans
ce monde, elle a fait l'histoire. »
2 Traduction de la Bible
de Jérusalem.
3 Philippe Abadie, Des
héros peu ordinaires. Théologie et histoire dans le livre des Juges, Cerf,
« Lectio Divina », n° 243, 2011, p. 13.
4 Ibidem.
5 Pierre Gibert, Vérité
historique et esprit historien, Cerf, 1990, p. 98.
6 Ibid., p. 99.
Brigitte PICQ, Christus,
no264
SOURCE : https://www.revue-christus.com/article/la-force-de-gedeon-5018
Gedeón.
Espaldar de la sillería del coro alto de la catedral de Toledo (España)
realizado por Felipe Bigarny en el siglo XVI
Also
known as
Gedeon
Jerobaal
Jerubebbeth
Jerub-Baal
1 September
on some calendars
30 July
(Armenian Apostolic Church)
Profile
Eleventh century BC Judge
of Isreal. See the Readings section below
for the Old Testament account of his life.
Name
Meaning
destroyer; mighty
warrior; feller of trees
Saint-Gédéon-de-Beauce,
Canada
man wringing dew out of a
fleece
Additional
Information
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Readings
The Israelites offended
the LORD, who therefore delivered them into the power of Midian for seven
years, so that Midian held Israel subject. For fear of Midian the Israelites
established the fire signals on the mountains, the caves for refuge, and the
strongholds. And it used to be that when the Israelites had completed their
sowing, Midian, Amalek and the Kedemites would come up, encamp opposite them,
and destroy the produce of the land as far as the outskirts of Gaza, leaving no
sustenance in Israel, nor sheep, oxen or asses. For they would come up with
their livestock, and their tents would become as numerous as locusts; and
neither they nor their camels could be numbered, when they came into the land
to lay it waste. Thus was Israel reduced to misery by Midian, and so the
Israelites cried out to the LORD.
When Israel cried out to
the LORD because of Midian, he sent a prophet to the Israelites who said to
them, “The LORD, the God of Israel, says: I led you up from Egypt; I brought
you out of the place of slavery. I rescued you from the power of Egypt and of
all your other oppressors. I drove them out before you and gave you their land.
And I said to you: I, the LORD, am your God; you shall not venerate the gods of
the Amorites in whose land you are dwelling. But you did not obey me.”
Then the angel of the
LORD came and sat under the terebinth in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the
Abiezrite. While his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the wine press to save
it from the Midianites, the angel of the LORD appeared to him and said, “The
LORD is with you, O champion!”
“My Lord,” Gideon said to
him, “if the LORD is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are his
wondrous deeds of which our fathers told us when they said, ‘Did not the LORD
bring us up from Egypt?’ For now the LORD has abandoned us and has delivered us
into the power of Midian.”
The LORD turned to him
and said, “Go with the strength you have and save Israel from the power of
Midian. It is I who send you.”
But he answered him,
“Please, my lord, how can I save Israel? My family is the meanest in Manasseh,
and I am the most insignificant in my father’s house.”
“I shall be with you,”
the LORD said to him, “and you will cut down Midian to the last man.”
He answered him, “If I
find favor with you, give me a sign that you are speaking with me. Do not
depart from here, I pray you, until I come back to you and bring out my
offering and set it before you.”
He answered, “I will
await your return.”
So Gideon went off and
prepared a kid and an ephah of flour in the form of unleavened cakes. Putting
the meat in a basket and the broth in a pot, he brought them out to him under
the terebinth and presented them. The angel of God said to him, “Take the meat
and unleavened cakes and lay them on this rock; then pour out the broth.” When
he had done so, the angel of the LORD stretched out the tip of the staff he
held, and touched the meat and unleavened cakes. Thereupon a fire came up from
the rock which consumed the meat and unleavened cakes, and the angel of the
LORD disappeared from sight.
Gideon, now aware that it
had been the angel of the LORD, said, “Alas, Lord GOD, that I have seen the
angel of the LORD face to face!”
The LORD answered him,
“Be calm, do not fear. You shall not die.” So Gideon built there an altar to
the LORD and called it Yahweh-shalom. To this day it is still in Ophrah of the
Abiezrites.
That same night the LORD
said to him, “Take the seven-year-old spare bullock and destroy your father’s
altar to Baal and cut down the sacred pole that is by it. You shall build,
instead, the proper kind of altar to the LORD, your God, on top of this
stronghold. Then take the spare bullock and offer it as a holocaust on the wood
from the sacred pole you have cut down.”
So Gideon took ten of his
servants and did as the LORD had commanded him. But through fear of his family
and of the townspeople, he would not do it by day, but did it at night. Early
the next morning the townspeople found that the altar of Baal had been
destroyed, the sacred pole near it cut down, and the spare bullock offered on
the altar that was built. They asked one another, “Who did this?” Their inquiry
led them to the conclusion that Gideon, son of Joash, had done it.
So the townspeople said
to Joash, “Bring out your son that he may die, for he has destroyed the altar
of Baal and has cut down the sacred pole that was near it.”
But Joash replied to all
who were standing around him, “Do you intend to act in Baal’s stead, or be his
champion? If anyone acts for him, he shall be put to death by morning. If he
whose altar has been destroyed is a god, let him act for himself!”
So on that day Gideon was
called Jerubbaal, because of the words, “Let Baal take action against him,
since he destroyed his altar.” Then all Midian and Amalek and the Kedemites
mustered and crossed over into the valley of Jezreel, where they encamped. The
spirit of the LORD enveloped Gideon; he blew the horn that summoned Abiezer to
follow him. He sent messengers, too, throughout Manasseh, which also obeyed his
summons; through Asher, Zebulun and Naphtali, likewise, he sent messengers and
these tribes advanced to meet the others.
Gideon said to God, “If
indeed you are going to save Israel through me, as you promised, I am putting
this woolen fleece on the threshing floor. If dew comes on the fleece alone,
while all the ground is dry, I shall know that you will save Israel through me,
as you promised.”
That is what took place.
Early the next morning he wrung the dew from the fleece, squeezing out of it a
bowlful of water. Gideon then said to God, “Do not be angry with me if I speak
once more. Let me make just one more test with the fleece. Let the fleece alone
be dry, but let there be dew on all the ground.” That night God did so; the
fleece alone was dry, but there was dew on all the ground.
Early the next morning
Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) encamped by Enharod with all his soldiers. The camp
of Midian was in the valley north of Gibeath-hammoreh. The LORD said to Gideon,
“You have too many soldiers with you for me to deliver Midian into their power,
lest Israel vaunt itself against me and say, ‘My own power brought me the
victory.’ Now proclaim to all the soldiers, ‘If anyone is afraid or fearful,
let him leave.'” When Gideon put them to this test on the mountain, twenty-two
thousand of the soldiers left, but ten thousand remained.
The LORD said to Gideon,
“There are still too many soldiers. Lead them down to the water and I will test
them for you there. If I tell you that a certain man is to go with you, he must
go with you. But no one is to go if I tell you he must not.” When Gideon led
the soldiers down to the water, the LORD said to him, “You shall set to one
side everyone who laps up the water as a dog does with its tongue; to the
other, everyone who kneels down to drink.” Those who lapped up the water raised
to their mouths by hand numbered three hundred, but all the rest of the
soldiers knelt down to drink the water.
The LORD said to Gideon,
“By means of the three hundred who lapped up the water I will save you and will
deliver Midian into your power. So let all the other soldiers go home.” Their
horns, and such supplies as the soldiers had with them, were taken up, and
Gideon ordered the rest of the Israelites to their tents, but kept the three
hundred men.
Now the camp of Midian
was beneath him in the valley. That night the LORD said to Gideon, “Go, descend
on the camp, for I have delivered it up to you. If you are afraid to attack, go
down to the camp with your aide Purah. When you hear what they are saying, you
will have the courage to descend on the camp.” So he went down with his aide
Purah to the outposts of the camp. The Midianites, Amalekites, and all the
Kedemites lay in the valley, as numerous as locusts. Nor could their camels be
counted, for these were as many as the sands on the seashore.
When Gideon arrived, one
man was telling another about a dream. “I had a dream,” he said, “that a round
loaf of barley bread was rolling into the camp of Midian. It came to our tent
and struck it, and as it fell it turned the tent upside down.”
“This can only be the
sword of the Israelite Gideon, son of Joash,” the other replied. “God has
delivered Midian and all the camp into his power.”
When Gideon heard the
description and explanation of the dream, he prostrated himself. Then returning
to the camp of Israel, he said, “Arise, for the LORD has delivered the camp of
Midian into your power.” He divided the three hundred men into three companies,
and provided them all with horns and with empty jars and torches inside the
jars.
