Judges 8:27

NET Bible® (New English Translation)

Gideon used all this to make an ephod, which he put in his hometown of Ophrah. All the Israelites prostituted themselves to it by worshiping it there. It became a snare to Gideon and his family.

📖 Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

וַיַּעַשׂ֩ אוֹת֨וֹ גִדְע֜וֹן לְאֵפ֗וֹד וַיַּצֵּ֨ג אוֹת֤וֹ בְעִירוֹ֙ בְּעָפְרָ֔ה וַיִּזְנ֧וּ כָֽל־יִשְׂרָאֵ֛ל אַחֲרָ֖יו שָׁ֑ם וַיְהִ֛י לְגִדְע֥וֹן וּלְבֵית֖וֹ לְמוֹקֵֽשׁ׃

Transliteration

And wayyaʿaś [made] ʾôtô [it] gidʿôn [Gideon] ləʾēpôd [into an ephod], and wayyaṣṣēg [placed] ʾôtô [it] bəʿîrô [in his city] bəʿoprāh [in Ophrah], and wayyiznû [prostituted themselves] kol-yiśrāʾēl [all Israel] ʾaḥărāyw [after it] šām [there]; and wayəhî [it became] ləgidʿôn [to Gideon] and ûləbêtô [to his house] ləmôqēš [as a snare].

Grammar Details

• *wayyaʿaś*: waw consecutive + qal imperfect, 3rd masculine singular of *ʿāśâ* - and made
• *ʾôtô*: direct object marker + 3rd masculine singular suffix - it
• *gidʿôn*: proper noun - Gideon
• *ləʾēpôd*: preposition *lə* + noun, masculine singular - into an ephod
• *wayyaṣṣēg*: waw consecutive + hiphil imperfect, 3rd masculine singular of *nāṣag* - and placed
• *bəʿîrô*: preposition *bə* + noun, feminine singular with 3rd masculine singular suffix - in his city
• *bəʿoprāh*: preposition *bə* + proper noun - in Ophrah
• *wayyiznû*: waw consecutive + qal imperfect, 3rd masculine plural of *zānâ* - and prostituted themselves
• *kol*-*yiśrāʾēl*: noun, masculine singular construct + proper noun - all Israel
• *ʾaḥărāyw*: preposition *ʾaḥar* + 3rd masculine singular suffix - after it
• *šām*: adverb - there
• *wayəhî*: waw consecutive + qal imperfect, 3rd masculine singular of *hāyâ* - and it became
• *ləgidʿôn*: preposition *lə* + proper noun - to Gideon
• *ûləbêtô*: conjunction + preposition *lə* + noun, masculine singular with 3rd masculine singular suffix - and to his house
• *ləmôqēš*: preposition *lə* + noun, masculine singular - as a snare

Word Meanings

• *ʾēpôd*: ephod (priestly garment/sacred object)
• *mô qēš*: snare/trap/stumbling block
• *zānâ*: prostitute oneself/be unfaithful (often used of spiritual apostasy)

