Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Judges 8:19
And he said, They [were] my brethren, [even] the sons of my mother: [as] the LORD liveth, if ye had saved them alive, I would not slay you.
19. the sons of my mother ] and not only of the same father; they were therefore specially dear, cf. Gen 43:29. On Gideon as next of kin fell the duty of avenging his brothers’ blood; cf. 2Sa 3:27; 2Sa 3:30; 2Sa 14:7 ; 2Sa 21:5-6. The execution was a judicial act, even an act of religious obligation.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
The sons of my mother – A much closer relation than that of brothers by the father only. (Compare Gen 43:29; Deu 13:6; Psa 69:8). This is the only hint preserved of the transaction. We cannot say exactly when the slaughter of Gideons brethren on Mount Tabor took place, whether before the outbreak of the war Jdg 6:33, or in the retreat and flight of the Midianites Jdg 7:22.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
For being not Canaanites he was not obliged to kill them; but they having killed his brethren, and that in cool blood, he was by law the avenger of their blood.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
19. They were my brethren, even thesons of my motherThat is, uterine brothers; but, in allcountries where polygamy prevails, “the son of my mother”implies a closeness of relationship and a warmth of affection neverawakened by the looser term, “brother.”
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And he said, they were my brethren, even the sons of my mother,…. His brethren by his mother’s side, but not by his father’s side; or the phrase
the sons of my mother is added, to show that he did not mean brethren in a large sense, as all the Israelites were, but in a strict sense, being so nearly related as his mother’s children:
as the Lord liveth, if ye had saved them alive, I would not slay you; for not being Canaanites, he was not obliged by the law of God to put them to death, and by the law of nations, as they had surrendered themselves, and were made prisoners of war, they ought to have been saved; but as they appeared to be murderers, and had slain the Israelites in cold blood, they deserved to die; and the persons they had slain being Gideon’s brethren, he was the avenger of blood, and it became him to put them to death.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(19) The sons of my mother.Comp. Gen. 43:29.
As the Lord liveth.Rth. 3:13; 1Sa. 14:41. (Comp. n. xii. 949.)
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
‘ And he said, “They were my brothers, even the sons of my mother. As Yahweh lives, if you had saved them alive, I would not kill you.” ’
They were guilty out of their own mouths and had determined their own punishment. They had by their actions forfeited mercy. As they had done, so would be done to them (compare Jdg 1:7). This was the principle on which justice was determined. We learn also here why Gideon was such a good choice to lead against the Midianites. Not only was he a man faithful to Yahweh and a leader of men, but he fulfilled his family responsibility to bring to justice the men who had killed his brothers, not in battle but by execution. His deep personal grievance against them would have heightened his determination to bring them to justice.
“The sons of my mother.” His full brothers, sons of his mother. This is not denying that they had the same father.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Jdg 8:19 And he said, They [were] my brethren, [even] the sons of my mother: [as] the LORD liveth, if ye had saved them alive, I would not slay you.
Ver. 19. I would not slay you. ] As now I must, both as an avenger of blood Num 25:7-8 and as a magistrate; for Bonis nocet qui malis parcit, to restrain justice is to support sin: and not to correct, is to consent to the crime.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Reciprocal: Rth 3:13 – the Lord liveth 1Ki 1:29 – As the
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Jdg 8:19. If ye had saved them alive, &c. For, as they were not Canaanites, he was not obliged by any command of God to put them to death: but as they had killed his brethren, and that, it seems, in cold blood, he was, by Gods law, the avenger of their death, being their near kinsman.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
8:19 And he said, They [were] my brethren, [even] the {k} sons of my mother: [as] the LORD liveth, if ye had saved them alive, I would not slay you.
(k) We all came from the same womb: therefore I will be revenged.