Bible Person

Joash

Meaning: who despairs or burns · Male · 8 cross references

This Joash entry refers to the father of Gideon, a Manassite householder in Ophrah. He is remembered for the pivotal moment when he defends his son after the altar of Baal is destroyed. First appears in Judg 6:11.1

AI summary: This Joash matters because the cross references present him as a father whose response helps define Gideon's early calling. He receives the divine messenger at his threshing floor, becomes entangled in the local backlash after Baal's altar is torn down, and answers the crowd with the memorable challenge that if Baal is a god, Baal can defend himself. That speech gives Gideon the name Jerubbaal and shifts the moral balance of the story. Taken together, the material presents this Joash as a local patriarch whose decisive defense of Gideon marks a small but real break with entrenched idolatry.1

Central Figure

Joash

Meaning: who despairs or burns

A contracted form of Jehoash, the father of Gideon (Judg.