Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Judges 10:16

And they put away the strange gods from among them, and served the LORD: and his soul was grieved for the misery of Israel.

16. The first half of the verse resembles Gen 35:2 E, Jos 24:20-23 E, 1Sa 7:3.

strange gods ] i.e. foreign gods, E’s expression: Jos 24:20; Jos 24:23, etc.; contrast other gods, Jdg 10:13.

was grieved ] lit. was shortened, cf. Jdg 16:16, Exo 6:9, Num 21:4, Zec 11:8; i.e. He lost patience, He could bear Israel’s distress no longer. Jehovah’s impatience (cf. Mic 2:7 RVm.) is aroused by mingled pity and indignation.

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

Verse 16. And his soul was grieved for the misery of Israel.] What a proof of the philanthropy of God! Here his compassions moved on a small scale; but it was the same principle that led him to give his Son Jesus Christ to be a sacrifice for the sins of the WHOLE world. God grieves for the miseries to which his creatures are reduced by their own sins. Be astonished, ye heavens, at this; and shout for joy, all ye inhabitants of the earth! for, through the love whence this compassion flowed, God has visited and redeemed a lost world!

Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible

They put away the strange gods: this was an evidence of the sincerity of their sorrow, that they did not only confess and bewail their sins, but also forsake them, and loathe themselves for them.

His soul was grieved; not properly, or as to inward affection; for God being infinitely happy, is not capable of grieving; but figuratively, and as to outward expression. He acted towards them like one that felt their sufferings; he had pity upon them, repented of his severe proceedings against them, and quite changed his carriage towards them, and punished their enemies as sorely as if they had grieved and injured his own person.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

16. they put away the strange gods .. . and served the Lord; and his soul was grieved for the misery ofIsraelOn their abandonment of idolatry and return to purity ofworship, God graciously abridged the term of national affliction andrestored times of peace.

Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

And they put away the strange gods from among them,…. Which was an evidence of the truth of their repentance, and showed their confessions and humiliations to be genuine:

and served the Lord; and him only, both in private and public; in the observance of duties, both moral and ceremonial; in an attendance on the service of the sanctuary, and by offering sacrifices to God there, according to his will:

and his soul was grieved for the misery of Israel; which is to be understood after the manner of men; for grief properly does not belong to God, there being no passion in him; but it denotes a carriage or behaviour of his, which shows what looks like sympathy in men; a love and affection for Israel, notwithstanding their ill behaviour to him, and a change of his dispensations Providence towards them, according to his unchangeable will; so Maimonides b understands it of the good will and pleasure of God, to cease from afflicting the people of Israel; but Abarbinel is of opinion that this refers to the soul of Israel, which was shortened and contracted, as the word signifies, because of the labour of servitude, the affliction and distress they were in.

b Moreh Nevochim, par. 1. c. 41.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

(16) They put away the strange gods.The moment the sincerity of their repentance was proved, God hears them (Gen. 35:1; 1Sa. 7:3; 2Ch. 15:8).

His soul was grieved.Literally, was shortened. (Comp. Zec. 11:8.)

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

16. Put away the strange gods They no longer repented in words only, by a mere confession of their guilt, but proceeded to bring forth fruit worthy of repentance. So in every genuine conversion there must be added to confession an earnest revolt and turning away from the old sins.

His soul was grieved Literally, was shortened; that is, thrilled with the most intense emotions of distress and anxiety. Compare the similar sense of the verb , in Jdg 16:16; Num 21:4; Job 21:4; Zec 11:8. This text shows that Jehovah’s nature is profoundly emotional, which fact, instead of detracting from our reverence of him, should serve to give us a more affecting view of the divine character. See notes on Jdg 2:14; Jdg 2:18, and 1Sa 15:11.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

Jdg 10:16 a

‘And they put away the strange gods from among them, and served Yahweh.’

His words had hit them hard. There was a wholesale cleansing and reformation, although we do not know how far it reached. Perhaps it was mainly limited to east of Jordan. So great was the distress that they removed all traces of Baalim from their houses, and all the household idols, and destroyed the altars of their other gods. They recognised that if Yahweh was to accept them again they must be thorough. Then they went to the central sanctuary and made all the necessary offerings, renewed their covenant with Yahweh, and returned home determined to obey His laws and walk in His ways.

Jdg 10:16 b

‘And his soul was grieved for the misery of Israel.’

Yahweh saw their repentance and He heard their cry, and He felt for His people and their misery. ‘His soul was grieved for the misery of Israel.’ This is human language, an anthropomorphism. How great is the goodness and mercy of God. So He determined that once again He would deliver them through someone raised up to help them. But possibly His choice owed much to the fact that they had treated Him as an outcast, for He would save them through an outcast.

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett

Jdg 10:16. His soul was grieved for the misery of Israel This is a figurative expression, setting forth, in a very emphatical manner, the effect of the divine compassion. If the Israelites, hardened by idolatry, had not repented, God resolved not to deliver them: but as soon as they repented and reformed, he changed his conduct towards them. His wisdom leaves free scope to his goodness. Though God is, of course, superior himself to the affections of grief and affliction, the sacred writer expresses it as if his soul was grieved for their misfortunes, as if compassion disarmed him in their favour. See Jer 15:1.

