Text -- Judges 7:1-23 (NET)

Gideon Reduces the Ranks

7:1 Jerub-Baal (that is, Gideon) and his men got up the next morning and camped near the spring of Harod. The Midianites were camped north of them near the hill of Moreh in the valley. 7:2 The Lord said to Gideon, “You have too many men for me to hand Midian over to you. Israel might brag, ‘Our own strength has delivered us.’ 7:3 Now, announce to the men, ‘Whoever is shaking with fear may turn around and leave Mount Gilead.’” Twenty-two thousand men went home; ten thousand remained. 7:4 The Lord spoke to Gideon again, “There are still too many men. Bring them down to the water and I will thin the ranks some more. When I say, ‘This one should go with you,’ pick him to go; when I say, ‘This one should not go with you,’ do not take him.” 7:5 So he brought the men down to the water. Then the Lord said to Gideon, “Separate those who lap the water as a dog laps from those who kneel to drink.” 7:6 Three hundred men lapped; the rest of the men kneeled to drink water. 7:7 The Lord said to Gideon, “With the three hundred men who lapped I will deliver the whole army and I will hand Midian over to you. The rest of the men should go home.” 7:8 The men who were chosen took supplies and their trumpets. Gideon sent all the men of Israel back to their homes; he kept only three hundred men. Now the Midianites were camped down below in the valley.

Gideon Reassured of Victory

7:9 That night the Lord said to Gideon, “Get up! Attack the camp, for I am handing it over to you. 7:10 But if you are afraid to attack, go down to the camp with Purah your servant 7:11 and listen to what they are saying. Then you will be brave and attack the camp.” So he went down with Purah his servant to where the sentries were guarding the camp. 7:12 Now the Midianites, Amalekites, and the people from the east covered the valley like a swarm of locusts. Their camels could not be counted; they were as innumerable as the sand on the seashore. 7:13 When Gideon arrived, he heard a man telling another man about a dream he had. The man said, “Look! I had a dream. I saw a stale cake of barley bread rolling into the Midianite camp. It hit a tent so hard it knocked it over and turned it upside down. The tent just collapsed.” 7:14 The other man said, “Without a doubt this symbolizes the sword of Gideon son of Joash, the Israelite. God is handing Midian and all the army over to him.”

Gideon Routs the Enemy

7:15 When Gideon heard the report of the dream and its interpretation, he praised God. Then he went back to the Israelite camp and said, “Get up, for the Lord is handing the Midianite army over to you!” 7:16 He divided the three hundred men into three units. He gave them all trumpets and empty jars with torches inside them. 7:17 He said to them, “Watch me and do as I do. Watch closely! I am going to the edge of the camp. Do as I do! 7:18 When I and all who are with me blow our trumpets, you also blow your trumpets all around the camp. Then say, ‘For the Lord and for Gideon!’” 7:19 Gideon took a hundred men to the edge of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, just after they had changed the guards. They blew their trumpets and broke the jars they were carrying. 7:20 All three units blew their trumpets and broke their jars. They held the torches in their left hand and the trumpets in their right. Then they yelled, “A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!” 7:21 They stood in order all around the camp. The whole army ran away; they shouted as they scrambled away. 7:22 When the three hundred men blew their trumpets, the Lord caused the Midianites to attack one another with their swords throughout the camp. The army fled to Beth Shittah on the way to Zererah. They went to the border of Abel Meholah near Tabbath. 7:23 Israelites from Naphtali, Asher, and Manasseh answered the call and chased the Midianites.

Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per phrase)

Wesley: Jdg 7:2

For my purpose; which is, so to deliver Israel, that it may appear to be my own act, that so I may have all the glory, and they may be the more strongly obliged to serve me. This may help us to understand those providences, which sometimes seem to weaken the church of Christ. Its friends are too many, too mighty, too wise, for God to work deliverance by. God is taking a course to lessen them, that he may be exalted in his own strength.

Wesley: Jdg 7:3

Not mount Gilead beyond Jordan; for both the camps of the Israelites and the Midianites were on this side Jordan: but another mount Gilead in the tribe of Manasseh.

Wesley: Jdg 7:3

These finding their whole army very small, in comparison of their enemies, who were a hundred and thirty five thousand, Jdg 8:10, and they, no doubt well armed and disciplined, and encouraged by long success; whereas the Israelites were dispirited with long servitude, and many of them unarmed, lost the courage which they had at first.

Wesley: Jdg 7:4

Either that which ran from the well of Harod, mentioned Jdg 7:1, or some other brook.

Wesley: Jdg 7:6

Taking up a little water in the palm of their hands.

Wesley: Jdg 7:7

That is, to his own home. By this farther distinction it was proved, that none should be made use of, but, Men that were hardy, that could endure fatigue, without complaining of thirst or weariness: Men that were hasty, that thought it long, 'till they were engaged with the enemy, and so just wetted their mouth and away, not staying for a full draught. Such as these God chuses to employ, that are not only well affected, but zealously affected to his work.

Wesley: Jdg 7:8

That is the trumpets belonging to the whole army, which he retained for the use following.

Wesley: Jdg 7:9

After he had dismissed all but the three hundred.

Wesley: Jdg 7:9

In a dream or vision of the night.

Wesley: Jdg 7:11

Thou wilt be encourage to proceed, notwithstanding the smallness of thy number.

Wesley: Jdg 7:13

A weak and contemptible thing; and in itself as unable to overthrow a tent, as to remove a mountain; but being thrown by a divine hand, it bore down all before it.

Wesley: Jdg 7:14

_As there are many examples of significant dreams, given by God to Heathens, so some of them had the gift of interpreting dreams; which they sometimes did by divine direction as in this case.

Wesley: Jdg 7:15

He praised God for this special encouragement.

Wesley: Jdg 7:16

To make a shew of a vast army.

Wesley: Jdg 7:16

Partly to preserve the flame from the wind and weather; and partly to conceal it, and surprise their enemy with sudden flashes of light.

Wesley: Jdg 7:17

For though two hundred of his men were placed on other sides of the camp; yet they were so disposed, that some persons, set as watchmen, might see what was done, and give notice to the rest to follow the example.

Wesley: Jdg 7:18

He mentions his own name, together with God's, not out of arrogance, as if he would equal himself with God; but from prudent policy, because his name was grown formidable to them, and so was likely to further his design. See Jdg 7:14.

Wesley: Jdg 7:19

That is, of the second watch; for though afterward the night was divided into four watches by the Romans, Mat 14:25, yet in more ancient times, and in the eastern parts, it was divided into three: he chose the dark and dead of the night, to increase their terror by the trumpets, whose sound would then be loudest, and the lamps, whose light would then shine most brightly, to surprise them, and conceal the smallness of their numbers.

Wesley: Jdg 7:21

As if they had been torch - bearers to the several companies.

Wesley: Jdg 7:22

They slew one another, because they suspected treachery, and so fell upon those they first met with; which they might more easily do, because they consisted of several nations, because the darkness of the night made them unable to distinguish friends from foes, because the suddenness of the thing struck them with horror and amazement; and because God had infatuated them, as he had done many others.

JFB: Jdg 7:1

This had now become Gideon's honorable surname, "the enemy of Baal."

JFB: Jdg 7:1

Rather "spring of Harod," that is, "fear, trembling"; probably the same as the fountain in Jezreel (1Sa 29:1). It was situated not far from Gilboa, on the confines of Manasseh, and the name "Harod" was bestowed on it with evident reference to the panic which seized the majority of Gideon's troops. The host of the Midianites were on the northern side of the valley, seemingly deeper down in the descent towards the Jordan, near a little eminence.

JFB: Jdg 7:2

Although the Israelitish army mustered only thirty-two thousand (or one-sixth of the Midianitish host), the number was too great, for it was the Lord's purpose to teach Israel a memorable lesson of dependence on Him.

JFB: Jdg 7:3

This proclamation was in terms of an established law (Deu 20:8).

JFB: Jdg 7:4

Two reductions were ordered, the last by the application of a test which was made known to Gideon alone.

JFB: Jdg 7:5

When the wandering people in Asia, on a journey or in haste, come to water, they do not stoop down with deliberation on their knees, but only bend forward as much as is necessary to bring their hand in contact with the stream, and throw it up with rapidity, and at the same time such address, that they do not drop a particle. The Israelites, it seems, were acquainted with the practice; and those who adopted it on this occasion were selected as fit for a work that required expedition. The rest were dismissed according to the divine direction.

JFB: Jdg 7:7

It is scarcely possible to conceive a more severe trial than the command to attack the overwhelming forces of the enemy with such a handful of followers. But Gideon's faith in the divine assurance of victory was steadfast, and it is for this he is so highly commended (Heb 11:32).

JFB: Jdg 7:8

Attention to the relative position of the parties is of the greatest importance to an understanding of what follows.

JFB: Jdg 7:9-10

In ancient times it was reckoned no degradation for persons of the highest rank and character to act as spies on an enemy's camp; and so Gideon did on this occasion. But the secret errand was directed by God, who intended that he should hear something which might animate his own valor and that of his troops.

JFB: Jdg 7:11

"Armed," means embodied under the five officers established by the ordinary laws and usages of encampments. The camp seems to have been unprotected by any rampart, since Gideon had no difficulty in reaching and overhearing a conversation, so important to him.

JFB: Jdg 7:12

A most graphic description of an Arab encampment. They lay wrapt in sleep, or resting from their day's plunder, while their innumerable camels were stretched round about them.

JFB: Jdg 7:13

This was a characteristic and very expressive dream for an Arab in the circumstances. The rolling down the hill, striking against the tents, and overturning them, naturally enough connected it in his mind with the position and meditated attack of the Israelitish leader. The circumstance of the cake, too, was very significant. Barley was usually the food of the poor, and of beasts; but most probably, from the widespread destruction of the crops by the invaders, multitudes must have been reduced to poor and scanty fare.

JFB: Jdg 7:15

The incident originated in the secret overruling providence of God, and Gideon, from his expression of pious gratitude, regarded it as such. On his mind, as well as that of his followers, it produced the intended effect--that of imparting new animation and impulse to their patriotism.

JFB: Jdg 7:16-22

The object of dividing his forces was, that they might seem to be surrounding the enemy. The pitchers were empty to conceal the torches, and made of earthenware, so as to be easily broken; and the sudden blaze of the held-up lights--the loud echo of the trumpets, and the shouts of Israel, always terrifying (Num 23:21), and now more terrible than ever by the use of such striking words, broke through the stillness of the midnight air. The sleepers started from their rest; not a blow was dealt by the Israelites; but the enemy ran tumultuously, uttering the wild, discordant cries peculiar to the Arab race. They fought indiscriminately, not knowing friend from foe. The panic being universal, they soon precipitately fled, directing their flight down to the Jordan, by the foot of the mountains of Ephraim, to places known as the "house of the acacia" [Beth-shittah], and "the meadow of the dance" [Abel-meholah].

JFB: Jdg 7:23

These were evidently the parties dismissed, who having lingered at a little distance from the scene of contest, now eagerly joined in the pursuit southwestward through the valley.

Clarke: Jdg 7:1

Then Jerubbaal, who is Gideon - It appears that Jerubbaal was now a surname of Gideon, from the circumstance mentioned Jdg 6:32. See Jdg 8:35

Clarke: Jdg 7:1

The well of Harod - If this was a town or village, it is nowhere else mentioned. Probably, as חרד charad signifies to shake or tremble through fear, the fountain in question may have had its name from the terror and panic with which the Midianitish host was seized at this place.

Clarke: Jdg 7:2

The people that are with thee are too many - Had he led up a numerous host against his enemies, the excellence of the power by which they were discomfited might have appeared to be of man and not of God. By the manner in which this whole transaction was conducted, both the Israelites and Midianites must see that the thing was of God. This would inspire the Israelites with confidence, and the Midianites with fear.

Clarke: Jdg 7:3

Whosoever is fearful and afraid, let him return - from Mount Gilead - Gideon was certainly not at Mount Gilead at this time, but rather near Mount Gilboa. Gilead was on the other side of Jordan. Calmet thinks there must either have been two Gileads, which does not from the Scripture appear to be the case, or that the Hebrew text is here corrupted, and that for Gilead we should read Gilboa. This reading, though adopted by Houbigant, is not countenanced by any MS., nor by any of the versions. Dr. Hales endeavors to reconcile the whole, by the supposition that there were in Gideon’ s army many of the eastern Manassites, who came from Mount Gilead; and that these probably were more afraid of their neighbors, the Midianites, than the western tribes were; and therefore proposes to read the text thus: Whosoever from Mount Gilead is fearful and afraid, let him return (home) and depart early. So there returned (home) twenty-two thousand of the people. Perhaps this is on the whole the best method of solving this difficulty

Clarke: Jdg 7:3

There returned of the people twenty and two thousand - Gideon’ s army was at this time thirty-two thousand strong, and after the above address twenty-two thousand went away. How astonishing, that in thirty-two thousand men there should be found not less than twenty-two thousand poltroons, who would neither fight for God nor their oppressed country! A state of slavery debases the mind of man, and renders it incapable of being influenced by the pure principles of patriotism or religion. In behalf of the army of Gideon we may say, if the best appointed armies in Europe had the same address, bona fide, from their generals as the Israelites had, at least an equal proportion would return home.

Clarke: Jdg 7:5

Every one that lappeth of the water - as a dog - The original word ילק yalok is precisely the sound which a dog makes when he is drinking.

Clarke: Jdg 7:6

The number of them that lapped - From this account it appears that some of the people went down on their knees, and putting their mouths to the water, sucked up what they needed; the others stooped down, and taking up water in the hollow of their hands, applied it to their mouth.

Clarke: Jdg 7:8

So the people took victuals - The three hundred men that he reserved took the victuals necessary for the day’ s expenditure, while the others were dismissed to their tents and their houses as they thought proper.

Clarke: Jdg 7:9

I have delivered it into thine hand - I have determined to do it, and it is as sure as if it were done.

Clarke: Jdg 7:11

Unto the outside of the armed men - No doubt the vast multitudes of Midianites, etc., which came merely for plunder, were wholly unarmed; but they had a guard of armed men, as all the caravans have, and those guards were on the outside of the multitudes; it was to these that Gideon and his servant came.

Clarke: Jdg 7:13

Told a dream - Both the dream and the interpretation were inspired by God for the purpose of increasing the confidence of Gideon, and appalling his enemies.

Clarke: Jdg 7:14

Into his hand hath God delivered Midian - This is a full proof that God had inspired both the dream and its interpretation.

Clarke: Jdg 7:16

He divided the three hundred men - Though the victory was to be from the Lord, yet he knew that he ought to use prudential means; and those which he employed on this occasion were the best calculated to answer the end. If he had not used these means, it is not likely that God would have delivered the Midianites into his hands. Sometimes, even in working a miracle, God will have natural means used: Go, dip thyself seven times in Jordan. Go, wash in the pool Siloam.

Clarke: Jdg 7:18

The sword of the Lord, and of Gideon - The word חרב chereb , "sword,"is not found in this verse, though it is necessarily implied, and is found in Jdg 7:20. But it is found in this place in the Chaldee, Syriac, and Arabic, and in eight of Kennicott’ s and De Rossi’ s MSS. The reading appears to be genuine.

Clarke: Jdg 7:20

Blew the trumpets, and brake the pitchers - How astonishing must the effect be, in a dark night, of the sudden glare of three hundred torches, darting their splendor, in the same instant, on the half-awakened eyes of the terrified Midianites, accompanied with the clangour of three hundred trumpets, alternately mingled with the thundering shout of חרב ליהוה ולגדעון chereb layhovah ulegidon , "A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!"Origen, in his ninth homily on this book, makes these three hundred men types of the preachers of the Gospel; their trumpets of the preaching of Christ crucified; and their lights or torches, of the holy conduct of righteous men. In some verses of an ancient author, attributed to Tertullian, and written against the heretic Marcion, Gideon’ s three hundred men are represented as horsemen; and in this number he finds the mystery of the cross; because the Greek letter Τ, tau , which is the numeral for 300, is itself the sign of the cross. The verses, which may be found in vol. v. of the Pisaurian Collection of the Latin heathen and Christian poets, Advers, Marcion., lib. 3, ver. 18, as being very curious, and not often to be met with, I shall here subjoin: -

Ex quibus ut Gideon dux agminis, acer in hostem

Non virtute sua tutelam acquirere gent

Firmatusque fide signum petit excita menti

Quo vel non posset, vel posset vincere bellum

Vellus ut in noctem positum de rore maderet

Et tellus omnis circum siccata jaceret

Hoc inimicorum palmam coalescere mundo

Atque iterum solo remanenti vellere sicco

Hoc eadem tellus roraret nocte liquore

Hoc etenim signo praedonum stravit acervos

Congressus populo Christi, sine milite multo

Tercenteno equite (numerus Tau littera Graeca

Armatis facibusque et cornibus ore canentum

Vellus erat populus ovium de semine sancto

Nam tellus variae gentes fusaeque per orbem

Verbum quod nutrit, sed nox est mortis imago

Tau signum crucis et cornu praeconia vitae

Lucentesque faces in lychno spiritus ardens

"Gideon, keen in arms, was captain of the host

And acquired redemption for his people, but not by his own power

Being strengthened in faith, his heart was influenced to ask a sig

By which he might know whether or not he should be successful in battle

A fleece was so placed by night, that it might be wet with dew

And all the surrounding earth remain dry

By this he was to learn that he should gain the victory over his enemies

The sign was reversed; the fleece remaining dry while all the ground was moist

And by this sign he was to know that he should slaughter those troops of robbers

The people of Christ conquer without any military force

Three hundred horsemen, (for the Greek letter T, tau, is the emblem of the number)

Armed with torches, and blowing with trumpets

The fleece of the sheep are the people sprung from the Messiah

And the earth are the various nations dispersed over the world

It is the word which nourishes; but might is the image of death

Tau is the sign of the cross; and the trumpets, the emblems of the heralds of life

And the burning torches in the pitchers, the emblems of the Holy Spirit.

We see here what abstruse meanings a strong imagination, assisted by a little piety, may extract from what was never intended to be understood as a mystery.

Clarke: Jdg 7:21

They stood every man in his place - Each of the three companies kept its station, and continued to sound their trumpets. The Midianites seeing this, and believing that they were the trumpets of a numerous army which had then penetrated their camp, were thrown instantly into confusion; and supposing that their enemies were in the midst of them, they turned their swords against every man they met, while at the same time they endeavored to escape for their lives. No stratagem was ever better imagined, better executed, or more completely successful.

Clarke: Jdg 7:22

Fled to Beth-shittah - This is no where else mentioned in Scripture

Clarke: Jdg 7:22

Zererath - This and Tabbath are nowhere else to be found

Clarke: Jdg 7:22

Abel-meholah - This was the birth-place of the prophet Elisha, 1Ki 19:16. It was beyond Jordan, in the tribe of Manasseh, 1Ki 4:12. The Zartanah, mentioned in this last quoted verse, was probably the same as Zererath. Its situation corresponds well with Abel-meholah.

Clarke: Jdg 7:23

The men of Israel gathered - It is very likely that these were some persons whom Gideon had sent home the day before, who now hearing that the Midianites were routed, went immediately in pursuit.

Defender: Jdg 7:7

God first had Gideon reduce his army by sending 22,000 men who were fearful and afraid back home, leaving only 10,000 to face the 135,000 Midianites (Jdg 8:10). Then it was further diminished to only 300 men who did not "bow down upon their knees to drink water," but instead "lapped of the water ... as a dog lappeth" (Jdg 7:5-6). No explanation for this choice is given, but it probably was based on alertness, just as the first was based on courage. The men may have drunk from cupped hands rather than directly from the brook surface."

Defender: Jdg 7:20

This passage is widely known as a key motto of the Christian laymen's organization known as the Gideons, with their local chapters known as camps and with their strong emphasis on the Scriptures as the sword of the Spirit, able to conquer the enemy and win victories for the Lord. The victory was a great testimony both to the remarkably effective stratagem devised by Gideon and the providential working of God."

TSK: Jdg 7:1

Jerubbaal : It appears that Jerubbaal had now become the surname of Gideon. He is mentioned by Sanchoniathon, quoted by Eusebius, who lived in the reign of Ithobal, king of Tyre, and consequently a little after the time of Gideon, by the name of Jerombalus, a priest of Jeuo or Jao. Jdg 6:32

rose up : Gen 22:3; Jos 3:1, Jos 6:12; Ecc 9:10

Moreh : Gen 12:6

TSK: Jdg 7:2

too many : 1Sa 14:6; 2Ch 14:11; Zec 4:6, Zec 12:7; 1Co 1:27-29, 1Co 2:4, 1Co 2:5; 2Co 4:7; 2Co 10:4, 2Co 10:5

Israel : Deu 32:27; Isa 2:11, Isa 2:17; Jer 9:23; Rom 3:27, Rom 11:18; 1Co 1:29; Eph 2:9; Jam 4:6

Mine own : Deu 8:17; Isa 10:13; Eze 28:2, Eze 28:17; Dan 4:30; Hab 1:16

TSK: Jdg 7:3

Whosoever : Deu 20:8; Mat 13:21; Luk 14:25-33; Rev 17:14, Rev 21:8

mount Gilead : Gideon was certainly not at mount Gilead, east of Jordan at this time; but rather near mount Gilboa, west of Jordan. Calmet thinks there must either have been two Gileads, which does not appear from Scripture to have been the case, or that the Hebrew Text is corrupt, and that for Gilead we should read Gilboa. This reading, though adopted by Houbigant, is not confirmed by an manuscript or version. Dr. Hales endeavours to reconcile the whole, by the supposition that in Gideon’ s army there were many eastern Manassites from mount Gilead, near the Midianites; and therefore proposes to read, ""Whosoever from mount Gilead is fearful and afraid, let him return (home) and depart early."

twenty : Mat 20:16

TSK: Jdg 7:4

people : Psa 33:16

I will : Gen 22:1; 1Sa 16:7; Job 23:10; Psa 7:9, Psa 66:10; Jer 6:27-30; Mal 3:2, Mal 3:3

TSK: Jdg 7:5

lappeth : The original word yalok , is precisely the sound which the dog makes in lapping. It appears that it is not unusual for the Arabs to drink water out of the palms of their hands; and, from this account, we learn that the Israelites did so occasionally. Dr. A. Clarke, in his edition of Harmer, has presented us with the following curious manuscript note from Dr. Russell. ""When they take water with the palms of their hands, they naturally place themselves on their hams, to be nearer the water; but when they drink from a pitcher or gourd, fresh filled, they do not sit down on purpose to drink, but drink standing, and very often put the sleeve of their shirt over the mouth of the vessel, by way of strainer, lest small leeches might have been taken up with the water. For the same reason they often prefer taking the water with the palm of the hand to lapping it from the surface.""From the letters of Busbequius we learn, that the Eastern people are not in the habit of drinking standing. The 300 men, who satisfied their thirst in the most expeditious manner, by this sufficiently indicated their spirit, and alacrity to follow Gideon in his dangerous enterprise; while the rest shewed their love of ease, self-indulgence, effeminacy, and want of courage. Jdg 7:5

TSK: Jdg 7:7

Jdg 7:18-22; 1Sa 14:6; Isa 41:14-16

TSK: Jdg 7:8

trumpets : Jdg 3:27; Lev 23:24, Lev 25:9; Num 10:9; Jos 6:4, Jos 6:20; Isa 27:13; 1Co 15:52

in the valley : Jdg 6:33

TSK: Jdg 7:9

the same : Gen 46:2, Gen 46:3; Job 4:13, Job 33:15, Job 33:16; Mat 1:20, Mat 2:13; Act 18:9, Act 18:10, Act 27:23

Arise : Jos 1:5-9; Isa 41:10-16, Isa 43:1, Isa 43:2

I have delivered : Jdg 3:10, Jdg 3:28, Jdg 4:14, Jdg 4:15; 2Ch 16:8, 2Ch 16:9, 2Ch 20:17

TSK: Jdg 7:10

Jdg 4:8, Jdg 4:9; Exo 4:10-14

TSK: Jdg 7:11

thou shalt : Jdg 7:13-15; Gen 24:14; 1Sa 14:8, 1Sa 14:12

thine hands : 1Sa 23:16; Ezr 6:22; Neh 6:9; Isa 35:3, Isa 35:4; 2Co 12:9, 2Co 12:10; Eph 3:16; Eph 6:10; Phi 4:13

armed men : or, ranks by five, Exo 13:18 *marg.

