Gideon had seventy sons of his own, since he had many wives.
Parallel translations
- WEB Gideon had seventy sons conceived from his body, for he had many wives.
- KJV And Gideon had threescore and ten sons of his body begotten: for he had many wives.
- NKJV Gideon had seventy sons who were his own offspring, for he had many wives.
- NASB Now Gideon had seventy sons who were his direct descendants, for he had many wives.
- NLT He had seventy sons born to him, for he had many wives.
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 has seventy sons by his many wives.
Overview
His many wives, like a king's harem, reveal that Gideon adopted royal trappings despite refusing the title. Polygamy departs from God's design and sows seeds of future conflict. The seventy sons become the tragic victims of Abimelech's ambition in chapter 9.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 17
- Judg 9:2“Please ask all the leaders of Shechem, ‘Is it better for you that seventy men, all the sons of Jerubbaal, rule over you, or just one man?’ Remember that I am your own flesh and blood.”
- Judg 9:5He went to his father’s house in Ophrah, and on one stone murdered his seventy brothers, the sons of Jerubbaal. But Jotham, the youngest son of Jerubbaal, survived, because he hid himself.
- Deut 17:17He must not take many wives for himself, lest his heart go astray. He must not accumulate for himself large amounts of silver and gold.
- 1 Kgs 11:3He had seven hundred wives of royal birth and three hundred concubines—and his wives turned his heart away.
- Exod 1:5The descendants of Jacob numbered seventy in all, including Joseph, who was already in Egypt.
- Eph 5:31–33“For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.”
- Judg 10:4He had thirty sons who rode on thirty donkeys. And they had thirty towns in the land of Gilead, which to this day are called Havvoth-jair.
- 2 Sam 5:13–16After he had arrived from Hebron, David took more concubines and wives from Jerusalem, and more sons and daughters were born to him.
- Judg 12:9He had thirty sons, as well as thirty daughters whom he gave in marriage to men outside his clan; and for his sons he brought back thirty wives from elsewhere. Ibzan judged Israel seven years.
- Gen 46:26All those belonging to Jacob who came to Egypt—his direct descendants, besides the wives of Jacob’s sons—numbered sixty-six persons.
- Judg 12:14He had forty sons and thirty grandsons, who rode on seventy donkeys. And he judged Israel eight years.
- Gen 2:24For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.
- 2 Kgs 10:1Now Ahab had seventy sons in Samaria. So Jehu wrote letters and sent them to Samaria to the officials of Jezreel, to the elders, and to the guardians of the sons of Ahab, saying:
- Gen 7:7And Noah and his wife, with his sons and their wives, entered the ark to escape the waters of the flood.
- Matt 19:5–8and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’?
- Mal 2:15Has not the LORD made them one, having a portion of the Spirit? And why one? Because He seeks godly offspring. So guard yourselves in your spirit and do not break faith with the wife of your youth.
- 2 Sam 3:2–5And sons were born to David in Hebron: His firstborn was Amnon, by Ahinoam of Jezreel;
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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 8:30 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
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