The weight of the golden ear-rings that he requested was one thousand and seven hundred [shekels] of gold, besides the crescents, and the pendants, and the purple clothing that was on the kings of Midian, and besides the chains that were about their camels' necks.
"The narrator does not reveal the nature of the image, but it seems most likely that he [Gideon] has reconstructed the shrine to Baal he earlier had torn down at Yahweh’s command (Judges 6:25-32). . . . Instead of himself, an image of God, clothed with the Spirit of Yahweh (Judges 6:34), Gideon created his own image and clothed it with pagan materials." [Note: Block, Judges . . ., p. 300.] 