Rashi
Jewish
1040–1105
“Crescent chains. Lunettes in old French, moonshaped, made of gold.”
The interpretation timeline
Judg 8:21
How this passage has been read — the sources, oldest to newest.
From the early Church Fathers to now.
1 Jewish · 1 Catholic
Judg 8:21 · Douay-Rheims
“And Zebee and Salmana said: Do thou rise, and run upon us: because the strength of a man is according to his age: Gedeon rose up and slew Zebee and Salmana: and he took the ornaments and bosses, with which the necks of the camels of kings are wont to be adorned.”
Scholastic
c. 1100 – 1500
1105
A.D.
744 years pass — nothing from this stretch is hosted yet
Post-Reformation
c. 1650 – 1900
1849
A.D.
George Leo Haydock
Catholic
1774–1849
“Age. They beg that they may die in a more speedy and noble manner. Tacitus (Hist. iv.) observes, “it was reported that Civilis exposed some of the Roman captives to his little son, in order that he might fix his arrows and javelins in their bodies.” — Ornaments. Most interpreters understand “crescents.” The veneration of the Arabs for the moon, the celestial Venus, or Alilat, is well known. The Turks still make use of this sign, as Christians employ the cross on their standards, temples, &c. Men and women anciently wore on their necks or forehead ornaments of the same nature, as these camels did, Isaias iii. 18. Latinus adorned his horses in the most splendid manner. Virgil, Æneid vii: Aurea pectoribus demissa monilia pendent. Caligula decorated with extravagance his famous horse Incitatus, on which he designed to confer the consulate. (Suetonius) — In Egypt the camels are sometimes painted yellow, and hung with a variety of little bells. (Vaneb.)”
Modern · 1953 →
The in-app commentary runs from the Fathers to the early-modern record, then stops — that's where the public-domain sources end, not where the reading does. For the modern reading, follow the sources directly.