Bible Strands
Judges 8:17
He also pulled down the tower of Penuel and killed the men of the city.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Gideon acts against the inhabitants of Penuel after disciplining Succoth and before interrogating the captured Midianite kings. He executes the destruction he previously threatened the city's leaders.
The words — The Hebrew נָתָץ (na.Tatz) literally means "he tore down," describing the demolition of the מִגְדַּל (migdal) or tower. This verb directly fulfills his conditional warning in Judges 8:9.
The thread — The demolition of Penuel echoes Gideon’s prior threat in Judges 8:9 and stands in contrast to Jeroboam’s later rebuilding of the site in 1 Kings 12:25. The city reappears in Israel’s history as a fortified border settlement.
Why it lands — The text records a calculated act of retribution that demands recognition of fulfilled warnings and the cost of defiance. It requires the reader to trace how spoken judgments materialize in historical action.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And he beat down the tower of Penuel, and slew the men of the city.
Cross-references
- Judges 8:9 So Gideon told the men of Penuel, “When I return in triumph, I will tear down this tower!”
- 1 Kings 12:25 Then Jeroboam built Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim and lived there. And from there he went out and built Penuel.