Shuphatym (Judges) — 8

Gydaun Kills Zebah and Zalmunna

1 Then the people of Aphraim asked Gydaun, “Why have you treated us this way? Why did you not send for us when you first went out to fight the Midianites?” And they argued heatedly with Gydaun.

2 But Gydaun replied, “What have I accomplished compared to you? even the leftover grapes of Aphraim’s harvest is better than the entire crop of my little clan of Abiazar?

3 For 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄_YAHUAH gave you victory over Urab and Zaab, the commanders of the Midianite army. What have I accomplished compared to that?” When the men of Aphraim heard Gydaun’s answer, their anger subsided.

4 Gydaun then crossed the Yurdan River with his three hundred men, and though exhausted, they continued to chase the enemy. 

5 When they reached Succuth, Gydaun asked the leaders of the town, “Please give my warriors some food. They are very tired. I am chasing Zabah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian.”

6 But the officials of Succuth replied, “Catch Zabah and Zalmunna first, and then we will feed your army.”

7 So Gydaun said, “After 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄_YAHUAH gives me victory over Zabah and Zalmunna, I will return and tear your flesh with the thorns and briers from the wilderness.”

8 From there Gydaun went up to Panial and again asked for food, but he got the same answer. 

9 So he said to the people of Panial, “After I return in victory, I will tear down this tower.”

10 By this time Zabah and Zalmunna were in Karkur with about fifteen thousand warriors, all that remained of the allied armies of the east, for one hundred and twenty thousand had already been killed. 

11 Gydaun circled around by the caravan route east of Nubah and Yugbahah, taking the Midianite army by surprise. 

12 Zabah and Zalmunna, the two Midianite kings, fled, but Gydaun chased them down and captured all their warriors.

13 After this, Gydaun returned from the battle by way of Haras Pass. 

14 There he captured a young man from Succuth and demanded that he write down the names of all the seventy-seven officials and elders in the town. 

15 Gydaun then returned to Succuth and said to the leaders, “Here are Zabah and Zalmunna. When we were here before, you taunted me, saying, ‘Catch Zabah and Zalmunna first, and then we will feed your exhausted army.’” 

16 Then Gydaun took the elders of the town and taught them a lesson, punishing them with thorns and briers from the wilderness. 

17 He also tore down the tower of Panial and killed all the men in the town.

18 Then Gydaun asked Zabah and Zalmunna, “The men you killed at Tabur, what were they like? “Like you,” they replied. “They all had the look of a king’s son.”

19 “They were my brothers, the sons of my own mother!” Gydaun exclaimed. “As surely as 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄_YAHUAH lives, I wouldn’t kill you if you hadn’t killed them.”

20 Turning to Yathar, his oldest son, he said, “Kill them!” But Yathar did not draw his sword, for he was only a boy and was afraid.

21 Then Zabah and Zalmunna said to Gydaun, “Be a man! Kill us yourself!” So Gydaun killed them both and took the royal ornaments from the necks of their camels.

Gydaun’s Sacred Ephod

22 Then the Yasharalym said to Gydaun, “Be our ruler! You and your son and your grandson will be our rulers, for you have rescued us from Midian.”

23 But Gydaun replied, “I will not rule over you, nor will my son. 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄_YAHUAH will rule over you! 

24 However, I do have one request, that each of you give me an earring from the plunder you collected from your fallen enemies.” (The enemies, being Ishmaalites, all wore gold earrings.)

25 “Gladly!” they replied. They spread out a cloak, and each one threw in a gold earring he had gathered from the plunder. 

26 The weight of the gold earrings was forty-three pounds, not including the royal ornaments and pendants, the purple clothing worn by the kings of Midian, or the chains around the necks of their camels.

27 Gydaun made a sacred ephod from the gold and put it in Uphrah, his hometown. But soon all the Yasharalym prostituted themselves by worshiping it, and it became a trap for Gydaun and his family.

28 That is the story of how the people of Yashar'AL defeated Midian, which never recovered. Throughout the rest of Gydaun’s lifetime, about forty years, there was peace in the land.

29 Then Gydaun son of Yuash returned home.

30 He had seventy sons born to him, for he had many wives. 

31 He also had a concubine in Shacham, who gave birth to a son, whom he named Abimalach. 

32 Gydaun died when he was very old, and he was buried in the grave of his father Yuash, at Uphrah in the land of the clan of Abiazar.

33 As soon as Gydaun died, the Yasharalym prostituted themselves by worshiping the images of Baal, making Baal-barith their deities. 

34 They forgot 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄_YAHUAH their  𐤀𐤋𐤅𐤄_ALUAH, who had rescued them from all their enemies surrounding them. 

35 Nor did they show any loyalty to the family of Yarub-baal (that is, Gydaun), despite all the good he had done for Yashar'AL.