Judges 6:4

Jdg 6:4 And they encamped against them, and destroyed the increase of the earth, till thou come unto Gaza, and left no sustenance for Israel, neither sheep, nor ox, nor ass.

Ver. 4. And destroyed the increase of the earth.] A stratagem that was afterwards also used by Halyattes against the Milesians, {a} and is still by the great Turk, that scourge of Christendom and waster of the world.

Till thou come unto Gaza,] i.e., The whole length of the land: for Gaza was a city of the Philistines, bounding the land of Israel southward.

And left no sustenance for Israel.] None, to speak of: they became like a sweeping rain that leaveth no food, {Pro 28:3} living on the spoil as long as it lasted, or as they listed. This was a sad case, but nothing so sad as theirs that suffer a famine of the word, as do at this day the Africans, Grecians, those seven churches of Asia, and many others, once famous and flourishing.

{a} Herod., lib. i.

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.

Even almost the whole country.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Verse 4. Encamped against them] Wandering hordes of Midianites, Amalekites, and Ishmaelites came, in the times of harvest and autumn, and carried away their crops, their fruit, and their cattle. And they appear to have come early, encamped in the plains, and watched the crops till they were ready to be carried off. This is frequently the case even to the present day.

Till thou come unto Gaza] That is, the whole breadth of the land, from Jordan to the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. Thus the whole land was ravaged, and the inhabitants deprived of the necessaries of life.

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

(4) They encamped against them.—It is not implied that there were any battles. The Israelites were too wretched and helpless to offer any resistance. These Arabs would swarm over the Jordan, at the fords of Bethshean, about harvest-time, and would sweep away the produce of the rich plain of Jezreel and the whole Shephelah, even as far south as Gaza. (Comp. the Scythian invasion, alluded to in Zep_2:5-6.)

Destroyed the increase of the earth.—“Ye shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it” (Lev_26:16). (Comp. Deu_28:30; Deu_28:51; Mic_6:15.)

No sustenance for Israel.—No support of life, or, as some render the word, “nothing alive.”

Sheep.—The margin has, “or goat.” The word means “smaller cattle.”

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

4. Gaza] in the far south-west, near the coast; a long way from the Manassite district.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And they encamped against them,.... Formed a camp, from whence they sent out parties to plunder the people; or"they were fixing their tents among them,''as the Vulgate Latin version; and so the Targum,"they dwelt by them,''or fixed their habitations by them; for they seem not to have come as a regular army, but as a sort of banditti to pillage, and plunder, and destroy the fruits of the earth; and the Midianites and Arabians dwelt in tents chiefly:

and destroyed the increase of the earth; the corn and grass before they were well ripe, and fit to cut down; this they did, and gave it to their cattle, and the rest they carried off:

till thou come unto Gaza; a principality of the Philistines, which lay in the western part of Canaan, on the shore of the Mediterranean sea; so that as these people came out of the east, and entered the eastern part, they went through the whole land from east to west, cutting down all the fruits of the earth for forage for their cattle:

and left no sustenance for Israel; nothing to support life with, cutting down their corn and their grass, their vines and olives, so that they had nothing to live upon:

neither sheep, nor ox, nor ass; not anything for those creatures to live upon, nor did not leave any of them, but carried them all away.

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

Gaza indicates the extreme point south to which they spread their devastations, crossing the Jordan near Bethshan (Scythopolls), and entering by the valley of Jezreel, and sweeping along the whole of the maritime plain or Shephelah.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Blade. Hebrew, "the increase of the earth." They waited till the corn was almost ripe, and what they could not carry off they destroyed. (Calmet) --- It seems they had allowed Gedeon time to gather in some corn, (ver. 11.) and other Israelites would seize their opportunity, and perhaps cut the corn before it was perfectly ripe, which the Vulgate may insinuate by mentioning the blade. --- Gaza. They ravaged the whole country from east to west. (Haydock) --- This method of warfare is, in effect, more cruel than any other. --- Asses. They left no cattle, nor animals that they could take, wherewith the Isrealites might cultivate the earth. (Calmet) --- In the extremity of famine, the flesh of asses would have been used to sustain life, as the text insinuates. (Haydock)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Till thou come unto Gaza, i.e. from the east, on which side they entered, to the west, where Gaza was near the sea; so they destroyed the whole land.

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

4. Till thou come unto Gaza — Even to the southwestern quarter of the land. “As the enemy invaded the land with their camels and flocks, and on repeated occasions encamped in the Valley of Jezreel, (Jdg_6:33,) they must have entered by the main road which connects the countries on the east with Palestine on the west, crossing the Jordan near Beisan, and passing through the Plain of Jezreel; and from this point they spread over Palestine to the seacoast of Gaza.” — Keil. Hence it was that the Manassites, to whom Gideon belonged, and whose lot on the west of the Jordan lay in the Plain of Jezreel, were special sufferers from these invasions.

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

Left no sustenance, etc., i.e. neither grass, nor corn, nor fruit. It is added, neither sheep, nor ox, nor ass. These all either died for want of food or were seized by the Midianites. The next verse explains that the enormous multitudes of their cattle and camels consumed the whole produce of the ground.

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

Unto Gaza - That is, from the east, on which side they entered, to the well, where Gaza was, near the sea: so they destroyed the whole land.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.