Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Judges 6:32
Therefore on that day he called him Jerubbaal, saying, Let Baal plead against him, because he hath thrown down his altar.
32. on that day he called him Jerubbaal ] Or with a slight change, he was called; in consequence of the foregoing episode the people give Gideon a new name. This is explained to mean ‘Let Baal contend against him’; but the explanation will not hold good, for ( a) if Jerub-baal is connected with the verb rb ‘contend,’ which is questionable, the meaning must be ‘Baal contends,’ without any further thought of ‘against him’: ( b) of course Baal did not contend against Gideon, the point of the story is Baal’s impotence. The explanation given in the text rests, not upon a scientific etymology, but upon an assonance, as often elsewhere in the O.T. (e.g. Gen 4:1, Exo 2:10); Jerub-baal suggested the shrewd remark of Joash in Jdg 6:31, let Baal contend. Originally, no doubt, the name had quite another significance, and baal, i.e. ‘lord,’ referred to Jehovah. In early days baal could be used without offence in this way; thus we find such names as Ish-baal, Merib-baal, Baal-yada in the families of Saul and David, whose loyalty to Jehovah was above suspicion; one of David’s heroes was even called Baal-jah. But the dangerous associations of the title led the prophets to discountenance this usage (see especially Hos 2:16), and it was given up; the names just mentioned were altered to Ish-bosheth (‘shame’), Mephi-bosheth, El-yada 1 [36] . Jerub-baal was allowed to stand, because the general drift of the present narrative (as distinct from the explanation given in this verse) suggested the interpretation ‘Adversary of Baal,’ cf. LXX. cod. A ; nevertheless in 2Sa 11:21 the name is changed to Jerub-besheth. If the name, then, originally had nothing to do with the Canaanite Baal, and therefore was not given to Gideon in consequence of the episode related here, we can only suppose that the story grew out of a fanciful etymology. For linguistic reasons many scholars consider that Jerub-baal is not connected with the verb rb ‘contend 2 [37] ,’ and that the proper spelling is Jeru-baal, i.e. ‘Baal (Jehovah) founds,’ like Jeru-el, Jeri-yahu; none of the forms in the LXX have the doubled letter ( , , , etc.).
[36] Cf. 1Ch 9:39-40; 1Ch 14:7; 1Ch 12:5 with 2Sa 2:8; 2Sa 4:4; 2Sa 5:16.
[37] The imperfect of rb is not yrb (whence jerub) but yrb; cf. the pr. name Jeho-yarib 1Ch 24:7.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
He called him – i. e. He was called Jerubbaal, as being the person against whom it was popularly said that Baal might strive. See margin.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 32. He called him Jerubbaal] That is, Let Baal contend; changed, 2Sa 11:21, into Jerubbesheth, he shall contend against confusion or shame; thus changing baal, lord, into bosheth, confusion or ignominy. Some think that Jerubbaal was the same with Jerombalus, who, according to Sanchoniatho and Porphyry, was a priest of Jevo. But the history of Sanchoniatho is probably a forgery of Porphyry himself, and worthy of no credit.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
He called him, i.e. Joash called Gideon so, Jdg 7:1, in remembrance of this noble exploit, and to put a brand upon Baal.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
Therefore on that day he called him Jerubbaal,…. That is, Joash called his son Gideon by that name; who, some think, is the same with Jerombalus, the priest of the god Jevo, or Jehovah; from whom Sanchoniatho, an ancient Phoenician writer, as Philo Byblius says w, received the principal things in his history respecting the Jews:
saying, let Baal plead against him, because he hath thrown down his altar; giving this as the reason of the name of Jerubbaal he called him by, which signifies, “let Baal plead”; let Baal plead his own cause, and avenge himself on Gideon for what he has done to him, and put him to death if he can.
w Apud Euseb. Evangel Praepar. l. 1. p. 31.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(32) He called him.Rather, people called him, he got the name of. The phrase is impersonal. (Vocatus est, Vulg.; hiess man ihn, Luther.)
