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NOTE: I'm double-posting this question on Hermeneutics as it may produce two viewpoints, dunno.

KJV Judges 8:18 Then said he unto Zebah and Zalmunna, What manner of men were they whom ye slew at Tabor? And they answered, As thou art, so were they; each one resembled the children of a king.

Should we write this off as pure fawning and flattery? Or are we intended to understand Jews to be particularly royal?

A child of a king

I'm wondering if it isn't a reference to the prohibition against cutting off the corners of the beards. Would Zebah and Zalumunna have made that association? Or an association with beards in general?

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  • How did you connect these to each other (Judges to Leviticus)?
    – Dr. Shmuel
    Nov 9, 2018 at 17:43
  • Probably ignorantly. Is there an anachronism?
    – Ruminator
    Nov 9, 2018 at 17:49
  • Not an anachronism, but that seems like a pretty random connection to make. It's not the only aspect of a Jew's appearance. Same with the picture of that Yemenite guy - Yemenites are very good at preserving traditions, but that doesn't mean that they wear the same clothes as Jews wore over 3000 years ago.
    – Heshy
    Nov 9, 2018 at 18:39
  • @Heshy I understand that; I'm just trying to make sense of the text.
    – Ruminator
    Nov 9, 2018 at 18:42

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I don't think this is a statement about Jews in general. The general picture we get from Judges suggests that Gid'on was almost, but not quite, a king. This statement shows that even his enemies thought he would make a good king.

The only reason he didn't become a king was because he refused. His son did become "king", but did a terrible job and only ruled for a short time period.

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