Judges 6:5
For they would come up with their livestock and their tents; they would come like locusts in number—both they and their camels could not be counted—so that they laid waste the land as they came in.
English Standard Version (ESV)
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The Midianites didn't just come to fight; they brought their entire nomadic lifestyle, including livestock and tents, indicating they planned to stay and consume the land. Their sheer, uncountable numbers, likened to a swarm of locusts, and their camels—a detail emphasizing their foreign, desert origin—underscored the total devastation they intended to wreak.
Following years of Israelite disobedience to God, they are delivered into the hands of the Midianites for seven years, forcing them to hide from these invaders. The Midianites, described as a vast, uncountable swarm, would descend upon the land with their livestock and possessions, consuming and destroying everything in their path. This devastating invasion rendered the Israelites destitute, leaving them with no means to sustain themselves.
Understand the original words
arbeh · Hebrew Noun
A migratory insect that appears in swarms; symbolically represents divine judgment, overwhelming numbers, and total destruction of vegetation and resources.
The verse vividly illustrates the catastrophic impact of the Midianite invasion, emphasizing their sheer numbers and destructive nomadic lifestyle, which drove the Israelites to desperation.
c. 12th century BC
Israel's Cyclic Apostasy
After periods of faithfulness and divine deliverance, the Israelites repeatedly fell back into idolatry and syncretism, intermarrying with and adopting the practices of the Canaanites. This cycle of sin led to God withdrawing His protection.
c. 12th century BC
Midianite Oppression Begins
As a consequence of Israel's repeated disobedience, God allowed the Midianites and allied nomadic tribes from the eastern deserts to oppress them for seven years, devastating the land and leaving the Israelites destitute.
c. 12th century BC— this verse
Midianites Invade with Families and Livestock
The Midianite invaders, characterized as being as numerous as locusts, brought their entire households, livestock, camels, and tents, settling in and plundering the land, destroying crops and leaving no sustenance.
c. 12th century BC
Israelites Hide in Caves
Terrified and impoverished by the relentless invasions, the Israelites were forced to abandon their homes and fields, hiding in caves and mountain strongholds to survive, while the invaders stripped the land bare.
This passage vividly describes a devastating locust swarm, mirroring the overwhelming and destructive nature of the Midianite invasion as described in Judges 6:5.
Exodus 10:4-6Here, Moses prophesies a devastating plague of locusts that will consume all vegetation, similar to how the Midianites' vast numbers and livestock devoured the land's sustenance.
Judges 7:12This verse directly references the Midianites and their allies, describing them as 'like locusts in number,' reinforcing the imagery used in Judges 6:5 and showing the scale of the threat Gideon faced.
Isaiah 60:6This verse speaks of camels from Midian and Ephah coming with riches, alluding to the wealth and extensive travel of people from that region, which aligns with the image of the Midianites bringing countless camels and livestock.
gillJudges 6:5: "For they came up with their cattle and their tents, and they came as grasshoppers for multitude; for both they and their camels were without number: and they entered into the land to destroy it."
For they came up with their cattle, and their tents,.... Brought their flocks and their herds with them, to eat up the increase of the earth, and their tents, which they pitched and removed from place to place, for the convenience of feeding their cattle, and while they cut down the fruit…
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…
The Midianites didn't just come to fight; they brought their entire nomadic lifestyle, including livestock and tents, indicating they planned to stay and consume the land. Their sheer, uncountable numbers, likened to a swarm of locusts, and their camels—a detail emphasizing their foreign, desert origin—underscored the total devastation they intended to wreak.
Following years of Israelite disobedience to God, they are delivered into the hands of the Midianites for seven years, forcing them to hide from these invaders. The Midianites, described as a vast, uncountable swarm, would descend upon the land with their livestock and possessions, consuming and destroying everything in their path. This devastating invasion rendered the Israelites destitute, leaving them with no means to sustain themselves.
Following years of Israelite disobedience to God, they are delivered into the hands of the Midianites for seven years, forcing them to hide from these invaders. The Midianites, described as a vast, uncountable swarm, would descend upon the land with their livestock and possessions, consuming and destroying everything in their path. This devastating invasion rendered the Israelites destitute, leaving them with no means to sustain themselves.
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c. 12th century BC
Israel Cries Out to God
Facing utter devastation and ruin after years of oppression, the Israelites finally cried out to the Lord for deliverance, realizing their dependence on Him.
"For they would come up with their livestock and their tents; they would come like locusts in number—both they and their camels could not be counted—so that they laid waste the land as they came in." — The Midianites didn't just come to fight; they brought their entire nomadic lifestyle, including livestock and tents, indicating they planned to stay and consume the land. Their sheer, uncountable nu…
