GEDEON (Hebrew Gidh'ōn; Septuagint GEBEŌN, Vulgate Gedeon). - A "judge" of Israel. After the activity of Deborah (v.), there occurred in Palestine a period of raids and turmoil caused by incursions of Midianites, Amalekites and Transjordanian bedouins (Judg. 6:3). Oppressed by calamity, the Israelites returned to the Lord, who raised up a new "judge" in Gideon, son of Joash, a descendant of Manasseh in the Abiezrite branch (cf. Josh. 17:2). While Gideon was under the terebinth of Ephrah (a locality not identified, but undoubtedly in the Cisjordanian part of the tribe of Manasseh) an angel of the Lord revealed to him the new mission to be accomplished. To assure him of his reality as a heavenly messenger, the angel offered Gideon a sign, producing a miraculous fire upon some foods (Judg. 6:11-24).
First of all the new judge purified his native country, indeed his own father's house, of an idolatrous altar in honor of Baal (v.). He demolished the altar, then cut down the sacred pole of the 'Ašerah (v. ASTARTE) and with it burned a sacrifice to the true God. His indignant fellow citizens demanded his death, accusing him of sacrilege. His father protected Gideon, declaring that Baal himself could show his power by taking vengeance on the impious man. The demonstrators contented themselves with turning Joash's skeptical words into a wish; from that time, in fact, Gideon was called Jerubbaal (= "let Baal defend" his own cause). Before attacking the Midianites, Gideon again asked for a sign from heaven, namely the miracle of the fleece and the dew, much exploited in the typological and allegorical exegesis of the Fathers. Then, with only 300 men, selected by the more or less hasty manner used in drinking from a torrent, he attacked the raiders of Transjordan. The first clash occurred toward the Jordan north of Samaria, probably between 'Ajn Gálód (= spring of Harod) and the hill Nebi Dahi or Little Hermon. By a stratagem the 300 men managed to enter the enemy camp and spread panic there. Gideon pursued the enemies, some of whom were captured, such as the two Midianite princes Oreb and Zeeb, at the fords of the Jordan. After crossing the river, despite the hostility of certain Israelite centers, on which he took harsh vengeance, Gideon defeated the enemies. Among the prisoners are expressly mentioned Zebah and Zalmunna, whom Gideon put to death with his own hand to avenge the slaughter of his brothers carried out by the two. Having freed the people from the raiders, Gideon refused the royal dignity and renounced the great spoils of war. He asked only for some gold ornaments. Having received them to the weight of about 18 kg., he melted them down to make an ephod, which does not seem to have been the priestly garment of the same name (v. EPHOD), but rather an object used for divinatory purposes. Indeed the sacred author affirms that it was the cause of the "spiritual fornication," that is, of the idolatry, of the people. Gideon died, leaving as many as 70 legitimate sons and one illegitimate, who would carry out a massacre of his half-brothers and prepare his own ruin (v. ARIMELECH; GAAL; IOHATAM, PIGLIO DI G.).
The events of Gideon are narrated in Judg. 6-8; elsewhere, however, the Bible alludes to his deeds (cf. Ps. 82 [Heb. 83]:12) and to his faith (cf. Heb. 11:32, 33).
Bibliography3 works
Angelo Penna