person · also Jerubbaal · Jerubbesheth
Gideon
גִּדְעוֹןΓεδεών
Gideon, also called Jerubbaal or Jerubbesheth, was a judge of Israel who, with God's help, defeated the Midianites and delivered Israel from oppression.
- verses
- 50
- first named
- Judges 6:11
- last named
- Hebrews 11:32
- period
- before Israel's Monarchy
- role
- Judge
Description
Who was Gideon?
Gideon, also known as Jerubbaal or Jerubbesheth, was a judge of Israel during the period of the judges, as recorded in the book of Judges, chapters 6-8. He is also mentioned in Heb.11.32 as an example of faith. Gideon was the son of Joash, from the clan of Abiezer in the tribe of Manasseh (Jdg.6.11, 15). During a time when Israel was oppressed by the Midianites, God called Gideon to deliver His people (Jdg.6.14). Gideon initially doubted his ability to save Israel, but God reassured him through various signs, including a fleece wet with dew (Jdg.6.36-40). Gideon destroyed the altar of Baal and the Asherah pole, earning him the name Jerubbaal, which means "let Baal contend against him" (Jdg.6.25-32).
With a reduced army of 300 men, chosen by God, Gideon defeated the Midianites through a surprise attack, using trumpets, empty jars, and torches (Jdg.7.1-25). He pursued the Midianite kings, Zebah and Zalmunna, and captured them (Jdg.8.4-21). After the victory, the Israelites asked Gideon to rule over them, but he refused, stating that only God should rule over Israel (Jdg.8.22-23). However, Gideon made an ephod from the gold taken from the Midianites, which became a snare to him and his family (Jdg.8.24-27).
Gideon had seventy sons and many wives, including a concubine from Shechem who bore him a son named Abimelech (Jdg.8.29-31). After Gideon's death, Abimelech killed his seventy brothers and became king of Shechem, but his rule was short-lived and ended in his death (Judges 9). Gideon is remembered as a deliverer of Israel, and his story is referenced in 1Sa.12.11 and 2Sa.11.21. The name Jerubbesheth (2Sa.11.21) is a variation of Jerubbaal, with "besheth" (meaning "shame") replacing "baal" to avoid using the name of the pagan god.
Relations
Direct connections
Every entity the graph places in a stated relation with this one, grouped by the kind of link. Each relation is authored once and its inverse derived, so both ends always agree. Rows marked “registry” come from the identity spine rather than from a verse, and a row marked “which bearer is the source’s decision” is one where the name could have meant more than one person. The last group is not a relation at all — it counts the events two entities stand in together.
The 10 best-attested of 17 are drawn. All 17 are listed below.
Associated with
Child of
- JoashregistryJudges 8:32Judges 6:11Judges 7:14 +2
Father of
- Abimelechregistry, no verse
- Jetherregistry, no verse
- JothamregistryJudges 9:57
Sibling of
Stands in the same events as
- Israel7 events
- LORD7 events
- Midian6 events
- Zalmunna6 events
- Zebah6 events
- Leaders Shechem4 events
- Camp Of Midian4 events
- Ephraim2 events
- Samuel2 events
- Abimelech2 events
- Jephthah2 events
- Barak2 events
and 27 more, ordered by how many events they share.
Places
Where this happens
The places the claims about this person reach, drawn where the gazetteer locates them. A point is where a row puts them and never where tradition does; no line joins two points, because the rows state where and not in what order.
The pattern
Where Gideon is named
Every book of the corpus in the order it is read, each as wide as the chapters it holds. A bar is the verses of that book which write the name, and the flat stretches are as much of the answer as the bars.
50 verses across 4 of 66 books; 62 write the name nowhere. Named in Judges (47), 1 Samuel (1), 2 Samuel (1) and Hebrews (1).
Read it
Where to read it
Every verse of the text carried here that names this entity — 50, across 4 books. The name is written 55 times in them.
Onward
Where this page goes
Not the direct relations above — these are one hop further out, ranked so that a rare shared connection outweighs a common one. Descriptions by STEPBible TIPNR.
Where they appear
Chapter by chapter
Atlas's reading of each chapter this person appears in, in canonical order. One line per chapter, and each leads to the whole of it.
- Judges 6Gideon threshes wheat in a winepress, tests the LORD with an offering and a fleece, tears down Baal’s altar, and rallies Israel.
- Judges 7Gideon reduced his army, listened to a Midianite dream, arranged the attack, and received the heads of Oreb and Zeeb.
- Judges 8Gideon appeased Ephraim, pursued Midian, punished Succoth and Penuel, killed Zebah and Zalmunna, refused kingship, and made the ephod.
Sources