TSK: Jdg 7:12

the Midianites : Jdg 6:3, Jdg 6:5, Jdg 6:33; 1Ki 4:30

grasshoppers : Jdg 8:10; 2Ch 14:9-12; Psa 3:1, Psa 33:16, Psa 118:10-12; Isa 8:9, Isa 8:10

TSK: Jdg 7:13

a cake : Jdg 3:15, Jdg 3:31, Jdg 4:9, Jdg 4:21, Jdg 6:15; Isa 41:14, Isa 41:15; 1Co 1:27

TSK: Jdg 7:14

his fellow : Num 22:38, Num 23:5, Num 23:20, Num 24:10-13; Job 1:10

into his hand : Exo 15:14, Exo 15:15; Jos 2:9, Jos 2:24, Jos 5:1; 2Ki 7:6, 2Ki 7:7

TSK: Jdg 7:15

interpretation thereof : Heb. breaking thereof, Gen 40:8, Gen 41:11

worshipped : Gen 24:26, Gen 24:27, Gen 24:48; Exo 4:30, Exo 4:31; 2Ch 20:18, 2Ch 20:19

Arise : Jdg 4:14; 2Co 10:4-6

TSK: Jdg 7:16

three companies : This small number of men, thus divided, would be able to encompass the whole camp of the Midianites. Concealing the lamps in the pitchers, they would pass unobserved to their appointed stations; then, in the dead of the night, when most of the enemy were fast asleep, all at once breaking their pitchers one against another, with as much noise as they could, and blowing the trumpets and shouting; they would occasion an exceedingly great alarm. The obedience of faith alone could have induced such an expedient, which no doubt God directed Gideon to employ. - Scott.

a trumpet : Heb. trumpets in the hand of all of them

empty : 2Co 4:7

lamps : or, fire-brands, or torches

TSK: Jdg 7:17

Jdg 9:48; Mat 16:24; 1Co 11:1; Heb 13:7; 1Pe 5:3

TSK: Jdg 7:18

blow ye : Jdg 7:20

the sword : The word cherev , ""sword,""necessarily implied, and rightly supplied by our venerable translators from Jdg 7:20, is found in this place, in the Chaldee, Syriac, and Arabic, and in eight manuscripts; and evidently appears to be genuine. 1Sa 17:47; 2Ch 20:15-17

TSK: Jdg 7:19

in the beginning : Exo 14:24; Mat 25:6; 1Th 5:2; Rev 16:15

they blew : Jdg 7:8

brake : Jdg 7:16; Psa 2:9; Jer 13:13, Jer 13:14, Jer 19:1-11

TSK: Jdg 7:20

blew : How astonishing and overwhelming must the effect be, in a dark night, of the sudden glare of 300 torches, darting their splendour in the same instant on the half-awakened eyes of the terrified Midianites; accompanied with the clangor of 300 trumpets, alternately mingled with the thundering shout of cherav yehovah oolegidon , ""The sword of Jehovah and of Gideon!""Num 10:1-10; Jos 6:4, Jos 6:16, Jos 6:20; Isa 27:13; 1Co 15:52; 1Th 4:16

brake : 2Co 4:7; Heb 11:4; 2Pe 1:15

TSK: Jdg 7:21

stood : Exo 14:13, Exo 14:14; 2Ch 20:17; Isa 30:7, Isa 30:15

all the host : Exo 14:25; 2Ki 7:6, 2Ki 7:7; Job 15:21, Job 15:22; Pro 28:1

TSK: Jdg 7:22

blew : Jos 6:4, Jos 6:16, Jos 6:20; 2Co 4:7

the Lord : 1Sa 14:16-20; 2Ch 20:23; Psa 83:9; Isa 9:4, Isa 19:2

in : or, toward

Zererath : Probably the same as Zartanah. 1Ki 4:12

border : Heb. lip

Abelmeholah : Situated, according to Eusebius 16 miles south from Scythopolis, or Bethshan. 1Ki 4:12, 1Ki 19:16

Tabbath : Probably the town of Οηβης , mentioned by Eusebius, 13 miles from Neapolis, or Shechem, towards Scythopolis.

TSK: Jdg 7:23

Jdg 6:35; 1Sa 14:21, 1Sa 14:22

Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per Verse)

Barnes: Jdg 7:1

The well of Harod - i. e. of trembling, evidently so called from the people who were afraid Jdg 7:3. It is identified with great probability with Ain Jalud, a spacious pool at the foot of Gilboa; (by Conder, with Ain el Jem’ ain (the spring of the two troops)).

Moreh was, probably, the little Hermon, the Jebel ed-Duhy of the Arabs, which encloses the plain two or three miles north of Gilboa, which shuts it in on the south.

Barnes: Jdg 7:3

The proclamation was in accordance with the Law (see the marginal reference). No mountain of the name of Gilead is known in this locality, and it has been conjectured that the right reading is Gilboa. Others think that this may be a form of proclamation customary in Manasseh.

Barnes: Jdg 7:4

Try - The word used for refining metals by separating the dross from the pure ore. They who threw themselves on the ground and drank freely were the more self-indulgent; while they who, remembering the near presence of the enemy, slaked their thirst with moderation, and without being off their guard for an instant, were the true soldiers of the army of God.

Barnes: Jdg 7:8

The sense is, "And they (the three hundred) took the victuals and trumpets of the people (all the people of Jdg 7:7) into their hands."so that each of the three hundred should have a trumpet and a pitcher.

Barnes: Jdg 7:11

The armed men - The word is rendered harnessed in Exo 13:18 (see the note). The most probable meaning of the word is arrayed in divisions or ranks.

Barnes: Jdg 7:13

A cake of barley bread - i. e. such a cake as could hardly be eaten by men, it was so vile: a term expressive of the contempt of the Midianites for the people of Israel.

A tent - The tent, meaning, probably, the tent of the king of Midian, or of the captain of the host.

Barnes: Jdg 7:14

This is nothing else save the sword of Gideon - The word rendered tumbled in Jdg 7:13, is rather descriptive of a sword brandished (compare Gen 3:24). Hence, the interpretation "the sword of Gideon."Hearing this dream and the interpretation would convince Gideon that he was indeed under the guidance of God, and so assure him of God’ s aid; and secondly, it would show him that a panic had already fallen npon the mind of the enemy.

Barnes: Jdg 7:16

Gideon himself took the command of one company, and sent the other two under their respective captains to different sides of the camp Jdg 7:18, Jdg 7:21.

Barnes: Jdg 7:19

The middle watch - The old Jewish division of the night was three watches of four hours each. They are alluded to in Exo 14:24; 1Sa 11:11; Psa 63:6; Psa 90:4; Psa 119:148; Psa 130:6; Lam 2:19. After the Jews fell under the power of the Romans, they used the Roman division of four watches of three hours each Mat 14:25; Mar 13:35.

"The beginning"of the watch would be about eleven o’ clock at night.

Barnes: Jdg 7:21

The effect to the Midianites would be, that they were surrounded by a mighty host. Their own camp being in darkness, as soon as the confusion of flight began they would mistake friends for foes, and fleers for pursuers. When once fighting had begun by the first casual mistake, the clashing of swords and the shouts of the combatants in the camp, accompanied by the continuous blowing of Gideon’ s trumpets outside, would make it appear that the whole of the enemy was in the camp. Suspicion of treachery on the part of their allies would also be likely to arise in the minds of Midianites, Amalekites, and Arabs. Compare a similar scene in marginal references.

Barnes: Jdg 7:22

Beth-shittah - - "House of the acacias,"the same trees which gave their name to "Shittim"Num 33:49 in the plains of Maab, and which grew plentifully also, in the peninsula of Sinai Exo 25:5 perhaps "Shuttah", in the valley of Jezreel; or it may be another name of Scythopolis, or Beth-shan (compare 1Ki 4:12). "Zererath or Zeredath", near Succoth Jdg 8:5, the same as "Zeredah"in Ephraim the birth-place of Jeroboam 1Ki 11:26, and "Zartauah"1Ki 4:12. "Abel-meholah"(field of the dance), the birth-place of Elisha 1Ki 19:16 is in the Jordan valley, 10 miles from Scythopolis, if identified with Bethmaela: if the same as Abelmea, it lay between Nablous and Scythopolis. (But see 1Ki 19:16 note.) "Tabbath"was apparently lower down the Jordan valley, i. e. further south.

Poole: Jdg 7:2

Too many for me i.e. for my purpose; which is, so to deliver Israel, that it may appear to be my own miraculous act, that so I may have all the glory of it, and they may be more strongly obliged to love and serve me.

Poole: Jdg 7:3

Mount Gilead not that famous Mount Gilead which was beyond Jordan; for it is apparent that both the camps of the Israelites and of the Midianites were on this side Jordan: but another Mount Gilead in the tribe of Manasseh; which might be so called, either for some resemblance it had with the other Mount Gilead, or in remembrance of their father Gilead; or that this might be a memorial of their near relation to their brethren, notwithstanding their being divided one from another by Jordan; or for some other reason now unknown at this distance of time and place. Or, the words may be rendered towards Mount Gilead ; for the Hebrew particle mid, or mere, is sometimes rendered towards , of which see Gen 11:2 13:11 Deu 32:2 2Sa 6:2 . And so it may be understood of the famous Mount Gilead beyond Jordan, which he may mention here, either,

1. Because many of his soldiers were of that half tribe of Manasseh which dwelt there, and so it was most proper for them to return thither; or,

2. Because that was their safest course, to get furthest from the danger which they feared; or,

3. Because though he would remove them from danger, yet he would not have them dispersed, but kept together in a body about Mount Gilead; knowing that they who had not courage enough to fight their enemies, might have valour enough to pursue them when they were beaten by others; and suspecting that the Midianites, if beaten, would probably flee that way.

Twenty and two thousand who finding their whole army to be very small in comparison of their enemy’ s, who were a hundred and thirty-live thousand, Jud 8:10 , and they, no doubt, well armed and disciplined, and encouraged by long success; whereas the Israelites were dispirited with long servitude, and many of them unfurnished with arms and provisions, lost the courage which in the beginning they seemed to have.

Poole: Jdg 7:4

Unto the water either that which ran from the well of Harod, mentioned Jud 7:1 , or some other brook.

I will try them for thee because thy proclamation hath not sufficiently tried them; for many who are fearful indeed will put on the face, and desire the opinion of being valiant persons; I will take another course.

Poole: Jdg 7:5

It is true, there may be natural reasons given why some did only lap of the water, when others bowed down to drink; from the temperance, or fortitude, or patience, or strength, or diligence of the one, and the intemperance, or cowardice, or impatience, or weakness, or slothfulness of the other; but these seem to be mere conjectures: the true reason and design of this course seems to be only this, that God would reduce them to a very small number, which was likely to be done by this means; for the season of the year being hot, and the generality of the soldiers weary, and thirsty, and faint, they would most probably bow down upon their knees, that they might more fully refresh themselves by a liberal draught, as indeed they did; and it could be expected that there would be but few, who either could or would deny themselves in this matter, especially when God concurred in the work, and so disposed of the minds and bodies of them, that all, except three hundred, should lie down to drink.

Poole: Jdg 7:6

Putting their hand to their mouth taking up a little water in the palm of their hands to put into their mouths.

Poole: Jdg 7:7

i.e. To his own home, as Num 24:11 .

Poole: Jdg 7:8

And their trumpets i.e. the trumpets belonging to the whole army, even to those who were gone away, which he retained for the use here following. See Jud 7:16 .

Poole: Jdg 7:9

The same night after he had dismissed all but the three hundred.

That the Lord said unto him in a dream or vision of the night.

Poole: Jdg 7:10

If thou fear to go down to wit, without some further assurance of thy success, I will condescend so far to thee, as to give thee another sign.

Poole: Jdg 7:11

Afterward shall thine hands be strengthened thou wilt be encouraged to proceed, notwithstanding the smallness of thy number, which may deter thee.

Poole: Jdg 7:13

A cake of barley bread a weak and contemptible thing, and in itself as unable to overthrow a tent as to remove a mountain; but being thrown by a Divine hand, bore down all before it; which fitly resembled Gideon’ s case, which was mean and despicable, as himself saith, Jud 6:15 ; yet he was mighty, through God, to destroy the Midianites.

Poole: Jdg 7:14

As there are many examples of. significant dreams given by God to heathens, as Ge 41 Da 2 Da 4 , so some of them had the gift of interpreting dreams; which they sometimes did by study and art, and sometimes by Divine direction, as in this case.

Poole: Jdg 7:15

Gideon understood

the telling of the dream though spoken in the Midianitish language; either because it was near akin to the Hebrew, being only a different dialect of it; or because the Israelites had now been accustomed to the Midianites’ company and discourse for seven years.

He worshipped he praised God for this miraculous work and special encouragement, whereby he was confirmed in his enterprise.

Poole: Jdg 7:16

Into three companies to make a show of a vast army encompassing them.

Lamps or, torches , made of such materials as would quickly take fire, and keep it for some time.

Within the pitchers partly to preserve the flame from the violence of wind and weather; and partly to conceal it, and surprise their enemy with sudden and unexpected flashes of light.

Poole: Jdg 7:17

For though two hundred of his men were placed on other sides of the camp; yet they were so disposed, that some person or persons, set as watchmen, might see what was done, and give notice to the rest to follow the example.

Poole: Jdg 7:18

He mentions his own name, together with God’ s, not out of vain ostentation or arrogance, as if he would equal himself with God; for he mentions God in the first and chief place, and himself only as his minister; but from prudent policy, because his name was grown formidable to them, and so was likely to further his design, and their flight, as it did.

Poole: Jdg 7:19

Of the middle watch i.e. of the second watch; for though afterwards the night was divided into four watches by the Romans, Mat 14:25 , yet in more ancient times, and in the eastern parts, it was divided into three. He chose the dark and dead of the night to increase their terror by the trumpets, whose sound would then be loudest and best heard, and the lamps, whose light would then shine most brightly, and seem biggest, to surprise them at disadvantage, and to conceal the smallness of their numbers.

Poole: Jdg 7:20

Held the lamps and the trumpets that they might be thought to be a mighty host, having as many troops or companies as there were trumpets and lights.

Poole: Jdg 7:21

Every man in his place as if they had only been torchbearers to the several companies.

Poole: Jdg 7:22

They slew one another, either because they suspected treachery, and so fell upon those they first met with; which they might more easily do, because they consisted of several nations, as may be gathered from Jud 6:3 , and Josephus affirms; or because the darkness of the night made them unable to distinguish friends from foes; or because the suddenness of the thing struck them with horror and amazement; or because God infatuated them, as he hath done many others. Compare 1Sa 14:20 2Ch 20:23 .

Abel-meholah of which see 1Ki 4:12 19:16 .

Haydock: Jdg 7:1

Fountain. The same also called Areth, as the copies of the Septuagint and of St. Jerome vary. (Bonfrere) ---

Harad, or "of trouble," either because the Madianites were filled with terror at the approach of Gedeon, or because so many of his soldiers returned home through fear. (Menochius) ---

Perhaps it may be the same which is called the fountain of Jezrael, near which Saul encamped, 1 Kings xxix. 1. (Calmet) ---

Adrichomius places it on the south of Gelboe, which is called the high hill. (Menochius) ---

Hebrew, "on the north side of them, by the hill of More, in the vale." (Haydock) ---

Jezrael was between Gelboe to the south, and Hermon to the north. (Calmet)

Haydock: Jdg 7:2

Lest Israel, &c. by this we see that God will not choose for his instruments in great achievements, which depend purely on his grace, such as, through pride and self-conceit, will take the glory to themselves. (Challoner) ---

Yet Gedeon had only 32,000 to encounter 135,000 fighting men; so that if all had remained with him, they would each had to engage above four men, ver. 3., and chap. viii. 10. (Menochius)

Haydock: Jdg 7:3

Return, agreeably to the law of Moses, Deuteronomy xx. 8. If God had not enforced this order, it would perhaps have been neglected in the hurry, particularly as all seemed to have joined the army with such alacrity. (Menochius) ---

Scipio going to destroy Carthage, was informed that some Sicilian knights went on this expedition with extreme reluctance and fear; whereupon he gave 300 leave to depart. (Livy xxix.) ---

Galaad perhaps may have been substituted for Gelboe, as there seems to have been none from the Galaad, on the other side of the Jordan, in the army of Gedeon. (Calmet) ---

Abulensis thinks that some little mountain of this name might be in the vicinity of Jezrael. ---

Home. They were terrified at the sight of the enemy's camp. (Menochius)

Haydock: Jdg 7:5

Tongues. Some Latin copies add, "and hand," as it is expressed in Hebrew, &c., in the following verse. They resembled dogs more in the hurry than in the method of taking water. An old proverb says, "the dog drinks and flees away," (Calmet) alluding to the dogs of Egypt, who, through fear of the crocodiles which infest the banks of the Nile, lap the water with all expedition, "like a dog from the Nile." (Erasmus; Haydock; Macrobius ii. 2.) ---

Hence we might infer, that these 300 men were the most cowardly in the army, as Josephus, ([Antiquities?] v. 8,) Theodoret, (q. 15,) have done; (Calmet) and thus the glory of the victory would belong more incontrovertibly to God. (Haydock) ---

But as these 300, on this supposition, ought to have been disbanded, as well as the rest, we may rather conclude that they shewed greater courage and temperance by their posture, and were therefore retained (Calmet) to accompany their heroic leader in his perilous expedition. We must, nevertheless remark, that only those who preferred to acknowledge their fear, were disbanded according to the law; and as, among those who were not quite so cowardly, (Haydock) there would be some less courageous than others, (Amama) these might be selected by God, that no flesh should glory in his sight, 1 Corinthians i. 29. (Haydock)

Haydock: Jdg 7:7

That lapped water. These were preferred that took the water up in their hands, and so lapped it, before them who laid themselves quite down to the waters to drink; which argued a more eager and sensual disposition. (Challoner) ---

It is thought that the former would be more capable of supporting the fatigues of war. (Menochius) ---

The Jews suppose that those who knelt, had been accustomed to do so in honour of Baal. Lyranus concludes that they were extremely fatigued and thirsty, while the 300 underwent the labours of war with less inconvenience. Josephus observes that this experiment was made in the heat of the day; yet, if Providence had not interfered, it seems very improbable that 10,000 men should all be so eager for water. (Haydock)

Haydock: Jdg 7:8

Victuals. It appears that they did not take sufficient, (Calmet) not expecting that they would have to pursue the enemy so far, chap. viii. 5, 8.

Haydock: Jdg 7:11

Servant. Thus he confessed that he was not entirely free from fear himself, ver. 5, 10. (Haydock) ---

The most courageous feel less alarm, when they have a companion, (Menochius) as Diomede observed, when he desired that one or two might accompany him in the attempt to explore the enemy's camp. (Homer, Iliad x.) ---

Arms. The greatest part of this immense crowd of people, who came to plunder, neglected the laws of war; as the Israelites had not dared, for a long time, to oppose them. A select number of 135,000 men in arms was destined to keep them in order, and to protect them. Among these Gedeon insinuated himself, to know how they were encamped, and what sentiments they entertained. (Calmet)

Haydock: Jdg 7:13

A dream. Observation of dreams is commonly superstitious, and as such is condemned by the word of God; but in some extraordinary cases, as we here see, God is pleased by dreams to foretel what he is about to do. (Challoner) ---

See Genesis xl., Leviticus xix. 26., and Deuteronomy xviii. 10. (Worthington) ---

The small company of Gedeon stood in need of every sort of encouragement. (Haydock)

Haydock: Jdg 7:14

Sword and loaf are both derived from the same Hebrew word, which signifies "to make war." See Numbers xiv. 9. But if there had been no connection or reason in the discourse of the soldier, (which was not the case, as Providence put it into his mouth,) the end would be equally obtained, which was to encourage Gedeon, and to inform him that the enemy was not without some apprehensions. (Calmet) ---

Gedeon was not of the richest family, but came with great expedition, as the rolling of the barley-loaf might designate. (Menochius) ---

He was also encamped upon an eminence, and presently threw the affairs of Madian into confusion. (Haydock) ---

He understands the language of the Madianites, as it was not very different from the Hebrew.

