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.
• 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.
• New Living Translation (NLT)The Midianites were so cruel that the Israelites made hiding places for themselves in the mountains, caves, and strongholds.

Context of Judges 6:2

1The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord, and for seven years he gave them into the hands of the Midianites. Because the power of Midian was so oppressive, the Israelites prepared shelters for themselves in mountain clefts, caves and strongholds. 3Whenever the Israelites planted their crops, the Midianites, Amalekites and other eastern peoples invaded the country. 4They camped on the land and ruined the crops all the way to Gaza and did not spare a living thing for Israel, neither sheep nor cattle nor donkeys.

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 16:17No one is to be in the tent of meeting from the time Aaron goes in to make atonement in the Most Holy Place until he comes out, having made atonement for himself, his household and the whole community of Israel.
• Deuteronomy 28:47Because you did not serve the Lord your God joyfully and gladly in the time of prosperity,
• 1 Samuel 13:6When the Israelites saw that their situation was critical and that their army was hard pressed, they hid in caves and thickets, among the rocks, and in pits and cisterns.
• 1 Samuel 14:11So both of them showed themselves to the Philistine outpost. “Look!” said the Philistines. “The Hebrews are crawling out of the holes they were hiding in.”
• Hebrews 11:38the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground.
• Revelation 6:15Then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and everyone else, both slave and free, hid in 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
• Children of Israel
• Cave
• Den
• Gideon
• God
• Mighty
• Sign
• Wherewith

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