Gideon | |
|---|---|
גִּדְעוֹן | |
_(cropped).jpg) Gideon as depicted in the painting Gideon and the Fleece (1550) by Maerten van Heemskerck | |
| Predecessor | Deborah |
| Successor | Abimelech |
| Father | Joash |
| Judges in the Hebrew Bible שופטים |
|---|
| Italics indicate individuals not explicitly described as judges |
| Book of Exodus |
| Book of Joshua |
| Book of Judges |
| First Book of Samuel |
Gideon (/ˈɡɪdiən/; Hebrew: גִּדְעוֹן, Modern: Gīdʿōn, Tiberian: Gīḏəʿōn) also named Jerubbaal[a] and Jerubbesheth,[b][1] was a military leader, judge and prophet whose calling and victory over the Midianites are recounted in Judges 6–8 of the Book of Judges in both the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Bible.
Gideon was the son of Joash, from the Abiezrite clan in the tribe of Manasseh and lived in Ephra (Ophrah).[2] As a leader of the Israelites, he won a decisive victory over a Midianite army despite a vast numerical disadvantage, leading a troop of 300 men.[3] Archaeologists in southern Israel have found a 3,100-year-old fragment of a jug with five letters written in ink that appear to represent the name Jerubbaal, or Yeruba'al.[4]
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