Then the men of Israel said to Gideon, Rule you over us, both you, and your son, and your son's son also; for you have saved us out of the hand of Midian.
It is believed that Gideon's sin in making such an ephod might have been due, as Keil suggested, in part, "To the fact that the High Priesthood had probably lost its worth in the eyes of the people on account of the worthlessness of its representatives."[25]