Haydock: Jdg 7:15

Interpretation. Hebrew, "the breaking," in allusion to a loaf or nut which must be broken. (Calmet) ---

Adored God, in thanksgiving. (Menochius)

Haydock: Jdg 7:16

Lamps, or flambeaux, (Calmet) made of wood, full of turpentine. (Haydock) ---

The soldiers held one end in their hand, and when they had thrown down their pitchers, the sudden light, the sound of trumpets and of men on three sides of the camp, threw the various nations into the utmost consternation, as they very naturally supposed that they were surrounded with a great army. God also sent among them the spirit of confusion, so that they knew not one another. An ancient author, under the name of Tertullian, asserts that the 300 men were on horseback, and conquered by virtue of the cross, as the letter T, in Greek, stands for 300; (Calmet) and St. Augustine (q. 37,) follows up this idea, saying that, as the Greeks are put by the apostle for all the Gentiles, this letter was to insinuate, that the Gentiles chiefly would believe in Christ. Some of the Fathers have given a like mysterious explanation of the 318 servants of Abraham, as the two first letter of the name of Jesus denote 18. (Eucher.) (Genesis xiv. 14.) (St. Ambrose, de Abr. i. 3.) ---

We can never conquer our spiritual enemies, without a lively faith in our crucified Saviour. If Amama, and other enemies of the cross of Christ, ridicule these pious meditations of the Fathers, we need not wonder. See Apocalypse xiii. 18. (Haydock)

Haydock: Jdg 7:17

Camp. The three divisions stopt at the entrance, ver. 21. (Calmet)

Haydock: Jdg 7:18

Camp, and shout together to the Lord and to Gedeon: or rather "the sword of, &c., ver. 20. The war is the Lord's, victory to or by the hand of Gedeon," Chaldean. He is the minister of God's justice to punish Madian. (Menochius) ---

It is not derogation to God (Calmet) that honour is given to his servants. (Worthington) ---

Protestants supply the word which seems to be wanting. The sword of the Lord, &c. (Haydock)

Haydock: Jdg 7:19

Watch. This was the second of the three watches known to the ancient Hebrews: in the New Testament, they followed the Roman discipline, and admitted four, Matthew xiv. 25. (Calmet) ---

Menochius thinks they did the same at this time. (Haydock) ---

Alarmed. They were not asleep. (Menochius) ---

We read of similar stratagems in the Roman history. The Falisci threw the Romans into consternation, by appearing among them in mourning weeds; (Calmet) others read in priestly attire, (Haydock) with flambeaux and serpents; as those of Veii did by means of burning torches. (Grotius; Fontin., Strat, ii. 4, &c.) (Calmet) ---

Trumpets. In a mystical sense, the preachers of the gospel, in order, to spiritual conquests, must not only sound with the trumpet of the word of God, but must also break the earthen pitchers, by the mortification of the flesh and its passions, and carry lamps in their hands by the light of their virtues. (Challoner) ---

These lamps denote the virtues and miracles of the martyrs. (Ven. Bede, c. 5.) The things which would seem ridiculous, fill the enemy with terror and dismay. ( ibid.[Ven. Bede, c. 5.]) (Worthington)

Haydock: Jdg 7:21

Camp. Hence the Madianites made no doubt but a great army was in the midst of the camp, and began to cut in pieces all whom they met. (Calmet)

Haydock: Jdg 7:23

Bethsetta. These cities seem to have been near Bethsan. ---

And the border. Hebrew, "in Zererath," (Haydock) which Junius takes to be Sarthan. ---

Abelmehula gave birth to Eliseus, and was 12 miles from Scythopolis. (St. Jerome) ---

Tebbath occurs no where else. But we read of Thebes, three miles from the last mentioned city, famous for the death of Abimelech, chap. xi. 50. ---

Men. Probably those who had been sent home the preceding night. Upon hearing of the success which attended Gedeon, all the tribes began to be in motion.

Gill: Jdg 7:1

Then Jerubbaal, who is Gideon,.... That being the name his father had lately given him, Jdg 6:32.

and all the people that were with him, rose up early; encouraged by the signs and miracles wrought, by which he was assured of success; he was eager to be about his work, and therefore rose early in the morning, and got his army together, and marched to engage the enemy:

and pitched beside the well of Harod; which he might choose for the refreshment of his army on occasion; or, however, so he was directed in Providence here, where a trial was to be made of them by water: this well, or fountain, seems to be the same with that in 1Sa 29:1 it signifies fear and trembling, and might have its name either from the fear and trembling of the 22,000 Israelites, whose hearts were dismayed at the Midianites, and they were ordered to return home; or from the fear and trembling of the Midianites, who were discomfited here; the former seems to be the true reason, see Jdg 7:3 so that the Midianites were on the north side of them; which Gideon, no doubt, judged to be an advantageous post to him:

by the hill of Moreh, in the valley; the valley of Jezreel, one of the mountains of Gilboa, as is supposed; the Targum is,"by the hill which looks to the plain;''from whence he could have a view of the Midianitish army, and the disposition of it. Some think this hill had its name from the Midianitish archers; but, according to Kimchi and Ben Melech, from there being a watch here to direct the ways, or to give notice to the inhabitants of the valley when an army came against them; though some take it to be a school of some eminent teacher in those days ^z.

Gill: Jdg 7:2

And the Lord said unto Gideon, the people that are with thee are too many,.... It appears, by what follows, that there were 32,000 of them, which was but a small army to engage with one of 100,000 more than they; for such was the army of the Midianites and their associates, see Jdg 8:10 but the people were too many, says the Lord:

for me to give the Midianites into their hands; who would be apt to ascribe the victory to themselves, and not to the Lord; to their number, strength, and valour, and not to the hand of the Lord:

lest Israel vaunt themselves against me, saying, mine own hand hath saved me; or glory over me, take the glory from me, and ascribe it to themselves, boasting that by their power and prowess they had obtained the victory.

Gill: Jdg 7:3

Now therefore go to, proclaim in the ears of the people,.... Such a proclamation as follows, was, according to the law of God, to be made when Israel went out to battle against their enemies, Deu 20:8; though it looks as if Gideon would not have made such proclamation, had he not been directed to it by the Lord, his army being so small in comparison of the enemy; and perhaps Gideon might understand that law to have respect only to war made for the enlargement of their country, and not for defence against invaders:

saying, whosoever is fearful and afraid; to, engage in battle, because of the number of the enemy:

let him return, and depart early from Mount Gilead; where it seems they now were, being the same with the hill of Moreh, or adjoining to it; a mountain in the tribe of Manasseh, so called either from its likeness to Mount Gilead on the other side Jordan; or rather in memory of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, from whence the half tribe sprung, which was on this side, as well as that on the other; and perhaps this name might be given to the mount, to show that they were of the same tribe, though separated by Jordan: now the fearful and faint hearted had leave given them by this proclamation to return home directly; and as both armies lay so near, and it might reasonably be expected the battle would be the next day, they are directed to get away in the morning, as early as they could, that they might not be seen, and so be filled with shame themselves, and discourage others. Though some think Mount Gilead, on the other side Jordan, is meant, from whence it is supposed many came to Gideon, Jdg 6:35 and now are ordered to return back, as many as were fearful; and instead of "from", they render the word "to", or "towards", or "beyond" Gilead. Kimchi thinks the word we render "depart early" has the signification of surrounding, a diadem being expressed by a word from hence, which encompasses the head, Isa 28:5 and so the sense is, that they were ordered to go round about Mount Gilead, and so return home; but it rather may signify their hasty departure and speedy flight, like that of a bird, Psa 11:1 and there returned of the people 22,000, and there remained 10,000; so that they were in all 32,000: now though these of their own accord came and joined Gideon with an intention and resolution to stand by him, and fight the enemy, yet when they came and saw what a large host they had to engage with, and how small the army was with Gideon, their hearts failed them, and they were glad to take the advantage of the proclamation.

Gill: Jdg 7:4

And the Lord said to Gideon, the people are yet too many,.... Though they were but just the number that Barak had with him, when he attacked Sisera's army and got the victory, which yet was ascribed to God, whose hand was manifestly seen in it; but as these might be supposed to be able men of valour that remained, they were too many for God to have that glory he intended to display in this victory:

bring them down unto the water; from the hill on which they were, to a brook that ran at the bottom of it, perhaps a stream from the fountain or well of Harod, Jdg 7:1.

and I will try them for thee there, or "purge them" ^a, as silver is purged from dross, so the word signifies, as Kimchi observes, the righteous from the wicked, as he thinks; who, with others, suppose that by those who bowed on their knees to drink, were such as had been used to bow the knee to Baal, and the rest not, and so one were discerned from the other; but this trial was only for the sake of Gideon, to direct him whom he should take with him, and whom not:

and it shall be, that of whom I say unto thee, this shall go with thee, the same shall go with thee; and of whomsoever I say unto thee, this shall not go with thee, the same shall not go; by the different manner of his men drinking at the water, later related, Gideon knew not who should go with him, and who not, whether they that bowed down to drink, or only lapped the water; this was determined by the mouth of the Lord, as follows but this trial was only for the sake of Gideon, to direct him whom he should take with him, and whom not:

and it shall be, that of whom I say unto thee, this shall go with thee, the same shall go with thee; and of whomsoever I say unto thee, this shall not go with thee, the same shall not go; by the different manner of his men drinking at the water, after related, Gideon knew not who should go with him, and who not, whether they that bowed down to drink, or only lapped the water; this was determined by the mouth of the Lord, as follows.

Gill: Jdg 7:5

So he brought them down to the water,.... His whole army of 10,000 men:

and the Lord said unto Gideon, everyone that lappeth of the water with his tongue, as a dog lappeth, him shall thou set by himself; this has led some, as particularly Grotius, to think of the Egyptian dogs; of whom Aelianus relates ^b, that they do not drink at once freely, and to satiety, being afraid of the crocodiles in the river; but run about the bank, and by stealth snatch a little here and a little there, and so satisfy themselves: but the allusion here is to dogs in common, whose usual way it is not to sup in, and drink a drought, but by putting out their tongues to lick and lap water with them, as Aristotle ^c says all creatures do that have teeth like saws; and the likeness between the drinking of these men, to be observed lay not in anything else but in the single action of lapping; for they first took the water in the hollow of their hands, out of the stream, and then lapped it, as in Jdg 7:6 whereas a dog does not and cannot take water that way; and this lapping was standing upright, whereas dogs in common, as Aelianus in the same place suggests, bow themselves, and lap as much water as will satisfy their thirst; and by this these men were distinguished from those that bowed on their knees to drink; for had they not taken up water in their hands, they must have bowed down on their knees to have lapped, as well as those did, to sup it, or take in a large draught of it; now all those that thus lapped were to be set apart by themselves; but whether they were to go with Gideon or not, as yet he knew not: likewise everyone that boweth down on his knee to drink; were to be set by themselves also, but which of those were to go with him is after related.

Gill: Jdg 7:6

And the number of them that lapped, putting their hand to their mouth,.... That is, that took up water in the hollow of their hands, which they lifted up to their mouths, and so lapped it, as the Egyptians about the Nile are said ^d to do, who drank not out of pots and cups, but used their hands to drink with:

were three hundred men; only such a number out of 10,000: but all the rest of the people bowed down upon their knees to drink water; even 9,700; and it was the custom of some nations, as the Ichthyophagy, or fish eaters, to cast themselves with their face to the ground, and drink after the manner of oxen ^e.

Gill: Jdg 7:7

And the Lord said unto Gideon, by the three hundred men that lapped I will save and deliver the Midianites into thine hand,.... It is hard to say what character this action of the three hundred is expressive of, whether of weakness or of courage. Some think that those who drank upon their knees were faint and weary, and men of intemperance, and indulged themselves, and were unfit for war, while those that only lapped a little water to refresh themselves appeared to be eager, and in haste and readiness to engage in it; and so Ben Gersom takes those that bowed to be slothful persons, and those that lapped courageous and mighty men, and so were ordered to be taken and go along with Gideon; and this agrees with the method before taken, to dismiss the fearful, and only take those that were men of courage; but Josephus ^f is of opinion that they that drank upon their knees were the men of spirit and courage, and those that lapped, such who drank hastily, with trembling, and through fear of the enemy, and these were ordered to go with Gideon, and not the other: and indeed this most displays the glory of God to save Israel, and deliver them from the Midianites by a handful of such poor dispirited creatures. Though it seems that all the 10,000 men were men of courage; and this method was taken not to distinguish those that were the most courageous from those that were the least so, but only to reduce the number that should be engaged in this battle; for it being the summer season, it may reasonably be supposed that the greater part of the army was very thirsty, and would kneel down to take a large draught of water, when those that were not so thirsty would be the fewer number, and so taken:

and let all the other people go every man to his place; all the rest, who bowed on their knees to drink, which were 9,700, these were ordered to march homewards; though perhaps before they got home, hearing of the victory, they returned and joined in the pursuit, Jdg 7:23.

Gill: Jdg 7:8

So the people took victuals in their hands and their trumpets,.... That is, the three hundred took victuals of those that departed, as much as was necessary for them, and also their trumpets, being directed thereunto by Gideon, no doubt; perhaps they took all the trumpets they had; however, as many as would furnish every man with one. And from hence it appears, that these three hundred that were ordered to stay and go with Gideon were unarmed men, at least could carry no arms in their hands; for in one hand they carried their victuals, and in the other hand their trumpets, so that the salvation wrought by them would most clearly appear to be of the Lord:

and he sent all the rest of Israel every man unto his tent; not to his tent in the army, but to his own house, in the tribe and city to which he belonged: and retained these three hundred men; that had lapped water, to engage with the Midianites and their associates:

and the host of Midian was beneath him in the valley; in the valley of Jezreel; for it seems as if Gideon, after he had brought down his men to the water to be tried, went up to the hill again with his three hundred men only, to wait the divine orders, when he should attack the army of Midian below him.

Gill: Jdg 7:9

And it came to pass the same night that the Lord said to him,.... The night after there had been so great a reduction of his army, from 32,000 to three hundred:

arise, get thee down unto the host, for I have delivered it into thine hands; that is, go down from the hill where he and his little army were, to the valley of Jezreel, where lay the numerous host of Midian; assuring him, that though the disproportion was so very great, the army of Midian should be delivered into his hands; and it was enough that the Lord had said it, for him to believe it; but in such circumstances that he was, it is no wonder that he had his fears and misgivings of heart, wherefore it follows;

Gill: Jdg 7:10

But if thou fear to go down,.... With his little army, to attack a numerous host in the night, then he is directed to take this step first:

go thou with Phurah thy servant down to the host; in a private manner; perhaps this man was his aid-de-camp, or however a trusty servant in whom he could confide, as well as valiant: more it was not proper to take in such a secret expedition, and the fewer the better to trust, and less liable to the observation of the enemy; and yet it was proper to have one with him, being company and animating, and who would be a witness with him of what should be heard; in like manner, and for like reasons, as Diomedes and Ulysses went into the Trojan army ^y.

Gill: Jdg 7:11

And thou shalt hear what they shall say,.... The Midianites, or what shall be said by any of them; for though it was the night season, and so not a time for much conversation, as it may be supposed to be the dead of the night; yet something would be said and heard, which is a clear proof of the prescience of God respecting future contingent events:

and afterwards shall thine hands be strengthened; and his heart encouraged by what he should hear:

to go down into the camp; in an hostile manner, with his three hundred men, after his return to them:

then went he down with Phurah his servant; first privately, only they two, leaving his little army on the hill: and came

unto the outside of the armed men that were in the host; the sentinels, who were without side the camp, and stood complete in armour to guard it; and they came as near to them, in as still and private manner as they could, without being discovered. The Septuagint version is,"to the beginning of the fifty that were in the host;''and the Syriac and Arabic versions,"to the captain of the fifty;''these might be a party of the outer guards, consisting of fifty men, with one at the head of them, placed for the safety of the army in the night season, and to give notice of any approach to them, or attempt on them.

Gill: Jdg 7:12

And the Midianites and the Amalekites, and the children of the east,.... The Arabians, who with the Amalekites joined the Midianites in this expedition:

lay along in the valley in the valley of Jezreel, in their tents, which overspread the valley, or at least great part of it:

like grasshoppers for multitude; or locusts, which usually come in great numbers, and cover the air and the sun where they fly, and the earth where they light, as they did the land of Egypt; this army consisted at least of 135,000 men, as is clear from Jdg 8:10.

and their camels were without number; as the sand is by the sea side for multitude; an hyperbolical expression, setting forth the great number of them which the countries of Midian and Arabia abounded with; and were very proper to bring with them, to load and carry off the booty they came for, the fruits of the earth; see Jdg 6:4.

Gill: Jdg 7:13

And when Gideon was come,.... With his servant, near and within hearing the talk and conversation of the outer guards or sentinels: there was

a man that told a dream unto his fellow; his comrade that stood next him, and was upon guard with him; perhaps it was a dream he had dreamed the night before or this selfsame night, being just called up to take his turn in the watch, and so it was fresh upon his mind:

and said, behold, I dreamed a dream, and, lo; thus it was as I am going to relate; twice he uses the word "behold", or "lo", the dream having rely much struck and impressed his mind, and was what he thought worthy of the attention of his comrade:

a cake of barley bread tumbled into the host of Midian: barley bread, Pliny ^z says, was the most ancient food; the word for "cake" ^a signifies a "shadow", and may design the appearance of a barley loaf; or something like one to him appeared in the dream: or a "noise"; the noise of it rolling and tumbling, so that it seemed to the soldier that he heard a noise, as well as saw something he took for a barley loaf. Jarchi observes, that it signifies a cake baked upon coals, and it seemed to this man as if it came smoking hot from the coals, tumbling down an hill, such an one where Gideon and his army were and rolling into the host of Midian, which lay in a valley:

and came unto a tent; or, "the tent ^b" the largest and most magnificent in the host; and Josephus ^c calls it expressly the king's tent, and the Arabic version the tent of the generals:

and smote it that it fell; which might justly seem strange, that a barley loaf should come with such a force against a tent, perhaps the largest and strongest in the whole camp, which was fastened with cords to stakes and nails driven into the ground, so as to cause it to fall: yea, it is added:

and overturned it, that the tent lay along: turned it topsy-turvy, or turned it "upwards" ^d, as the phrase in the Hebrew text is; it fell with the bottom upwards; it was entirely demolished, that there was no raising and setting of it up again.

Gill: Jdg 7:14

And his fellow answered and said,.... As the dream was no doubt from God, so the interpretation of it was; it was he that put into the mind of the soldier's comrade to whom he told it to interpret it as follows; or otherwise in all likelihood he would never have thought of it:

this is nothing else save the sword of Gideon, the son of Joash, a man of Israel; that is, this signifies nothing else, and a fit emblem it was of him and his little army. A cake is but a small thing, and, let it come tumbling as it will, can have no force or strength in it equal to overturn a tent; and a cake of barley is mean and contemptible; and a cake baked under ashes, or on coals, is what is soon and hastily done, and fitly represented the smallness and weakness of Gideon's army, their meanness and contemptibleness; the Israelites being, as Josephus ^e represents the soldier saying, the vilest of all the people of Asia; and those that were with Gideon were suddenly and hastily got together, raw and undisciplined, and very unfit to engage the veteran troops of the united forces of Midian, Amalek, and Arabia. It appears from hence that Gideon's name was well known in the camp of Midian, what was his descent, and his character as a valiant man, which is meant by

a man of Israel; namely, a courageous mighty man, and the very name of him might strike with terror:

for into his hands hath God delivered Midian and all his host; which the man concluded from this dream, and the interpretation of it suggested to him from God, and impressed upon his mind; which he speaks of with the greatest assurance and confidence, which he was inspired to do, for the strengthening of Gideon, and the encouragement of him to come down with his army, and fall on the host of Midian.

Gill: Jdg 7:15

And it was so, when Gideon heard the telling of the dream, and the interpretation thereof,.... Or, "the breaking of it" ^g; the dream itself being like something closed up and sealed, and the interpretation of it was like the breaking of a seal, and discovering what is hid under it; or like a nut, the kernel of which cannot be come at till the shell is broken:

that he worshipped; bowed his head with an awful reverence of God and a sense of his divine Majesty, and worshipped him by sending an ejaculatory prayer and praise to him; and so the Targum,"and he praised''praised God for this gracious encouragement he had given, the assurance of victory he now had; for he saw clearly the hand of God in all this, both in causing one of the soldiers to dream as he did, and giving the other the interpretation of it, and himself the hearing of both:

and returned into the host of Israel; such an one as it was, consisting only of three hundred unarmed men: and said, arise; from their sleep and beds, it being the night season; and from their tents, and descend the hill with him:

for the Lord hath delivered into your hand the host of Midian; he made now no doubt of it, it was as sure to him as if it had been actually done; hence Gideon is renowned for his faith, though he sometimes was not without his fits of diffidence; see Heb 11:32.

Gill: Jdg 7:16

And he divided the three hundred men into three companies,.... One hundred in a company, partly to make the better figure, a show of an army, with a right and left wing, and partly that they might fall upon the camp of Midian in different parts:

and he put a trumpet in every man's hand; they that returned of the trumpeters having left their trumpets behind them, whereby there was a sufficient number for three hundred men; and these were put into their hands, that when they blew them together, the, noise would be very great; and it would seem as if they were an exceeding great army, and so very much terrify their enemies:

with empty pitchers, and lamps with the pitchers; the pitchers were of earth, and so easily broken, and would make a great noise when clashed against each other; and these were empty of water, or otherwise would not have been fit to put lamps into, and the lamps put in them were not of oil; for then, when the pitchers were broken, the oil would have run out; but were a kind of torches, made of rosin, wax, pitch, and such like things; and these were put into the pitcher, partly to preserve them from the wind, and chiefly to conceal them from the enemy, till just they came upon them, and then held them out; which in a dark night would make a terrible blaze, as before they served to give them light down the hill into the camp.

Gill: Jdg 7:17

And he said unto them, look on me, and do likewise,.... Observe what I do, and do the same, in blowing a trumpet, breaking a pitcher, and shouting with the words expressed by him:

and, behold, when I come to the outside of the camp; where the sentinels stood, and the watch was set:

it shall be, that as I do, so shall ye do; and not before; a trumpet was not to be blown, nor a pitcher broken, nor a torch held out, nor a word spoken, till just they came to the outside of the camp: and then they were to observe the motions of Gideon, and do as he did.

Gill: Jdg 7:18

When I blow with a trumpet, I and all that are with me,.... He being at the head of one of the three companies, Jdg 7:19 perhaps the middlemost, which might stand for the body of the army; and the other two be one to the right and the other to the left of him, and so could more easily discover his motions:

then blow ye the trumpets also on every side of all the camp; for it seems they were so disposed as to be around the camp, which when the trumpets were blown at once on every side, with such a blaze of light, and crashing of the pitchers, must be very terrifying, as if there was no way for them to escape, and especially when they should hear the following dreadful sounds:

and say, the sword of the Lord, and of Gideon; or "for the Lord, and for Gideon"; and which may be supplied, either the light is for the Lord, and for Gideon; or the victory is for the Lord, and for Gideon; we supply it from Jdg 7:20. The name Jehovah, these Heathens had often heard, as the God of Israel, would now be dreadful to them, and the name of Gideon also; whose name, as appears by the interpretation of the dream, was terrible among them; for which reason Gideon added it, and not out of arrogance and vanity; and puts it after the name of the Lord, as being only an instrument the Lord thought fit to make use of, otherwise all the glory belonged to him.

Gill: Jdg 7:19

So Gideon, and the one hundred men that were with him,.... Which was one of the three companies his army was divided into, and which company he had the command of particularly:

came unto the outside of the camp, in the beginning of the middle watch; the second watch, for the night was divided into three watches; for though in later times there were four watches, among the Romans ^h, and which the Jews received from them; hence in the New Testament we read of the fourth watch; yet in earlier times, with the Jews and other eastern nations, there were but three watches, as affirmed by Jarchi and Kimchi on the place: and very wisely did Gideon fix on this watch for the time of his coming; for had he come at the first watch, many as yet might not have been in bed, or at least not fallen asleep; and had he come in the third watch, many might have been awake out of their sleep, and others up; but he took this time, a little after midnight, in the dead of the night, when the whole army was fast asleep:

and they had but newly set the watch; the first watch were just gone off, and the second were placed in their room; but since such an observation seems in a good measure unnecessary, for as Gideon came in the beginning of the watch it must in course be newly set; rather the words may be rendered, "in raising they raised up the watch" ⁱ; that is, Gideon and his men did it by their approach; and they might call to them on purpose to give the alarm to the army, who upon that would at once hear the sound of the trumpets, and the clattering of the pitchers, and see the torches burning, to their great surprise:

and they blew the trumpets, and brake the pitchers that were in their hands; as soon as they came up to the watch and had raised them; this did Gideon and his hundred men.

Gill: Jdg 7:20

And the three companies blew the trumpets, and brake the pitchers,.... The other two, observing what Gideon and his company did, followed their example, and at the same time blew their trumpets, and broke their pitchers; for that there were four companies, three besides Gideon's, as Kimchi and Ben Melech suggest, there is no reason to believe:

and held the lamps in their left hands; which they took out of the pitchers when they broke them, and holding them up in their left hands, gave a great blaze of light, which must be very surprising to the host of Midian, just awaked out of their sleep:

and the trumpets in their right hands to blow withal; and which they continued blowing, the sound of which must be very dreadful, since it might be concluded, from such a number of trumpets, that there must be a vast army:

and they cried, the sword of the Lord and of Gideon; signifying that was drawn against the Midianites, and they must expect to be cut in pieces by it, since the sword was Jehovah's, sent and commissioned by him, and was put into the hand of Gideon as an instrument, with which execution would be done, the Lord helping him. The Targum is,"the sword of the Lord, and victory by the hand of Gideon''which victory was to be ascribed to the sword and power of God. This was an emblem of the efficacy of the word of God, accompanied with his power, to the destruction of the kingdom of Satan; the blowing of the trumpets may denote the ministration of the Gospel, the great trumpet to be blown by the apostles and ministers of the word; the holding forth the lamps may signify the same, the light of the divine word in the ministers of it, and the holding forth of it to others; and which is carried in earthen vessels, frail mortal men; and done that the excellency of the power may appear to be of God, and not of men; and the sword of the Lord is the word of God in the mouths of ministers, accompanied by the power of God; for it can only be through God that such weapons of warfare can become mighty to do the execution that is done by them; see 2Co 4:7 blowing of trumpets, and then a cry or shout of the soldiers to terrify the enemy, were used in later times ^k.

Gill: Jdg 7:21

And they stood every man in his place around the camp,.... To see the salvation of God, and that it might most clearly appear to be his own doing; and indeed, had they gone into it, they could have done nothing; they had no weapons in their hands, a trumpet in one hand, and a lamp in the other; though this their position served to increase the terror of the enemy, who might suppose that they stood either to light and introduce a large army at the back of them; or to light the forces already in the midst of them, while they destroyed them; which latter seems rather to be the thing their imaginations were possessed with, since they fell to slaying their fellows, supposing them to be enemies, as in the following verse:

and all the host ran, and cried, and fled; or "were broken" ^l; as some render the first word, their lines were broken; they could not put themselves in rank and file, but were thrown into the utmost confusion; and cried as being in the utmost danger of their lives, and fled for their safety as fast, as they could; see Isa 27:13.

Gill: Jdg 7:22

And the three hundred men blew the trumpets,.... Kept blowing them to continue and increase the terror of the enemy, and still held the lamps in their hands, and stood as torch bearers to light the Midianites and their associates to destroy one another, as follows:

and the Lord set every man's sword against his fellow throughout the host; and so slew one another; either suspecting treachery, as Grotius, and so in revenge, wrath, and indignation, drew their swords on each other; or through the terror and amazement they were in at the sounds they heard, and the blazing torches dazzling their eyes, they knew not what they did, or who they fell upon, taking their friends for foes, supposing the Israelites were got into their camp; and the rather they might be led into this mistake, since there were people of different languages among them, as Josephus ^m observes; but the thing was of God, it was he that took away their reason and judgment from them, and infatuated them, and filled their imaginations with such strange apprehensions of things; and threw into their minds such terror and amazement, and directed them to point their swords at one another:

and the host fled to Bethshittah in Zererath; that is, which was left of it, which had not destroyed each other; the first of these places should be read Bethhashittah; and perhaps had its name from the "shittah" or "shittim" trees which might grow near it in plenty, or the houses in it might be built of shittim wood; or it may be here stood a temple formerly dedicated to some deity of this name, and near it a grove of the above trees. Zererath, Kimchi observes, is written with two "reshes", or R's, to distinguish it from another place called Tzeredah; but where either of these places mentioned were cannot be particularly said; though it is highly probable they were in the tribe of Manasseh, and in the way to Jordan, whither in all probability the Midianites would steer their course to escape to their own land:

and to the border of Abelmeholah unto Tabbath; the former of these was the birth place of Elisha the prophet, 1Ki 19:16 and it appears very plainly that it was in the tribe of Manasseh, being mentioned with other places in that tribe, 1Ki 4:12. Jerome ⁿ under this word says, there was in his time a village in Aulon, or the plain, ten miles from Scythopolis to the south, which was called Bethahula; and the Targum is,"to the border of the plain of Abelmeholah;''but of Tabbath we nowhere else read.

Gill: Jdg 7:23

And the men of Israel gathered themselves together,.... Not out of all the tribes, but out of those which lay nearest, and which are particularly mentioned:

out of Naphtali, and out of Asher, and out of all Manasseh: and these seem to be the same persons out of those tribes who first joined Gideon, but were separated from his army; both those that were fearful, and those that bowed their knees to drink, and who perhaps had not gone far before they heard of the defeat and flight of the Midianites; and therefore though they had not courage to face the enemy, at least most of them, yet had spirit enough to pursue a flying enemy; wherefore they returned, or however directed their course the nearest way, where they supposed they fled:

and pursued after the Midianites; and those that were with them.

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Jdg 7:1

¹ tn Heb “and all the people who were with him.”

² sn The name Harod means, ironically, “trembling.”

³ tn Heb “Midian.” The LXX reads “and Amalek” (cf. v. 12; 6:33).

NET Notes: Jdg 7:2

¹ tn Heb “the people who are with you are too numerous for me to give Midian into their hand.”

² tn Heb “might glorify itself against me.”

³ tn Heb “my hand has delivered me.”

NET Notes: Jdg 7:3

¹ tn Heb “call into the ears of the people.”

² tn Heb “afraid and shaking.”

³ tc Many interpreters reject the MT reading “and leave Mount Gilead” for geographical reasons. A possible alternative, involving rather radical emendation of the Hebrew text, would be, “So Gideon tested them” (i.e., thinned the ranks in this manner).

⁴ tn Heb “people.” The translation uses “men” because warriors are in view, and in ancient Israelite culture these would be only males. (This is also the case in vv. 4, 5, 6, 7, 8.)

⁵ tn Or “turned around, back.”

NET Notes: Jdg 7:4

¹ tn Heb “too many people.”

² tn Heb “test them for you there.”

³ tn Heb “he should go with you.”

⁴ tn Heb also has “to you.”

⁵ tn Heb “he should not go.”

NET Notes: Jdg 7:5

¹ tn Heb “the people.”

² tn Heb “Everyone who laps with his tongue from the water, as a dog laps, put him by himself, as well as the one who gets down on his knees to drink.”

NET Notes: Jdg 7:6

¹ tc The Hebrew text adds, “with their hands to their mouths,” This makes no sense in light of v. 5, which distinguishes between dog-like lappers (who would not use their hands to drink) and those who kneel (who would use their hands). It seems likely that the words “with their hands to their mouths” have been misplaced from v. 6. They fit better at the end of v. 5 or v. 6. Perhaps these words were originally a marginal scribal note which was later accidentally inserted into the text in the wrong place.

² tn Heb “the people.”

NET Notes: Jdg 7:7

¹ tn Heb “you.” The Hebrew pronoun is masculine plural, probably referring to the entire army.

² tn The Hebrew pronoun here is singular.

³ tn Heb “All the people should go, each to his place.”

NET Notes: Jdg 7:8

¹ tn Heb “The people.”

² tn The words “who were chosen” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

³ tn The Hebrew text has “in their hands.”

⁴ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Gideon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁵ tn Heb “tents.”

⁶ tn Heb “Midian.”

⁷ tn The Hebrew text adds “him” (i.e., Gideon).

NET Notes: Jdg 7:9

¹ tn Heb “him”; the referent (Gideon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

² tn Heb “Go down against.”

³ tn The Hebrew verbal form is a perfect, emphasizing the certainty of the promise.

NET Notes: Jdg 7:11

¹ tn Heb “your hands will be strengthened.”

² tn Heb “to the edge of the ones in battle array who were in the camp.”

NET Notes: Jdg 7:12

¹ tn Heb “Midian, Amalek, and the sons of the east were falling in the valley like locusts in great number.”

NET Notes: Jdg 7:13

¹ tn Heb “And Gideon came, and, look, a man was relating to his friend a dream.”

² tn Heb “he”; the referent (the man mentioned in the previous clause) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

³ tn Heb “Look!” The repetition of this interjection, while emphatic in Hebrew, would be redundant in the English translation.

⁴ tn Heb “It came to the tent and struck it and it fell. It turned it upside down and the tent fell.”

NET Notes: Jdg 7:14

¹ tn Heb “answered and said.”

² tn Heb “This can be nothing but.”

NET Notes: Jdg 7:15

¹ tn Heb “he bowed down” or “worshiped.”

NET Notes: Jdg 7:16

¹ tn Heb “heads.”

² tn Heb “the jars.” The noun has been replaced by the pronoun (“them”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

sn They hid the torches inside the earthenware jars to disguise their approach and to keep the torches from being extinguished by the breeze.

NET Notes: Jdg 7:17

¹ tn Or “look.”

NET Notes: Jdg 7:19

¹ tn Heb “Gideon went, along with the hundred men who were with him, to the edge of the camp.”

² tn Heb “that were in their hands.”

NET Notes: Jdg 7:20

¹ tn The Hebrew text adds, “in order to blow [them].” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

NET Notes: Jdg 7:21

¹ tn Heb “each in his place.”

² tn Or “fled.”

NET Notes: Jdg 7:22

¹ tn Heb “the Lord set the sword of each one against his friend.”

² tc MT has “and throughout the camp,” but the conjunction (“and”) is due to dittography and should be dropped. Compare the ancient versions, which lack the conjunction here.

³ tn The words “they went” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

NET Notes: Jdg 7:23

¹ tn Heb “Midian.”

Geneva Bible: Jdg 7:2

And the LORD said unto Gideon, The people that [are] with thee [are] too many for me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel ^{( a )} vaunt themselves against me, saying, Mine own hand hath saved me.

^{( a )} God will not that any creature deprive him of his glory.

Geneva Bible: Jdg 7:4

And the LORD said unto Gideon, The people [are] yet [too] many; bring them down unto the water, and I will ^{( b )} try them for thee there: and it shall be, [that] of whom I say unto thee, This shall go with thee, the same shall go with thee; and of whomsoever I say unto thee, This shall not go with thee, the same shall not go.

^{( b )} I will give you a proof to know those who will go with you.

Geneva Bible: Jdg 7:5

So he brought down the people unto the water: and the LORD said unto Gideon, Every one that lappeth of the water with his tongue, as a dog lappeth, him shalt thou set by himself; ^{( c )} likewise every one that boweth down upon his knees to drink.

^{( c )} Let them depart as unfit for this enterprise.

Geneva Bible: Jdg 7:7

And the LORD said unto Gideon, By the three hundred men that lapped will I save you, and deliver the Midianites into thine hand: and let all the [other] ^{( d )} people go every man unto his place.

^{( d )} That is, the 31,000 and 700. See ( Jdg_7:3,6).

Geneva Bible: Jdg 7:9

And it came to pass the same night, that the LORD said unto him, Arise, ^{( e )} get thee down unto the host; for I have delivered it into thine hand.

^{( e )} Thus the Lord by various means strengthens him, that he faint not in so great an enterprise.

Geneva Bible: Jdg 7:13

And when Gideon was come, behold, [there was] a man that told a dream unto his fellow, and said, Behold, I dreamed a dream, and, lo, a ^{( f )} cake of barley bread tumbled into the host of Midian, and came unto a tent, and smote it that it fell, and overturned it, that the tent lay along.

^{( f )} Some read, a trembling noise of barley bread: meaning, that one of no reputation would make their great army tremble.

Geneva Bible: Jdg 7:15

And it was [so], when Gideon heard the telling of the dream, and the interpretation thereof, that he ^{( g )} worshipped, and returned into the host of Israel, and said, Arise; for the LORD hath delivered into your hand the host of Midian.

^{( g )} Or, gave God thanks, as it is in the Chaldea text.

Geneva Bible: Jdg 7:16

And he divided the three hundred men [into] three companies, and he put a trumpet in every man's hand, with empty pitchers, and lamps ^{( h )} within the pitchers.

^{( h )} These weak means God used to signify that the whole victory came from him.

Geneva Bible: Jdg 7:18

When I blow with a trumpet, I and all that [are] with me, then blow ye the trumpets also on every side of all the camp, and say, ^{( i )} [The sword] of the LORD, and of Gideon.

^{( i )} That is, the victory shall be the Lord's and Gideon's his servant.

Geneva Bible: Jdg 7:20

And the three companies blew the trumpets, and brake the pitchers, and held the lamps in their left hands, and the trumpets in their right hands to blow [withal]: and they cried, The ^{( k )} sword of the LORD, and of Gideon.

^{( k )} Shall destroy the enemies.

Geneva Bible: Jdg 7:22

And the three hundred blew the trumpets, and the LORD set every man's sword against his ^{( l )} fellow, even throughout all the host: and the host fled to Bethshittah in Zererath, [and] to the border of Abelmeholah, unto Tabbath.

^{( l )} The Lord caused the Midianites to kill one another.

Commentary -- Verse Range Notes

TSK Synopsis: Jdg 7:1-25

1 Gideon's army of two and thirty thousand is brought to three hundred.

9 He is encouraged by the dream and interpretation of the burley cake.

16 His stratagem of trumpets and lamps in pitchers.

24 The Ephraimites take Oreb and Zeeb.

Maclaren: Jdg 7:1-8

Judges 7:1-8

Gideon is the noblest of the judges. Courage, constancy, and caution are strongly marked in his character. The youngest son of an obscure family in a small tribe, he humbly shrinks from the task imposed on him,--not from cowardice or indolence, but from conscious weakness. Men who are worthy to do such work as his are never forward to begin it, nor backward in it when they are sure that it is God's will. He began his war against Midian by warring against Baal, whose worship had brought the oppressor. If any thorough deliverance from the misery which departure from God has wrought is to be effected, we must destroy the idols before we attack the spoilers. Cast out sin, and you cast out sorrow. So he first earns his new name of Jerubbaal (Let Baal plead'), and is known as Baal's antagonist, before he blows the trumpet of revolt. The name is an omen of victory. The hand that had smitten the idol, and had not been withered, would smite Midian. Therefore that new name is used in this chapter, which tells of the preparations for the fight and its triumphant issue. From his home among the hills, he had sent the fiery cross to the three northern tribes, who had been the mainstay of Deborah's victory, and who now rallied around Gideon to the number of thirty-two thousand. The narrative shows us the two armies confronting each other on the opposite slopes of the valley of Jezreel, where it begins to dip steeply towards the Jordan. Gideon and his men are on the south side of the valley, above the fountain of Harod, or Trembling,' apparently so called from the confessed terror which thinned his army. The word is afraid,' in verse 3, comes from the same root. On the other side of the glen, not far from the site of the Philistine camp on the day of Saul's last defeat, lay the far-stretching camp of the invaders, outnumbering Israel by four to one. For seven years these Midianite marauders had paralyzed Israel, and year by year had swarmed up this valley from the eastern desert, and thence by the great plain had penetrated into every corner of the land, as far south as Gaza, devouring like locusts. It is the same easy route by which, to this day, the Bedouin find their way into Palestine, whenever the weak Turkish Government is a little weaker or more corrupt than usual. Apparently, the Midianites were on their homeward march, laden with spoil, and very contemptuous of the small force across the valley, who, on their part, had not shaken off their terror of the fierce nomads who had used them as they pleased for seven years.

I. Note, As The First Lesson Taught Here,

The divinely appointed disproportion between means and end, and its purpose. Many an Israelite would look across to the long lines of black tents, and think, We are too few for our task'; but to God's eye they were too many, and the first necessity was to weed them out. The numbers must be so reduced that the victory shall be unmistakably God's, not theirs. The same sort of procedure, and for the same reason, runs through all God's dealings. It is illustrated in a hundred Scripture instances, and is stated most plainly by Paul in his triumphant eloquence. He revels in telling how foolish, weak, base things, that are no things in the world's estimate, have been chosen to cover with shame wise, strong, honored things, which seem to be somewhat; and he gives the same reason as our lesson does, that no flesh should glory in His presence.' Eleven poor men on one side, and all the world on the other, made fearful odds. The more unevenly matched are the respective forces, the more plainly does the victory of the weaker demand for its explanation the intervention of God. The old sneer, that' Providence is always on the side of the strongest battalions,' is an audacious misreading of history, and is the very opposite of the truth. It is the weak battalions which win in the long run, for the history of every good cause is the same. First, it kindles a fire in the hearts of two or three nobodies, who are burned in earlier times, and laughed at as fools, fanatics, impracticable dreamers, in later ages, but whose convictions grow till, one day, the world wakes up to find that everybody believes them, and then it' builds the tombs of the prophets.'

Why should God desire that there shah be no mistake as to who wins the battle? The answer may very easily be so given as to make what is really a token of His love become an unlovely and repellent trait in His character. It is not eagerness for praise that moves Him, but longing that men may have the blessedness of recognizing His hand fighting for them. It is for Israel's sake that He is so solicitous to deliver them from the delusion of their having won the victory. It is because He loves us, and would fain have us made restful, confident, and strong, in the assurance of His fighting for us, that He takes pains so to order the history of His Church in the world, that it is one long attestation of the omnipotence of weakness when His power flows through it. To say Mine own hand hath saved me,' is to lose unspeakable peace and blessing; to say Not I, but the grace of God in me,' is to be serene and of good cheer in the face of outnumbering foes, and sure of victory in all conflicts. Therefore God is careful to save us from self-gratulation and self-confidence.

One lesson we may learn from this thinning of the ranks; namely, that we need not be anxious to count heads, when we are sure that we are doing His work, nor even be afraid of being in a minority. Minorities are generally right when they are the apostles of new thoughts, though the minorities which cleave to some old fossil are ordinarily wrong. The prophet and his man were alone and ringed around with enemies, when he said, They that be with us are more than they that be with them'; and yet he was right, for the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire. Let us be sure that we are on God's side, and then let us not mine] how few are in the ranks with us, nor be afraid, though the far-extended front of the enemy threatens to curl around our flanks and enclose us. The three hundred heroes had God with them, and that was enough.

II. Note The Self-Applied Test Of Courage,

Which swept away so much chaff. According to Deuteronomy 20:8, the standing enactment was that such a proclamation as that in verse 3 should precede every battle. Much difficulty has been raised about the mention of Mount Gilead here, as the only Mount Gilead otherwise mentioned in Scripture lay to the east of Jordan. But perhaps the simplest solution is the true one,-that there was another hilly region so named on the western side. The map of the Palestine Exploration Fund attaches the name to the northern slopes of the western end of Gilboa, where Gideon was now eh-camped, and that is probably right. Be that as it may, the effect of the proclamation was startling. Two-thirds of the army melted away. No doubt, many who had flocked to Gideon's standard felt their valor oozing out at their finger ends, when they came close to the enemy, and saw their long array across the valley. It must have required some courage to confess being afraid, but the cowards were numerous enough to keep each other in countenance. Two out of three were panic-struck. I wonder if the proportion would be less in Christ's army to-day, if professing Christians were as frank as Gideon's men?

Why were the fearful' dismissed? Because fear is contagious; and, in undisciplined armies like Gideon's, panic, once started, spreads swiftly, and becomes frenzied confusion. The same thing is true in the work of the Church to-day. Who that bas had much to do with guiding its operations has not groaned over the dead weight of the timid and sluggish souls, who always see difficulties and never the way to get over them? And who that has had to lead a company of Christian men has not often been ready to wish that he could sound out Gideon's proclamation, and bid the fearful and afraid' take away the chilling encumbrance of their presence, and leave him with thinned ranks of trusty men? Cowardice, dressed up as cautious prudence, weakens the efficiency of every regiment in Christ's army.

Another reason for getting rid of the fearful is that fear is the opposite of faith, and that therefore, where it is uppermost, the door by which God's power can enter to strengthen is closed. Not that faith must be free of all admixture of fear, but that it must subdue fear, if a man is to be God's warrior, fighting in His strength. Many a tremor would rock the hearts of the ten thousand who remained, but they so controlled their terror that it did not overcome their faith. We do not need, for our efficiency in Christ's service, complete exemption from fear, but we do need to make the psalmist's resolve ours: I will trust, and not be afraid.' Terror shuts the door against the entrance of the grace which makes us conquerors, and so fulfils its own forebodings; faith opens the door, and so fulfils its own confidences.

III. Note The Final Test.

God required but few men, but He required that these should be fit. The first test had sifted out the brave and willing. The liquor was none the less, though so much froth had been blown off. As Thomas Fuller says, there were' fewer persons, but not fewer men,' after the poltroons had disappeared. The second test, a purgatory of water,' as the same wise and witty author calls it, was still more stringent. The dwindled ranks were led down from their camp on the slopes to the fountain and brook which lay in the valley near the Midianites' camp. Gideon alone seems to have known that a test was to be applied there; but he did not know what it was to be till they reached the spring, and the soldiers did not know that they were determining their fate when they drank. The two ways of drinking clearly indicated a difference in the men. Those who glued their lips to the stream and swilled till they were full, were plainly more self-indulgent, less engrossed with their work, less patient of fatigue and thirst, than those who caught up enough in their curved palms to moisten their lips without stopping in their stride or breaking rank. The former test was self-applied, and consciously so. This is no less self-applied, though unconsciously. God shuts out no man from His army, but men shut themselves out; sometimes knowingly, by avowed disinclination for the warfare, sometimes unknowingly, by self-indulgent habits, which proclaim their unfitness.

The great lesson taught here is that self-restraint in the use of the world's goods is essential to all true Christian warfare. There are two ways of looking at and partaking of these. We may either' drink for strength' or for drunkenness.' Life is to some men first a place for strenuous endeavour, and only secondly a place of refreshment. Such think of duty first and of water afterwards. To them, all the innocent joys and pleasures of the natural life are as brooks by the way, of which Christ's soldier should drink, mainly that he may be re-invigorated for conflict. There are others whose conception of life is a scene of enjoyment, for which work is unfortunately a necessary but disagreeable preliminary. One does not often see such a character in its pure perfection of sensualism; but plenty of approximations to it are visible, and ugly sights they are. The roots of it are in us all; and it cannot be too strongly insisted on that, unless it be subdued, we cannot enlist in Christ's army, and shall never be counted worthy to be His instruments. Such self-restraint is especially needful to be earnestly inculcated on young men and women, to whom life is opening as if it were a garden of delight, whose passions are strong, whose sense is keen, whose experience is slender, and to whom all earth's joys appeal more strongly than they do to those who have drunk of the cup, and know how bitter is its sediment. It is especially needful to be pealed into the ears of a generation like ours, in which senseless luxury, the result of wealth which has increased faster than the power of rightly using it, has attained such enormous proportions, and is threatening, in commercial communities especially, to drown all noble aspirations, and Spartan simplicity, and Christian self-devotion, in its muddy flood. Surely never was Gideon's test more wanted for the army of the Lord of hosts than it is to-day.

