The question initiates a communal investigation to identify who violated their religious space and challenged their worship system. By asking rather than immediately accusing, they signal that the perpetrator’s identity is unknown and must be determined through inquiry, which heightens the tension as Gideon’s father stands between his son and the mob.

After questioning one another and conducting an investigation, the men discovered and publicly declared that Gideon the son of Joash had destroyed the altar and cut down the Asherah pole. They then went to Joash demanding he surrender his son for execution (Judges 6:30).

The men’s question reveals their shock at discovering someone had violated their sacred space. The Hebrew construction emphasizes the communal nature of their inquiry, with ‘one to another’ (ish el-re’ehu) suggesting urgent, scattered questioning as the crowd gathered. They ask ‘Who has done this thing?’ using the demonstrative ‘this’ (haddabar hazzeh) to emphasize the enormity of the act. The question format rather than immediate accusation indicates genuine uncertainty, since Gideon acted under cover of darkness with ten servants. Their subsequent investigation (darash and sha’al, both meaning ‘to inquire’) was thorough and successful. The question’s theological weight lies in its irony: they seek to punish the very man Yahweh commissioned to deliver them, revealing how completely Baal worship had displaced covenant loyalty in Israel.