“Watch me and follow my
lead,” he told them. “I shall go to the edge of the camp, and as I do, you must
do also. When I and those with me blow horns, you too must blow horns all
around the camp and cry out, ‘For the LORD and for Gideon!'”
So Gideon and the hundred
men who were with him came to the edge of the camp at the beginning of the
middle watch, just after the posting of the guards. They blew the horns and
broke the jars they were holding. All three companies blew horns and broke
their jars. They held the torches in their left hands, and in their right the
horns they were blowing, and cried out, “A sword for the LORD and Gideon!” They
all remained standing in place around the camp, while the whole camp fell to
running and shouting and fleeing. But the three hundred men kept blowing the
horns, and throughout the camp the LORD set the sword of one against another.
The army fled as far as
Beth-shittah in the direction of Zarethan, near the border of Abel-meholah at
Tabbath. The Israelites were called to arms from Naphtali, from Asher, and from
all Manasseh, and they pursued Midian. Gideon also sent messengers throughout
the mountain region of Ephraim to say, “Go down to confront Midian, and seize
the water courses against them as far as Beth-barah, as well as the Jordan.”
So all the Ephraimites
were called to arms, and they seized the water courses as far as Beth-barah,
and the Jordan as well. They captured the two princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb,
killing Oreb at the rock of Oreb and Zeeb at the wine press of Zeeb. Then they
pursued Midian and carried the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon beyond the
Jordan.
But the Ephraimites said
to him, “What have you done to us, not calling us when you went to fight
against Midian?” And they quarreled bitterly with him.
“What have I accomplished
now in comparison with you?” he answered them. “Is not the gleaning of Ephraim
better than the vintage of Abiezer? Into your power God delivered the princes
of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb. What have I been able to do in comparison with you?”
When he said this, their anger against him subsided.
When Gideon reached the
Jordan and crossed it with his three hundred men, they were exhausted and
famished. So he said to the men of Succoth, “Will you give my followers some
loaves of bread? They are exhausted, and I am pursuing Zebah and Zalmunna,
kings of Midian.”
But the princes of
Succoth replied, “Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna already in your
possession, that we should give food to your army?”
Gideon said, “Very well;
when the LORD has delivered Zebah and Zalmunna into my power, I will grind your
flesh in with the thorns and briers of the desert.” He went up from there to
Penuel and made the same request of them, but the men of Penuel answered him as
had the men of Succoth.
So to the men of Penuel,
too, he said, “When I return in triumph, I will demolish this tower.”
Now Zebah and Zalmunna
were in Karkor with their force of about fifteen thousand men; these were all
who were left of the whole Kedemite army, a hundred and twenty thousand
swordsmen having fallen. Gideon went up by the route of the nomads east of
Nobah and Jogbehah, and attacked the camp when it felt secure. Zebah and
Zalmunna fled. He pursued them and took the two kings of Midian, Zebah and
Zalmunna, captive, throwing the entire army into panic.
Then Gideon, son of
Joash, returned from battle by the pass of Heres. He captured a young man of
Succoth, who upon being questioned listed for him the seventy-seven princes and
elders of Succoth. So he went to the men of Succoth and said, “Here are Zebah
and Zalmunna, with whom you taunted me, ‘Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna
already in your possession, that we should give food to your weary followers?'”
He took the elders of the city, and thorns and briers of the desert, and ground
these men of Succoth into them. He also demolished the tower of Penuel and slew
the men of the city.
Then he said to Zebah and
Zalmunna, “Where now are the men you killed at Tabor?”
“They all resembled you,”
they replied. “They appeared to be princes.”
“They were my brothers,
my mother’s sons,” he said. “As the LORD lives, if you had spared their lives,
I should not kill you.” Then he said to his first-born, Jether, “Go, kill
them.”
Since Jether was still a
boy, he was afraid and did not draw his sword. Zebah and Zalmunna said, “Come,
kill us yourself, for a man’s strength is like the man.” So Gideon stepped
forward and killed Zebah and Zalmunna. He also took the crescents that were on
the necks of their camels.
The Israelites then said
to Gideon, “Rule over us – you, your son, and your son’s son – for you rescued
us from the power of Midian.”
But Gideon answered them,
“I will not rule over you, nor shall my son rule over you. The LORD must rule
over you.” Gideon went on to say, “I should like to make a request of you. Will
each of you give me a ring from his booty?” (For being Ishmaelites, the enemy
had gold rings.)
“We will gladly give
them,” they replied, and spread out a cloak into which
everyone threw a ring from his booty. The gold rings that he requested weighed
seventeen hundred gold shekels, in addition to the crescents and pendants, the
purple garments worn by the kings of Midian, and the trappings that were on the
necks of their camels. Gideon made an ephod out of the gold and placed it in
his city Ophrah. However, all Israel paid idolatrous
homage to it there, and caused the ruin of Gideon and his family.
Thus was Midian brought
into subjection by the Israelites; no longer did they hold their heads high.
And the land had rest for forty years, during the lifetime of Gideon. Then
Jerubbaal, son of Joash, went back home to stay.
Now Gideon had seventy
sons, his direct descendants, for he had many wives. His concubine who lived in
Shechem also bore him a son, whom he named Abimelech. At a good old age Gideon,
son of Joash, died and was buried in the tomb of his father Joash in Ophrah of
the Abiezrites. – Judge 6:1-8:32, New American Bible
MLA
Citation
“Gideon the Judge“. CatholicSaints.Info.
14 March 2026. Web. 14 October 2026.
<https://catholicsaints.info/gideon-the-judge/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/gideon-the-judge/
Ангел
призывает Гедеона на борьбу с агарянами
L'ange
appelle Gédéon à combattre les Agaréniens
South gates (Suzdal cathedral)
Article
(GIDEON) (Saint)
(September 1) (14th cent. B.C.) The Judge of Israel (Judges 6-8), commemorated
with Josue in the Catholic Church on September 1, on which day he is also
venerated by the Greeks. The Copts keep his Feast on December 16; and the
Armenians on the second Saturday of August.
MLA
Citation
Monks of Ramsgate.
“Gedeon”. Book of Saints, 1921.
CatholicSaints.Info. 15 August 2018. Web. 14 October 2026.
<https://catholicsaints.info/book-of-saints-gedeon/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/book-of-saints-gedeon/
Hieronymus Wierix (1553–1619) d’après Martin van Cleve (1527–1577/1581), Landscape with Gideon, 1578. In his one hand the heads of Zebach and Salmunna, in his other a trumpet and an oil lamp. In the margin a two-line Bible quote from Jud. 8 in Latin and in Dutch. Print 4 out of 10 used as illustration in: Tyrannorum praemia. Den loon der tyrannen, published in Antwerp by Willem van Haecht who also composed the text. Engraved by Hieronymus Wierix after design by Maarten van Cleve.
New Catholic
Dictionary – Gedeon
Derivation
Hebrew: hewer
Also
known as
Gideon; Jerobaal;
Jerubebbeth
Profile
One of the greater judges
of Israel. His father, Joas, lived at Ephra, and was of the family of Abiezer
and tribe of Manasses. Gedeon was sent by God to deliver Israel, which had
forsaken Yahweh, and after destroying the altar of Baal, routed the Israelite
enemies, the Madianites, with 300 men. His peaceful judgeship lasted 40 years.
MLA
Citation
“Gedeon”. New Catholic Dictionary. CatholicSaints.Info. 15
August 2018. Web. 15 October 2026.
<https://catholicsaints.info/new-catholic-dictionary-gedeon/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/new-catholic-dictionary-gedeon/
Julius Schnorr von Karolsfeld, Gideon's
Call, Woodcut for "Die Bibel in Bildern", 1860.
Holzschnitt
aus "Die Bibel in Bildern", 1860.
Gravure
en bois pour «Die Bibel in Bildern», 1860.
JB JUDGES Chapter 6
E. GIDEON AND ABIMELECH
1. THE CALLING OF GIDEON
Israel oppressed by the
Midlanites
6:1 The Israelites did
what displeases Yahweh; Yahweh gave them over for seven years into the hands of
Midian,
6:2 and Midian bore down
heavily on Israel. To escape from Midian the Israelites used the mountain
clefts and the caves and shelters.
6:3 Whenever Israel sowed
seed, Midian would march up with Amalek and the sons of the East; they would
march up against Israel
6:4 and encamp on their
territory and destroy the produce of the country as far as Gaza. They left
Israel nothing to live on, not a sheep or ox or donkey,
6:5 for they came up as
thick as locusts with their own cattle and their tents; they and their camels
were past counting, they overran and pillaged the country.