Such self-restraint gives double sweetness to enjoyments, which, when partaken of more freely, pall on the jaded palate. The full soul loatheth a honeycomb; but to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet.' The senses are kept fine-edged, and the rare holidays are sweeter because they are rare. The most refined prudence of the mere sensualist would prescribe the same regimen as the Christian moralist does. But from how different a motive! Christ calls for self-restraint that we may be fit organs for His power, and bids us endure hardness that we may be good soldiers of His. If we know anything of the true sweetness of His fellowship and service, it will not be hard to drink sparingly of earthly fountains, when we have the river of His pleasures to drink from; nor will it be painful sacrifice to cast away imitation jewels, in order to clasp in our hands the true riches of His love and imparted life.

Maclaren: Jdg 7:13-23

Judges 7:13-23

To reduce thirty-two thousand to three hundred was a strange way of preparing for a fight; and, no doubt, the handful left felt some sinking of their courage when they looked on their own small number and then on the widespread Midianite host. Gideon, too, would need heartening. So the first thing to be noted is the encouragement given him. God strengthens faith when it needs strengthening, and He has many ways of doing so. Note that Gideon's visit to the Midianite camp was on the same night' on which his little band was left alone after the ordeal by water. How punctually to meet our need, when it begins to be felt, does God's help come I It was by God's command that he undertook the daring adventure of stealing down to the camp. We can fancy how silently he and Phurah crept down the hillside, and, with hushed breath and wary steps, lest they should stumble on and wake some sleeper, or even rouse some tethered camel, picked their way among the tents. But they had God's command and promise, and these make men brave, and turn what would else be foolhardy into prudence. He put his ear to the black camel's-hair wall of one tent, and heard what his faith could not but recognize as God's message to him.

The soldier's dream was just such as such a man would dream in such circumstances. A round loaf of barley (the commonest kind of bread) was dreamed of as rolling down from a height and upsetting the tent.' The use of the definite article seems to point to some particular tent, perhaps simply the one in which the dreamer lay, or perhaps the general's; but the noun may be used as a collective, and what is meant may be that the loaf went through the camp, overturning all the tents in its way. The interpretation needed no Daniel, but the immediate explanation given, shows not only the transparency of the symbol, but the dread in the Midianite ranks of Gideon's prowess. A nameless awe, which goes far to produce the defeat it dreads, was beginning to creep over them. It finds utterance both in the dream and in its translation. The tiny loaf worked effects disproportioned to its size. A rock thundering down the hillside might have mass and momentum enough to level a line of tents, but one poor loaf to do it! Some mightier than human hand must have set it going on its career. So the soldier interprets that God had delivered the army into Gideon's hand.

This dream suggests two or three considerations. In several instances we find God speaking to those outside Israel by dreams; for example, to Pharaoh and his two officers, Nebuchadnezzar, Pilate's wife. It is the lowest form of divine communication, and, like other lower forms, is not to be looked for when the higher teaching of the Spirit of Christ is open to us all.

Again, while both dream and interpretation might be accounted for on simply natural grounds, a deeper insight into the so-called natural' brings us to see it as all penetrated by the operations of the ever-present God. And the coincidences which brought Gideon to just that tent among the thousands along the valley at just the moment when the two startled sleepers were talking, might well strike Gideon, as they did, as being God's own fulfillment of the promise that what they say' would strengthen his hands for the attack (Judges 7:11).

Further, Gideon had already had the sign of the fleece and the dew; but God does not disdain to let him have an additional encouragement, and to let him draw confirmation of his own token from the talk of two Midianites. Faith may be buttressed by men's words, albeit its only foundation is God's.

Gideon has a place in the muster-roll of heroes of faith in Hebrews 11., and his whole conduct in this incident proves his right to stand there. He worshipped,' for his soul went out in trust to God, whose voice he heard through the two Midianites, and bowed in thankfulness and submissive obedience. There could be no outward worship there, with an army of sleepers close by, but the silent uplifting of confidence and desire reaches God and strengthens the man. So he went back with new assurance of victory, and roused his sleeping band.

Mark his words as another token of his faith. The Midianite interpreter had said, God has delivered'; Gideon says, The Lord has delivered.' The former name is the more general, and is natural on the lips of a heathen; the latter is the covenant name, and to use it implies reliance on the Jehovah revealed by His acts to Israel. The Midianite had said that the host was delivered into Gideon's hand; he says that it is delivered into the hands of the three hundred, suppressing himself and honoring them. God's soldiers must be willing to esteem others better than themselves,' and to fight for God's glory, not their own. The Midianite had said, This is … the sword of Gideon'; he bid his men cry the sword of the Lord, and of Gideon.' It was God's cause for which they were contending, not his; and yet it was his, inasmuch as he was God's instrument. Excellent mixture,' says Thomas Fuller, both joined together; admirable method, God put in the first place. Where divine blessing leads up the van, and man's valor brings up the battle, must not victory needs follow in the rear?'

Gideon does not seem to have been divinely directed to the stratagem by which the Midianites were thrown into panic. He had been promised victory, but that does not lead him to idle waiting for fulfillment of the promise. To wait for God's performance in doing nothing is to abuse that divine providence, which will so work that it will not allow us to idle' (Bishop Hall).True faith will wisely adopt means to reach promised ends, and, having used brain and hand as if all depended on ourselves, will look to Him, as if nothing depended on us, but all on Him.

There was strong faith as well as daring and skilful generalship in leading down the three hundred, with no weapons but trumpets and pitchers, to close quarters with an armed enemy so superior in numbers. And did it not need some faith, too, not only in Gideon but in God, on the part of his band, to plunge down the hill on such an errand, each man with both his hands full, and so unable to strike a blow? The other three hundred at Thermopylae have been wept over and sung; were not these three hundred as true heroes? Let us not count heads when we are called on to take God's side. His soldiers are always in the minority, but, if He is reckoned in, the minority becomes the majority. They that be with us are more than they that be with them.'

One can fancy the sleepers starting up dazed by the sudden bray of the trumpets and the wild shout of that war-cry yelled from every side. As they stumbled out of their tents, without leaders, without knowledge of the numbers of their foe, and saw all around the flaring torches, and heard the trumpet-blasts, which seemed to speak of an immense attacking force, no wonder that panic shook them, and they fled. Huge mobs of undisciplined men, as Eastern armies are, and these eminently were, are especially liable to such infectious alarms; and the larger the force, the faster does panic spread, the more unmanageable does the army become, and the more fatal are the results. Each man reflects, and so increases, his neighbor's fear. Great armies, once struck with amazement, are like wounded whales. Give them but line enough, and the fishes will be the fishermen to catch themselves.'

So the host broke up in wild disorder, and hurried in fragments towards the Jordan fords, trampling each other down as they raced through the darkness, and each man, as he ran, dreading to feel the enemy's sword in his back next moment. The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous is bold as a lion.' Thus without stroke of weapon was the victory won. The battle was the Lord's.

And the story is not antiquated in substance, however the form of the contests which God's soldiers have to-day to fight has changed. Still it is true that we shall only wage war aright when we feel that it is His cause for which we contend, and His sword which wins the victory. If Gideon had put himself first in his war cry, or had put his own name only in it, the issue would have been different.

May we not also venture to apply the peculiar accoutrements of the victorious three hundred to ourselves? Christ's men have no weapons to wield but the sounding out from them, as from a trumpet, of the word of the Lord, and the light of a Christian life shining through earthen vessels. If we boldly lift up our voices in the ancient war-cry, and let that word peal forth from us, and flash the light of holy lives on a dark world, we may break the sleeper's slumbers to a glad waking, and win the noblest of victories by leading them to enlist in the army of our Captain, and to become partakers of His conquests by letting Him conquer, and thereby save them.

MHCC: Jdg 7:1-8

God provides that the praise of victory may be wholly to himself, by appointing only three hundred men to be employed. Activity and prudence go with dependence upon God for help in our lawful undertakings. When the Lord sees that men would overlook him, and through unbelief, would shrink from perilous services, or that through pride they would vaunt themselves against him, he will set them aside, and do his work by other instruments. Pretences will be found by many, for deserting the cause and escaping the cross. But though a religious society may thus be made fewer in numbers, yet it will gain as to purity, and may expect an increased blessing from the Lord. God chooses to employ such as are not only well affected, but zealously affected in a good thing. They grudged not at the liberty of the others who were dismissed. In doing the duties required by God, we must not regard the forwardness or backwardness of others, nor what they do, but what God looks for at our hands. He is a rare person who can endure that others should excel him in gifts or blessings, or in liberty; so that we may say, it is by the special grace of God that we regard what God says to us, and not look to men what they do.

MHCC: Jdg 7:9-15

The dream seemed to have little meaning in it; but the interpretation evidently proved the whole to be from the Lord, and discovered that the name of Gideon had filled the Midianites with terror. Gideon took this as a sure pledge of success; without delay he worshipped and praised God, and returned with confidence to his three hundred men. Wherever we are, we may speak to God, and worship him. God must have the praise of that which encourages our faith. And his providence must be acknowledged in events, though small and seemingly accidental.

MHCC: Jdg 7:16-22

This method of defeating the Midianites may be alluded to, as exemplifying the destruction of the devil's kingdom in the world, by the preaching of the everlasting gospel, the sounding that trumpet, and the holding forth that light out of earthen vessels, for such are the ministers of the gospel, 2Co 4:6, 2Co 4:7. God chose the foolish things of the world to confound the wise, a barley-cake to overthrow the tents of Midian, that the excellency of the power might be of God only. The gospel is a sword, not in the hand, but in the mouth: the sword of the Lord and of Gideon; of God and Jesus Christ, of Him that sits on the throne and the Lamb. The wicked are often led to avenge the cause of God upon each other, under the power of their delusions, and the fury of their passions. See also how God often makes the enemies of the church instruments to destroy one another; it is a pity that the church's friends should ever act like them.

MHCC: Jdg 7:23-25

Two chief commanders of the host of Midian were taken and slain by the men of Ephraim. It were to be wished that we all did as these did, and that where help is needed, that it were willingly and readily performed by another. And that if there were any excellent and profitable matter begun, we were willing to have fellow-labourers to the finishing and perfecting the same, and not, as often, hinder one another.

Matthew Henry: Jdg 7:1-8

Here, I. Gideon applies himself with all possible care and industry to do the part of a good general, in leading on the hosts of Israel against the Midianites (Jdg 7:1): He rose up early, as one whose heart was upon his business, and who was afraid of losing time. Now that he is sure God is with him he is impatient of delay. He pitched near a famous well, that his army might not be distressed for want of water, and gained the higher ground, which possibly might be some advantage to him, for the Midianites were beneath him in the valley. Note, Faith in God's promises must not slacken, but rather quicken, our endeavours. When we are sure God goes before us, then we must bestir ourselves, 2Sa 5:24.

II. God provides that the praise of the intended victory may be reserved wholly to himself, by appointing 300 men only to be employed in this service.

1. The army consisted of 32,000 men, a small army in comparison with what the Midianites had now brought into the field; Gideon was ready to think them too few, but God comes to him, and tells him they are too many, Jdg 7:2. Not but that those did well who offered themselves willingly to this expedition, but God saw fit not to make use of all that came. We often find God bringing great things to pass by a few hands, but this was the only time that he purposely made them fewer. Had Deborah lately blamed those who came not to the help of the Lord, and yet in the next great action must those be turned off that do come? Yes; (1.) God would hereby show that when he employed suitable instruments in his service he did not need them, but could do his work without them, so that he was not indebted to them for their service, but they to him for employing them. (2.) He would hereby put those to shame for their cowardice who had tamely submitted to the Midianites, and durst not make head against them, because of the disproportion of their numbers. They now saw that, if they had but made sure of the favour of God, one of them might have chased a thousand. (3.) He would hereby silence and exclude boasting. This is the reason here given by him who knows the pride that is in men's hearts: Lest Israel vaunt themselves against me. Justly were those denied the honour of the success. My own hand hath saved me is a word that must never come out of the mouth of such as shall be saved. He that glories must glory in the Lord, and all flesh must be silent before him.

2. Two ways God took to lessen their numbers: - (1.) He ordered all that would own themselves timorous and faint-hearted to be dismissed, Jdg 7:3. They were now encamped on a mountain close to the enemy, called Mount Gilead, from Gilead, the common ancestor of these families of Manasseh, which were seated on this side Jordan (Num 26:30), and thence they might see perhaps the vast numbers of the enemy; those therefore who were disheartened at the sight were left to their liberty, to go back if they pleased. There was a law for making such a proclamation as this, Deu 20:8. But Gideon perhaps thought that concerned only those wars which were undertaken for the enlarging of their coast, not, as this, for their necessary defence against an invader; therefore Gideon would not have proclaimed this if God, who knew how his forces would hereby be diminished, had not commanded him. Cowards would be as likely as any, after the victory, to take the honour of it from God, and therefore God would not do them the honour to employ them in it. One would have thought there would be scarcely one Israelite to be found that against such an enemy as the Midianites, and under such a leader as Gideon, would own himself fearful; yet above two parts of three took advantage of this proclamation, and filed off, when they saw the strength of the enemy and their own weakness, not considering the assurances of the divine presence which their general had received of the Lord, and, it is likely, delivered unto them. Some think the oppression they had been under so long had broken their spirits, others, more probably, that consciousness of their own guilt had deprived them of their courage. Sin stared them in the face, and therefore they durst not look death in the face. Note, Fearful faint-hearted people are not fit to be employed for God; and, among those that are enlisted under the banner of Christ, there are more such than we think there are. (2.) He directed the cashiering of all that remained except 300 men, and he did it by a sign: The people are yet too many for me to make use off, Jdg 7:4. See how much God's thoughts and ways are above ours. Gideon himself, it is likely, thought they were too few, though they were as many as Barak encountered Sisera with (Jdg 4:14); and, had he not forced his way through the discouragement by dint of faith, he himself would have started back from so hazardous an enterprise, and have made the best of his own way back. But God saith, they are too many, and, when diminished to a third part, they are yet too many, which may help us to understand those providences which sometimes seem to weaken the church and its interests: its friends are too many, too mighty, too wise, for God to work deliverance by; God is taking a course to lessen them, that he may be exalted in his own strength. Gideon is ordered to bring his soldiers to the watering, probably to the well of Harod (Jdg 7:1) and the stream that ran from it; he, or some appointed by him, must observe how they drank. We must suppose they were all thirsty, and were inclined to drink; it is likely he told them they must prepare to enter upon action immediately, and therefore must refresh themselves accordingly, not expecting, after this, to drink any thing else but the blood of their enemies. Now some, and no doubt the most, would kneel down on their knees to drink, and put their mouths to the water as horses do, and so they might get their full draught. Others, it may be, would not make such a formal business of it, but as a dog laps with his tongue, a lap and away, so they would hastily take up a little water in their hands, and cool their mouths with that, and be gone. Three hundred and no more there were of this latter sort, that drank in haste, and by those God tells Gideon he would rout the Midianites, Jdg 7:7. By the former distinction none were retained but hearty men, that were resolved to do their utmost for retrieving the liberties of Israel; but by this further distinction it was provided that none should be made use of but, [1.] Men that were hardy, that could endure long fatigue, without complaining of thirst or weariness, that had not in them any dregs either of sloth or luxury. [2.] Men that were hasty, that thought it long till they were engaged with the enemy, preferring the service of God and their country before their necessary refreshment; such as these God chooses to employ, that are not only well affected, but zealously affected in a good thing. And also because these were the smaller number, and therefore the least likely to effect what they were designed for, God would by them save Israel. It was a great trial to the faith and courage of Gideon, when God bade him let all the rest of the people but these 300 go every man to his place, that is, go where they pleased out of his call, and from under his command; yet we may suppose those that were hearty in the cause, though now set aside, did not go so far out of hearing but that they were ready to follow the blow, when the 300 had broken the ice, though this does not appear. Thus strangely was Gideon's army purged, and modelled, and reduced, instead of being recruited, as one would think in so great an action it both needed and deserved to be. Now,

3. Let us see how this little despicable regiment, on which the stress of the action must lie, was accoutred and fitted out. Had these 300 been double-manned with servants and attendants, and double-armed with swords and spears, we should have thought them the more likely to bring something to pass. But, instead of making them more serviceable by their equipment, they are made less so. For, (1.) Every soldier turns butler: They took victuals in their hands (Jdg 7:8), left their bag and baggage behind, and every man burdened himself with his own provision, which was a trial of their faith, whether they could trust God when they had no more provisions with them than they could carry, and a trial of their diligence, whether they would carry as much as they had occasion for. This was indeed living from hand to mouth. (2.) Every soldier turns trumpeter. The regiments that were cashiered left their trumpets behind them for the use of these 300 men, who were furnished with these instead of weapons of war, as if they had been going rather to a game than to a battle.

Matthew Henry: Jdg 7:9-15

Gideon's army being diminished as we have found it was, he must either fight by faith or not at all; God therefore here provides recruits for his faith, instead of recruits for his forces.

I. He furnishes him with a good foundation to build his faith upon. Nothing but a word from God will be a footing for faith. He has this as full and express as he can desire, Jdg 7:9. 1. A word of command to warrant the action, which otherwise seemed rash and indiscreet, and unbecoming a wise general: Arise, get thee down with this handful of men unto the host. 2. A word of promise to assure him of the success, which otherwise seemed very improbable: I have delivered it into thy hand; it is all thy own. This word of the Lord came to him the same night, when he was (we may suppose) greatly agitated and full of care how he should come off; in the multitude of his thoughts within him these comforts did delight his soul. Divine consolations are given in to believers not only strongly but seasonably.

II. He furnishes him with a good prop to support his faith with. 1. He orders him to be his own spy, and now in the dead of the night to go down privately into the host of Midian, and see what intelligence he could gain: " If thou fear to go down to fight, go first only with thy own servant (Jdg 7:10) and hear what they say "(Jdg 7:11); and it is intimated to him that he should hear that which would greatly strengthen his faith. God knows the infirmities of his people, and what great encouragement they may sometimes take from a small matter; and therefore, knowing beforehand what would occur to Gideon, in that very part of the camp to which he would go down, he orders him to go down and hearken to what they said, that he might the more firmly believe what God said. He must take with him Phurah his servant, one that he could confide in, probably one of the ten that had helped him to break down the altar of Baal. He must take him and no one else with him, must take him with him to be a witness of what he should hear the Midianites say, that out of the mouth of these two witnesses, when the matter came to be reported to Israel, the word might be established. He must take his servant with him, because two are better than one and a little help is better than none. 2. Being so, he orders him the sight of something that was discouraging. It was enough to frighten him to discern, perhaps by moon-light, the vast numbers of the enemy (Jdg 7:12), the men like grasshoppers for multitude, and they proved no better than grasshoppers for strength and courage; the camels one could not count, any more than the sand. But, 3. He causes him to hear that which was to him a very good omen; and when he had heard it he went back again immediately, supposing he now had what he was sent thither for. He overheard two soldiers of the enemy, that were comrades, talking; probably they were in bed together, waking in the night. (1.) One of them tells his dream, and as our dreams generally are, and therefore not worth telling again, it is a very foolish one. He dreamed that he saw a barley-cake come rolling down the hill into the camp of the Midianites, and "methought,"says he (for so we speak in telling our dreams), "this rolling cake struck one of our tents"(perhaps one of the chief of their tents) "and with such violence that"(would you think it?) "it overturned the tent, forced down the stakes, and broke the cords at one blow, so that the tent lay along and buried its inhabitants,"Jdg 7:13. In multitudes of dreams there are divers vanities, says Solomon, Ecc 5:7. One would wonder what odd incoherent things are often put together by a ludicrous fancy in our dreams. (2.) The other, it may be between sleeping and waking, undertakes to interpret this dream, and the interpretation is very far-fetched: This is nothing else save the sword of Gideon, Jdg 7:14. Our expositors now can tell us how apt the resemblance was, that Gideon, who had threshed corn for his family, and made cakes for his friend (Jdg 6:11-19), was fitly represented by a cake, - that he and his army were as inconsiderable as a cake made of a little flour, as contemptible as a barley-cake, hastily got together as a cake suddenly baked upon the coals, and as unlikely to conquer this great army as a cake to overthrow a tent. But, after all, do not interpretations belong to God? He put it into the head of the one to dream and into the mouth of the other to give the sense of it; if Gideon had heard the dream only, and he and his servant had been left to interpret it themselves, it had so little significancy in it that it would have done him little service; but, having the interpretation from the mouth of an enemy, it not only appeared to come from God, who has all men's hearts and tongues in his hand, but it was likewise an evidence that the enemy was quite dispirited, and that the name of Gideon had become so formidable to them that it disturbed their sleep. The victory would easily be won which was already so tamely yielded: Into his hand hath God delivered Midian. Those were not likely to fight who saw God fighting against them.

Lastly, Gideon, observing the finger of God pointing him to this very place, at this very time, to hear this dream and the interpretation of it, was exceedingly encouraged by it against the melancholy apprehensions he had upon the reducing of his army. He was very well pleased to hear himself compared to a barley-cake, when it proved to effect such great things. Being hereby animated, we are told (Jdg 7:15), 1. How he gave God the glory of it; he worshipped immediately, bowed his head, or, it may be, lifted up his eyes and hands, and in a short ejaculation thanked God for the victory he was now sure of, and for this encouragement to expect it. Wherever we are, we may speak to God, and worship him, and find a way open heavenward. God must have the praise of that which is encouraging to our faith, and his providence must be acknowledged in those events which, though minute and seemingly accidental, prove serviceable to us. 2. How he gave his friends a share in the encouragements he had received: Arise, prepare to march presently; the Lord has delivered Midian into your hand.

Matthew Henry: Jdg 7:16-22

Here is, I. The alarm which Gideon gave to the hosts of Midian in the dead time of the night; for it was intended that those who had so long been a terror to Israel, and had so often frightened them, should themselves be routed and ruined purely by terror.

