Judges 6:2

Judges 6:2 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel: and because of the Midianites the children of Israel made them the dens which are in the mountains, and caves, and strong holds.
• New International Version (NIV)Because the power of Midian was so oppressive, the Israelites prepared shelters for themselves in mountain clefts, caves and strongholds.
• English Standard Version (ESV)And the hand of Midian overpowered Israel, and because of Midian the people of Israel made for themselves the dens that are in the mountains and the caves and the strongholds.
• New King James Version (NKJV)and the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel. Because of the Midianites, the children of Israel made for themselves the dens, the caves, and the strongholds which are in the mountains.

Context of Judges 6:2

1Then the Israelites did evil in the sight of the Lord; and the Lord gave them into the hand of Midian for seven years. The [powerful] hand of Midian prevailed against Israel. Because of Midian the sons of Israel made for themselves the dens (hideouts) which were in the mountains, and the caves and the [mountain] strongholds. 3For it was whenever Israel had sown [their seed] that the Midianites would come up with the Amalekites and the people of the east and go up against them. 4So they would camp against them and destroy the crops of the land as far as Gaza, and leave no sustenance in Israel as well as no sheep, ox, or donkey.

Judges 6:2 word by word

וַתָּ֥עָז יַד־מִדְיָ֖ן עַל־יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל מִפְּנֵ֨י מִדְיָ֜ן עָשֽׂוּ לָהֶ֣ם׀ בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל אֶת־הַמִּנְהָרוֹת֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר בֶּֽהָרִ֔ים וְאֶת־הַמְּעָר֖וֹת וְאֶת־הַמְּצָדֽוֹת׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And the handיָדyâd · hand: powerH3027
• of Midianמִדְיָןmidyân · MidianH4080
• prevailedעָזַז‛âzaz · be strongH5810
• against Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
• becauseפָּנֶהpânîym · face: becauseH6440
• the childrenבֵּןbên · son: descendant/peopleH1121
• madeעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to makeH6213
• them the densמִנְהָרָהminhârâh · caveH4492
• in the mountainsהַרhar · mountain: mountH2022
• and cavesמְעָרָהme‛ârâh · caveH4631
• and strong holdsמְצָדmetsad metsâd metsâdâh · strongholdH4679

Cross-references for Judges 6:2

• Leviticus 16:17There shall be no person in the Tent of Meeting when the high priest goes in to make atonement in the Holy Place [within the veil] until he comes out, so that he may make atonement for himself (his own sins) and for his household and for all the congregation of Israel.
• Deuteronomy 28:47“Because you did not serve the Lord your God with a heart full of joy and gladness for the abundance of all things [with which He blessed you],
• 1 Samuel 13:6When the men of Israel saw that they were in a tight situation (for their troops were hard-pressed), they hid in caves, in thickets, in cellars, and in [dry] cisterns (pits).
• 1 Samuel 14:11When both of them revealed themselves to the garrison of the Philistines, the Philistines said, “Look, the Hebrews are coming out of the holes where they have hidden themselves.”
• Hebrews 11:38(people of whom the world was not worthy), wandering in deserts and mountains and [living in] caves and holes in the ground.
• Revelation 6:15Then the kings of the earth and the great men and the military commanders and the wealthy and the strong and everyone, [whether] slave or free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains;

Commentaries on Judges 6:2

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 2Made them the dens which are in the mountains - Nothing can give a more distressing description of the state of the Israelites than what is here related. They durst not reside in the plain country, but were obliged to betake themselves to dens and caves of the mountains, and live like wild beasts, and were hunted like them by their adversaries.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 2The word rendered “dens” is only found in this passage. It is best explained of ravines hollowed out by torrents, which the Israelites made into hiding-places.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-6After forty years of peace, religious blending caused political instability, and roaming nomads forced the Israelites to live as fugitives. The Midianites, once thought to be purely nomadic and based in northwest Arabia, are now known to have built cities and, for a time, controlled much of the Arabian Peninsula and southern Transjordan (the area east of the Jordan). They are joined by the Amalekites (who were earlier part of a Moabite coalition; see…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 22. made ... dens ... in the mountains and caves--not, of course, excavating them, for they were already, but making them fit for habitation.Read the comment

Topics related to Judges 6:2

• Cave
• Dens
• Fort

In the dictionaries

• Israel
• Midian
• Midian; Midianites
• Israel, Israelites
• Jacob, Israel
• Midian, Midianite
• Children of Israel
• Cave
• Den
• Gideon

Commentaries on Judges 6

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• Darby Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings