Bible Strands
Judges 8:26
The weight of the gold earrings he had requested was 1,700 shekels, in addition to the crescent ornaments, the pendants, the purple garments of the kings of Midian, and the chains from the necks of their camels.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Gideon’s victory over the Midianite kings follows, and the Midianite elders now submit their plunder to him on a spread garment. This moment captures the immediate aftermath of battle as the defeated leaders acknowledge his authority by offering their wealth.
The words — The Hebrew מִשְׁקַל (mishkal) denotes the exact weight of the requested gold, while נִזְמֵי (nizmei) specifies the earrings themselves. These terms anchor the narrative in a tangible accounting of spoils rather than abstract tribute.
The thread — The purple garments and heavy gold appear later in royal and sacrificial contexts, such as the royal robes in Esther 8:15 and the hammered gold in Jeremiah 10:9. John 19:2 also references purple clothing, though applied to a different narrative of power and suffering.
Why it lands — The text records Gideon’s specific demand for Midianite wealth to highlight the material scale of his victory. It requires the reader to observe how gathered spoils can transition from tribute to idolatry when placed in sacred space.
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 the weight of the golden earrings that he requested was a thousand and seven hundred shekels of gold; beside ornaments, and collars, and purple raiment that was on the kings of Midian, and beside the chains that were about their camels’ necks.
Cross-references
- Esther 8:15 Mordecai went out from the presence of the king in royal garments of blue and white, with a large gold crown and a purple robe of fine linen. And the city of Susa shouted and rejoiced.
- Jeremiah 10:9 Hammered silver is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz—the work of a craftsman from the hands of a goldsmith. Their clothes are blue and purple, all fashioned by skilled workers.
- John 19:2 The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns, set it on His head, and dressed Him in a purple robe.
- John 19:5 When Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, Pilate said to them, “Here is the man!”
- Revelation 18:12 cargo of gold, silver, precious stones, and pearls; of fine linen, purple, silk, and scarlet; of all kinds of citron wood and every article of ivory, precious wood, bronze, iron, and marble;
- Revelation 18:16 saying: “Woe, woe to the great city, clothed in fine linen and purple and scarlet, adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls!
- Ezekiel 27:7 Of embroidered fine linen from Egypt they made your sail, which served as your banner. Of blue and purple from the coasts of Elishah they made your awning.
- Revelation 17:4 The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls. She held in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the impurities of her sexual immorality.
- Luke 16:19 Now there was a rich man dressed in purple and fine linen, who lived each day in joyous splendor.