1. The attack here made was, in many circumstances, like that which Abraham made upon the army that had taken Lot captive. The number of men was much the same: Abraham had 318, Gideon 300; they both divided their forces, both made their attack by night, and were both victorious under great disadvantages (Gen 14:14, Gen 14:15); and Gideon is not only a son of Abraham (so were the Midianites by Keturah) but an heir of his faith. Gideon, (1.) Divided his army, small as it was, into three battalions (Jdg 7:16), one of which he himself commanded (Jdg 7:19), because great armies (and such a one he would make a show of) were usually divided into the right wing, and left wing, and the body of the army. (2.) He ordered them all to do as he did, Jdg 7:17. He told them now, it is very likely, what they must do, else the thing was so strange that they would scarcely have done it of a sudden, but he would, by doing it first, give notice to them when to do it, as officers exercise their soldiers with the word of command or by beat of drum: Look on me, and do likewise. Such is the word of command which our Lord Jesus, the captain of our salvation, gives his soldiers; for he has left us an example, with a charge to follow it: As I do, so shall you do. (3.) He made his descent in the night, when they were secure and least expected it, which would put them into great consternation, and when the smallness of his army would not be discovered. In the night all frights are most frightful, especially in the dead of the night, as this was, a little after midnight, when the middle watch began, and the alarm would wake them out of their sleep. We read of terror by night as very terrible (Psa 91:5), and fear in the night, Son 3:8. (4.) That which Gideon aimed at was to frighten this huge host, to give them not only a fatal rout, but a very shameful one. He accoutred his army with every man a trumpet in his right hand, and an earthen pitcher, with a torch in it, in his left, and he himself thought it no disparagement to him to march before them thus armed. He would make but a jest of conquering this army, and goes out against them rather as against a company of children than against a host of soldiers. The virgin, the daughter of Zion, hath despised thee, and laughed thee to scorn, Isa 37:22. The fewness of his men favoured his design; for, being so few, they marched to the camp with the greater secresy and expedition, so that they were not discovered till they were close by the camp; and he contrived to give the alarm when they had just mounted the guards (Jdg 7:19), that the sentinels, being then wakeful, might the sooner disperse the alarm through the camp, which was the best service they could do him. Three ways Gideon contrived to strike a terror upon this army, and so put them into confusion. [1.] With a great noise. Every man must blow his trumpet in the most terrible manner he could and clatter an earthen pitcher to pieces at the same time; probably each dashed his pitcher to his next man's, and so they were broken both together, which would not only make a great crash, but was a figure of what would be the effects of the fright, even the Midianites' killing one another. [2.] With a great blaze. The lighted torches were hid in the pitchers, like a candle under a bushel, until they came to the camp, and then, being taken out all together of a sudden, would make a glaring show, and run through the camp like a flash of lightning. Perhaps with these they set some of the tents on the outside of the camp on fire, which would very much increase the confusion. [3.] With a great shout. Every man must cry, For the Lord, and for Gideon, so some think it should be read in Jdg 7:18, for there the sword is not in the original, but it is in Jdg 7:20, The sword of the Lord, and of Gideon. It should seem, he borrowed the word from the Midianite's dream (Jdg 7:14): it is the sword of Gideon. Finding his name was a terror to them, he thus improves it against them, but prefixes the name of Jehovah, as the figure without which his own was but an insignificant cypher. This would put life into his own men, who might well take courage when they had such a God as Jehovah, and such a man as Gideon, both to fight for, and to fight for them; well might those follow who had such leaders. It would likewise put their enemies into a fright, who had of old heard of Jehovah's great name, and of late of Gideon's. The sword of the Lord is all in all to the success of the sword of Gideon, yet the sword of Gideon must be employed. Men the instruments, and God the principal agent, must both be considered in their places, but men, the greatest and best, always in subserviency and subordination to God. This army was to be defeated purely by terrors, and these are especially the sword of the Lord. These soldiers, if they had swords by their sides, that was all, they had none in their hands, but they gained the victory by shouting "The sword."So the church's enemies are routed by a sword out of the mouth, Rev 19:21. 2. These soldiers, if they had swords by their sides, that was all, they had none in their hands, but they gained the victory by shouting "The sword."So the church's enemies are routed by a sword out of the mouth, Rev 19:21.

2. This method here taken of defeating the Midianites may be alluded to, (1.) As typifying the destruction of the devil's kingdom in the world by the preaching of the everlasting gospel, the sounding of that trumpet, and the holding forth of that light out of earthen vessels, for such the ministers of the gospel are, in whom the treasure of that light is deposited, 2Co 4:6, 2Co 4:7. Thus God chose the foolish things of the world to confound the wise, a barley-cake to overthrow the tents of Midian, that the excellency of the power might be of God only; the gospel is a sword, not in the hand, but in the mouth, the sword of the Lord and of Gideon, of God and Jesus Christ, him that sits on the throne and the Lamb. (2.) As representing the terrors of the great day. So the excellent bishop Hall applies it; if these pitchers, trumpets, and firebrands, did so daunt and dismay the proud troops of Midian and Amalek, who shall be able to stand before the last terror, when the trumpet of the archangel shall sound, the elements shall be on a flame, the heavens pass away with a great noise, and the Lord himself shall descend with a shout!

II. The wonderful success of this alarm. The Midianites were shouted out of their lives, as the walls of Jericho were shouted down, that Gideon might see what he lately despaired of ever seeing, the wonders that their fathers told them of. Gideon's soldiers observed their orders, and stood every man in his place round about the camp (Jdg 7:21), sounding his trumpet to excite them to fight one another, and holding out his torch to light them to their ruin. They did not rush into the host of Midian, as greedy either of blood or spoil, but patiently stood still to see the salvation of the Lord, a salvation purely of his own working. Observe how the design took effect. 1. They feared the Israelites. All the host immediately took the alarm; it flew like lightning through all their lines, and they ran, and cried, and fled, Jdg 7:21. There was something natural in this fright. We may suppose they had not had intelligence of the great diminution of Gideon's army, but rather concluded that since their last advices it had been growing greater and greater; and therefore they had reason to suspect, knowing how odious and grievous they had made themselves and what bold steps had been taken towards the throwing off of their yoke, that it was a very great army which was to be ushered in with all those trumpeters and torch-bearers. But there was more of a supernatural power impressing this terror upon them. God himself gave it the setting on, to show how that promise should have been fulfilled if they had not forfeited it, One of you shall chase a thousand. See the power of imagination, and how much it may become a terror at some times, as at other times it is a pleasure. 2. They fell foul upon one another: The Lord set every man's sword against his fellow, Jdg 7:22. In this confusion, observing the trumpeters and torch-bearers to stand still without their camp, they concluded the body of the army had already entered and was in the midst of them, and therefore every one ran at the next he met, though a friend, supposing him an enemy, and one such mistake as this would occasion many, for then he that slew him would certainly be taken for an enemy, and would be dispatched immediately. It is our interest to preserve such a command of our own spirits as never to be afraid with any amazement, for we cannot conceive what mischiefs we thereby plunge ourselves into. See also how God often makes the enemies of his church instruments to destroy one another; it is a pity the church's friends should ever be thus infatuated. 3. They fled for their lives. Perhaps when day-light came they were sensible of their mistake in fighting with one another, and concluded that by this fatal error they had so weakened themselves that now it was impossible to make any head against Israel, and therefore made the best of their way towards their own country, though, for aught that appears, the 300 men kept their ground. The wicked flee when none pursueth, Pro 28:1. Terrors make him afraid on every side, and drive him to his feet, Job 18:11.

Matthew Henry: Jdg 7:23-25

We have here the prosecution of this glorious victory. 1. Gideon's soldiers that had been dismissed, and perhaps had begun to disperse themselves, upon notice of the enemies' flight got together again, and vigorously pursued those whom they had not courage to face. The men of Israel out of Naphtali and Asher who did this (Jdg 7:23) were not such as now came from those distant countries, but the same that had enlisted themselves (Jdg 6:35), but had been cashiered. Those who were fearful and afraid to fight (Jdg 7:3) now took heart, when the worst was over, and were ready enough to divide the spoil, though backward to make the onset. Those also that might not fight though they had a mind to it, and were disbanded by order from God, did not as those, 2Ch 25:10, 2Ch 25:13, return in great anger, but waited for an opportunity of doing service in pursuing the victory, though they were denied the honour of helping to force the lines. 2. The Ephraimites, upon a summons from Gideon, came in unanimously, and secured the passes over Jordan, by the several fords, to cut off the enemies' retreat into their own country, that they might be entirely destroyed, to prevent the like mischief to Israel another time. Now that they had begun to fall, it was easy to say, Down with them, Est 6:13. They took the waters (Jdg 7:24), that is, posted themselves along the river side, so that the Midianites, who fled from those who pursued them, fell into the hands of those that waited to intercept them. Here were fear, and the pit, and the snare, Isa 24:17. 3. Two of the chief commanders of the host of Midian were taken and slain by the Ephraimites on this side Jordan, Jdg 7:25. Their names perhaps signified their nature, Oreb signifies a raven, and Zeeb a wolf ( corvus and lupus ) . These in their flight had taken shelter, one in a rock (Isa 2:21; Rev 6:15), the other by a wine-press, as Gideon for fear of them had lately hid his corn by a wine-press, Jdg 6:11. But the places of their shelter were made the places of their slaughter, and the memory of it was preserved to posterity in the names of the places, to their perpetual infamy: Here fell the princes of Midian.

Keil-Delitzsch: Jdg 7:1-8

Mustering of the Army that Gideon had Collected. - Jdg 7:1. When Gideon had been assured of the help of God by this double sign, he went to the battle early the next morning with the people that he had gathered around him. The Israelites encamped above the fountain of Harod , i.e., upon a height at the foot of which this fountain sprang; but the camp of Midian was to him (Gideon) to the north of the hill Moreh in the valley (of Jezreel: see Jdg 6:33). The geographical situation of these two places cannot be determined with certainty. The fountain of Harod is never mentioned again, though there is a place of that name referred to in 2Sa 23:25 as the home of two of David's heroes; and it was from this, no doubt, that the fountain was named. The hill Moreh is also unknown. As it was by the valley (of Jezreel), we cannot possibly think of the grove of Moreh at Shechem (Gen 12:6; Deu 11:30).

(Note: Bertheau endeavours to settle the position of the place from our knowledge of the country, which is for the most part definite enough. Starting with the assumption that the fountain of Harod cannot be any other than the "fountain in Jezreel"mentioned in 1Sa 29:1, where Saul and the Israelites encamped at Gilboa (1Sa 28:4) to fight against the Philistines who were posted at Shunem , a place on the western slope of the so-called Little Hermon, he concludes that the fountain of Harod must be the present Ain Jalud , and the hill of Moreh the Little Hermon itself. These combinations are certainly possible, for we have nothing definite to oppose to them; still they are very uncertain, as they simply rest upon the very doubtful assumption that the only fountain in the plain of Jezreel was the celebrated fountain called Ain Jalud , and are hardly reconcilable with the account given of the route which was taken by the defeated Midianites (Jdg 7:25. and Jdg 8:4).)

Jdg 7:2-3

The army of the Israelites amounted to 32,000 men (Jdg 7:4), but that of the Midianites and their allies was about 135,000 (Jdg 8:10), so that they were greatly superior to the Israelites in numbers. Nevertheless the Lord said to Gideon, " The people that are with thee are too many for me to give Midian into their hands, lest Israel vaunt themselves against me, saying, My hand hath helped me. " רב followed by מן is to be understood as a comparative. Gideon was therefore to have a proclamation made before all the people: " Whosoever is fearful and despondent, let him turn and go back from Mount Gilead. "The ἁπ. λεγ. צפר , judging from the Arabic, which signifies to plait, viz., hair, ropes, etc., and the noun צפירה , a circle or circuitous orbit, probably signifies to twist one's self round; hence in this instance to return in windings, to slink away in bypaths. The expression "from Mount Gilead," however, is very obscure. The mountain (or the mountains) of Gilead was on the eastern side of the Jordan; but the Israelitish army was encamped in or near the plain of Jezreel, in the country to the west of the Jordan, and had been gathered from the western tribes alone; so that even the inadmissible rendering, Let him turn and go home to the mountains of Gilead, would not give any appropriate sense. The only course left therefore is either to pronounce it an error of the text, as Clericus and Bertheau have done, and to regard "Gilead"as a mistake for "Gilboa,"or to conclude that there was also a mountain or mountain range named Gilead by the plain of Jezreel in western Palestine, just as, according to Jos 15:10, there was a mountain, or range of mountains, called Seir , in the territory of Judah, of which nothing further is known. The appeal which Gideon is here directed to make to the army was prescribed in the law (Deu 20:8) for every war in which the Israelites should be engaged, and its general object was to fortify the spirit of the army be removing the cowardly and desponding. But in the case before us the intention of the Lord was to deprive His people of all ground for self-glorification. Hence the result of the appeal was one which Gideon himself certainly did not expect, - namely, that more than two-thirds of the soldiers gathered round him - 22,000 men of the people - turned back, and only 10,000 remained.

Jdg 7:4

But even this number was regarded by the Lord as still too great, so that He gave to Gideon the still further command, " Bring them (the 10,000 men) down to the water ,"i.e., the waters formed from the fountain of Harod, " and I will purify them for thee there ( צרף , separate those appointed for the battle from the rest of the army; the singular suffix refers to העם ), and say to thee, This shall go with thee, and that, "i.e., show thee each individual who is to go with thee to the battle, and who not.

Jdg 7:5-6

Gideon was to divide the people by putting all those who should lick the water with their tongue as a dog licketh into one class, and all those who knelt down to drink into another, and so separating the latter from the former. The number of those who licked the water into their mouth with their hand amounted to 300, and all the rest knelt down to drink. " To lick with their hand to their mouth, "i.e., to take the water from the brook with the hollow of their hand, and lap it into the mouth with their tongue as a dog does, is only a more distinct expression for "licking with the tongue."The 300 men who quenched their thirst in this manner were certainly not the cowardly or indolent who did not kneel down to drink in the ordinary way, either from indolence or fear, as Josephus , Theodoret , and others supposed, but rather the bravest-namely those who, when they reached a brook before the battle, did not allow themselves time to kneel down and satisfy their thirst in the most convenient manner, but simply took up some water with their hands as they stood in their military accoutrements, to strengthen themselves for the battle, and then proceeded without delay against the foe. By such a sign as this, Bertheau supposes that even an ordinary general might have been able to recognise the bravest of his army. No doubt: but if this account had not been handed down, it is certain that it would never have occurred to an ordinary or even a distinguished general to adopt such a method of putting the bravery of his troops to the test; and even Gideon, the hero of God, would never have thought of diminishing still further through such a trial an army which had already become so small, or of attempting to defeat an army of more than 100,000 men by a few hundred of the bravest men, if the Lord himself had not commanded it.

Whilst the Lord was willing to strengthen the feeble faith of Gideon by the sign with the fleece of wool, and thus to raise him up to full confidence in the divine omnipotence, He also required of him, when thus strengthened, an attestation of his faith, by the purification of his army that he might give the whole glory to Him, and accept the victory over that great multitude from His hand alone.

Jdg 7:7

After his fighting men had been divided into a small handful of 300 men on the one hand, and the large host of 9700 on the other, by the fulfilment of the command of God, the Lord required of him that he should send away the latter, "every man to his place,"i.e., to his own home, promising that He would save Israel by the 300 men, and deliver the Midianites into their hand. The promise preceded the command, to render it easier to Gideon to obey it. "All the people," after taking out the 300 men, that is to say, the 9700 that remained.

Jdg 7:8

" So they (the 300 picked men) took the provision of the people in their hand, and their (the people's) trumpets (the suffix points back to העם , the people); and all the men of Israel (the 9700) he had sent away every one to his tents, i.e., to his home (see at Deu 16:7), and the three hundred men he had kept by himself; but the camp of the Midianites was below to him in the valley. "These words bring the preparations for the battle to a close, and the last clause introduces the ensuing conflict and victory. In the first clause העם (the people) cannot be the subject, partly because of the actual sense, since the 300 warriors, who are no doubt the persons intended (cf. Jdg 7:16), cannot be called "the people,"in distinction from "all the men of Israel,"and partly also because of the expression את־צדה , which would be construed in that case without any article in violation of the ordinary rule. We must rather read העם את־צדת , as the lxx and the Chaldee have done. The 300 men took the provision of the people, i.e., provision for the war, from the people who had been sent away, and the war-trumpets; so that every one of the 300 had a trumpet now, and as the provision of the people was also probably kept in vessels or pitchers ( caddim : Jdg 7:16), a jug as well. The subject to יקחוּ is to be taken from the first clause of the seventh verse. The sentences which follow from כּל־אישׁ ואת are circumstantial clauses, introduced to bring out distinctly the situation in which Gideon was now placed. בּ החזיק , the opposite of שׁלּח , to send away, signifies to hold fast, to keep back or by himself, as in Exo 9:2. לו , to him, Gideon, who was standing by the fountain of Harod with his 300 men, the situation of Midian was underneath in the valley (see Jdg 7:1, and Jdg 6:33).

Keil-Delitzsch: Jdg 7:9-10

Gideon's Battle and Victory. - Jdg 7:9-11 . The following night the Lord commanded Gideon to go down to the camp of the enemy, as He had given it into his hand (the perfect is used to denote the purpose of God which had already been formed, as in Jdg 4:14). But in order to fill him with confidence for such an enterprise, which to all human appearance was a very rash one, God added, " If thou art afraid to go down, go thou with thine attendant Purah down to the camp, and thou wilt hear what they say, and thy hands will thereby become strong. "The meaning of the protasis is not, If thou art afraid to go down into the camp of the enemy alone, or to visit the enemy unarmed, take Purah thine armour-bearer with thee, to make sure that thou hast weapons to use ( Bertheau ); for, apart from the fact that the addition "unarmed"is perfectly arbitrary, the apodosis "thou wilt see,"etc., by no means agrees with this explanation. The meaning is rather this: Go with thy 300 men into ( בּ ) the hostile camp to smite it, for I have given it into thy hand; but if thou art afraid to do this, go down with thine attendant to ( אל ) the camp, to ascertain the state and feeling of the foe, and thou wilt hear what they say, i.e., as we gather from what follows, how they are discouraged, have lost all hope of defeating you, and from that thou wilt gather courage and strength for the battle. On the expression " thine hands shall be strengthened, "see 2Sa 2:7. The expression which follows, בּמּחנה וירדתּ , is not a mere repetition of the command to go down with his attendant to the hostile camp, but describes the result of the stimulus given to his courage: And then thou wilt go fearlessly into the hostile camp to attack the foe. בּמּחנה ירד (Jdg 7:9, Jdg 7:11) is to be distinguished from המּחנה ירד in Jdg 7:10. The former signifies to go down into the camp to smite the foe; the latter, to go down to the camp to reconnoitre it, and is equivalent to the following clause: "he went to the outside of the camp."

Keil-Delitzsch: Jdg 7:11-14

But when Gideon came with his attendant to the end of the armed men ( chamushim , as in Jos 1:14; Exo 13:18) in the hostile camp, and the enemy were lying spread out with their camels in the valley, an innumerable multitude, he heard one (of the fighting men) relate to his fellow (i.e., to another) a dream which he had had: " Behold a cake of barley bread was rolling into the camp of Midian, and it came to the tent and smote it, so that it fell and turned upwards, and let the tent lay along. "Then the other replied, "This is nothing else than the sword of Gideon the son of Joash the Israelite: God hath given Midian and all the camp into his hand."" The end of fighting men"signifies the outermost or foremost of the outposts in the enemy's camp, which contained not only fighting men, but the whole of the baggage of the enemy, who had invaded the land as nomads, with their wives, their children, and their flocks. In Jdg 7:12, the innumerable multitude of the enemy is described once more in the form of a circumstantial clause, as in Jdg 6:5, not so much to distinguish the fighting men from the camp generally, as to bring out more vividly the contents and meaning of the following dream. The comparison of the enemy to the sand by the sea-side recalls Jos 11:4, and is frequently met with (see Gen 22:17; Gen 32:13; 1Sa 13:5). With the word ויּבא in Jdg 7:13, the thread of the narrative, which was broken off by the circumstantial clause in Jdg 7:12, is resumed and carried further. The ἁπ. λεγ. צלוּל ( Keri , צליל ) is rendered cake , placenta , by the early translators: see Ges . Thes. p. 1170. The derivation of the word has been disputed, and is by no means certain, as צלל does not give any suitable meaning, either in the sense of to ring or to be overshadowed, and the meaning to roll ( Ges. l.c .) cannot be philologically sustained; whilst צלה , to roast, can hardly be thought of, since this is merely used to denote the roasting of flesh, and קלה was the word commonly applied to the roasting of grains, and even "the roasted of barley bread"would hardly be equivalent to subcinericeus panis ex hordeo ( Vulgate ). "The tent," with the definite article, is probably the principal tent in the camp, i.e., the tent of the general. למעלה , upwards, so that the bottom came to the top. "The tent lay along," or the tent fell, lay in ruins, is added to give emphasis to the words. "This is nothing if not," i.e., nothing but. The cake of bread which had rolled into the Midianitish camp and overturned the tent, signifies nothing else than the sword of Gideon, i.e., Gideon, who is bursting into the camp with his sword, and utterly destroying it.

This interpretation of the dream was certainly a natural one under the circumstances. Gideon is especially mentioned simply as the leader of the Israelites; whilst the loaf of barley bread, which was the food of the poorer classes, is to be regarded as strictly speaking the symbol of Israel, which was so despised among the nations. The rising of the Israelites under Gideon had not remained a secret to the Midianites, and no doubt filled them with fear; so that in a dream this fear might easily assume the form of the defeat or desolation and destruction of their camp by Gideon. And the peculiar form of the dream is also psychologically conceivable. As the tent is everything to a nomad, he might very naturally picture the cultivator of the soil as a man whose life is all spent in cultivating and baking bread. In this way bread would become almost involuntarily a symbol of the cultivator of the soil, whilst in his own tent he would see a symbol not only of his mode of life, but of his freedom, greatness, and power. If we add to this, that the free pastoral tribes, particularly the Bedouins of Arabia, look down with pride not only upon the poor tillers of the soil, but even upon the inhabitants of towns, and that in Palestine, the land of wheat, none but the poorer classes feed upon barley bread, we have here all the elements out of which the dream of the Midianitish warrior was formed. The Israelites had really been crushed by the Midianites into a poor nation of slaves. But whilst the dream itself admits of being explained in this manner in a perfectly natural way, it acquires the higher supernatural character of a divine inspiration, from the fact that God not only foreknew it, but really caused the Midianite to dream, and to relate the dream to his comrade, just at the time when Gideon had secretly entered the camp, so that he should hear it, and discover therefrom, as God had foretold him, the despondency of the foe. Under these circumstances, Gideon could not fail to regard the dream as a divine inspiration, and to draw the assurance from it, that God had certainly given the Midianites into his hands.

Keil-Delitzsch: Jdg 7:15-18

When therefore he had heard the dream related and interpreted, he worshipped, praising the Lord with joy, and returned to the camp to attack the enemy without delay. He then divided the 300 men into three companies, i.e., three attacking columns, and gave them all trumpets and empty pitchers, with torches in the pitchers in their hands. The pitchers were taken that they might hide the burning torches in them during their advance to surround the enemy's camp, and then increase the noise at the time of the attack, by dashing the pitchers to pieces (Jdg 7:20), and thus through the noise, as well as the sudden lighting up of the burning torches, deceive the enemy as to the strength of the army. At the same time he commanded them, "See from me, and do likewise," - a short expression for, As ye see me do, so do ye also ( כּן , without the previous כּ , or כּאשׁר as in Jdg 5:15; see Ewald , §260, a .), - " I blow the trumpet, I and all who are with me; ye also blow the trumpets round about the entire camp, "which the 300 men divided into three companies were to surround, "and say, To the Lord and Gideon." According to Jdg 7:20, this war-cry ran fully thus: " Sword to (for) the Lord and Gideon ."This addition in Jdg 7:20, however, does not warrant us in inserting " chereb "(sword) in the text here, as some of the early translators and MSS have done.

