Judges 8:21

Judges 8:21 a

‘Then Zebah and Zalmunna said, “You rise and fall on us, for as the man is, so is his strength.” '

The two kings, no doubt tightly bound, made no plea for mercy. Now that they knew that Gideon was brother to the men they had themselves executed they knew that they could expect none. Gideon would be betraying his own family if he failed to exact blood vengeance (Genesis 9:6). But they preferred to die at the hands of a worthy opponent rather than those of a callow youth, which in terms of those days would have been demeaning. And they even probably felt sorry for the boy.

Judges 8:21 b

‘And Gideon arose, and slew Zebah and Zalmunna, and he took the crescents which were on their camels' necks.'

Now that it was clear that he was acting on behalf of family vengeance Gideon carried out the execution himself. Gideon's sense of justice and fair play comes out all through the account. He exacted only the punishments that justice and custom required, and never slew unnecessarily. To us he may appear merciless. In terms of his own day he was a model of reasonableness.

“And he took the crescents which were on their camels' necks.” Crescents are mentioned only here and in Isaiah 3:18, but crescent-shaped objects have been found in many excavations in Palestine. At some stage they were probably connected with the moon, but we must not necessarily connect them with moon worship wherever they are found. They had become delightful shapes for use in ornamental jewellery.