Joash

Joash, an Abiezrite from the tribe of Manasseh, was the father of Gideon, one of the judges of Israel. He first appears in Judges 6:11, where the Angel of the Lord visits Gideon while he is threshing wheat in Joash's winepress to hide from the Midianites.

When Gideon tears down the altar of Baal and the Asherah pole beside it, the men of the city demand that Joash surrender his son to be put to death (Jdg.6.29-30). However, Joash defends Gideon, saying that if Baal is truly a god, he can defend himself (Jdg.6.31). This event earns Gideon the name Jerubbaal, meaning "Let Baal contend against him."

Joash is mentioned again in Judges 7:14, where the Midianites interpret a dream as a sign that God has given them into the hand of Gideon, the son of Joash. After Gideon's victory over the Midianites, he returns to his father's house in Ophrah (Jdg.8.13,29). Joash dies at a good old age and is buried in the tomb of his father in Ophrah (Jdg.8.32).