6:6 Thus Midian brought
Israel to great distress, and the Israelites cried to Yahweh.
A message from a prophet
6:7 When the Israelites
cried to Yahweh because of Midian,
6:8 Yahweh sent a prophet
to the Israelites. This was his message, 'Thus Yahweh speaks, the God of
Israel. "It was I who brought you out of Egypt and led you out of a house
of slavery.
6:9 I rescued you from
the power of the Egyptians and the power of all who oppressed you. I drove them
out before you and gave you their land,
6:10 and I said to you: I
am Yahweh your God. Do not reverence the gods of the Amorites in whose land you
now live. But you have not listened to my words."'
The angel of Yahweh
appears to Gideon
6:11 The angel of Yahweh
came and sat under the terebinth at Ophrah which belonged to Joash of Abiezer.
Gideon his son was threshing wheat inside the winepress to keep it hidden from
Midian,
6:12 when the angel of
Yahweh appeared to him and said, 'Yahweh is with you, valiant warrior!'
6:13 Gideon answered
him, 'Forgive me, my lord, but if Yahweh is with us, then why is it that
all this is happening to us now? And where are all the wonders our ancestors
tell us of when they say, "Did not Yahweh bring us out of Egypt?" But
now Yahweh has deserted us; he has abandoned us to Midian.'
6:14 At this Yahweh
turned to him and said, 'Go in the strength now upholding you, and you will
rescue Israel from the power of Midian. Do I not send you myself?'
6:15 Gideon answered him,
'Forgive me, my lord, but how can I deliver Israel? My clan, you must know, is
the weakest in Manasseh and I am the least important in my family.'
6:16 Yahweh answered him,
'I will be with you and you shall crush Midian as though it were a single man'.
6:17 Gideon said to him,
'If I have found favour in your sight, give me a sign that it is you who speak
to me.
6:18 I beg you, do not go
away until I come back, I will bring you my offering and set it down
before you.' And he answered, 'I will stay until you return'.
6:19 Gideon went away and
prepared a young goat and made unleavened cakes with an ephah of flour. He put
the meat into a basket and the broth into a pot, then brought it all to him
under the terebinth. As he came near,
6:20 The angel of Yahweh
said to him, 'Take the meat and unleavened cakes, put them on this rock and pour
the broth over them'. Gideon did so.
6:21 Then the angel of
Yahweh reached out the tip of the staff in his hand and touched the meat and
unleavened cakes. Fire sprang from the rock and consumed the meat and
unleavened cakes, and the angel of Yahweh vanished before his eyes.
6:22 Then Gideon knew
this was the angel of Yahweh, and he said, 'Alas, my Lord Yahweh! I have seen
the angel of Yahweh face to face!'
6:23 Yahweh answered him,
'Peace be with you; have no fear; you will not die'.
6:24 Gideon built an
altar there to Yahweh and called it Yahweh-Peace. This altar still stands at
Ophrah of Abiezer.
Gideon and Baal [*a]
6:25 Now that night
Yahweh said to Gideon, 'Take your father's fattened calf, and pull down the
altar to Baal belonging to your father and cut down the sacred post at the side
of it.
6:26 Then, on the top of
this bluff, build a carefully constructed altar to Yahweh your God. Then take
the fattened calf and burn it as a holocaust on the wood of the sacred post you
have cut down.'
6:27 Then Gideon chose
ten of his servants and did as Yahweh had ordered him. But since he stood too
much in fear of his family and the townspeople to do this by day, he did it by
night.
6:28 Next morning, when
the townspeople got up, the altar to Baal had been destroyed, the sacred post
that had stood beside it was now cut down, and the fattened calf had been burnt
as a holocaust on the newly-built altar.
6:29 Then they said to
each other, 'Who has done this?' They searched, made enquiries and declared,
'Gideon son of Joash has done it'.
6:30 Then the townspeople
said to Joash, 'Bring out your son for he must die, since he has destroyed the
altar to Baal and cut down the sacred post that stood beside it'.
6:31 Joash answered all
those mustered round him, 'Would you plead for Baal? Would you champion his
cause? (Let anyone who pleads for Baal be put to death before dawn.) If he is a
god, let him plead for himself, now that Gideon has destroyed his altar.'
6:32 That day Gideon was
given the name of Jerubbaal,[*b] because, they said, 'Baal must plead against
him, seeing that he has destroyed his altar'.
The call to arms
6:33 Then all Midian and
Amalek and the sons of the East joined forces, crossed the Jordan and encamped
in the plain of Jezreel.
6:34 And the spirit of
Yahweh came on Gideon; he sounded the horn and Abiezer rallied behind him.
6:35 He sent messengers
throughout Manasseh, and Manasseh too rallied behind him; he sent messengers to
Asher, Zebulun and Naphtali, and they too marched out to meet him.
The trial with the fleece
6:36 Gideon said to God,
'If you really mean to deliver Israel by my hand, as you have declared,
6:37 see now, I spread
out a fleece on the threshing-floor; if there is dew only on the fleece and all
the ground is left dry, then I shall know that you will deliver Israel by my
hand, as you have declared'.
6:38 And so it happened.
Gideon rose the next morning, squeezed the fleece and wrung enough dew out of
the fleece to fill a drinking cup.
6:39 Then Gideon spoke to
God again, 'Do not be angry with me if I speak once again. Let me make trial
with the fleece just once more. Let the fleece alone be dry, and let there be
dew on the ground all round it.'
6:40 And God did so that
night. The fleece alone stayed dry, and there was dew on the ground all round
it.
Christian Eduard Boettcher (1818–1889), Gideon selects his army of 300 by observing their manner of drinking from a stream, 1908, gravure, New York Public Library
JB JUDGES Chapter 7
2. GIDEON MAKES WAR WEST
OF THE JORDAN
Yahweh cuts down the
numbers of Gideon's army
7:1 Jerubbaal (that is,
Gideon) got up very early, as did all the people with him; he pitched camp at
En-harod; the camp of Midian was north of his, under the Hill of Moreh in the
valley.
7:2 Then Yahweh said to
Gideon, 'There are too many people with you for me to put Midian into their
power; Israel might claim the credit for themselves at my expense: they might
say, "My own hand has rescued me".
7:3 Therefore, make this
proclamation now to the people: "Let anyone who is frightened or fearful
go home!" ' Gideon put them to the test. Twenty-two thousand men went
home, and ten thousand were left.
7:4 Yahweh said to
Gideon, 'There are still too many people. Take them down to the waterside and I
will sift them there. If I say of a man: He is to go with you, that man is to
go with you. And if I say of a man: He is not to go with you, that man is not
to go.'
7:5 So Gideon took the
people down to the waterside, and Yahweh said to him, 'All those who lap the
water with their tongues, as a dog laps, place these on one side. And all those
who kneel down to drink, place these on the other side.'
7:6 The number of those
who lapped with their tongues was three hundred; all the rest of the people had
knelt to drink.
7:7 Then Yahweh said to
Gideon, 'With the three hundred who lapped the water I will rescue you and put
Midian into your power. Let all the others go back, every man to his own home.'
7:8 Gideon made the
people give him what pitchers and horns they had, then sent away all the
Israelites, each to his own tent, keeping only the three hundred with him. The
camp of Midian was below his own in the valley.
An omen of victory
7:9 Now it came about
that in the night Yahweh said to him, 'Get up and go down to the camp. I am
putting it into your power.
7:10 However, if you are
afraid to make the assault, go down first to the camp with your servant Purah;
7:11 listen to what they
are saying; you will be encouraged by it and then you will march against the
camp.' So with his servant Purah he went down to the outposts of the camp.
7:12 Midian and Amalek
and all the sons of the East stretched through the valley as thick as locusts;
their camels were innumerable like the sand on the seashore.
7:13 Gideon came up just
as a man was telling his comrade a dream; he was saying, 'I had a dream: a cake
made of barley bread came rolling through the camp of Midian; it reached the
tent, struck against it and turned it upside down'.
7:14 His comrade
answered, 'This can be nothing else than the sword of Gideon son of Joash the
Israelite. God has put Midian and all the camp into his power.'
7:15 When Gideon heard
the dream thus told and interpreted, he fell to his knees; then he returned to
the camp of Israel and said, 'On your feet, for Yahweh has put the camp of
Midian into your power!'
The surprise attack
7:16 Gideon then divided
his three hundred men into three companies. To each man he gave a horn and an
empty pitcher, with a torch inside each pitcher.
