What does Judges 8:26 mean?

The men of Israel asked Gideon to be their ruler. He has refused, insisting that the Lord should be their ruler (Judges 8:22–23). However, just as a king might do after a victory, Gideon has asked for gold earrings collected from the enemy as the spoils of war (Judges 8:24–25). It's a savvy request. The Midianites were part of a larger people group that wore such earrings. It likely wasn't a big sacrifice for each man to give a single captured earring to Gideon—especially since these were recovered, not drawn from the people's personal wealth.

Taken together, however, the tribute of earrings adds up to 1,700 shekels of gold. Historians believe a Hebrew shekel was between 2/5 and 2/3 of an ounce, or about 11.5 grams. 1,700 shekels would come to as much as 71 pounds, or 19.6 kilograms, of gold. This would be a considerable sum: enough to make a solid gold bar roughly the size of a liter or quart container.

In addition, Gideon had taken the possessions of Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian. These included the crescent ornaments from the necks of their camels. Those were probably in the form of a moon god. He would also have taken the kings' pendants, royal purple garments, and additional collars from their camels' necks. Even further would have been whatever goods and valuables were with the kings when they were captured.

Gideon has suddenly become quite a wealthy man. His use of this gold, however, will go badly for himself and his people.