Why did Gideon have a concubine in Judges 8:31? Historical Setting and Immediate Context The record of Gideon’s concubine appears after his military victories, at the close of Judges 8. Israel is in the era of the judges—“In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (Judges 21:25). Social instability, decentralized tribal life, and repeated lapses into idolatry frame Gideon’s personal choices. The Cultural Practice of Concubinage Concubinage (Hebrew pîlegeš) was a recognized, though secondary, marital arrangement in the Ancient Near East. A concubine received legal protection and conjugal rights (Exodus 21:7-11) yet held lower status than a full wife; her children could inherit only if formally acknowledged (Genesis 21:10-13). Kings and tribal leaders often took concubines for (1) offspring insurance, (2) political alliances, (3) display of status, and (4) gratification of desire. While Scripture records the custom, it never presents it as God’s creational ideal (compare Genesis 2:24). Biblical Survey of Concubinage • Abraham and Hagar (Genesis 16) show conciliatory “human solutions” that complicate covenant lines. • Jacob’s household (Genesis 30) illustrates rivalry and family conflict. • The concubine in Judges 19-20 reveals personal and national disaster. Across these narratives, the Holy Spirit reports without endorsing; outcomes underscore the tension between cultural norms and Yahweh’s design. Motivations Behind Gideon’s Decision 1. Political Alliance. Shechem was a prominent Canaanite-Israelite mixed population center (confirmed by Late Bronze archaeological strata at Tel Balata). By fathering a child there, Gideon cemented influence over a strategic city in central Ephraim. 2. Social Prestige. Judges 8:24-27 records Gideon collecting golden earrings to fashion an ephod—symbols of wealth and quasi-royal authority. Multiple wives and a concubine fit the same escalation. 3. Spiritual Drift. After refusing formal monarchy, Gideon nonetheless acts “like a king,” echoing Deuteronomy 17:17, which forbids Israel’s rulers to “multiply wives” lest their hearts turn away. 4. Familial Insurance. Seventy sons from wives did not include children of secondary unions; a concubine provided an additional line—yet Abimelech would later slaughter most of those sons (Judges 9:5). Theological Assessment: God’s Ideal vs. Human Compromise Scripture’s grand narrative affirms one-man/one-woman marriage as covenantal prototype (Genesis 2:24; Matthew 19:4-6). Polygamy and concubinage entered post-Fall culture (Genesis 4:19) and were tolerated under God’s permissive will, yet every instance records strife. Gideon’s choice reveals how even Spirit-empowered leaders (Judges 6:34) can accommodate surrounding values when accountability erodes. Consequences in Salvation History Abimelech weaponized his mixed heritage and name, persuaded Shechem’s lords (“his mother’s relatives,” Judges 9:1-3) to fund a coup with temple silver, massacred his half-brothers, and plunged Israel into civil bloodshed. The narrative demonstrates Proverbs 19:14: “House and wealth are inherited from fathers, but a prudent wife is from the LORD” . Gideon’s concubine episode thus functions as literary hinge: private compromise breeds public catastrophe. New Testament Trajectory Christ restores marriage to Edenic monogamy, revealing concubinage’s obsolescence: “From the beginning it was not so” (Matthew 19:8). The apostolic requirement that elders be “husband of one wife” (1 Timothy 3:2) further normalizes exclusive, covenantal unions within redeemed community. Lessons for Contemporary Readers • Recorded, not recommended: descriptive narrative must not be confused with prescriptive doctrine. • Leadership integrity: victories won in public do not exempt believers from private obedience. • Unequally yoked ties—symbolized by a Shechemite concubine—still endanger faith communities (2 Corinthians 6:14). • God’s redemptive patience: despite Gideon’s failing, Hebrews 11:32 lists him among the faithful, magnifying grace without minimizing sin’s consequences. Conclusion Gideon took a concubine because cultural custom, political calculation, personal ambition, and spiritual complacency converged. The Spirit-inspired record neither whitewashes the act nor legitimizes it; instead, it exposes the gap between God’s standard and human compromise while pointing forward to the Messiah who fulfills the righteous ideal and offers restoration to all who believe. |
    |