7:17 He said to them, 'Watch
me, and do as I do. When I reach the edge of the camp, whatever I do, you do
too.
7:18 When I sound the
horn, I and those with me, then you too must sound your horns all round the
camp and shout, "For Yahweh and for Gideon!"'
7:19 Gideon and his hundred
companions reached the edge of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch,
when the new sentries had just been posted; they sounded their horns and
smashed the pitchers in their hands.
7:20 The three companies
sounded their horns and smashed their pitchers; with their left hands they
grasped the torches, with their right hands the horns ready to blow; and they
shouted, 'For Yahweh and for Gideon!'
7:21 And they stood
still, spaced out all round the camp. Then the whole camp woke and the
Midianites fled, shouting.
7:22 While the three
hundred kept sounding their horns, Yahweh made every man in the camp turn his
sword against his comrade. They all fled as far as Beth-shittah towards
Zarethan, as far as the bank of Abel-meholah opposite Tabbath.
The pursuit
7:23 The men of Israel
mustered from Naphtali, Asher and all Manasseh, and pursued Midian.
7:24 Gideon sent
messengers throughout the highiands of Ephraim to say, 'Come down and fight
Midian, seize the water-points as far as Beth-barah and the Jordan before they
reach them'. All the men of Ephraim mustered and seized the water-points as far
as Beth-barah and the Jordan.
7:25 They captured the
two Midianite chieftains, Oreb and Zeeb; they killed Oreb at Oreb's Rock and
Zeeb at Zeeb's Winepress. They pursued Midian; and they brought Gideon the
heads of Oreb and of Zeeb beyond the Jordan.
Gédeon,
vitrail, cathédrale Saint-Alban de
Saint Albans
JB JUDGES Chapter 8
The Ephraimites take
offence
8:1 Now, the men of
Ephraim said to Gideon, 'What do you mean by treating us like this, not
summoning us when you went to fight with Midian?' And they reproached him
bitterly.
8:2 He answered, 'What
have I done when compared to you? Is not the gleaning of Ephraim's grapes
better than the vintage of Abiezer?
8:3 Into your power
Yahweh has given the chieftains of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb. Can what I managed to
do compare with what you have done?' And at these words their anger left them.
3. GIDEON MAKES WAR
BEYOND THE JORDAN. GIDEON'S END
Gideon pursues the enemy
beyond the Jordan
8:4 Gideon reached the
Jordan and crossed it, but he and his three hundred companions were tired out
and famished.
8:5 So he said to the men
of Succoth, 'Please give my followers a few loaves of bread, because they are
tired out, and I am pursuing Zebah and Zalmunna,[*a] the kings of Midian'.
8:6 The chieftains of
Succoth answered, 'Give bread to your army? Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna
already in your grasp?'
8:7 And Gideon answered,
'Very well! When Yahweh has put Zebah and Zalmunna into my power, I will tear
your flesh with desert thorn and briar.'
8:8 From there he went up
to Penuel and asked the men of Penuel the same thing; they answered as those of
Succoth had done.
8:9 And to those of
Penuel he made a similar reply, 'When I return victorious, I will destroy this
tower'.
The defeat of Zebah and
Zalmuma
8:10 Zebah and Zalmunna
were in Karkor with their army, about fifteen thousand men, all who remained of
the army of the sons of the east. Those who had fallen were a hundred and
twenty thousand fighting men.
8:11 Gideon went up the
nomads' way, eastwards of Nobah and Jogbehah, and routed the army when it
thought itself in safety.
8:12 Zebah and Zalmunna
fled. He pursued them; he took the kings of Midian prisoner, both Zebah and
Zalmunna. And he utterly destroyed the army.
Gideon's acts of
vengeance
8:13 After the battle,
Gideon returned by the Ascent of Heres.
8:14 He seized a young
man, one of the people of Succoth, and questioned him, and the young man wrote
down the names of the chieftains and elders of Succoth for him - seventy seven
men.
8:15 Then Gideon came to
the people of Succoth and said, 'Here you see Zebah and Zalmunna, about whom
you taunted me and said, "Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna already in
your grasp, for us to give bread to your tired troops?"'
8:16 Then he seized the
elders of the city, and took desert thorn and briar and tore the men of Succoth
with them.
8:17 He destroyed the
tower of Penuel and slaughtered the townsmen.
8:18 Then he said to
Zebah and Zalmunna, 'The men you killed at Tabor-what were they like?' They
answered, 'They looked like you. Every one of them carried himself like the son
of a king.'
8:19 Gideon replied,
'They were my brothers, the sons of my own mother; as Yahweh lives, if you had
spared their lives I would not kill you'.
8:20 Then he ordered
Jether his eldest son: 'Stand up and kill them'. But the boy did not draw his
sword; he dared not; he was still only a lad.
8:21 Then Zebah and
Zalmunna said, 'Stand up yourself, and strike us down; for as a man is, so is
his strength'. Then Gideon stood up and killed Zebah and Zalmunna; and he took
the crescents from round their camels' necks.
Gideon triumphant. His
end
8:22 The men of Israel
said to Gideon, 'Rule over us, you and your sons and your grandson,[*b] because
you have rescued us from the power of Midian'.
8:23 But Gideon answered
them, 'It is not I who shall rule over you, nor my son; Yahweh must be your
lord'.
8:24 But Gideon went on,
'Let me make one request of you. Let every man of you give me one of the rings
out of his spoils' - for the vanquished army had golden rings, because they
were Ishmaelites.
8:25 They answered,
'Gladly'. So he spread out his cloak, and on it they threw, every man
of them, a ring taken
from their spoils.
8:26 The weight of the
golden rings be had asked for reached seventeen hundred shekels of gold,
besides the crescents and the earrings and purple garments worn by the kings of
Midian, and besides the collars round their camels' necks, too.
8:27 Of all this, Gideon
made an ephod[*c] and put it in his own city of Ophrah. After him, all Israel
prostituted themselves to it, and it was a snare for Gideon and his family.
8:28 Thus Midian was
humbled before the Israelites. They did not lift up their heads again, and the
land enjoyed rest for forty years, as long as Gideon lived.
8:29 So Jerubbaal son of
Joash withdrew and lived in his own house.
8:30 Gideon had seventy
sons begotten by him, for he had many wives.
8:31 His concubine, who
lived in Shechem, bore him a son too, whom he called Abimelech.
8:32 Gideon son of Joash
was blessed in his old age; he died, and was buried in the tomb of Joash his
father, at Ophrah of Abiezer.
Israel relapses into
idolatry
8:33 After Gideon's
death, the people of Israel again began to prostitute themselves to the Baals,
and took Baal-berith for their god.
8:34 The Israelites no
longer remembered Yahweh their God, who had rescued them from all the enemies
round them.
8:35 And towards the
family of Jerubbaal-Gideon-they remained ungrateful for all its good deeds to
Israel.
SOURCE : https://www.seraphim.my/bible/jb/JB-OT07%20JUDGES.htm
Ambito
russo, Icona con Gedeone (XVIII secolo), tavola
Gideon
Gideon or Gedeon (Hebrew
"hewer"), also called JEROBAAL (Judges
6:32; 7:1;
etc.), and JERUBESHETH (2
Samuel 11:21, in the Hebrew
text).
Gideon was one of the
Greater Judges of Israel.
He belonged to the tribe of Manasses, and to the family of
Abiezer (Judges
6:34). Gideon's father was Joas, and lived in Ephra (Judges
6:11).
The following is in
substance the account of Gideon's judgeship as related in Judges,
vi-viii: Israel,
having forsaken Yahweh's worship,
had been for seven years exceedingly humbled by the incursions of the Madianites and
of other Eastern tribes. At length, they turned to God who
sent them a deliverer in the person of
Gideon. In a first theophany, granted him by day while he was threshing wheat,
Gideon received the difficult mission of freeing his people; whereupon he built
an altar to the Lord (Judges
6:24). In a second theophany during the following night, he was directed to
destroy the village-altar to Baal,
and to erect one to Yahweh.
This he did with the result that the people clamoured for his death to avenge
his insult to their false god.
