Topic summary

Gideon

Gideon

Gideon (; Biblical Hebrew: גִּדְעוֹן, romanized: Giḏəʿón) also named Jerubbaal (יְרֻבַּעַלYərubbaʿál) and Jerubbesheth (|יְרֻבֶּשֶׁתYərubbéšeṯ) was an Israeliteshopeṭ ("judge"), military leader, and prophet whose calling and victory over the Midianites is described in Judges 6–8 in the Hebrew Bible.

Gideon was the son of Joash, from the Abiezrite clan in the tribe of Manasseh, and lived in Ephra (Ophrah). As a leader of the Israelites, he won a decisive victory over a Midianite army despite a vast numerical disadvantage, leading a troop of 300 men.