Judges 8:21 and 8:26

[church mouse guy]

In a YouTube video Mohammed's History by William Federer, he mentions that the pagan Arabs before Islam decorated their camels with chains with crescents and Gideon captured some of these. This was news to me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57Cypif7uWw

Now King James Version just refers to ornaments:

Judges 8:21 (KJV) Then Zebah and Zalmunna said, Rise thou, and fall upon us: for as the man [is, so is] his strength. And Gideon arose, and slew Zebah and Zalmunna, and took away the ornaments that [were] on their camels' necks.

Judges 8:26 (KJV) And the weight of the golden earrings that he requested was a thousand and seven hundred [shekels] of gold; beside ornaments, and collars, and purple raiment that [was] on the kings of Midian, and beside the chains that [were] about their camels' necks.

Yet the New American Standard uses the word "crescent" in both verses:

21 Then Zebah and Zalmunna said, “Rise up yourself, and fall on us; for as the man, so is his strength.” So Gideon arose and killed Zebah and Zalmunna, and took the crescent ornaments which were on their camels’ necks.

26 The weight of the gold earrings that he requested was 1,700 shekels of gold, besides the crescent ornaments and the pendants and the purple robes which were on the kings of Midian, and besides the neck bands that were on their camels’ necks.

The Holman Christian Standard Bible also refers to crescents.

So I think that Federer must have cited Scripture correctly but I do not understand the basis of the reference.

May I ask you to explain please what is going on here in the different versions since it is over my head? And thanks in advance!

 

[Herald]

Well, this much is certain, the crescent ornaments in Judges 8:26 were not a reference to Islam. The crescent ornaments, pendants, and purple garments were all symbols of Midian royalty. So yes, the ornaments were crescent in shape.

 

[church mouse guy]

Well, this much is certain, the crescent ornaments in Judges 8:26 were not a reference to Islam. The crescent ornaments, pendants, and purple garments were all symbols of Midian royalty. So yes, the ornaments were crescent in shape.

Good point! I think that Federer referred to the Midianites as pre-Islamic Arabs, but I am wondering about that because I have assumed that Arabs were just the descendants of Ishmael. Maybe the Midianites went native and blended in with the pagan Arabs. Or does Arab apply to anyone who lived on the peninsula and blended in with the general Semitic culture of that area? Federer says that the crescents were from Mecca. Maybe some museum has artifacts from Midian....