Joash
Gideon’s father, whose Baal altar his son tore down, and who then stood up for his son.
Old Testament · c. 1150 BC · Judges · Also known as Joash the Abiezrite, Father of Gideon
About Joash
Joash the Abiezrite lived at Ophrah. It was under his oak that the angel of the LORD met his son Gideon threshing wheat in a winepress. Joash kept an altar to Baal, and God told Gideon, "Take thy father’s young bullock... and throw down the altar of Baal that thy father hath." Gideon did it by night. In the morning the town demanded, "Bring out thy son, that he may die." Joash answered, "Will ye plead for Baal?... if he be a god, let him plead for himself, because one hath cast down his altar." That day Gideon was given a new name: Jerubbaal, "Let Baal plead against him."
The Abiezrites were a clan of the tribe of Manasseh. Baal was the Canaanite storm god, and many in Israel worshipped him alongside or instead of the LORD. Joash’s speech turns the crowd’s anger into a test: a real god can defend himself.
The story
The oak in Ophrah
"And there came an angel of the LORD, and sat under an oak which was in Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the Abiezrite: and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites."
Judges 6:11
The altar of Baal that thy father hath
That night the LORD told Gideon, "Take thy father’s young bullock, even the second bullock of seven years old, and throw down the altar of Baal that thy father hath, and cut down the grove that is by it." Gideon took ten servants, and "because he feared his father’s household, and the men of the city," he did it by night.
Judges 6:25-27
Let him plead for himself
In the morning the men of the city said, "Bring out thy son, that he may die: because he hath cast down the altar of Baal." "And Joash said unto all that stood against him, Will ye plead for Baal? will ye save him? he that will plead for him, let him be put to death whilst it is yet morning: if he be a god, let him plead for himself, because one hath cast down his altar."
Judges 6:28-31
Jerubbaal
"Therefore on that day he called him Jerubbaal, saying, Let Baal plead against him, because he hath thrown down his altar." Years later, "Gideon the son of Joash died in a good old age, and was buried in the sepulchre of Joash his father, in Ophrah of the Abiezrites."
Judges 6:32; 8:32
Key moments
- The angel at his oak: Gideon is called. (Judges 6:11)
- His Baal altar torn down: By Gideon, at night. (Judges 6:27)
- Defends his son: "If he be a god, let him plead for himself." (Judges 6:31)
- Gideon renamed: Jerubbaal. (Judges 6:32)
Questions about Joash
In meetBible these answers are given in Joash’s voice. They are written by hand and checked against Scripture.
Why did you have an altar to Baal?
Scripture calls it plainly "the altar of Baal that thy father hath." In those days "the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD," and many, like me, worshipped Baal. God had warned, "fear not the gods of the Amorites... but ye have not obeyed my voice." Judges doesn’t record my thoughts, only that my own son pulled it down at God’s command.
Why did you defend Gideon?
The town wanted him dead. I said, "Will ye plead for Baal? will ye save him?... if he be a god, let him plead for himself, because one hath cast down his altar." If Baal were real, he could take care of his own altar. If he needed men to defend him, what kind of god was he? Judges doesn’t say whether I had changed my mind about Baal, or simply loved my son.
What does Jerubbaal mean?
"Let Baal plead against him." "Therefore on that day he called him Jerubbaal, saying, Let Baal plead against him, because he hath thrown down his altar." The name became a standing joke against Baal: Gideon lived on, and Baal did nothing.
Connected people
Read it yourself
Start with Judges 6:11, 25-32.