Charles Ellicott Commentary Judges 8:24

"And Gideon said unto them, I would make a request of you, that ye would give me every man the ear-rings of his spoil. (For they had golden ear-rings, because they were Ishmaelites.)" — Judges 8:24 (ASV)

I would desire a request of you. —Not infrequently, the magnanimity which has just stood firm under a great trial succumbs to a weaker one. His case did not exactly resemble that of Abraham (Genesis 14:21–23), but it would have been better for his glory if he had acted in a similar spirit.

The earrings of his prey. — Nezem means a ring which, sometimes at least, was worn, especially by women, in the nose (Genesis 24:47; Isaiah 3:21; Ezekiel 16:12; Job 42:11). In the absence of any regular currency, these gold rings served as a sort of coinage.

Because they were Ishmaelites. —“Ishmael-ites” and “Midianites” occur as convertible terms in Genesis 37:28.