Gideon’s Ephod

Overview

• Testament: Old
• Book: Judges
• Chapters: Judges 8:22-35
• Summary: Gideon refuses kingship but makes an ephod that becomes a snare to Israel.

Details

Israel asks Gideon and his sons to rule over them, but Gideon says the LORD will rule. Yet he gathers gold from the spoil and makes an ephod at Ophrah, where Israel goes after it.

Key People Involved

• Gideon — Makes the ephod
• Abimelech — Gideon’s son, whose later violence exposes the family’s decline

Key Places

• Ophrah — Ephod is placed there

Important Verses

“And all Israel went thither a whoring after it: which thing became a snare unto Gideon…” — Judges 8:27

Cross-References

• Related events: Defeat of Midian, Abimelech’s Usurpation

Notes

Gideon’s story bends from deliverance toward compromise, preparing the darkness of Judges 9.