(Note: Similar stratagems to the one adopted by Gideon here are recorded by Polyaenus (Strateg. ii. c. 37) of Dicetas, at the taking of Heraea, and by Plutarch ( Fabius Max . c. 6) of Hannibal, when he was surrounded and completely shut in by Fabius Maximus. An example from modern history is given by Niebuhr (Beschr. von Arabien, p. 304). About the middle of the eighteenth century two Arabian chiefs were fighting for the Imamate of Oman. One of them, Bel-Arab, besieged the other, Achmed ben Said, with four or five thousand men, in a small castle on the mountain. But the latter slipped out of the castle, collected together several hundred men, gave every soldier a sign upon his head, that they might be able to distinguish friends from foes, and sent small companies to all the passes. Every one had a trumpet to blow at a given signal, and thus create a noise at the same time on every side. The whole of the opposing army was thrown in this way into disorder, since they found all the passes occupied, and imagined the hostile army to be as great as the noise.)

Keil-Delitzsch: Jdg 7:19

Gideon then proceeded with the 100 who were with him, i.e., the company which was led by himself personally, to the end of the hostile camp, at the beginning of the middle watch, i.e., at midnight ראשׁ is an accusative defining the time: see Ges . 118, 2, and Ewald , §204, a . The only other watch that is mentioned in the Old Testament beside the middle night-watch, is the morning night-watch (Exo 14:24; 1Sa 11:11), from which it has been correctly inferred, that the Israelites divided the night into three night-watches. The division into four watches (Mat 14:25; Mar 6:48) was first adopted by the Jews from the Romans. " They (the Midianites) had only (just) posted the watchmen (of the middle watch),"- a circumstantial clause, introduced to give greater distinctness to the situation. When the first sentries were relieved, and the second posted, so that they thought they might make quite sure of their night's rest once more, Gideon and his host arrived at the end of the camp, and, as we must supply from the context, the other two hosts at two other ends of the camp, who all blew their trumpets, breaking the pitchers in their hands at the same time. The inf. abs . נפוץ , as a continuation of the finite verb יתקעוּ , indicates that the fact was contemporaneous with the previous one (see Ewald , §351, c .).

Keil-Delitzsch: Jdg 7:20-21

According to the command which they had received (Jdg 7:17), the other two tribes followed his example. " Then the three companies blew the trumpets, broke the pitchers, and held the torches in their left hands, and the trumpets in their right to blow, and cried, Sword to the Lord and Gideon! And they stood every one his place round about the camp, "sc., without moving, so that the Midianites necessarily thought that there must be a numerous army advancing behind the torch-bearers. וגו ויּרץ , " and the whole army ran, "i.e., there began a running hither and thither in the camp of the enemy, who had been frightened out of their night's rest by the unexpected blast of the trumpets, the noise, and the war-cry of the Israelitish warriors; " and they (the enemy ) lifted up a cry (of anguish and alarm), and caused to fly "(carried off), sc., their tents (i.e., their families) and their herds, or all their possessions (cf. Jdg 6:11; Exo 9:20). The Chethibh יניסוּ is the original reading, and the Keri ינוּסוּ a bad emendation.

Keil-Delitzsch: Jdg 7:22

Whilst the 300 men blew their trumpets, " Jehovah set the sword of one against the other, and against the whole camp, "i.e., caused one to turn his sword against the other and against all the camp, that is to say, not merely man against man, but against every one in the camp, so that there arose a terrible slaughter throughout the whole camp. The first clause, " and the three hundred blew the trumpets, "simply resumes the statement in Jdg 7:20, "the three companies blew the trumpets,"for the purpose of appending to it the further progress of the attack, and the result of the battle. Bertheau inserts in a very arbitrary manner the words, "the second time."His explanation of the next clause ("then the 300 fighting men of Gideon drew the sword at Jehovah's command, every man against his man") is still more erroneous, since it does violence to the constant usage of the expression בּרעהוּ אישׁ (see 1Sa 14:20; 2Ch 20:23; Isa 3:5; Zec 8:10). " And all the camp of the Midianites fled to Beth-shittah to Zeredah, to the shore of Abel-meholah, over Tabbath. "The situation of these places, which are only mentioned here, with the exception of Abel-meholah, the home of Elisha (1Ki 19:16; 1Ki 4:12), has not yet been determined. According to the Syriac, the Arabic, and some of the MSS, we should read Zeredathah instead of Zererathah , and Zeredathah is only another form for Zarthan (comp. 1Ki 7:46 with 2Ch 4:17). This is favoured by the situation of Zarthan in the valley of the Jordan, probably near the modern Kurn Sartabeh (see p. 35), inasmuch as in all probability Beth-shittah and Abel-meholah are to be sought for in the valley of the Jordan; and according to Jdg 7:24, the enemy fled to the Jordan. Beth-shittah , i.e., acacia-house, is not the same place as the village of Shutta mentioned by Robinson (iii. p. 219), since this village, according to Van de Velde's map, was to the north of Gilboa. For although Shutta is favoured by the circumstance, that from a very ancient time there was a road running from Jezreel along the valley, between the so-called Little Hermon (Duhy) and the mountains of Gilboa, and past Beisan to the Jordan; and the valley of Jalud, on the northern side of which Shutta was situated, may be regarded as the opening of the plain of Jezreel into the valley of the Jordan (see v. Raumer , Pal. p. 41, and Rob . iii. p. 176); and v. Raumer conjectures from this, that "the flight of the Midianites was apparently directed to Bethsean, on account of the nature of the ground,"- this assumption is rendered very questionable by the fact that the flying foe did not cross the Jordan in the neighbourhood of Beisan, but much farther to the south, viz., according to Jdg 8:4, in the neighbourhood of Succoth , which was on the south side of the Nahr Zerka (Jabbok). From this we are led to conjecture, that they were not encamped in the north-eastern part of the plain of Jezreel, in the neighbourhood of Jezreel (Zerin) and Shunem (Solam), but in the south-eastern part of this plain, and that after they had been beaten there they fled southwards from Gilboa, say from the district of Ginaea (Jenin) to the Jordan. In this case we have to seek for Abel-shittah on the south-east of the mountains of Gilboa, to the north of Zeredathah (Zarthan). From this point they fled on still farther to the "shore of Abel-meholah." שׂפה does not mean boundary, but brink; here the bank of the Jordan, like היּרדּן שׂפת in 2Ki 2:13. The bank or strand of Abel-meholah is that portion of the western bank of the Jordan or of the Ghor, above which Abel-meholah was situated. According to the Onom . ( s. v. Ἀβελμαελαί , Abelmaula ), this place was in the Aulon (or Ghor), ten Roman miles to the south of Scythopolis (Beisan), and was called at that time Βηθμαιελά or Bethaula . According to this statement, Abel-meholah would have to be sought for near Churbet es Shuk , in the neighbourhood of the Wady Maleh (see V. de Velde , Mem. p. 280). And lastly, Tabbath must have been situated somewhere to the south of Abel-meholah.

Keil-Delitzsch: Jdg 7:23

Pursuit of the Enemy as far as the Jordan . - Jdg 7:23. As soon as the Midianites had been put to flight, the Israelitish men of Naphtali, Asher, and Manasseh, let themselves be convened for the purpose of pursuing them: i.e., the men of these tribes, whom Gideon had sent away before the battle, and who were on their way home, could be summoned back again in a very short time to join in the pursuit of the flying foe. The omission of Zebulun (Jdg 6:35) is, in all probability, simply to be attributed to the brevity of the account.

Constable: Jdg 3:7--17:1

II. THE RECORD OF ISRAEL'S APOSTASY 3:7--16:31

Israel's Judges
Judge	Scripture	Israel's Oppressors		Length in Years
		Nation(s)	King(s)	Oppression	Judgeship	Peace
Othniel	3:7-11	Mesopotamia	Cushan-rishathaim	8(ca. 1358-1350 B.C.)		40(ca. 1350-1310 B.C.)
Ehud	3:12-30	Moab (with Ammon & Amalek)	Eglon	18		80
Shamgar	3:31	Philistia
Deborah	Chs. 4-5	Canaan	Jabin	20(ca. 1250-1230 B.C.)		40(ca. 1230-1190 B.C.)
Gideon	Chs. 6-8	Midian (with Amalek & Arabia)	Zebah & Zalmunna	7		40(ca. 1180-1140 B.C.)
Tola	10:1-2				23(ca. 1117-1094 B.C.)
Jair	10:3-5				22(ca. 1115-1093 B.C.)
Jephthah	10:8-12:7	Ammon		18(ca. 1123-1105 B.C.)	6
Ibzan	12:8-10				7
Elon	12:11-12				10
Abdon	12:13-15				8
Samson	Chs. 13-16	Philistia		40(ca. 1124-1084 B.C.)	20(ca. 1105-1085 B.C.)

"The judges are twelve in number, reckoning either Deborah or Barek as a judge and omitting Abimelech, whose status in fact depended wholly on his descent from Gideon, and who was in effect not a deliverer', and a judge' only in the sense of a local ruler on his own account."⁶⁰

Notice that the writer recorded seven examples of oppression and deliverance (by Othniel, Ehud, Shamgar, Deborah, Gideon, Jephthah, and Samson). This sevenfold scheme gives the impression of totality to Israel's degeneration. It also suggests that the writer viewed these disasters as fulfillments of the curses in Leviticus 26 where the number seven occurs four times (Lev. 26:18, 21, 24, and 28; cf. Deut. 28:25).⁶¹

The total number of judges cited is 12. By selecting 12 judges the writer may also have been suggesting that all 12 tribes of Israel had apostatized. One writer argued that these 12 judges each did their work in a different month, thus adding another impression of completeness to the record.⁶²

Certain formulaic expressions appear in 2:11-23 and then recur in the record of Israel's apostasy (3:7-16:31). However, as noted in the table below, they appear with less frequency as the narrative proceeds. Having established the pattern, the writer did not feel compelled to repeat these expressions as frequently since the reader learns to anticipate them as the narrative unfolds. The breakdown of these expressions is a rhetorical device that parallels and reflects the general moral and spiritual disintegration in Israel as a whole.⁶³

Expression	Othniel	Ehud	Deborah	Gideon	Jephthah	Samson
The Israelites did evil (2:11-13).	3:7	3:12	4:1	6:1	10:6	13:1
Yahweh gave them over (2:14).	3:8	3:12	4:2	6:1	10:7	13:1
The Israelites cried out (2:15, 18).	3:9	3:15	4:3	6:7	10:10
Yahweh raised up a deliverer (2:16, 18).	3:9	3:15
Yahweh gave the oppressor to the deliverer (2:18).	3:10	3:28
The land had rest.	3:11	3:30		5:31	8:28

Constable: Jdg 5:1--7:25

A. Previous Failures vv. 5-7

Jude cited three examples of failure from the past to warn his readers of the danger involved in departing from God's truth. Divine judgment on flagrant evildoers is no novelty.²⁹

Constable: Jdg 6:1--10:6

D. The fourth apostasy 6:1-10:5

The writer of Judges structured this book so the story of Gideon would be its focal center.

"Within the main body of the book, seven major narrative blocks can be noted. Moreover, there are certain parallel features between these narratives so that the entire book reflects a carefully worked symmetrical pattern.¹³² Furthermore this pattern has as its focal point the Gideon narrative in 6:1-8:32.

"A Introduction, Part I (1:1-2:5)

B Introduction, Part II (2:6-3:6)

C Othniel Narrative (3:7-11)

D Ehud Narrative (3:12-31)

E Deborah-Barak Narrative (4:1-5:31)

F Gideon Narrative (6:1-8:32)

E' Abimelech Narrative (8:33-10:5)

D' Jephthah Narrative (10:6-12:15)

C' Samson Narrative (13:1-16:31)

B' Epilogue, Part I (17:1-18:31)

A' Epilogue, Part II (19:1-21:25)

"This arrangement suggests that the Gideon narrative has a unique contribution to make to the theological development of the book. As the nation went from one cycle of discipline to the next, there was a continual deterioration. Also there was a shift in the quality' of the judges themselves as the book advances. The Gideon narrative seems to mark a notable turning point."¹³³

Constable: Jdg 6:1--8:33

1. The story of Gideon 6:1-8:32

Tanner also pointed out that the Gideon narrative consists of five primary structural sections.

"The first section (6:1-10) provides the introduction and setting before Gideon's debut, the second section (6:11-32) gives the commissioning of Gideon as deliverer of Israel, the third section (6:33-7:18) presents the preparation for the battle, the fourth section (7:19-8:21) recounts the defeat of the Midianite army, and the fifth section (8:22-32) records the conclusion to Gideon's life after the victory over Midian. Yet thematic parallels exist between the first and fifth sections and between the second and fourth sections, thus giving the whole narrative a symmetrical pattern:

A 6:1-10

B 6:11-32

C 6:33-7:18

B' 7:19-8:21

A' 8:22-32"¹³⁴

"The history of Gideon and his family is related very fully, because the working of the grace and righteousness of the faithful covenant God was so obviously displayed therein, that it contained a rich treasure of instruction and warning for the church of the Lord in all ages."¹³⁵

Other scholars divide the Gideon narrative into three parts: God's punishment and deliverance of Israel (6:1-8:3), Gideon's punishment and subjugation of Israel (8:4-28), and Gideon's legacy (8:29-9:57).¹³⁶

Constable: Jdg 6:33--7:19

Gideon's personal struggle to believe God's promise 6:33-7:18

"The primary matter in the Gideon narrative is not the deliverance itself, but rather something more personal, namely, Gideon's struggle to believe God's promise. . . .

"Judges 6:33-7:18 is arranged in the following concentric pattern:

"A The Spirit-endowed Gideon mobilized four tribes against the Midianites, though lacking confidence in God's promise (6:33-35).

B Gideon sought a sign from God with the fleece to confirm the promise that the Lord would give Midian into his hand (6:36-40).

C With the fearful Israelites having departed, God directed Gideon to go down to the water for the further reduction of his force (7:1-8).

C' With fear still in Gideon himself, God directed Gideon to go down to the enemy camp to overhear the enemy (7:9-11).

B' God provided a sign to Gideon with the dream of the Midianite to confirm the promise that the Lord would give Midian into his hand (7:12-14).

A' The worshiping Gideon mobilized his force of 300 for a surprise attack against the Midianites, fully confident in God's promise (7:15-18).

"The reduction of Gideon's army is a familiar story often told from the perspective of emphasizing God's ability to deliver whether by many or by few. While this is true, such an explanation falls short of doing justice in this context. The context is dealing with a struggle within Gideon himself."¹⁵³

Constable: Jdg 7:1-8

God's command to reduce the troops 7:1-8

Presumably God willingly gave Gideon the signs of the fleece because He knew the command He would give him to reduce his army would stretch his faith to its limit. The Israelite soldiers numbered only 32,000 (or 32 units, v. 3) while the Midianites and their allies fielded about 135,000 warriors (or 135 units, 8:10).

God revealed His purpose in reducing Israel's army clearly. He wanted everyone to recognize that the victory was His work rather than Israel's (v. 2).

"Judges 7:2 is one of the most important verses in the Bible for understanding God's principles of spiritual warfare. God is not interested in simply giving His people victory. He is concerned with teaching us trust. In fact, if our victories make us self-reliant, they are ultimately more disastrous than defeat."¹⁵⁹

In the law Moses had said that the Israelites should not force the fearful to go into battle (Deut. 20:8). God reminded Gideon to give any who were afraid the opportunity to go home, which he did (v. 3). However the large number that deserted him, more than two out of three, must have shocked Gideon. Then God said that even the remaining 10,000 soldiers (or 10 units) were too many (v. 4).

The normal way to drink from a stream was to get down on one's hands and knees and put his mouth to the water. This is what most of the soldiers did. A smaller number simply remained standing or kneeled, reached down, dipped one hand into the water, and brought the water to their lips. God told Gideon that he should send the majority home and that He would deliver Israel with the 300 men who remained. That made the ratio of Midianite and Israelite soldiers 450 to one (assuming eleph means "thousand" here). It is not clear whether God's test and choice were arbitrary having no other significance than that most people drank in one way and fewer in the other. Possibly God designed the test to distinguish the more alert soldiers from the less alert.¹⁶⁰ Getting down on all fours leaves one more vulnerable than if one remains upright while drinking. Another possibility is that God intended to identify the least likely to succeed, those who had so little self-confidence that they kept an eye out for the enemy while they drank.¹⁶¹

"I suggest that the lapping by the 300 like dogs symbolizes a lapping of the enemy's blood."¹⁶²

The text does not enable us to understand God's motive certainly. Simple obedience is what He required.

Note that before God told Gideon to let the larger group of soldiers go home He gave him a promise that He would deliver Israel with the 300 remaining warriors. This promise undoubtedly encouraged Gideon's faith.

Constable: Jdg 7:1-25

3. The example of certain pagans v. 7

This example shows God's judgment on those who practice immorality and sexual perversion, which the false teachers of Jude's day evidently felt liberated to practice. The fire that burned up the cities of the plain was the instrument of God's punishment. That punishment will eternally burn against those who disregard God's will (Rev. 20:15). Here Jude seems to have had in view false teachers who were unsaved.

Each one of these illustrations highlights a particular aspect of the false teachers' error. It was a sin of rebellion by professing and perhaps genuine believers. It was a proud departure from a position of superior privilege. Moreover it involved immoral behavior, which the Gentile pagans practiced.

"No matter who may be the sinners, or what the circumstances of the sin, outrageous offences, such as impurity and rebellion, are certain of Divine chastisement."³⁶

"When we examine these examples of the past, we discover that they are not chronologically arranged. . . . Why this unchronological arrangement in this Epistle? . . . We believe the arrangement is made in the manner as it is to teach us the starting point and the goal of apostasy. It starts with unbelief. . . . Unbelief leads to rebellion against God. . . . The predicted lawlessness with which this age ends is the fruitage of infidelity. Such is the development of apostasy. Unbelief, rebellion against God and his revealed truth, immorality and anarchy. These steps may be traced in our own times."³⁷

Constable: Jdg 7:9-11

God's command to visit the Midianites' camp 7:9-11

God then commanded Gideon to prepare for battle that very night (v. 9). He offered the judge a further sign that He would be victorious, and Gideon immediately seized it. God did not rebuke Gideon's normal fear of going into battle against such overwhelming odds. Instead He strengthened his faith.

"Gideon is no fearless all-pro linebacker, no General Patton and John Wayne rolled into one huge ball of true grit.

"We sometimes dupe ourselves into thinking that a real servant of Christ is only someone who is dynamic, assured, confident, brash, fearless, witty, adventuresome, or glamorous--with one or two appearances on a Christian television network. Don't think you are unusable because you don't have that air about you. Christ takes uncertain and fearful folk, strengthens their hands in the oddest ways, and makes them able to stand for him in school or home or work."¹⁶³

"Gideon's request with the fleece reflected war in his heart: he was fearful and lacked faith. Interestingly the reduction of Gideon's army in the structure of the text falls precisely between his unfounded request for a fleece and God's exposure of his fear. Therefore the reduction of the army was not so much intended to glorify God (by demonstrating His ability to deliver with only 300) as it was to put Gideon in a position where his fear would be exposed. The very thing Gideon had hoped to achieve by the fleece demonstration--some kind of self-assurance that things would turn out well--was the very carpet' that God pulled out from beneath him. Gideon sought to gain some security by his self-conceived sign with the fleece, and though God acquiesced to that request, He immediately countered by putting Gideon in an even more vulnerable position. If Gideon struggled to trust God with 32,000 Israelites against a Midianite force of 135,000 (see 8:10), how would he react when he had only a force of 300? In this light the words of God in 7:10 take on great significance."¹⁶⁴

Constable: Jdg 7:12-14

God's provision of encouragement 7:12-14

On the outskirts of the Midianite camp Gideon and his servant heard two enemy soldiers conversing. One soldier was relating a dream he had had to his friend. The writer probably included the reference to the apparently innumerable Midianite enemy (v. 12) to emphasize the greatness of the victory God gave His people.

"Dreams were considered of great importance in ancient times, especially if the dreamer was a man of rank or authority, for the gods were conceived to make known their will or desires by this means. Every dream was believed to be capable of interpretation, though this was, of course, the point where difficulties arose."¹⁶⁵

Yahweh obviously sent this dream.

The Midianite soldier derived his interpretation of his friend's dream from the symbolism in the dream. Barley bread was the food of the poor and would have been the staple of the Israelites under the conditions they had to endure during Midian's oppression. The tent was the home of all the Midianite, Amalekite, and Arabian Bedouins. The soldiers had obviously heard of Gideon and his plans to engage them in battle. They therefore concluded that the unlikely destruction of the tent by a mere loaf of barley bread signified Gideon's destruction of their forces.

"What Gideon sought to gain by the sign of the fleece was brought to nil. So he had to go back to the choice to believe God's promise simply because God had spoken. . . . The irony is stunning: hearing the promise directly from the Lord did not convince Gideon, but hearing it from the Midianite soldier did."¹⁶⁶

Constable: Jdg 7:15-18

The mobilizing of Gideon's band in faith 7:15-18

Upon hearing this interpretation Gideon received courage to believe that God would indeed grant him victory (v. 15).

"No character in the book receives more divine assurance than Gideon and no one displays more doubt. Gideon is, significantly, the only judge to whom God speaks directly, though this privilege does not allay his faintheartedness."¹⁶⁷

Gideon's strategy was so effective that the Lord must have revealed it to him, though the text does not state this. Almost equally amazing is that fact that Gideon's 300 followers obeyed his bizarre instructions. This too had to have been from the Lord. The three companies of Israelites may not have completely encircled the enemy. Nevertheless the presence of three widely separated groups of soldiers gave the Midianites the impression that a very large number of Israelites was out there in the dark. The trumpets were rams horns that the Israelite soldiers tied around their necks. The empty pitchers concealed and protected the torches until the soldiers broke them. The light from the torches combined with the noise of the breaking pitchers, the blowing of trumpets that made each soldier sound like a company commander, and the shouting of the soldiers. All this led the sleepy Midianites to conclude that a vast host of Israelite warriors surrounded them.

"Gideon had moved from fear to faith, and that is precisely the point of the section 6:33-7:18. . . .

"The textual patterning of the Gideon narrative is carefully composed to highlight not the deliverance from Midian but the change that transpired in Gideon's heart, and it is precisely there that the greatest theological lesson in these chapters is found. The fear in Gideon's heart held him back from being able to trust the promise God had given about his delivering Israel from the Midianites. To overcome this deficiency in Gideon's life, God uniquely worked to expose the problem of fear in his life and to bring him to a point of worship and faith. Then and only then was Gideon ready to lead Israel in battle. . . . Furthermore all the struggles in the book result from a lack of faith. This struggle is most fully spelled out in the Gideon narrative, which accords with this event (his religious struggle) being put in the very center of the book.

". . . the narrator leaves the reader with a penetrating message: God must bring His servant to a moment when all human confidence is stripped away, he sits silently in humble adoration of his God as the One who is totally sufficient against all odds to accomplish His divine will. Then and only then is he ready to move forward to taste God's victory, though that victory is no more secure or certain than before."¹⁶⁸

Constable: Jdg 7:19-22

Gideon's initial victory 7:19-22

Gideon commenced his "attack" at the beginning of the middle watch, which was evidently midnight.¹⁶⁹ Many of the Midianites would have been sound asleep and upon awakening would have felt confused by the sights and sounds of their enemies. The movements of their own men milling around the camp as a result of the recent watch change would have disoriented them further. Perhaps the camels stampeded because of the torch fire and general confusion giving the waking Midianites the impression that mounted soldiers had invaded their camp.

