Judges 6:29

Jdg 6:29 And they said one to another, Who hath done this thing? And when they enquired and asked, they said, Gideon the son of Joash hath done this thing.

Ver. 29. Who hath clone this thing?] They should have asked rather, Why hath any one done this? And was not there good reason he should do so? But idolaters "have eyes, and see not," &c.; they are brutishly carried on, more guided by rage than by right; violence and obstinacy, like two untamed horses, draw their desires in a blindfold career.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Verse 29. Gideon the son of Joash hath done this thing.] They fixed on him the more readily because they knew he had not joined with them in their idolatrous worship.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(29) They said.—We are not told that Gideon’s servants betrayed his secret, but suspicion would naturally fall on so brave and prominent a worshipper of Jehovah as Gideon was; and it is rarely that actions which require so much effort and so many coadjutors can be kept secret. Gideon had proved himself to be what his name signifies—“a hewer.” A man so brave and so patriotic must have stood almost alone among a cringing and apostate people.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Then the men of the city said unto Joash,.... The principal inhabitants of the place met together, and in a body went to Joash their chief magistrate, to have justice done in this case:

bring out thy son, that he may die; they do not ask to have the cause tried by him, to hear what proof they had of the fact, or what Gideon had to say in his own defence; nor do they wait for the sentence of Joash, but determine it themselves, and require the delinquent to be given up to them, that they might put him to death; a strange request of Israelites, whose law judged no man before it heard him; and besides, according to that, the worshippers of Baal, and not the destroyers of him, and his altars, were to be put to death, which shows how strangely mad and infatuated these people were:

because he hath cut down the altar of Baal, and because he hath cut down the grove that was by it; they take no notice of the bullock which he had taken and offered, it being his father's property; and which seems to confirm the sense of our version, that there was but one, Jdg 6:25 for had the second been a different one, and the people's property, they would have accused him of theft as well as sacrilege respecting that.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Which they might easily conjecture, partly by his known aversion from the worship of Baal, and partly because no other person durst presume to do such a thing; but they might more certainly learn it from some of the persons employed in it, who through fear or favour might inform them.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

29. They said, Gideon — Who said? The answer is uncertain. Perhaps some of the ten servants who assisted Gideon reported his deed, or else the men of the city may have suspected Gideon because of some well-known opposition of his to the prevalent idolatry.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

They said, Gideon hath, etc. No doubt one of the ten servants (ver. 27) employed by him had spoken about it.

Vers. 29, 30. Who hath done this thing?

A frequent inquiry. A natural curiosity to trace up to causes; a religious rancour to visit punishment upon the author.

I THE WORLD TAKES NOTE OF THE ACTIONS AND LIVES OF THE RIGHTEOUS. The effects of religion are ever an astonishment, a delight or a vexation. There is something in them that piques curiosity and rouses interest. Men tried to explain Christ. Religious questions ever the most keenly discussed.

II THE REASON OF THIS IS IN THE VITAL IMPORTANCE OF THE QUESTIONS INVOLVED. Temporal convenience and interests are compromised. The craftsmen of Ephesus. Life and death eternal depend upon our conduct here. Christians are a reproof to the unfruitful works of darkness.

III IT IS WELL WHEN OUR DEEDS ARE INQUIRED ABOUT THAT THEY SHOULD BE GOOD, AND NOT EVIL. The detective usually tracks the criminal. How much better so to act that we shall not fear when men discover our works. So act that when revelation comes "they may be ashamed who falsely accuse our good conversation in Christ." To our own Master we stand or fall. In that day we shall not heed the judgments of men. M.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.