Editing Gideon (section)

{{Short description|Character in the biblical Book of Judges}}
{{Redirect|Gideon (Bible)|the Bible distributing organization|The Gideons International}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Gideon
| image              = Maerten van Heemskerck - Gédéon et le miracle de la Toison, MBA 1747 (b) (cropped).jpg
|caption             =  ''[[Adam and Eve/Gideon and the Fleece|Gideon and the Fleece]]'' (1550) by [[Maerten van Heemskerck]]
| native_name_lang   = Hebrew
| native_name        = {{Nobold|{{Script/Hebrew|גִּדְעוֹן}}}}
| predecessor        = [[Deborah]]
| successor          = [[Abimelech (Judges)|Abimelech]]
| spouse             = 
| father             = [[Joash the Abiezrite|Joash]]
| mother             = 
| birth_place        = 
| death_place        = 
| burial_place       = 
}}
{{Judges}}

'''Gideon''' ({{IPAc-en |ˈ|g|ɪ|d|i|ə|n}}; {{Hebrew Name|גִּדְעוֹן|Gīdʿōn|Gīḏəʿōn}}) also named '''Jerubbaal'''{{efn|{{lang|he|יְרֻבַּעַל |rtl=yes}} {{lang|he-Latn|Yərubaʿal}}}} and '''Jerubbesheth''',{{efn|{{lang|he| יְרֻבֶּשֶׁת|rtl=yes}} {{lang|he-Latn|Yərubešeṯ}}}}{{sfn|Cheyne|1901|p=}} was a [[Military rank|military leader]], [[biblical judges|judge]] and prophet whose calling and victory over the [[Midian|Midianites]] is recounted in {{bibleverse|Judges|6–8|HE}} of the [[Book of Judges]] in both the [[Hebrew Bible]] and the Christian [[Bible]].

Gideon was the son of [[Joash the Abiezrite|Joash]], from the [[Abiezrite]] clan in the [[tribe of Manasseh]] and lived in [[Ophrah|Ephra (Ophrah)]].{{sfn|Gigot|1909}} As a leader of the [[Israelites]], he won a decisive victory over a Midianite army despite a vast numerical disadvantage, leading a troop of 300 men.<ref>{{bibleverse|Judges|7|NIV}}</ref>
Archaeologists in southern Israel have found a 3,100-year-old fragment of a jug with five letters written in ink that appear to represent the name Jerubbaal, or Yeruba'al.{{sfn|Rollston|Garfinkel|Keimer|Davis|2021}}