5 He said to the men of Succoth, "Please give loaves of bread to the people who follow me; for they are faint, and I am pursuing after Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian."
*Minor differences ignored. Grouped by changes, with first version listed as example.
Succoth was in the tribe of Gad which was entirely trans-Jordanic Joshua 13:27; and the ruins are at Sukkot, on the east of Jordan, a little south of Bethshan.
Give, I pray you etc. - Gideon might fairly expect so much aid from the trans-Jordanic tribes, and from so considerable a town as Succoth Judges 8:14.
Give, I pray you, loaves of bread - As Gideon was engaged in the common cause of Israel, he had a right to expect succor from the people at large. His request to the men of Succoth and Penuel was both just and reasonable.
And he said unto the men of Succoth, Give, I pray you, (d) loaves of bread unto the people that follow me; for they [be] faint, and I am pursuing after Zebah and Zalmunna, kings of Midian.
(d) Or, some small portion.
And he said to the men of Succoth,.... The inhabitants of that place, the principal men of it, which lay in his way as he was pursuing the Midianites in their flight to their own country; for this was a city on the other side Jordan, and in the tribe of Gad and was inhabited by Israelites, Joshua 13:27 it had its name from the booths or tents which Jacob erected here, Genesis 33:17.
give, I pray you, loaves of bread unto the people that follow me; he did not desire them to leave their habitations and families, and join him in pursuing his and their enemies, or to furnish him and his men with arms; only to give them some provisions and that not dainties, but loaves of bread; or "morsels of bread" (t), and broken pieces; and these he did not demand in an authoritative manner, as he might have done as a general, but in a way of entreaty; and the arguments he uses are:
for they be faint; for want of food, through the long fatigue from midnight hitherto, in the pursuit of the enemy, and which was not over:
and I am pursuing after Zebah and Zalmunna, kings of Midian; who had fled with 15,000 men, and were now, as Jarchi conjectures, destroying the countries of Reuben and Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh; and now Gideon and his men were closely pursuing them, in hopes of taking them, and so complete the conquest, and thoroughly deliver Israel from their bondage on both sides Jordan, the benefits of which these men of Succoth would share with others; these were the arguments, and cogent ones they were, to persuade them to give his weary troops some refreshment.
(t) "buccellas panis", Vatablus; "tractas panis", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator; so the Targum.
he said unto the men of Succoth--that is, a place of tents or booths. The name seems to have been applied to the whole part of the Jordan valley on the west, as well as on the east side of the river, all belonging to the tribe of Gad (compare Genesis 33:17; 1-Kings 7:46; with Joshua 13:27). Being engaged in the common cause of all Israel, he had a right to expect support and encouragement from his countrymen everywhere.
*More commentary available at chapter level.