Judges 8:27

King James Version (KJV)

And Gideon made an ephod thereof, and put it in his city, even in Ophrah: and all Israel went thither a whoring after it: which thing became a snare unto Gideon, and to his house.

Adam Clarke
Bible Commentary

Gideon made an ephod thereof - That is, he made an ephod out of this mass of gold; but he could not employ it all in making this one garment, for it is not likely that any man could wear a coat of nearly one hundred pounds weight. It is likely that he made a whole tabernacle service in miniature out of this gold.

All Israel went thither a whoring after it - This form of speech often occurs, and has been often explained. The whole Jewish nation is represented as being united to God as a wife is to her husband. Any act of idolatry is considered as a breach of their covenant with God, as an act of whoredom is the breach of the marriage agreement between man and wife. God calls himself the husband of the Jewish nation, and their idolatries acts of whoredom, adultery, and fornication. All Israel paid idolatrous worship to the ephod or sacerdotal establishment made by Gideon at Ophrah, and this is called going a whoring after it; see on Judges 8:33; (note). For a description of the ephod, see Exodus 25:7; (note); and for the other garments of the priests, see Exodus 28:4; (note), etc.

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Albert Barnes
Notes on the Whole Bible

The ephod was that particular part of the high priest‘s dress which was necessary to be worst when he inquired of God by Urim and Thummim. It seems that Gideon being now the civil ruler, desired to have an ephod of his own, kept in his own city, to he worn by the priest whenever Gideon might summon him to inquire of the Lord for him. His relations with the tribe of Ephraim probably made him unwilling to resort to Shiloh. Compare the act of Jeroboam 1 Kings 12:28.

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Matthew Henry
Concise Bible Commentary

Gideon refused the government the people offered him. No good man can be pleased with any honour done to himself, which belongs only to God. Gideon thought to keep up the remembrance of this victory by an ephod, made of the choicest of the spoils. But probably this ephod had, as usual, a teraphim annexed to it, and Gideon intended this for an oracle to be consulted. Many are led into false ways by one false step of a good man. It became a snare to Gideon himself, and it proved the ruin of the family. How soon will ornaments which feed the lust of the eye, and form the pride of life, as well as tend to the indulgences of the flesh, bring shame on those who are fond of them!

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SDA Bible Commentary (limited)
Volume 1-7

27. Ephod. The ephod was the sleeveless shoulder dress of the high priest to which were attached the 2 onyx stones bearing the names of the 12 tribes of Israel (Ex. 28:6-35; PP 351). The word was also used for a simple garment such as Samuel wore when he ministered as a temple servant (1 Sam. 2:18) and for David’s clothing when he danced before the ark (2 Sam. 6:14). It was apparently a garment worn by many priests (1 Sam. 22:18). The one in the possession of Abiathar, David’s priest, was used in consulting the Lord (1 Sam. 23:6, 9-12). Gideon’s ephod and breastplate were constructed in imitation of those worn by the high priest (PP 556).

A whoring. The Israelites apparently came to regard this ephod as an object of worship.

A snare unto Gideon. The author seems to suggest that the misfortunes that befell Gideon’s family after his death were attributable to the incidents connected with this ephod. One wonders at the motives that prompted Gideon to set up this rival worship at Ophrah. The religious center of the Israelites was at Shiloh, in the tribe of Ephraim, where the tabernacle was situated. It may have been the arrogant attitude of the Ephraimites (see ch. 8:1) that made Gideon resentful toward them to the extent that he did not care to go into their territory to worship. The miracle performed by the angel near his own home before his call to judgeship may have led him to conclude that God was intimating that a new seat of worship be established and that he should function there as a priest. He had asked for miraculous signs, and they had been granted. In his later functions as judge he may have felt the frequent need of inquiring of the Lord, and so, in view of these considerations, constructed an ephod in imitation of the one in the tabernacle. His sin consisted in taking over the prerogatives of the Aaronic priesthood without divine sanction. This deviation from the right prepared the way for wider apostasy both in his immediate family and among the tribesmen. The people were thus led astray by the very one who had formerly overthrown their idolatry. Gideon doubtless did not intend to turn from the worship of God, and his intentions may have been good. However, his subjective evaluation without divine guidance regarding the need for a new religious center opened the way for disaster. There was no excuse for Gideon to abandon the program that God had marked out regarding divine worship and service. If Gideon had continued to seek divine guidance as he had done formerly, he would have spared his family and his people much sorrow.

Gideon’s history is a warning that more than good intentions are required to make an act commendable and right. Furthermore, the greater a man’s position of prominence, the more far-reaching will be the influence of his evil example; hence the greater will be his need of regulating every act of his life by the divine pattern. The only right rule of life is the law of God. Despite his failure, Gideon is commended in the epistle to the Hebrews (ch. 11:32) for his earlier acts of faith.

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Ellen G. White
Patriarchs and Prophets, 555-6

Returning with the trophies of victory, they angrily reproached Gideon: “Why hast thou served us thus, that thou calledst us not, when thou wentest to fight with the Midianites?” PP 555.1

“What have I done now, in comparison of you?” said Gideon. “Is not the gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim better than the vintage of Abiezer? God hath delivered into your hands the princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb: and what was I able to do in comparison of you?” PP 555.2

The spirit of jealousy might easily have been fanned into a quarrel that would have caused strife and bloodshed; but Gideon's modest answer soothed the anger of the men of Ephraim, and they returned in peace to their homes. Firm and uncompromising where principle was concerned, and in war a “mighty man of valor,” Gideon displayed also a spirit of courtesy that is rarely witnessed. PP 555.3

The people of Israel, in their gratitude at deliverance from the Midianites, proposed to Gideon that he should become their king, and that the throne should be confirmed to his descendants. This proposition was in direct violation of the principles of the theocracy. God was the king of Israel, and for them to place a man upon the throne would be a rejection of their Divine Sovereign. Gideon recognized this fact; his answer shows how true and noble were his motives. “I will not rule over you,” he declared; “neither shall my son rule over you: the Lord shall rule over you.” PP 555.4

But Gideon was betrayed into another error, which brought disaster upon his house and upon all Israel. The season of inactivity that succeeds a great struggle is often fraught with greater danger than is the period of conflict. To this danger Gideon was now exposed. A spirit of unrest was upon him. Hitherto he had been content to fulfill the directions given him from God; but now, instead of waiting for divine guidance, he began to plan for himself. When the armies of the Lord have gained a signal victory, Satan will redouble his efforts to overthrow the work of God. Thus thoughts and plans were suggested to the mind of Gideon, by which the people of Israel were led astray. PP 555.5

Because he had been commanded to offer sacrifice upon the rock where the Angel appeared to him, Gideon concluded that he had been appointed to officiate as a priest. Without waiting for the divine sanction, he determined to provide a suitable place, and to institute a system of worship similar to that carried on at the tabernacle. With the strong popular feeling in his favor he found no difficulty in carrying out his plan. At his request all the earrings of gold taken from the Midianites were given him as his share of the spoil. The people also collected many other costly materials, together with the richly adorned garments of the princes of Midian. From the material thus furnished, Gideon constructed an ephod and a breastplate, in imitation of those worn by the high priest. His course proved a snare to himself and his family, as well as to Israel. The unauthorized worship led many of the people finally to forsake the Lord altogether, to serve idols. After Gideon's death great numbers, among whom were his own family, joined in this apostasy. The people were led away from God by the very man who had once overthrown their idolatry. PP 555.6

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Ellen G. White
SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 2 (EGW), 1004

Act promptly. God would have you minute men, as were the men who composed Gideon's army. Many times ministers are too precise, too calculating. While they are getting ready to do a great work, the opportunity for doing a good work passes unimproved. The minister moves as though the whole burden rested on himself, a poor finite man, when Jesus is carrying him and his burden too. Brethren, trust self less, and Jesus more (The Review and Herald, July 1, 1884). 2BC 1004.1

7, 16-18 (Joshua 6:2-5). God's Ways Are Not Our Ways—It is a dangerous thing for men to resist the Spirit of truth and grace and righteousness, because its manifestations are not according to their ideas, and have not come in the line of their methodical plans. The Lord works in His own way, and according to His own devising. Let men pray that they may be divested of self, and may be in harmony with heaven. Let them pray, “Not my will, but thine, O God, be done.” Let men bear in mind that God's ways are not their ways, nor His thoughts their thoughts; for He says, “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.” In the instruction that the Lord gave Gideon when he was about to fight with the Midianites,—that he should go out against his foes with an army of three hundred blowing trumpets, and carrying empty pitchers in their hands, and shouting, “The sword of the Lord, and of Gideon,”—these precise, methodical, formal men would see nothing but inconsistency and confusion. They would start back with determined protest and resistance. They would have held long controversies to show the inconsistency and the dangers that would accompany the carrying on of the warfare in such an extreme way, and in their finite judgment they would pronounce all such movements as utterly ridiculous and unreasonable. How unscientific, how inconsistent, would they have thought the movements of Joshua and his army at the taking of Jericho! (The Review and Herald, May 5, 1896). 2BC 1004.2

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Ellen G. White
Conflict and Courage, 129.1

And Gideon made an ephod ... which thing became a snare unto Gideon, and to his house. Judges 8:27. CC 129.1

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Cross References

an ephod