Judges 8:16 Meaning and Explanation
“And he took the elders of the city, and thorns of the wilderness and briers, and with them he taught the men of Succoth.”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →Gideon disciplines the elders of Succoth with desert thorns, as he had vowed.
What Does Judges 8:16 Mean?
Gideon now does what he promised. He takes the elders of Succoth and, with the thorns and briers of the wilderness, he taught the men of the city, the narrator's grave way of describing the painful discipline he had threatened.
To call it teaching is pointed. The hard lesson is meant to instruct, not merely to wound, that loyalty to one's brothers and reverence for God's cause are not optional. Promises of judgment, like promises of mercy, are kept. The verse stands as a sober reminder that scorn toward God's people in their need carries a real and remembered cost.
Judges 8:16 in the Original Language
yada (יָדַע), 'taught' -- to make known by hard experience, here a discipline that instructs.
Frequently Asked Questions About Judges 8:16
What does Judges 8:16 mean?
Gideon disciplines the elders of Succoth with desert thorns, as he had vowed.