Referenced Verses

• Judg 17:5 : 5 Now this man Micah owned a shrine. He made an ephod and some personal idols and hired one of his sons to serve as a priest.
• Judg 18:14 : 14 The five men who had gone to spy out the land of Laish said to their kinsmen,“Do you realize that inside these houses are an ephod, some personal idols, a carved image, and a metal image? Decide now what you want to do.”
• Judg 18:17 : 17 The five men who had gone to spy out the land broke in and stole the carved image, the ephod, the personal idols, and the metal image, while the priest was standing at the entrance to the gate with the six hundred fully armed men.
• Deut 7:16 : 16 Exhortation to Destroy Canaanite Paganism You must destroy all the people whom the LORD your God is about to deliver over to you; you must not pity them or worship their gods, for that will be a snare to you.
• Ps 106:39 : 39 They were defiled by their deeds, and unfaithful in their actions.
• Judg 6:24 : 24 Gideon built an altar for the LORD there, and named it“The LORD is on friendly terms with me.” To this day it is still there in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.
• Exod 23:33 : 33 They must not live in your land, lest they make you sin against me, for if you serve their gods, it will surely be a snare to you.”
• Exod 28:6-9 : 6 “They are to make the ephod of gold, blue, purple, scarlet, and fine twisted linen, the work of an artistic designer. 7 It is to have two shoulder pieces attached to two of its corners, so it can be joined together. 8 The artistically woven waistband of the ephod that is on it is to be like it, of one piece with the ephod, of gold, blue, purple, scarlet, and fine twisted linen. 9 “You are to take two onyx stones and engrave on them the names of the sons of Israel, 10 six of their names on one stone, and the six remaining names on the second stone, according to the order of their birth. 11 You are to engrave the two stones with the names of the sons of Israel with the work of an engraver in stone, like the engravings of a seal; you are to have them set in gold filigree settings. 12 You are to put the two stones on the shoulders of the ephod, stones of memorial for the sons of Israel, and Aaron will bear their names before the LORD on his two shoulders for a memorial. 13 You are to make filigree settings of gold 14 and two braided chains of pure gold, like a cord, and attach the chains to the settings. 15 “You are to make a breastpiece for use in making decisions, the work of an artistic designer; you are to make it in the same fashion as the ephod; you are to make it of gold, blue, purple, scarlet, and fine twisted linen. 16 It is to be square when doubled, nine inches long and nine inches wide. 17 You are to set in it a setting for stones, four rows of stones, a row with a ruby, a topaz, and a beryl– the first row; 18 and the second row, a turquoise, a sapphire, and an emerald; 19 and the third row, a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst; 20 and the fourth row, a chrysolite, an onyx, and a jasper. They are to be enclosed in gold in their filigree settings. 21 The stones are to be for the names of the sons of Israel, twelve, according to the number of their names. Each name according to the twelve tribes is to be like the engravings of a seal. 22 “You are to make for the breastpiece braided chains like cords of pure gold, 23 and you are to make for the breastpiece two gold rings and attach the two rings to the upper two ends of the breastpiece. 24 You are to attach the two gold chains to the two rings at the ends of the breastpiece; 25 the other two ends of the two chains you will attach to the two settings and then attach them to the shoulder pieces of the ephod at the front of it. 26 You are to make two rings of gold and put them on the other two ends of the breastpiece, on its edge that is on the inner side of the ephod. 27 You are to make two more gold rings and attach them to the bottom of the two shoulder pieces on the front of the ephod, close to the juncture above the waistband of the ephod. 28 They are to tie the breastpiece by its rings to the rings of the ephod by blue cord, so that it may be above the waistband of the ephod, and so that the breastpiece will not be loose from the ephod. 29 Aaron will bear the names of the sons of Israel in the breastpiece of decision over his heart when he goes into the holy place, for a memorial before the LORD continually. 30 “You are to put the Urim and the Thummim into the breastpiece of decision; and they are to be over Aaron’s heart when he goes in before the LORD. Aaron is to bear the decisions of the Israelites over his heart before the LORD continually. 31 “You are to make the robe of the ephod completely blue. 32 There is to be an opening in its top in the center of it, with an edge all around the opening, the work of a weaver, like the opening of a collar, so that it cannot be torn. 33 You are to make pomegranates of blue, purple, and scarlet all around its hem and bells of gold between them all around. 34 The pattern is to be a gold bell and a pomegranate, a gold bell and a pomegranate, all around the hem of the robe. 35 The robe is to be on Aaron as he ministers, and his sound will be heard when he enters the Holy Place before the LORD and when he leaves, so that he does not die.
• Deut 12:5 : 5 But you must seek only the place he chooses from all your tribes to establish his name as his place of residence, and you must go there.
• Judg 6:11 : 11 Gideon Meets Some Visitors The LORD’s angel came and sat down under the oak tree in Ophrah owned by Joash the Abiezrite. He arrived while Joash’s son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress so he could hide it from the Midianites.
• 1 Sam 23:9-9 : 9 When David realized that Saul was planning to harm him, he told Abiathar the priest,“Bring the ephod!” 10 Then David said,“O LORD God of Israel, your servant has clearly heard that Saul is planning to come to Keilah to destroy the city because of me.
• Ps 73:27 : 27 Yes, look! Those far from you die; you destroy everyone who is unfaithful to you.
• Judg 8:32-33 : 32 Gideon son of Joash died at a very old age and was buried in the tomb of his father Joash located in Ophrah of the Abiezrites. 33 Israel Returns to Baal-Worship After Gideon died, the Israelites again prostituted themselves to the Baals. They made Baal-Berith their god.
• Isa 8:20 : 20 Then you must recall the LORD’s instructions and the prophetic testimony of what would happen. Certainly they say such things because their minds are spiritually darkened.
• Hos 2:2 : 2 Idolatrous Israel Will Be Punished Like a Prostitute Plead earnestly with your mother(for she is not my wife, and I am not her husband), so that she might put an end to her adulterous lifestyle, and turn away from her sexually immoral behavior.
• Hos 4:12-14 : 12 They consult their wooden idols, and their diviner’s staff answers with an oracle. The wind of prostitution blows them astray; they commit spiritual adultery against their God. 13 They sacrifice on the mountaintops, and burn offerings on the hills; they sacrifice under oak, poplar, and terebinth, because their shade is so pleasant. As a result, your daughters have become cult prostitutes, and your daughters-in-law commit adultery! 14 I will not punish your daughters when they commit prostitution, nor your daughters-in-law when they commit adultery. For the men consort with harlots, they sacrifice with temple prostitutes. It is true:“A people that lacks understanding will come to ruin!”