Readers now learn why Gideon pursued these Midianite kings so relentlessly. These men had killed his own brothers. Following ancient codes, a surviving brother was duty-bound to seek revenge for the death of his brothers (see Num 35.9-34).
And he said introduces Gideon’s response. Some languages may prefer to say “Then he said to them.”
They were my brothers, the sons of my mother is literally “My brothers, sons of my mother, they.” This very emotional statement is another high point in the Gideon story, as he reveals to the kings that they killed his own brothers. This term renders a Hebrew word that can refer to brothers with the same mother and father, or to brothers with a different mother or father. In that society and in many communities today, the term is also used to refer to cousins or distant relatives. However, the following phrase, the sons of my mother, makes it clear that they were Gideon’s full brothers. Translators should use the appropriate term for this context. This fact explains why Gideon so passionately pursued the two kings. However, the text gives no details concerning the death of these brothers. Perhaps they were killed during the various battles that Gideon himself led. But it is also possible the brothers were killed before Gideon was called by the angel of the LORD to fight the Midianites. This would explain why Gideon was hiding from the Midianites as he beat his grain.
As the LORD lives (literally “alive is Yahweh”) renders a Hebrew expression that is used to introduce a strong oath. A literal rendering of this expression may not be natural in the target language, so translators must consider how people make such oaths in their own culture. Good News Translation says “I solemnly swear,” which is effective, but it leaves out the name of God. Contemporary English Version is better with “I swear by the living LORD.” The Israelites swore by Yahweh. Some languages might say “In God’s name” or “I swear by [the name of] God.”
If you had saved them alive, I would not slay you: These clauses are very emphatic in Hebrew. They have the same rhythm as “As you are, so were they” in the previous verse. Here the two parts sound alike and even rhyme in Hebrew as follows:
lu hachayitem ʾotam (literally “if you had let them live”)
loʾ harageti ʾetkem (literally “I would not kill you”)
The Hebrew words for lives (in the oath) and alive here form a wordplay since they come from the same root.
If you had saved them alive is known as a counterfactual conditional clause, because this condition was not fulfilled. It means “You did not save my brothers. If you had done so.” The pronoun you refers to the two Midianite kings, and the pronoun them to Gideon’s brothers. Saved … alive renders a causative form of the Hebrew verb meaning “be” or “live.” This clause may be rendered “if you had allowed them to live,” “if you had spared their lives,” or “if you had not killed them.” The Midianite kings probably had the option of taking these men prisoner (see verse 1.25). Instead, they killed them. All languages have ways of forming such counterfactual conditions, so translators need to find the right form to express the statement here.
I would not slay you: Gideon tells the kings that if they had kept his brothers alive, he would not kill them. This statement implies he is on the point of executing them. The pronoun I refers to Gideon. As in verse 8.17, slay may be rendered “kill,” “execute,” “slaughter,” or “put to death.” Would not slay is the English way of expressing an action that has not yet been performed, but certainly will be. Translators need to use verb forms that fit the context and meaning here.
Translation models for this verse are:
• Then Gideon said, “Those men you killed were my brothers, sons of my mother! I swear to you by the living God, if you had not killed them, I would not execute you now.”
• Gideon replied, “They were my brothers, the sons of my mother. In the name of the LORD, if only you had let them live, I would not [have to] kill you now.”
Quoted with permission from Zogbo, Lynell and Ogden, Graham S. A Handbook on Judges. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2019. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .