Judges 8:8

And he went up thence to Penuel, and spake unto them likewise: and the men of Penuel answered him as the men of Succoth had answered him.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(8) He went up thence to Penuel.—Penuel was also in the tribe of Gad, on the heights above the Jordan valley, on the southern bank of the Jabbok. The name means “face of God,” from Jacob’s vision (Genesis 32:30). It is again mentioned as a fortified town in 1Kings 12:25, but the site has not been identified.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

8:4-12 Gideon's men were faint, yet pursuing; fatigued with what they had done, yet eager to do more against their enemies. It is many a time the true Christian's case, fainting, and yet pursuing. The world knows but little of the persevering and successful struggle the real believer maintains with his sinful heart. But he betakes himself to that Divine strength, in the faith of which he began his conflict, and by the supply of which alone he can finish it in triumph.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Succoth was in the valley or Ghor of the Jordan Judges 8:5, and Penuel apparently in the mountain. No identification of Penuel has taken place. It was south of the Brook Jabbok, and on Jacob's way to Succoth. Gideon, journeying in the opposite direction to Jacob, comes from Succoth to Penuel.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

8. he went up thence to Penuel, and spake unto them likewise—a neighboring city, situated also in the territory of Gad, near the Jabbok, and honored with this name by Jacob (Ge 32:30, 31).

Matthew Poole's Commentary

Penuel; another city beyond Jordan; of which see Genesis 32:30 1 Kings 12:25.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

And he went up thence to Penuel,.... A place not far from Succoth, and to which also Jacob gave name, from the Lord's appearing to him there face to face, Genesis 32:30 but here was nothing of God in this place now:

and spoke unto them likewise; desired bread for his men, as he had of the inhabitants of Succoth:

and the men of Penuel answered him as the men of Succoth had answered him; denied him his request in the same jeering manner.

Geneva Study Bible

And he went up thence to Penuel, and spake unto them likewise: and the men of Penuel answered him as the men of Succoth had answered him.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

8. Penuel] See on Jdg 8:5. A place of some importance, for it was fortified by Jeroboam, 1 Kings 12:25; its tower may have commanded the Jabbok ford. An explanation of the name is given in Genesis 32:30. A different explanation is suggested by the name of the promontory S. of Tripolis, on the Syrian coast, which Strabo (p. 642 ed. Müller) calls Θεοῦ πρόσωπον ‘face of God’; some cliff or boulder near the spot looked like a huge face.

When I come again in peace] A similar threat of retaliation for an insult is still used by the Arabs in the same district: ‘By God, when I come again in peace, nowhere but in the breast!’ Schumacher, Mittheil. u. Nachr. D.P.V. 1904, 76.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 8. - He went up thence to Penuel. When Jacob was returning from Padan-aram to Canaan he reached Penuel first, and Succoth afterwards (Genesis 32:30; Genesis 33:17). Gideon, travelling in the opposite direction from Canaan, naturally reaches Succoth first, and Penuel afterwards. Going from Succoth to Penuel too, he went up out of the Jordan valley towards the mountains on the east. Penuel appears to have been a place of importance, since Jeroboam repaired its fortifications with a view of retaining his hold on trans-Jordanic Israel (1 Kings 12:25). The tower here mentioned shows it was a strong place, but its exact situation is unknown. Judges 8:8

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

The inhabitants of Pnuel on the north bank of the Jabbok (see at Genesis 32:24.) behaved in the same churlish manner to Gideon, and for this he also threatened them: "If I return in peace," i.e., unhurt, "I will destroy this tower" (probably the castle of Pnuel).