Gideon's Ephod

Judges 8

²² Then the men of Israel said to Gideon, "Rule over us, you and your son and your grandson also, for you have saved us from the hand of Midian." ²³ Gideon said to them, "I will not rule over you, and my son will not rule over you; _w the Lord will rule over you." ²⁴ And Gideon said to them, "Let me make a request of you: every one of you give me the earrings from his spoil." (For they had golden earrings, _x because they were Ishmaelites.) ²⁵ And they answered, "We will willingly give them." And they spread a cloak, and every man threw in it the earrings of his spoil. ²⁶ And the weight of the golden earrings that he requested was 1,700 shekels ₁ of gold, besides _y the crescent ornaments and _z the pendants and the purple garments worn by the kings of Midian, and besides the collars that were around the necks of their camels. ²⁷ And Gideon _a made an ephod of it and put it in his city, _b in Ophrah. And all Israel _c whored after it there, and it became a _d snare to Gideon and to his family. ²⁸ So Midian was subdued before the people of Israel, and they raised their heads no more. _e And the land had rest forty years in the days of Gideon.

1. Cross References
   1 Samuel 8:7
   And the Lord said to Samuel, "Obey the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them.
   1 Samuel 10:19
   But today you have rejected your God, who saves you from all your calamities and your distresses, and you have said to him, 'Set a king over us.' Now therefore present yourselves before the Lord by your tribes and by your thousands.
   1 Samuel 12:12
   And when you saw that Nahash the king of the Ammonites came against you, you said to me, 'No, but a king shall reign over us,' when the Lord your God was your king.
   1 Samuel 12:17
   Is it not wheat harvest today? I will call upon the Lord, that he may send thunder and rain. And you shall know and see that your wickedness is great, which you have done in the sight of the Lord, in asking for yourselves a king.
   1 Samuel 12:19
   And all the people said to Samuel, "Pray for your servants to the Lord your God, that we may not die, for we have added to all our sins this evil, to ask for ourselves a king.
   
2. Cross References
   Genesis 37:25
   Then they sat down to eat. And looking up they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, with their camels bearing gum, balm, and myrrh, on their way to carry it down to Egypt.
   Genesis 37:28
   Then Midianite traders passed by. And they drew Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. They took Joseph to Egypt.
   Genesis 37:36
   Meanwhile the Midianites had sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the guard.
   Genesis 39:1
   Now Joseph had been brought down to Egypt, and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the guard, an Egyptian, had bought him from the Ishmaelites who had brought him down there.
   
3. Cross References
   Judges 8:21
   Then Zebah and Zalmunna said, "Rise yourself and fall upon us, for as the man is, so is his strength." And Gideon arose and killed Zebah and Zalmunna, and he took the crescent ornaments that were on the necks of their camels.
   
4. Cross References
   Isaiah 3:19
   The pendants, the bracelets, and the scarves.
   
5. Cross References
   Judges 17:5
   And the man Micah had a shrine, and he made an ephod and household gods, and ordained one of his sons, who became his priest.
   Judges 18:14
   Then the five men who had gone to scout out the country of Laish said to their brothers, "Do you know that in these houses there are an ephod, household gods, a carved image, and a metal image? Now therefore consider what you will do.
   Judges 18:17
   And the five men who had gone to scout out the land went up and entered and took the carved image, the ephod, the household gods, and the metal image, while the priest stood by the entrance of the gate with the 600 men armed with weapons of war.
   Exodus 28:6 - 35
   And they shall make the ephod of gold, of blue and purple and scarlet yarns, and of fine twined linen, skillfully worked.
   
6. Cross References
   Judges 6:24
   Then Gideon built an altar there to the Lord and called it, The Lord Is Peace. To this day it still stands at Ophrah, which belongs to the Abiezrites.
   
7. Cross References
   Judges 8:33
   As soon as Gideon died, the people of Israel turned again and whored after the Baals and made Baal-berith their god.
   Judges 2:17
   Yet they did not listen to their judges, for they whored after other gods and bowed down to them. They soon turned aside from the way in which their fathers had walked, who had obeyed the commandments of the Lord, and they did not do so.
   Exodus 34:15
   Lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and when they whore after their gods and sacrifice to their gods and you are invited, you eat of his sacrifice.
   Psalms 106:39
   Thus they became unclean by their acts, and played the whore in their deeds.
   
8. Cross References
   Exodus 23:33
   They shall not dwell in your land, lest they make you sin against me; for if you serve their gods, it will surely be a snare to you.
   Deuteronomy 7:16
   And you shall consume all the peoples that the Lord your God will give over to you. Your eye shall not pity them, neither shall you serve their gods, for that would be a snare to you.
   
9. Cross References
   Judges 3:11
   So the land had rest forty years. Then Othniel the son of Kenaz died.
   Judges 5:31
   So may all your enemies perish, O Lord! But your friends be like the sun as he rises in his might." And the land had rest for forty years.