Joas, however, saved his son's life by the witty taunt, which secured for the
latter the name of Jerobaal: "Let Baal revenge
himself!" (vi, 25-32). Thus divinely commissioned, Gideon naturally took
the lead against Madian,
and Amalec,
and other Eastern tribes who had crossed the Jordan,
and encamped in the valley of Jezrael. Comforted by the famous signs of the
fleece (vi, 36-40), and accompanied by warriors from Manasses, Aser, Zabulon,
and Nephthali,
he took up his position not far from the enemy. But it was God's intervention
to show that it was His power which delivered Israel,
and hence He reduced Gideon's army from 32,000 to 300 (vii, 1-8). According to
a divine direction, the Hebrew commander paid a night visit to the enemy's camp
and overheard the telling of a dream which prompted him to act at once, certain
of victory (vii, 9-15). He then supplied his men with trumpets and with torches
enclosed in jars, which, after his example, they broke, crying out: "The
sword of Yahweh and
Gideon." Panic-stricken at the sudden attack, Israel's enemies
turned their arms against one another, and broke up in flight towards the fords
of the Jordan (vii,
16-23). But, summoned by Gideon, the Ephraimites cut off the Madianites at
the fords, and captured and slew two of their princes, Oreb and Zeb, whose
heads they sent to the Hebrew leader, rebuking him at the same time for not
having called earlier upon their assistance. Gideon appeased them by an Eastern
proverb, and pursued the enemy beyond the Jordan river
(vii, 24; viii, 3). Passing by Soccoth and Phanuel, he met with their refusal
of provisions for his fainting soldiers, and threatened both places with
vengeance on his return (viii, 4-9). At length, he overtook and defeated the
enemies of Israel,
captured their kings, Zebee and Salmana, returned in triumph, punishing the men
of Soccoth and Phanuel on his way, and finally put
to death Zebee and Salmana (viii, 10-21). Grateful for this glorious
deliverance, Gideon's countrymen offered him the dignity of an hereditary king,
which he declined with these noble words: "I will not rule over you,
neither shall my son rule over you, but Yahweh shall
rule over you" (viii, 22-23). He nevertheless asked and obtained from his
soldiers the golden rings and other ornaments which they had taken from the
enemy; and out of this spoil he made what seems to have soon become an object
of idolatrous worship
in Israel.
Gideon's peaceful judgeship lasted forty years. He had seventy sons, and
"died in a good old age, and was buried in the sepulchre of his father in
Ephra" (viii, 24-32). His victory is alluded to in Isaiah
10:26, and in Psalm
82:12, where the four kings mentioned in Judges, vii, viii, are distinctly
named- a fact which shows that, at the time when this psalm was composed, the
narrative of Gideon's exploits was commonly known in its present form. The
various literary features exhibited by the text of Judges, vi-viii, have been
minutely examined and differently appreciated by recent scholars. Several
commentators look upon these features- such for instance as the two names,
Gideon and Jerobaal; the two theophanies bearing on Gideon's call; the apparently
twofold narrative of Gideon's pursuit of the routed enemies, etc.- as proving
conclusively the composite origin of the sacred record of Gideon's judgeship.
Others, on the contrary, see their way to reconcile all such features of the
text with the literary unity of Judges, vi-viii. However this may be, one thing
remains perfectly sure, to wit, that whatever may be the documents which have
been utilized in framing the narrative of Gideon's exploits, they agree
substantially in their description of the words and deeds of this Greater Judge
of Israel.
Sources
Catholic commentaries on
the book of Judges by CLAIR (Paris, 1880); VON HUMMELAUER (Paris, 1888);
LAGRANGE (Paris, 1903); Non-Catholic by MOORE (New York, 1895); BUDDE (Freiburg
im Breisgau, 1897); NOWACK (Göttingen, 1900).
Gigot,
Francis. "Gideon." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol.
6. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1909. 25 Sept.
2020 <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06402c.htm>.
Transcription. This
article was transcribed for New Advent by Sean Hyland.
Ecclesiastical
approbation. Nihil Obstat. September 1, 1909. Remy Lafort,
Censor. Imprimatur. +John M. Farley, Archbishop of New York.
Copyright © 2020 by Kevin
Knight. Dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
SOURCE : https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06402c.htm
Mother
Stories from the Bible – Gideon and the Fleece
After the death of
Joshua, the Israelites turned away from God, and served idols. Therefore the
evils came upon them of which they had been warned by Moses and Joshua. But at
different times God, seeing their distress, raised up “judges” to deliver them
from their enemies, and to judge over them. The first of these judges was named
Othniel. He was Caleb’s nephew. The last was Samuel. One that lived about one
hundred years before Samuel was named Gideon.
The Israelites were at
this time in great trouble. They were hiding in dens and caves because of the
Midianites, who had conquered them and overrun their country. When their corn
was ripe these enemies came and destroyed it, so altogether they were in sad
plight. One day Gideon was threshing wheat in a secluded place, so as to escape
the notice of the Midianites, when an angel from God appeared to him, bidding
him to go and save the Israelites from their foes. Gideon obeyed the command:
but before commencing the battle he much desired a sign from God showing that He
would give the Israelites the victory. The sign Gideon asked for was, that when
he laid a fleece of wool on the ground, if the victory were to be his, then the
fleece should be wet and the ground dry. He placed the wool on the ground, and
taking it up the next morning found it wet, although the ground was dry. So he
knew God had answered him as he desired. But he was not quite satisfied. He
begged God for a second sign. This time the ground was to be wet and the fleece
of wool dry. God gave him this sign also: and then Gideon felt sure that the
Israelites would be victorious over the Midianites.
– from Mother
Stories from the Bible
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/mother-stories-from-the-bible-gideon-and-the-fleece/
Bible
primer, Old Testament, for use in the primary department of Sunday schools
(1919) :
BIBLE
PRIMER 67 31. GIDEON AND THE TRUMPETS - Hult, Adolf, 1869-1943
Mother
Stories from the Bible – The Defeat of the Midianites
Large numbers of the
Israelites gathered around Gideon, prepared to fight against the Midianites,
who were encamped in a valley, “like grasshoppers for multitude.” How Gideon’s
host was reduced till only three hundred men remained, and the wonderful dream
he heard related, when he and his servant went down as spies into the enemy’s
camp, are recorded in the seventh chapter of Judges. It was not by their own
bravery or power that the Israelites were to overcome their enemies. God was to
give them the victory: and He chose Gideon and three hundred men to overcome
the great and mighty host of the Midianites.
Gideon divided his three
hundred men into three companies, and put a trumpet in every man’s hand, and
gave to each a pitcher with a lamp inside. Then he said, “Look on me, and do
likewise: when I blow with a trumpet, I and all that are with me, then blow ye
the trumpets also on every side of the camp, and say, ‘The sword of the Lord
and of Gideon.'” Gideon and the hundred men of his company approached the
enemy’s camp by night, and the other two companies drew nigh also, so that the
Midianites where surrounded. Then all blew their trumpets, broke their
pitchers, held up their lamps (torches), and cried out as they had been
commanded.
The Midianites heard the
trumpets’ blast and the cry, and saw the lights. They were thrown into
confusion, and one fought against another; then they fled, and were pursued by
the Israelites, great numbers of whom gathered together and followed after
their flying enemies. Thus the Midianites were overcome, and Israel had peace
during the lifetime of Gideon.
– from Mother
Stories from the Bible
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/mother-stories-from-the-bible-the-defeat-of-the-midianites/
Ilario Spolverini (1657–1734), Gideon
in the camp of the Midianites, circa 1680, black chalk, pen and brown ink,
brown wash , 29 x 19,8, with inscription 'GLADIUS GIDEONIS' (on the banner held
by the angels).Auctioned at Christie's London, South Kensington, 4 June 2014,
lot 128
San Gedeone, della tribù
di Manasse, giudice di Israele, appena ricevette il segno della rugiada sul
vello dal Signore, con la forza di Dio distrusse l’altare di Baal e liberò il
popolo di Israele dai nemici.
Etimologia: Tagliatore
Martirologio
Romano: Commemorazione di san Gedeone, della tribù di Manasse, che fu
giudice di Israele e, ricevuto dal Signore il segno della rugiada che scendeva
sul vello, con la forza di Dio distrusse l’altare di Baal e liberò il popolo
d’Israele dal giogo dei nemici.
Nel Vecchio Testamento un
libro è intitolato ai “Giudici”, termine però traducibile in ebraico come
“governatori”, che Israele ebbe quando ancora era un popolo tribale, dopo
l’ingresso nella terra promessa avvenuto XIII secolo a.C. e prima
dell’istituzione di una monarchia centralizzata con il re Saul nel XI secolo
a.C..
Uno di questi misteriosi
personaggi testimoniò con la sua vita come la potenza della fede nasca
dall’onnipotenza divina, dall’accoglienza della grazia del Signore che ci salva
e ci aiuta a superare qualsiasi ostacolo. Questi si chiamava Gedeone, in
ebraico “tagliatore”, forse in memoria dell’attività svolta dalla sua famiglia.