Jerubbaal.The name meant, Let Baal strive; but might also mean, let it be striven with Baal, or Baals antagonist, and this gave the name a more ready currency. It is possible that the name may have been yet more allusive, since from the Palmyrene inscriptions it appears that there was a deity named Jaribolos (Movers Phnizier, 1:434). If in 2Sa. 11:21 we find the name Jerubbesheth, this is only due to the fondness of the Jews for avoiding the names of idols, and changing them into terms of insult. It was thus that they literally interpreted the law of Exo. 23:13 (comp. Jos. 23:7). It was a part of that contumelia numinum with which the ancients charged them (Plin. xiii. 9). I have adduced other instances in Language and Languages, p. 232. (Longmans.) Bosheth means shame, i.e., that shameful thing, and was a term of scorn for Baal (Hos. 9:10; Jer. 11:13). We have two other instances of this change in the case of the sons of Saul. Whether from a faithless syncretism, or a tendency to downright apostasy, he called one of his sons Esh-baal, i.e., man of Baal, and another Merib-baal (1Ch. 8:33-34); but the Jews angrily and contemptuously changed these names into Ishbosheth and Mephibosheth (2Sa. 2:10; 2Sa. 4:4). Ewald, however, and others have conjectured that both Baal and Bosheth may, at one time, have had more harmless associations (see especially 2Sa. 5:20), and it appears that there was a Baal among the ancestors of Saul (1Ch. 8:30). The LXX. write the name Hierobalos; and Eusebius (Praep. Evang. i. 9), quoting from Philo Byblius, tells us that a Gentile historian named Sanchoniatho, of Berytus, whom he praises for his accuracy in Jewish history and geography, had received assistance from Hierombalos, the priest of the god Iao. Some have supposed that this is an allusion to Gideon, under the name Jerubbaal.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
32. He called him Jerubbaal The Baal-fighter. The subject or the verb called is indefinite one called him, like the subject of cast down in the preceding verse. The idea is, that from that day Jerubbaal became Gideon’s common but honourable name. “When it became apparent to the people that Baal could not do him any harm, Jerubbaal became a Baal-fighter, one who had fought against Baal.” Keil.
‘ Therefore on that day he called him Jerubbaal, saying, “Let Baal plead against him, because he has broken down his altar.” ’
Joash was a man of remarkable good sense who probably had little faith in Baal’s ability to act. By renaming his son Jerubbaal (‘let Baal plead’ or ‘’let the lord plead’) he accomplished a number of things. Firstly he satisfied the angry crowds. It seemed to them that he had responded to them and put a curse on his son, and they were satisfied and eagerly awaited the outcome. Then he satisfied Gideon who would interpret it as referring to ‘the lord Yahweh’. Thirdly he left the issue open until it was apparent who had come out on top. He left the issue in divine hands. Gideon is elsewhere called Jerubbesheth (2Sa 11:21). This is because the writers replaced ‘baal’ with ‘bosheth’ which means ‘shame’.
Jdg 6:32. He called him Jerubbaal Houbigant renders this, and perhaps more nearly to the Hebrew, Nomen fecerunt ei Jerubbaal; On that day they gave him the name of Jerubbaal; for he supposes, that his countrymen, not his father, gave him that name; the meaning of which is expressed in the next words. The Phoenicians call him Jerombalus, as appears from Sanchoniathon; and Porphyry says, that he received certain commentaries from Jerombalus, the priest of the god Jevo, which can be nothing but the Book of Moses, as Bishop Huet has fully shewn in his Demonst. Evang. Prop. iv. c. 2.
Jerub-baal, that is, let Baal plead.
Jdg 6:32 Therefore on that day he called him Jerubbaal, saying, Let Baal plead against him, because he hath thrown down his altar.
Ver. 32. He called him Jerubbaal, ] i.e., A man against whom Baal is to strive and contend: a title of honour; as were those of Iconomachus and Iconoelastes, image breakers, though given by way of disgrace to some of the Greek emperors.
Jerubbaal = Let Baal plead. 1Sa 12:11. 2Sa 11:21.
Jerubbaal: that is, Let Baal plead, 1Sa 12:11, 2Sa 11:21, Jerubbesheth, that is, Let the shameful thing plead, Jer 11:13, Hos 9:10
Reciprocal: Jdg 7:1 – Jerubbaal Jdg 8:29 – Jerubbaal
Jdg 6:32. He called his name Jerubbaal That is, Let Baal plead. The meaning is, either that Joash called Gideon so, Jdg 8:1, in remembrance of this noble exploit, and to put a brand on Baal; or that his countrymen gave him this name. For, as Houbigant observes, the Hebrew may be rendered, On that day they gave him the name of Jerubbaal. It is a probable conjecture, that that Jerombalus, whom Sanchoniathon (one of the most ancient of all the heathen writers) speaks of as priest of Jao, (a corruption of Jehovah,) and to whom he was indebted for a great deal of knowledge, was this Jerubbaal.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments