What's easy to miss is that these raids weren't just random acts of violence, but a deliberate economic strategy: the invaders waited for Israel to do all the hard work of planting, and then they swept in to steal the harvest. This turned Israel's labor into a trap, making their agricultural efforts a direct invitation for plunder.
For whenever the Israelites planted crops, the Midianites and the Amalekites and the people of the East would come up against them. They would encamp against them and devour the produce of the land, as far as Gaza, and leave no sustenance in Israel and no sheep or ox or donkey.
English Standard Version (ESV)
The Israelites have repeatedly turned away from God and are now facing the consequences. For seven years, various nomadic tribes from the east—the Midianites, Amalekites, and others—have been brutally oppressing them. These raiders would wait for the Israelites to plant their crops, only to sweep in and steal the harvest, leaving their own people to starve.
Why would invaders wait until the very moment Israel finished planting their crops?
The Midianites and their allies weren't just raiding randomly. They strategically waited until the Israelites had sown their fields. This wasn't about destroying crops directly, but about stealing the harvest itself. Imagine the heartbreak: pouring all your energy into planting, only to have it stolen before you could even reap the fruits of your labor. This cyclical pattern highlights a brutal form of oppression designed to maximize despair and dependence.
Beyond Midian and Amalek, a third group joined the fray. Who were they, and what does this tell us about Israel's enemies?
The 'people of the East' or 'children of the East' were likely various nomadic Arab tribes. This phrase is used in other parts of Scripture to describe peoples living east of Canaan, bordering the Arabian desert. Their inclusion in these raids shows that Israel's oppression wasn't a single-front attack. It was a widespread coalition of enemies, emphasizing the severity and encompassing nature of their suffering. These weren't just neighbors; they were desert dwellers coming to seize the fertile land they did not work for.
The Midianites raided Israel's crops, but what was the deeper reason for this devastating cycle?
This verse doesn't happen in a vacuum. The commentary reminds us that Israel's sin—their turning away from God to worship idols—was the direct cause of their suffering. God 'delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years.' This wasn't random misfortune; it was a consequence. When a nation forgets its calling and becomes absorbed in prosperity or idols, it loses its spiritual vitality and alertness. This spiritual weakness makes it vulnerable to external threats. The invasion was a divine tool, a consequence of their unfaithfulness, meant to bring them back to their senses and to God.
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Understand the original words
Amaleqi · Hebrew Proper Noun
A nomadic people descending from Amalek (grandson of Esau), noted for their persistent hostility toward Israel from the time of the Exodus onwards.
bene qedem · Hebrew Noun Phrase
Refers to desert-dwelling tribes living east of the Jordan; a collective term for various nomadic groups known for raiding sedentary populations.
shachath · Hebrew Verb
To consume completely or destroy; used metaphorically for devastation and the thorough consumption of resources, often by invading forces or pests.
michyah · Hebrew Noun
Anything that sustains life, typically food or provisions; in biblical contexts, it refers to the basic physical necessities for survival.
This verse highlights a pattern of cyclical oppression: Israel's prosperity through farming was precisely what made them vulnerable to nomadic raiders from the east who took advantage of their settled, agricultural lifestyle.
c. 1400 BC
Israel Enters the Promised Land
After centuries of slavery in Egypt and 40 years of wandering in the desert, the Israelites finally enter the land God promised to Abraham. They begin to settle and cultivate the land.
c. 13th-11th century BC
Period of the Judges
Following Joshua's death, the Israelites lack strong central leadership. They repeatedly fall into cycles of sin, oppression by surrounding nations, crying out to God, and deliverance by a "judge."
Unknown, within the Judges period— this verse
Midianite and Eastern Tribes' Raids Begin
Tribes from the east, including Midianites, Amalekites, and other desert peoples, begin raiding Israelite territories, particularly during harvest times, to steal crops and livestock.
Unknown, following raids
Israel's Desperate Measures
The constant raids force Israelites to abandon their farms and hide in caves and mountain strongholds, leaving their crops vulnerable to plunder. Their economy and way of life are devastated.
Unknown, following devastation
Israel Cries Out to the Lord
Facing utter ruin and starvation after years of oppression, the Israelites finally cry out to God for deliverance.
This passage shows a similar pattern of prosperity attracting the attention of hostile neighbors, highlighting how faithfulness can lead to abundant harvests but also to increased jealousy and conflict from outsiders.
Deuteronomy 28:30-33This text serves as a prophetic warning that disobedience to God would result in the loss of agricultural produce to foreign invaders, directly mirroring the experience described in Judges 6:3.
Psalm 83:3-5This psalm echoes the sentiment of oppression by surrounding nations, listing many of the same groups mentioned in Judges 6 and lamenting their plot against Israel, showing this was a recurring theme.
Jeremiah 49:28-29This prophecy against the people of Kedar (an eastern group) describes them as prosperous and vulnerable to raids, providing context for why such nomadic groups would target settled agricultural communities.
pulpitJudges 6:3: "And so it was, when Israel had sown, that the Midianites came up, and the Amalekites, and the children of the east, even they came up against them;"
Verse 3. - Children of the east. We first find this term in Genesis 29:1, where it is applied to the people of Haran. Comparing the analogous phrases, "the east country" (Genesis 25:6), the mountains of the east (Numbers 23:7), "the men of the east" (Job 1:3), "the east" (Isaiah 2:3; Matthew 2:1), we gather that the country lying to th…
expositorsJudges 6:1-14: "And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD: and the LORD delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years."
THE DESERT HORDES; AND THE MAN AT OPHRAHJdg 6:1-14 JABIN king of Canaan defeated and his nine hundred chariots turned into ploughshares, we might expect Israel to make at last a start in its true career. The tribes have had their third lesson and should know the peril of infidelity. Without God they are weak as water. Will they not bind themselves now i…
What's easy to miss is that these raids weren't just random acts of violence, but a deliberate economic strategy: the invaders waited for Israel to do all the hard work of planting, and then they swept in to steal the harvest. This turned Israel's labor into a trap, making their agricultural efforts a direct invitation for plunder.
The Israelites have repeatedly turned away from God and are now facing the consequences. For seven years, various nomadic tribes from the east—the Midianites, Amalekites, and others—have been brutally oppressing them. These raiders would wait for the Israelites to plant their crops, only to sweep in and steal the harvest, leaving their own people to starve.
The Israelites have repeatedly turned away from God and are now facing the consequences. For seven years, various nomadic tribes from the east—the Midianites, Amalekites, and others—have been brutally oppressing them. These raiders would wait for the Israelites to plant their crops, only to sweep in and steal the harvest, leaving their own people to starve.
"For whenever the Israelites planted crops, the Midianites and the Amalekites and the people of the East would come up against them. They would encamp against them and devour the produce of the land, as far as Gaza, and leave no sustenance…" — What's easy to miss is that these raids weren't just random acts of violence, but a deliberate economic strategy: the invaders waited for Israel to do all the hard work of planting, and then they s…
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Last reviewed October 2026