Sfavillante di colpi di scena, la sua vicenda è narrata a partire dal capitolo
6 del libro dei Giudici. Gedeone aveva come secondo nome Ierub-baal, assai più
paganeggiante, in quanto Baal (“Signore”) era il titolo della divinità
principale dei cananei, popolazione indigena della Terra Santa.
Un giorno un angelo,
messaggero del Signore, gli apparve per conferirgli una singolare quanto
bellicosa investitura: combattente per la libertà di Israele dall’oppressione
dei Madianiti, popolo imparentato con gli Ebrei in quanto discendente da Abramo
e di cui esponente più famosa fu Zippora, moglie di Mosè. Al povero Gedeone,
cosciente della sua debolezza, non restò che replicare: “Signore mio, come
salverò Israele? Ecco, la mia famiglia è la più povera della tribù di Manasse e
io sono il più piccolo della casa di mio padre” (6,15).Ma Dio non esitò a
porgergli un duplice segno di protezione, lanciandolo così nuovamente in
un’avventura segnata dal primato della grazia.Fu così che della poderosa massa
di Ebrei pronti a combattere contro i Madianiti, Gedeone decise di licenziarne
in partenza 22000 e dei restanti ne selezionò solamente 300 mediante una
particolare prova, consistente nel saper conservare calma e dignità anche
qualora la sete avesse bruciato loro la gola. Infatti solo con pochi e scelti
combattenti si sarebbe potuto evitare che “Israele si vantasse dicendo: La mia
mano mi ha salvato!” (7,2).A notte inoltrata Gedeone fece accostare
all’accampamento madianita il suo plotone scelto suddividendolo in tre
differenti tronconi, tutti recanti una tromba e brocche vuote contenenti una
fiaccola. All’ordine del capo, “le tre schiere suonarono le trombe e spezzarono
le brocche, tenendo le fiaccole con la sinistra e con la destra le trombe per
suonare e gridarono: La spada per il Signore e per Gedeone!... Tutto
l’accampamento si mise a correre, a gridare, a fuggire”, mentre i nemici si colpivano
alla cieca tra loro (7, 20-22). Questi nonché numerosi altri successi spinsero
gli Ebrei ad offrire a Gedeone la corona di Israele, ma egli, riconfermandosi
uomo semplice e debole, replicò loro con fermezza: “Io non regnerò su di voi né
mio figlio regnerà; il Signore regnerà su di voi!” (8,23).
Questo antico
personaggio, ma al tempo stesso anche molto attuale, è venerato come santo
dalla Chiesa Cattolica. Il nuovo Martyrologium Romanum ha perciò inserito in
data 26 settembre la “Commemorazione di San Gedeone, della tribù di Manasse,
giudice di Israele, che come ebbe ricevuto il segno della rugiada sul vello dal
Signore, con la forza di Dio distrusse l’altare di Baal e liberò il popolo di
Israele dai nemici”.
Autore: Fabio
Arduino
SOURCE : http://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/92462
Domenico Corvi, Gedeone con
il vello dell'agnello (1762), olio su tela;
Feltre (Belluno), Museo Diocesano
GIUDICI 6
[1] Gli Israeliti fecero ciò che è male agli occhi del Signore e il Signore li
mise nelle mani di Madian per sette anni.
[2] La mano di Madian si fece pesante contro Israele; per la paura dei
Madianiti gli Israeliti adattarono per sé gli antri dei monti, le caverne e le
cime scoscese.
[3] Quando Israele aveva seminato, i Madianiti con i figli di Amalek e i figli
dell'oriente venivano contro di lui,
[4] si accampavano sul territorio degli Israeliti, distruggevano tutti i
prodotti del paese fino all'ingresso di Gaza e non lasciavano in Israele mezzi
di sussistenza: né pecore, né buoi, né asini.
[5] Poiché venivano con i loro armenti e con le loro tende e arrivavano
numerosi come le cavallette - essi e i loro cammelli erano senza numero - e
venivano nel paese per devastarlo.
[6] Israele fu ridotto in grande miseria a causa di Madian e gli Israeliti
gridarono al Signore.
[7] Quando gli Israeliti ebbero gridato a causa di Madian,
[8] il Signore mandò loro un profeta che disse: "Dice il Signore, Dio
d'Israele: Io vi ho fatti uscire dall'Egitto e vi ho fatti uscire dalla
condizione servile;
[9] vi ho liberati dalla mano degli Egiziani e dalla mano di quanti vi
opprimevano; li ho scacciati davanti a voi, vi ho dato il loro paese
[10] e vi ho detto: Io sono il Signore vostro Dio; non venerate gli dei degli
Amorrèi, nel paese dei quali abitate. Ma voi non avete ascoltato la mia
voce".
[11] Ora l'angelo del Signore venne a sedere sotto il terebinto di Ofra, che
apparteneva a Ioas, Abiezerita; Gedeone, figlio di Ioas, batteva il grano nel
tino per sottrarlo ai Madianiti.
[12] L'angelo del Signore gli apparve e gli disse: "Il Signore è con te,
uomo forte e valoroso!".
[13] Gedeone gli rispose: "Signor mio, se il Signore è con noi, perché ci
è capitato tutto questo? Dove sono tutti i suoi prodigi che i nostri padri ci
hanno narrato, dicendo: Il Signore non ci ha fatto forse uscire dall'Egitto? Ma
ora il Signore ci ha abbandonati e ci ha messi nelle mani di Madian".
[14] Allora il Signore si volse a lui e gli disse: "Và con questa forza e
salva Israele dalla mano di Madian; non ti mando forse io?".
[15] Gli rispose: "Signor mio, come salverò Israele? Ecco, la mia famiglia
è la più povera di Manàsse e io sono il più piccolo nella casa di mio
padre".
[16] Il Signore gli disse: "Io sarò con te e tu sconfiggerai i Madianiti
come se fossero un uomo solo".
[17] Gli disse allora: "Se ho trovato grazia ai tuoi occhi, dammi un segno
che proprio tu mi parli.
[18] Intanto, non te ne andare di qui prima che io torni da te e porti la mia
offerta da presentarti". Rispose: "Resterò finché tu torni".
[19] Allora Gedeone entrò in casa, preparò un capretto e con un'efa di farina
preparò focacce azzime; mise la carne in un canestro, il brodo in una pentola,
gli portò tutto sotto il terebinto e glielo offrì.
[20] L'angelo di Dio gli disse: "Prendi la carne e le focacce azzime,
mettile su questa pietra e versavi il brodo". Egli fece così.
[21] Allora l'angelo del Signore stese l'estremità del bastone che aveva in
mano e toccò la carne e le focacce azzime; salì dalla roccia un fuoco che
consumò la carne e le focacce azzime e l'angelo del Signore scomparve dai suoi
occhi.
[22] Gedeone vide che era l'angelo del Signore e disse: "Signore, ho
dunque visto l'angelo del Signore faccia a faccia!".
[23] Il Signore gli disse: "La pace sia con te, non temere, non
morirai!".
[24] Allora Gedeone costruì in quel luogo un altare al Signore e lo chiamò
Signore-Pace. Esso esiste fino ad oggi a Ofra degli Abiezeriti.
[25] In quella stessa notte il Signore gli disse: "Prendi il giovenco di
tuo padre e un secondo giovenco di sette anni, demolisci l'altare di Baal fatto
da tuo padre e taglia il palo sacro che gli sta accanto.
[26] Costruisci un altare al Signore tuo Dio sulla cima di questa roccia,
disponendo ogni cosa con ordine; poi prendi il secondo giovenco e offrilo in
olocausto sulla legna del palo sacro che avrai tagliato".
[27] Allora Gedeone prese dieci uomini fra i suoi servitori e fece come il
Signore gli aveva ordinato; ma temendo di farlo di giorno, per paura dei suoi
parenti e della gente della città, lo fece di notte.
[28] Quando il mattino dopo la gente della città si alzò, vide che l'altare di
Baal era stato demolito, che il palo sacro accanto era stato tagliato e che il
secondo giovenco era offerto in olocausto sull'altare che era stato costruito.
[29] Si dissero l'un altro: "Chi ha fatto questo?". Investigarono, si
informarono e dissero: "Gedeone, figlio di Ioas, ha fatto questo".
[30] Allora la gente della città disse a Ioas: "Conduci fuori tuo figlio e
sia messo a morte, perché ha demolito l'altare di Baal e ha tagliato il palo
sacro che gli stava accanto".
[31] Ioas rispose a quanti insorgevano contro di lui: "Volete difendere
voi la causa di Baal e venirgli in aiuto? Chi vorrà difendere la sua causa sarà
messo a morte prima di domattina; se è Dio, difenda da sé la sua causa, per il
fatto che hanno demolito il suo altare".
