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He also pulled down the tower of Penuel and killed the men of the city.
Judges 8:17 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB He broke down the tower of Penuel, and killed the men of the city.
  • KJV And he beat down the tower of Penuel, and slew the men of the city.
  • NKJV Then he tore down the tower of Penuel and killed the men of the city.
  • NASB And he tore down the tower of Penuel and killed the men of the city.
  • NLT He also tore down the tower of Peniel and killed all the men in the town.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

Gideon tears down Penuel's tower and kills the men of the city.

Overview

Penuel's punishment is heavier than Succoth's, the demolished tower exposing their false security. The severity raises questions for readers about Gideon's growing harshness, even as it fulfills his word. The episode shows the cost of opposing God's work, while hinting at the flaws emerging in Gideon himself.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 2

  • Judg 8:9So Gideon told the men of Penuel, “When I return in triumph, I will tear down this tower!”
  • 1 Kgs 12:25Then Jeroboam built Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim and lived there. And from there he went out and built Penuel.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (7)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Judges videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Judges 8:17YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on JudgesMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Israel's cycle of sin and rescue through flawed deliverers cries out for a Savior who never fails — the true and final Judge and Deliverer who saves his people not for a season but forever.

How Judges 8:17 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.