REFLECTIONS.It was long before they bowed the knee of penitence; but better late than never. We have,

1. Their humble confession. They had committed two great crimes: they had forsaken God, the fountain of living water, and had hewn themselves idols, broken cisterns which could hold no water; their sufferings were, therefore, just, and they acknowledged their deserts. Note; The first step of a sinner’s return to God is a discovery of his own great guilt, and a sense of his deserved ruin.

2. God sends them a sharp and upbraiding answer to their cries. He turns not away his ear from their prayers, nor sinks them in utter despair; but speaks so as to awaken their consciences, and confound them under the sense of their baseness and ingratitude. Many a time had they been delivered, and those very oppressors subdued under them; yet they had vilely sinned against their own mercies: he, therefore, refers them for help to the gods whom they served, to upbraid their folly, and convince them of the weakness of these lying vanities. He refuses to deliver them any more, that is, conditionally, as long as their idols were kept among them. Note; (1.) If God frowns upon the returning sinner, let him not despair; it is only his desert, indeed, if he be utterly rejected: yet, with the Lord there is mercy and forgiveness. (2.) When we are brought to a real sense of our sins, we shall see the vanity and insufficiency of those things to make us happy on which we formerly relied.

3. The people of Israel, solemnly assembled, it should seem, when this message by an angel, or prophet, was brought to them, own their just deserts, and surrender themselves up to God; yet humbly entreat, that once more he would spare them; and, convinced of their vanity, instantly put away their abominations. Note; (1.) When we come to God, we must pretend no excuse for our sin, but plead guilty, and throw ourselves on the mercy of our Judge. (2.) If we would prove our repentance real, we must instantly renounce the sins that we confess. (3.) When sin is our bitterness and burden, though we may stand trembling under the black review, there is yet hope.

4. God regards them with tender compassion, and, to speak as a man, beholds their misery with bowels which yearn over them. Note; No prodigals return to God, but his fatherly heart is touched with the feeling of their wretchedness, and he is ready to embrace the most miserable of sinners.

Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke

The expression here made use of, that the Lord’s soul was grieved for the misery of Israel, is so very striking, that I would wish the Reader to pause over the perusal of it. There is a similar one in the prophecy of Ezekiel, in which the Lord saith, I am broken with their whorish heart. Eze 6:9 . Was it not meant to convey to us, (for I do not presume to speak decidedly upon so solemn a passage) the human nature of Jesus, of whom it is said, that in all the afflictions of his people, he was afflicted. Isa 63:9-10 . The God-head of Jesus is not subject to such passions. If this be the meaning of the passage, how very sweet is it thus to trace the outlines of Jesus in his love to his people, in all their circumstances.

Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

“Handfuls of Purpose”

For All Gleaners

“His soul was grieved for the misery of Israel.” Jdg 10:16 .

We must first have sympathy, then action. Action based on sympathy is likely to be permanent and pure. If we do not see the miseries of mankind we shall not be moved to preach the gospel of salvation or to do the necessary work of mercy. He who denies the existence of poverty will not be likely to become liberal in his donations. He who does not pity the wounded traveller will not be likely to dismount and attend to his wounds. We have learning, genius, eloquence; but what about our grief for the miseries of the world? Men who are moved by sympathy may have to listen to many a bitter tale, and may often have to be shut up in face-to-face communion with scenes that shock and pain the heart. Some men can only see the misery, and then relate it to others, and thus move them with their larger resources to go forth to its relief, or empower agents to represent them in the ministry of help. The first thing we have to do is to consider the length and breadth of the case the case of poverty, oppression, helplessness and then our hearts having become affected by the presence and action of indisputable facts, we are to ask what can be done by way of remedy or redress. “If thou forbear to deliver them that are drawn unto death, and those that are ready to be slain; if thou sayest, Behold, we knew it not; doth not he that pondereth the heart consider it? and he that keepeth thy soul, doth not he know it? and shall not he render to every man according to his works? ” We do not destroy the miseries of the world by shutting our eyes to them, No man can be truly grieved for the miseries of the world without instantly attempting to mitigate them. He may fail in his attempt, but he will make it resolutely and self-sacrificingly. If we are merely attempting to satisfy the fancies of the world, or gratify the whims of the world, we shall often fail in our service, and continually be disappointed with its results; but if we are fellow-workers with Christ in attempting to relieve the miseries of the world we shall find that the work is its own inspiration and its own reward.

Fuente: The People’s Bible by Joseph Parker

Jdg 10:16 And they put away the strange gods from among them, and served the LORD: and his soul was grieved for the misery of Israel.

Ver. 16. And they put away the strange gods from among them. ] This was it that completed their repentance. What is humiliation without reformation? Optima et aptissima poenitentia est nova vita, saith Luther. Ephraim never repented indeed till he said, “What have I to do any more with idols?” When these words once fell from him, then “God heard him, and observed him,” Hos 14:8 yea, God melted over him, and said, “I will surely have mercy upon him.” Jer 31:20 And the like he did here, for

His soul was grieved for the misery of Israel. ] O gracious God, what could have been spoken more for the honour of thy goodness, and for the comfort of thy poor afflicted! God’s soul was shortened, he could hold in no longer; Postquam poenitentitiara egerunt, totus ipsorum factus est; now that they had repented, they might have but what they would of him.

“ Flectitur oratus voce rogante Deus. ” – Ovid.

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)