[32] Perciò in quel giorno Gedeone fu chiamato Ierub-Baal, perché si disse:
"Baal difenda la sua causa contro di lui, perché egli ha demolito il suo
altare".
[33] Ora tutti i Madianiti, Amalek e i figli dell'oriente si radunarono,
passarono il Giordano e si accamparono nella pianura di Izreel.
[34] Ma lo spirito del Signore investì Gedeone; egli suonò la tromba e gli
Abiezeriti furono convocati per seguirlo.
[35] Egli mandò anche messaggeri in tutto Manàsse, che fu pure chiamato a
seguirlo; mandò anche messaggeri nelle tribù di Aser, di Zàbulon e di Nèftali,
le quali vennero ad unirsi agli altri.
[36] Gedeone disse a Dio: "Se tu stai per salvare Israele per mia mano,
come hai detto,
[37] ecco, io metterò un vello di lana sull'aia: se c'è rugiada soltanto sul
vello e tutto il terreno resta asciutto, io saprò che tu salverai Israele per
mia mano, come hai detto".
[38] Così avvenne. La mattina dopo, Gedeone si alzò per tempo, strizzò il vello
e ne spremette la rugiada: una coppa piena d'acqua.
[39] Gedeone disse a Dio: "Non adirarti contro di me; io parlerò ancora
una volta. Lasciami fare la prova con il vello, solo ancora una volta: resti
asciutto soltanto il vello e ci sia la rugiada su tutto il terreno".
[40] Dio fece così quella notte: il vello soltanto restò asciutto e ci fu
rugiada su tutto il terreno.
SOURCE : https://www.vatican.va/archive/ITA0001/__P61.HTM
Note nel testo
6,1 -9,57 Gedeone
6,1-9,57 Il lungo ciclo di Gedeone mette
insieme materiali di diversa epoca e provenienza e può essere così ripartito:
vocazione di Gedeone (c. 6); campagna militare a ovest del Giordano (7,1-8,3); campagna a est del Giordano (8,4-35); vicenda di Abimèlec (c. 9). Il Deuteronomista si è limitato ad aggiungere la
sua teologia dei quattro momenti (vedi introduzione) e l’intervento di un
profeta anonimo. Il duplice nome, Gedeone e Ierub-Baal (6,32), attribuito al protagonista, indica
probabilmente la fusione di due diversi personaggi e dei rispettivi gruppi
etnici.
6,2-3 I Madianiti,
con i quali Mosè era imparentato (Es 2,11-3,1), erano nomadi che avevano il loro
centro a nord-est della penisola del Sinai. I figli di Amalèk e
i figli dell’oriente, che il ciclo di tanto in tanto affianca ai
Madianiti, erano rispettivamente popolazioni a sud della terra di Canaan e,
genericamente, a est del Giordano.
6,11-24 Il racconto
della vocazione di Gedeone richiama sia Gen 18, sia altre scene di vocazione (vedi, ad
es., Es 3; Ger 1,4-10) e soprattutto la vocazione di Saul
in 1Sam 9.
6,11 l’angelo del Signore: si alterna nel
testo con Signore (v. 14); Abiezerita: appartenente a un piccolo
clan della tribù di Manasse.
6,32 fu chiamato
Ierub-Baal: il testo prende questo nome in senso canzonatorio: “Baal
difenda/protegga se stesso”, cosa che non ha fatto! Ma in sé il nome è una
invocazione: “Baal difenda/protegga”, analogo a Ioiarib: “il Signore
difenda/protegga”.
6,34 lo spirito del
Signore rivestì Gedeone: per proteggerlo (vedi 1Cr 12,19) e metterlo in grado di coinvolgere anche
altri nella missione che deve compiere.
6,35 Il versetto
menziona tutto Manasse e le tribù di Aser, di Zàbulon e di
Nèftali. Ma forse è un ampliamento, perché in 8,2 viene menzionato solo il clan di Abièzer.
SOURCE :
Atelier
de Pierre Paul Rubens (1577–1640) d’après
Pierre Paul Rubens (1577–1640), Gideon
overcoming the Midianites (Judges 7: 16-25) , circa 1650, 59,5 x 73,5, North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh
GIUDICI 7
[1] Ierub-Baal dunque, cioè Gedeone, con tutta la gente che era con lui,
alzatosi di buon mattino, si accampò alla fonte di Carod. Il campo di Madian
era al nord, verso la collina di More, nella pianura.
[2] Il Signore disse a Gedeone: "La gente che è con te è troppo numerosa,
perché io metta Madian nelle sue mani; Israele potrebbe vantarsi dinanzi a me e
dire: La mia mano mi ha salvato.
[3] Ora annunzia davanti a tutto il popolo: Chiunque ha paura e trema, torni
indietro". Gedeone li mise così alla prova. Tornarono indietro
ventiduemila uomini del popolo e ne rimasero diecimila.
[4] Il Signore disse a Gedeone: "La gente è ancora troppo numerosa; falli
scendere all'acqua e te li metterò alla prova. Quegli del quale ti dirò: Questi
venga con te, verrà; e quegli del quale ti dirò: Questi non venga con te, non
verrà".
[5] Gedeone fece dunque scendere la gente all'acqua e il Signore gli disse:
"Quanti lambiranno l'acqua con la lingua, come la lambisce il cane, li
porrai da una parte; porrai da un'altra quanti, per bere, si metteranno in ginocchio".
[6] Il numero di quelli che lambirono l'acqua portandosela alla bocca con la
mano, fu di trecento uomini; tutto il resto della gente si mise in ginocchio
per bere l'acqua.
[7] Allora il Signore disse a Gedeone: "Con questi trecento uomini che hanno
lambito l'acqua, io vi salverò e metterò i Madianiti nelle tue mani. Tutto il
resto della gente se ne vada, ognuno a casa sua".
[8] Egli prese dalle mani del popolo le brocche e le trombe; rimandò tutti gli
altri Israeliti ciascuno alla sua tenda e tenne con sé i trecento uomini.
L'accampamento di Madian gli stava al di sotto, nella pianura.
[9] In quella stessa notte il Signore disse a Gedeone: "Alzati e piomba
sul campo, perché io te l'ho messo nelle mani.
[10] Ma se hai paura di farlo, scendivi con Pura tuo servo
[11] e udrai quello che dicono; dopo, prenderai vigore per piombare sul
campo". Egli scese con Pura suo servo fino agli avamposti
dell'accampamento.
[12] I Madianiti, gli Amaleciti e tutti i figli dell'oriente erano sparsi nella
pianura e i loro cammelli erano senza numero come la sabbia che è sul lido del
mare.
[13] Quando Gedeone vi giunse, ecco un uomo raccontava un sogno al suo compagno
e gli diceva: "Ho fatto un sogno. Mi pareva di vedere una pagnotta di orzo
rotolare nell'accampamento di Madian: giunse alla tenda, la urtò e la rovesciò
e la tenda cadde a terra".
[14] Il suo compagno gli rispose: "Questo non è altro che la spada di
Gedeone, figlio di Ioas, uomo di Israele; Dio ha messo nelle sue mani Madian e
tutto l'accampamento".
[15] Quando Gedeone ebbe udito il racconto del sogno e la sua interpretazione,
si prostrò; poi tornò al campo di Israele e disse: "Alzatevi, perché il
Signore ha messo nelle vostre mani l'accampamento di Madian".
[16] Divise i trecento uomini in tre schiere, consegnò a tutti trombe e brocche
vuote con dentro fiaccole;
[17] disse loro: "Guardate me e fate come farò io, così farete voi.
[18] Quando io, con quanti sono con me, suonerò la tromba, anche voi suonerete
le trombe intorno a tutto l'accampamento e griderete: Per il Signore e per
Gedeone!".
[19] Gedeone e i cento uomini che erano con lui giunsero all'estremità
dell'accampamento, all'inizio della veglia di mezzanotte, quando appena avevano
cambiato le sentinelle. Egli suonò la tromba spezzando la brocca che aveva in
mano.
[20] Allora le tre schiere suonarono le trombe e spezzarono le brocche, tenendo
le fiaccole con la sinistra e con la destra le trombe per suonare e gridarono:
"La spada per il Signore e per Gedeone!".
[21] Ognuno di essi rimase al suo posto, intorno all'accampamento; tutto il
campo si mise a correre, a gridare, a fuggire.
[22] Mentre quelli suonavano le trecento trombe, il Signore fece volgere la
spada di ciascuno contro il compagno, per tutto l'accampamento. L'esercito
fuggì fino a Bet-Sitta a Zerera fino alla riva di Abel-Mecola, sopra Tabbat.
[23] Gli Israeliti di Nèftali, di Aser e di tutto Manàsse si radunarono e
inseguirono i Madianiti.
[24] Intanto Gedeone aveva mandato messaggeri per tutte le montagne di Efraim a
dire: "Scendete contro i Madianiti e tagliate loro i guadi sul Giordano
fino a Bet-Bara". Così tutti gli uomini di Efraim si radunarono e si
impadronirono dei guadi sul Giordano fino a Bet-Bara.
[25] Presero due capi di Madian, Oreb e Zeeb; uccisero Oreb alla roccia di Oreb
e Zeeb al Torchio di Zeeb. Inseguirono i Madianiti e portarono le teste di Oreb
e di Zeeb a Gedeone, oltre il Giordano.
SOURCE : https://www.vatican.va/archive/ITA0001/__P62.HTM
Note nel testo
7,1 Gedeone si
accampa ai piedi dei monti di Gèlboe, presso la fonte di Carod, nome che
significa “avere paura”, “tremare” (vedi 7,3). Il campo dei Madianiti è un po’ più a
nord-ovest, ai piedi della collina di Morè, zona collinare del Piccolo
Ermon.
7,13 La pagnotta
d’orzo che rotola sulla tenda è simbolo di un popolo agricolo, cioè degli
Israeliti dediti da tempo all’agricoltura; la tenda che cade perché
urtata dalla pagnotta è simbolo di un popolo nomade, cioè dei Madianiti.
SOURCE :
GIUDICI 8
[1] Ma gli uomini di Efraim gli dissero: "Che azione ci hai fatto, non chiamandoci quando sei andato a combattere contro Madian?". Litigarono con lui violentemente.
[2] Egli rispose loro: "Che ho fatto io in confronto a voi? La
racimolatura di Efraim non vale più della vendemmia di Abiezer?
[3] Dio vi ha messo nelle mani i capi di Madian, Oreb e Zeeb; che dunque ho
potuto fare io in confronto a voi?". A tali parole, la loro ira contro di
lui si calmò.
[4] Gedeone arrivò al Giordano e lo attraversò. Ma egli e i suoi trecento
uomini erano stanchi e affamati.
[5] Disse a quelli di Succot: "Date focacce di pane alla gente che mi
segue, perché è stanca e io sto inseguendo Zebach e Zalmunna, re di
Madian".
[6] Ma i capi di Succot risposero: "Tieni forse già nelle tue mani i polsi
di Zebach e di Zalmunna, perché dobbiamo dare il pane al tuo esercito?".
[7] Gedeone disse: "Ebbene, quando il Signore mi avrà messo nelle mani
Zebach e Zalmunna, vi strazierò le carni con le spine del deserto e con i
cardi".
[8] Di là salì a Penuel e parlò agli uomini di Penuel nello stesso modo; essi
gli risposero come avevano fatto quelli di Succot.
[9] Egli disse anche agli uomini di Penuel: "Quando tornerò in pace,
abbatterò questa torre".
[10] Zebach e Zalmunna erano a Karkor con il loro accampamento di circa
quindicimila uomini, quanti erano rimasti dell'intero esercito dei figli
dell'oriente; centoventimila uomini armati di spada erano caduti.
[11] Gedeone salì per la via dei nomadi a oriente di Nobach e di Iogbea e mise
in rotta l'esercito che si credeva sicuro.
[12] Zebach e Zalmunna si diedero alla fuga, ma egli li inseguì, prese i due re
di Madian, Zebach e Zalmunna, e sbaragliò tutto l'esercito.
[13] Poi Gedeone, figlio di Ioas, tornò dalla battaglia per la salita di
Cheres.
[14] Catturò un giovane della gente di Succot e lo interrogò; quegli gli mise
per iscritto i nomi dei capi e degli anziani di Succot: settantasette uomini.
[15] Poi venne alla gente di Succot e disse: "Ecco Zebach e Zalmunna, a
proposito dei quali mi avete insultato dicendo: Hai tu forse già nelle mani i
polsi di Zebach e Zalmunna perché dobbiamo dare il pane alla tua gente
stanca?".
[16] Prese gli anziani della città e con le spine del deserto e con i cardi
castigò gli uomini di Succot.
[17] Demolì la torre di Penuel e uccise gli uomini della città.
[18] Poi disse a Zebach e a Zalmunna: "Come erano gli uomini che avete
uccisi al Tabor?". Quelli risposero: "Erano come te; ognuno di loro
aveva l'aspetto di un figlio di re".
[19] Egli riprese: "Erano miei fratelli, figli di mia madre; per la vita
del Signore, se aveste risparmiato loro la vita, io non vi ucciderei!".
[20] Poi disse a Ieter, suo primogenito: "Su, uccidili!". Ma il
giovane non estrasse la spada, perché aveva paura, poiché era ancora giovane.
[21] Zebach e Zalmunna dissero: "Suvvia, colpisci tu stesso, poiché qual è
l'uomo, tale è la sua forza". Gedeone si alzò e uccise Zebach e Zalmunna e
prese le lunette che i loro cammelli portavano al collo.
[22] Allora gli Israeliti dissero a Gedeone: "Regna su di noi tu e i tuoi
discendenti, poiché ci hai liberati dalla mano di Madian".
[23] Ma Gedeone rispose loro: "Io non regnerò su di voi né mio figlio
regnerà; il Signore regnerà su di voi".
[24] Poi Gedeone disse loro: "Una cosa voglio chiedervi: ognuno di voi mi
dia un pendente del suo bottino". I nemici avevano pendenti d'oro, perché
erano Ismaeliti.
[25] Risposero: "Li daremo volentieri". Egli stese allora il mantello
e ognuno vi gettò un pendente del suo bottino".
[26] Il peso dei pendenti d'oro, che egli aveva chiesti, fu di millesettecento
sicli d'oro, oltre le lunette, le catenelle e le vesti di porpora, che i re di
Madian avevano addosso, e oltre le collane che i loro cammelli avevano al
collo.
[27] Gedeone ne fece un efod che pose in Ofra sua città; tutto Israele vi si
prostrò davanti in quel luogo e ciò divenne una causa di rovina per Gedeone e
per la sua casa.
[28] Così Madian fu umiliato davanti agli Israeliti e non alzò più il capo; il
paese rimase in pace per quarant'anni, durante la vita di Gedeone.
[29] Ierub-Baal, figlio di Ioas, tornò a dimorare a casa sua.
[30] Gedeone ebbe settanta figli che gli erano nati dalle molte mogli.
[31] Anche la sua concubina che stava a Sichem gli partorì un figlio, che
chiamò Abimèlech.
[32] Poi Gedeone, figlio di Ioas, morì in buona vecchiaia e fu sepolto nella
tomba di Ioas suo padre a Ofra degli Abiezeriti.
[33] Dopo la morte di Gedeone gli Israeliti tornarono a prostituirsi a Baal e
presero Baal-Berit come loro dio.
[34] Gli Israeliti non si ricordarono del Signore loro Dio che li aveva
liberati dalle mani di tutti i loro nemici all'intorno
[35] e non dimostrarono gratitudine alla casa di Ierub-Baal, cioè di Gedeone,
per tutto il bene che egli aveva fatto a Israele.
SOURCE : https://www.vatican.va/archive/ITA0001/__P63.HTM
Note nel testo
8,4 arrivò al
Giordano e lo attraversò: la campagna in Transgiordania non è la continuazione
della precedente, ma una diversa spedizione militare. I re in questione non
sono più Oreb e Zeeb, i cui nomi significano “corvo” e “lupo”
(vedi 8,3) ma Zebach e Salmunnà, i cui nomi
significano “vittime” e, forse, “ombra vagante” (vedi 8,5).
8,5 Succot: città a
nord della foce dello Iabbok.
8,8 Penuèl: lungo il
corso dello Iabbok, circa a otto chilometri al di là di Succot.
8,27 fece un efod:
cioè un oggetto cultuale (Es 28,6-14; Gdc 17,5; 18,14-20; 1Sam 14,18.41), che il testo considera come
idolatrico.
8,33 Baal-Berit: è
il dio dell’alleanza venerato dai Cananei di Sichem; in 9,46 viene chiamato El-Berit.
SOURCE : https://www.bibbiaedu.it/CEI2008/at/Gdc/8/?sel=6,11
Gédéon, le juge humble et
fidèle : https://catecheses.org/site/pdf/CATE%2023%20GEDEON.pdf
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