The Midianites felt so bewildered by this "surprise attack" that they slaughtered their fellow soldiers in the confusion and fled for home as fast as they could go (cf. 4:15-16). The towns mentioned (v. 22) were at the southeast end of the Harod (lit. trembling) Valley.¹⁷⁰ They stood on either side of the Jordan River. Zererah (v. 22) was 10 miles south of Jabesh-Gilead.¹⁷¹

Constable: Jdg 7:23-25

Pursuit of the enemy 7:23-25

The pursuit described in these verses may have taken several days. Gideon sent a call for reinforcements throughout the whole northern part of Canaan. Other Israelites responded and helped Gideon and his band round up and execute as many of the enemy as they could capture. Israel controlled the fords of the Jordan and slew many Midianites as they fled homeward. The Israelites also captured and executed the two leaders of the Midianite army, Oreb (lit. the Raven) and Zeeb (the Wolf), east of the Jordan.

"Among ancient nations, generals and princes often took the names of birds and beasts."¹⁷²

This record of God's great deliverance of His people illustrates what God can do through one person who, though weak in faith, is willing to trust and obey Him.

"It is not our responsibility to understand how God is going to keep His word and accomplish His work. It is our responsibility to obey Him and to do what He commands."¹⁷³

Guzik: Jdg 7:1-25

Judges 7 - The Battle Against Midian

A. Israel's small army is too big for God to use.

1. (1-3) God tells Gideon to tell all his soldiers who are afraid to go home.

Then Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) and all the people who were with him rose early and encamped beside the well of Harod, so that the camp of the Midianites was on the north side of them by the hill of Moreh in the valley. And the LORD said to Gideon, "The people who are with you are too many for Me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel claim glory for itself against Me, saying, 'My own hand has saved me.' "Now therefore, proclaim in the hearing of the people, saying, 'Whoever is fearful and afraid, let him turn and depart at once from Mount Gilead.' " And twenty-two thousand of the people returned, and ten thousand remained.

a. The people who are with you are too many for Me: This was a great test of Gideon's faith. His army of 32,000 men was already overmatched by 135,000 Midianites. Yet God thought his army was too big, and He commanded Gideon to invite all who were afraid to go home. He was left with only 10,000 men.

i. Gideon was probably surprised at the number of men who were afraid to fight, and hoped that only a few hundred would leave. But we are told that they assembled in a place where they could see the 135,000 Midianite troops (Judges 7:8). The sight of a huge opposing army made many Israelite soldiers afraid.

b. Lest Israel claim glory for itself against Me, saying "My own hand has saved me": This explains why the army of 32,000 was too large. Israel could still take credit for a victory if they had 32,000 troops. They could believe they were underdogs who triumphed through their own great bravery or strategy. God wanted the odds so bad that the victory would clearly be His alone.

i. If we really believe the principle, Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the LORD of hosts (Zechariah 4:6), then our smallness does not matter. If we really believe the principle, Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; but we will remember the name of the LORD our God (Psalm 20:7), then smallness does not matter.

2. (4-8) Gideon must separate the men according to a particular test.

But the LORD said to Gideon, "The people are still too many; bring them down to the water, and I will test them for you there. Then it will be, that of whom I say to you, 'This one shall go with you,' the same shall go with you; and of whomever I say to you, 'This one shall not go with you,' the same shall not go." So he brought the people down to the water. And the LORD said to Gideon, "Everyone who laps from the water with his tongue, as a dog laps, you shall set apart by himself; likewise everyone who gets down on his knees to drink." And the number of those who lapped, putting their hand to their mouth, was three hundred men; but all the rest of the people got down on their knees to drink water. Then the LORD said to Gideon, "By the three hundred men who lapped I will save you, and deliver the Midianites into your hand. Let all the other people go, every man to his place." So the people took provisions and their trumpets in their hands. And he sent away all the rest of Israel, every man to his tent, and retained those three hundred men. Now the camp of Midian was below him in the valley.

a. The people are still too many: God already reduced Gideon's army from 32,000 to 10,000. Here He reduced it from 10,000 to 300. He did this because 10,000 were still too many for God's purpose.

i. We rarely think that bigness can be a hindrance to the work of God. Yet it is harder to truly rely on God when we have many wonderful resources at hand. Though it certainly can be done, it is hard to be big and to rely only on the LORD. When we are big, it is possible to do a lot in human resources and "give the credit" to God.

ii. Paul was in danger of being too strong for his own good - so God brought a weakness into his life, so that Paul would keep relying on the LORD's strength - and be stronger than ever (2 Corinthians 12:7-10).

b. Bring them down to the water, and I will test them for you there: This seems a strange test, and there are different ideas as to why God used this to separate the soldiers. Perhaps it was because those who cupped the water in their hands and brought it to their mouth were be better soldiers, because they kept their eyes on their surroundings even when taking a drink.

i. As a dog laps: The ancient Hebrew word for laps is yalok, used to imitate the sound a dog makes when lapping water.

ii. We might say that God eliminated the fearful and those who thought first only of convenience, the easy way. "The thought is disturbing, but it may well be true, that the composition of God's army to fight Satan's hosts in any day is really little different. How many Christians are so fearful of the enemy that they are of no real use in this warfare, and how many of the remainder are so self-centered, rather than God centered, that they find little place for effective ministry." (Wood)

c. By the three hundred men who lapped I will save you, and deliver the Midianites into your hand: God assured Gideon that victory was certain, even through only 300 men. Now the Israeli army was less than 1% of its original size and the proportion was 400 Midianite soldiers to each Israeli soldier. Gideon could only trust in God because there was nothing else to trust.

3. (9-11) Gideon must spy on the camp of the Midianites and find encouragement.

It happened on the same night that the LORD said to him, "Arise, go down against the camp, for I have delivered it into your hand. But if you are afraid to go down, go down to the camp with Purah your servant, and you shall hear what they say; and afterward your hands shall be strengthened to go down against the camp." Then he went down with Purah his servant to the outpost of the armed men who were in the camp.

a. Arise, go down against the camp: God wanted Gideon to find encouragement in this visit to the enemy's camp. This shows that when God asks us to do hard things for Him, He doesn't fold His arms and sit back and expect us to do it on our own. He is there to guide us and keep us and encourage us all the way.

b. Afterward your hands shall be strengthened to go down against the camp: This is the tender mercy of God. He dealt with the doubts and fears of Gideon, and wanted to assure him.

4. (12-15) God reassures Gideon through the Midianites.

Now the Midianites and Amalekites, all the people of the East, were lying in the valley as numerous as locusts; and their camels were without number, as the sand by the seashore in multitude. And when Gideon had come, there was a man telling a dream to his companion. He said, "I have had a dream: To my surprise, a loaf of barley bread tumbled into the camp of Midian; it came to a tent and struck it so that it fell and overturned, and the tent collapsed." Then his companion answered and said, "This is nothing else but the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel! Into his hand God has delivered Midian and the whole camp." And so it was, when Gideon heard the telling of the dream and its interpretation, that he worshiped. He returned to the camp of Israel, and said, "Arise, for the LORD has delivered the camp of Midian into your hand."

a. A loaf of barley bread tumbled into the campl of Midian: Only the very poor are barley bread. The vision meant that the camp of the Midianites would be knocked over by a humble nobody.

b. This is nothing else but the sword of Gideon: God allowed Gideon to see a great confirmation of His future work. This was obviously no coincidence and no display of luck. God used this situation to build the faith of Gideon, and it worked so well that all Gideon could do was worship God.

i. It was no accident that the man dreamed the dream that night; no accident that he told his friend about it at just that moment; no accident that Gideon came the exact place where he overheared the man telling the dream.

ii. It must have built the faith of Gideon to know that his enemies were afraid of him. When we are weak in faith we often make our enemies stronger than they really are. We could say that the devil is afraid of the normal Christian - or at least afraid of what they could be.

d. Arise, for the LORD has delivered the camp of Midian into your hand: Gideon's encouragement was contagious. Having received encouragement, he could not help but spread that encouragement to others and his encouragement built their faith.

B. The army is small enough to be used by God to win the battle.

1. (16-18) Gideon announces a strange battle plan.

Then he divided the three hundred men into three companies, and he put a trumpet into every man's hand, with empty pitchers, and torches inside the pitchers. And he said to them, "Look at me and do likewise; watch, and when I come to the edge of the camp you shall do as I do: When I blow the trumpet, I and all who are with me, then you also blow the trumpets on every side of the whole camp, and say, 'The sword of the LORD and of Gideon!'"

a. He divided the three hundred men into three companies: There is no specific mention that God gave Gideon this plan through supernatural revelation. Yet, because Gideon is a Spirit-filled man (Judges 6:34), the supernatural can operate very naturally in his life.

b. Look at me and do likewise: This plan probably came very naturally to Gideon, but upon reflection he clearly saw how the Holy Spirit prompted him.

2. (19-23) God strikes the army of Midian with a surprise attack.

So Gideon and the hundred men who were with him came to the outpost of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, just as they had posted the watch; and they blew the trumpets and broke the pitchers that were in their hands. Then the three companies blew the trumpets and broke the pitchers; they held the torches in their left hands and the trumpets in their right hands for blowing; and they cried, "The sword of the LORD and of Gideon!" And every man stood in his place all around the camp; and the whole army ran and cried out and fled. When the three hundred blew the trumpets, the LORD set every man's sword against his companion throughout the whole camp; and the army fled to Beth Acacia, toward Zererah, as far as the border of Abel Meholah, by Tabbath. And the men of Israel gathered together from Naphtali, Asher, and all Manasseh, and pursued the Midianites.

a. Then the three companies blew the trumpets and broke the pitchers: The Midianite soldiers awoke to an explosion of noise, light, and movement coming down on them from all directions. No wonder they thought they were being attacked by an army even bigger than they were.

b. And they cried, "The sword of the LORD and of Gideon!" This cry was not the result of pride on Gideon's part. Instead, it showed wisdom in the attack because clearly the Midianites were already afraid of the sword of Gideon (Judges 7:14), and shouting

helped to send them into panic.

i. Perhaps the Midianites did not know who the LORD was, but they knew there was a man from the LORD named Gideon. It was appropriate for Gideon to take this leadership role.

c. The LORD set every man's sword against his companion throughout the whole camp: The first phase of the battle wasn't between Israel and Midian, but the Midianites fought themselves. This is a good example of how we can be more than conquerors through Him who loved us (Romans 8:37). We get the spoils of victory though Jesus won the battle for us.

i. The early Christian writer Origen often emphasized elaborate spiritual meanings to Biblical accounts. In this story he made the 300 men types of preachers of the gospel. Their trumpets were a picture of preaching Christ crucified. Their torchlights represented the holy conduct of the preachers.

3. (24-25) Working towards total defeat of Midian.

Then Gideon sent messengers throughout all the mountains of Ephraim, saying, "Come down against the Midianites, and seize from them the watering places as far as Beth Barah and the Jordan." Then all the men of Ephraim gathered together and seized the watering places as far as Beth Barah and the Jordan. And they captured two princes of the Midianites, Oreb and Zeeb. They killed Oreb at the rock of Oreb, and Zeeb they killed at the winepress of Zeeb. They pursued Midian and brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon on the other side of the Jordan.

a. Come down against the Midianites: This was not unbelief on Gideon's part. Though God started the work with a small number of soldiers, once the work began, Gideon wanted many to get involved in the work.

b. They pursued Midian: God blessed the effort of people of Ephraim, and they made good success against the enemy and their leaders.

© 2003 David Guzik - No distribution beyond personal use without permission

Introduction / Outline

JFB: Judges (Book Introduction)

JUDGES is the title given to the next book, from its containing the history of those non-regal rulers who governed the Hebrews from the time of Joshua to that of Eli, and whose functions in time of peace consisted chiefly in the administration of justice, although they occasionally led the people in their wars against their public enemies. The date and authorship of this book are not precisely known. It is certain, however, that it preceded the Second Book of Samuel (compare Jdg 9:35 with 2Sa 11:21), as well as the conquest of Jerusalem by David (compare Jdg 1:21 with 2Sa 5:6). Its author was in all probability Samuel, the last of the judges (see Jdg 19:1; Jdg 21:25), and the date of the first part of it is fixed in the reign of Saul, while the five chapters at the close might not have been written till after David's establishment as king in Israel (see Jdg 18:31). It is a fragmentary history, being a collection of important facts and signal deliverances at different times and in various parts of the land, during the intermediate period of three hundred years between Joshua and the establishment of the monarchy. The inspired character of this book is confirmed by allusions to it in many passages of Scripture (compare Jdg 4:2; Jdg 6:14 with 1Sa 12:9-12; Jdg 9:53 with 2Sa 11:21; Jdg 7:25 with Psa 83:11; compare Jdg 5:4-5 with Psa 7:5; Jdg 13:5; Jdg 16:17 with Mat 2:13-23; Act 13:20; Heb 11:32).

JFB: Judges (Outline)

• THE ACTS OF JUDAH AND SIMEON. (Jdg 1:1-3)
• ADONI-BEZEK JUSTLY REQUITED. (Jdg. 1:4-21)
• SOME CANAANITES LEFT. (Jdg 1:22-26)
• AN ANGEL SENT TO REBUKE THE PEOPLE AT BOCHIM. (Jdg 2:1-10)
• WICKEDNESS OF THE NEW GENERATION AFTER JOSHUA. (Jdg 2:11-19)
• NATIONS LEFT TO PROVE ISRAEL. (Jdg 3:1-4)
• BY COMMUNION WITH THESE THE ISRAELITES COMMIT IDOLATRY. (Jdg 3:5-7)
• OTHNIEL DELIVERS ISRAEL. (Jdg 3:8-11)
• EHUD SLAYS EGLON. (Jdg. 3:12-30)
• DEBORAH AND BARAK DELIVER ISRAEL FROM JABIN AND SISERA. (Jdg. 4:1-17)
• DEBORAH AND BARAK'S SONG OF THANKSGIVING. (Jdg. 5:1-31)
• THE ISRAELITES, FOR THEIR SINS, OPPRESSED BY MIDIAN. (Jdg 6:1-6)
• A PROPHET REBUKES THEM. (Jdg 6:7-10)
• AN ANGEL SENDS GIDEON TO DELIVER THEM. (Jdg 6:11-16)
• GIDEON'S PRESENT CONSUMED BY FIRE. (Jdg. 6:17-32)
• THE SIGNS. (Jdg 6:33-39)
• GIDEON'S ARMY. (Jdg 7:1-8)
• HE IS ENCOURAGED BY THE DREAM AND THE INTERPRETATION OF THE BARLEY CAKE. (Jdg 7:9-15)
• HIS STRATAGEM AGAINST MIDIAN. (Jdg 7:16-24)
• THE EPHRAIMITES OFFENDED, BUT PACIFIED. (Jdg 8:1-9)
• ZEBAH AND ZALMUNNA TAKEN. (Jdg. 8:10-27)
• MIDIAN SUBDUED. (Jdg 8:28)
• ABIMELECH IS MADE KING BY THE SHECHEMITES. (Jdg 9:1-6)
• JOTHAM BY A PARABLE REPROACHES THEM. (Jdg 9:7-21)
• GAAL'S CONSPIRACY. (Jdg. 9:22-49)
• ABIMELECH SLAIN. (Jdg 9:50-57)
• TOLA JUDGES ISRAEL IN SHAMIR. (Jdg 10:1-5)
• ISRAEL OPPRESSED BY THE PHILISTINES AND AMMONITES. (Jdg 10:6-9)
• THEY CRY TO GOD. (Jdg 10:10-15)
• THEY REPENT; GOD PITIES THEM. (Jdg 10:16-18)
• JEPHTHAH. (Jdg 11:1-3)
• THE GILEADITES COVENANT WITH JEPHTHAH. (Jdg 11:4-11)
• HIS VOW. (Jdg 11:29-31)
• HE OVERCOMES THE AMMONITES. (Jdg 11:32-33)
• THE EPHRAIMITES QUARRELLING WITH JEPHTHAH. (Jdg 12:1-3)
• DISCERNED BY THE WORD SIBBOLETH, ARE SLAIN BY THE GILEADITES. (Jdg 12:4-15)
• ISRAEL SERVES THE PHILISTINES FORTY YEARS. (Jdg 13:1)
• AN ANGEL APPEARS TO MANOAH'S WIFE. (Jdg 13:2-10)
• THE ANGEL APPEARS TO MANOAH. (Jdg 13:11-14)
• MANOAH'S SACRIFICE. (Jdg 13:15-23)
• SAMSON BORN. (Jdg 13:24-25)
• SAMSON DESIRES A WIFE OF THE PHILISTINES. (Jdg 14:1-5)
• HE KILLS A LION. (Jdg 14:5-9)
• HIS MARRIAGE FEAST. (Jdg 14:10-11)
• HIS RIDDLE. (Jdg 14:12-18)
• HE SLAYS THIRTY PHILISTINES. (Jdg 14:19-20)
• SAMSON IS DENIED HIS WIFE. (Jdg 15:1-2)
• HE BURNS THE PHILISTINES' CORN. (Jdg 15:3-8)
• HE IS BOUND BY THE MEN OF JUDAH, AND DELIVERED TO THE PHILISTINES. (Jdg 15:9-13)
• SAMSON CARRIES AWAY THE GATES OF GAZA. (Jdg 16:1-3)
• DELILAH CORRUPTED BY THE PHILISTINES. (Jdg 16:4-14)
• HE IS OVERCOME. (Jdg 16:15-20)
• THE PHILISTINES TOOK HIM AND PUT OUT HIS EYES. (Jdg 16:21-22)
• THEIR FEAST TO DAGON. (Jdg 16:23-25)
• HIS DEATH. (Jdg 16:26-31)
• MICAH RESTORING THE STOLEN MONEY TO HIS MOTHER, SHE MAKES IMAGES. (Jdg 17:1-4)
• THE DANITES SEEK OUT AN INHERITANCE. (Jdg. 18:1-26)
• THEY WIN LAISH. (Jdg 18:27-29)
• THEY SET UP IDOLATRY. (Jdg 18:30-31)
• A LEVITE GOING TO BETHLEHEM TO FETCH HIS WIFE. (Jdg 19:1-15)
• AN OLD MAN ENTERTAINS HIM AT GIBEAH. (Jdg 19:16-21)
• THE GIBEAHITES ABUSE HIS CONCUBINE TO DEATH. (Jdg 19:22-28)
• THE LEVITE, IN A GENERAL ASSEMBLY, DECLARES HIS WRONG. (Jdg 20:1-7)
• THEIR DECREE. (Jdg 20:8-17)
• THE PEOPLE BEWAIL THE DESOLATION OF ISRAEL. (Jdg 21:1-15)
• THE ELDERS CONSULT HOW TO FIND WIVES FOR THOSE THAT WERE LEFT. (Jdg 21:16-21)

TSK: Judges (Book Introduction)

The book of Judges forms an important link in the history of the Israelites. It furnishes us with a lively description of a fluctuating and unsettled nation; a striking picture of the disorders and dangers which prevailed in a republic without magistracy; when " the high-ways were unoccupied, and the travellers walked through by-ways" (Jdg 5:6), when few prophets were appointed to control the people, and " every one did that which was right in his own eyes" (Jdg 17:6). It exhibits the contest of true religion with superstition; and displays the beneficial effects that flow from the former, and the miseries and evil consequences of impiety. It is a most remarkable history of the long-suffering of God towards the Israelites, in which we see the most signal instances of his justice and mercy alternately displayed. the people sinned, and were punished; they repented, and found mercy. These things are written for our warning. none should presume, for God is just; none need despair, for God is merciful. Independently of the internal evidence of the authenticity of this sacred book, the transactions it records are not only cited or alluded to by other inspired writers, but are further confirmed by the traditions current among heathen nations.

TSK: Judges 7 (Chapter Introduction)

Overview

Jdg 7:1, Gideon’s army of two and thirty thousand is brought to three hundred; Jdg 7:9, He is encouraged by the dream and interpretation of the burley cake; Jdg 7:16, His stratagem of trumpets and lamps in pitchers; Jdg 7:24, The Ephraimites take Oreb and Zeeb.

Poole: Judges (Book Introduction)

BOOK OF JUDGES

THE ARGUMENT

THE author of this book is not certainly known, whether it was Samuel, or Ezra, or some other prophet; nor is it material to know.

1. It matters not who was the king’ s secretary, or with what pen it was written, if it be once known that it was. the king who made the order or decree: it is sufficient that unto the Jews were committed to the oracles of God , Rom 3:2 , i.e. the Holy Scriptures of the Old Testament, one part of which this was, by confession of all; and that the Jews did not falsify their trust therein, but kept those holy books themselves, and delivered them to the world, entire, without addition or diminution; for neither Christ nor his apostles, who severely rebuke them for their mistakes and misunderstandings of some passages of Scripture, ever charge them with any perfidiousness about the canon or books of the Scripture. This book is called the Book of Judges , because it treats of the judges, or of the state of the commonwealth of Israel under all the judges, except Eli and Samuel, who being the last of the judges, and the occasions or instruments of the change of this government, are omitted in this book. The judges were a sort of magistrates inferior to kings, and could neither make new laws, nor impose any tributes, but were the supreme executors of God’ s laws and commands, and the generals of their armies.

Poole: Judges 7 (Chapter Introduction)

CHAPTER 7

Gideon with two and thirty thousand men encamps against the Midianites; they, by God’ s command and token, are lessened to three hundred, Jud 7:1-8 . He is encouraged by a dream, and its interpretation, Jud 7:9-15 ; divideth; , his army companies; who all with one accord blow the trumpets, and break the pitchers, wherein the lamps were, in pieces, Jud 7:16-20 . The Midianites are terrified, flee and destroy one another, Jud 7:21,22 . The next adjoining Israelites pursue them to stop their passage over Jordan: two princes of the Midianites are taken by the Ephraimites, Jud 7:23-25 .

MHCC: Judges (Book Introduction)

The book of Judges is the history of Israel during the government of the Judges, who were occasional deliverers, raised up by God to rescue Israel from their oppressors, to reform the state of religion, and to administer justice to the people. The state of God's people does not appear in this book so prosperous, nor their character so religious, as might have been expected; but there were many believers among them, and the tabernacle service was attended to. The history exemplifies the frequent warnings and predictions of Moses, and should have close attention. The whole is full of important instruction.

MHCC: Judges 7 (Chapter Introduction)

(Jdg 7:1-8) Gideon's army reduced.

(Jdg 7:9-15) Gideon is encouraged.

(Jdg 7:16-22) The defeat of the Midianites.

(Jdg 7:23-25) The Ephraimites take Oreb and Zeeb.

Matthew Henry: Judges (Book Introduction)

An Exposition, with Practical Observations, of The Book of Judges

This is called the Hebrew Shepher Shophtim , the Book of Judges, which the Syriac and Arabic versions enlarge upon, and call it, The Book of the Judges of the Children of Israel; the judgments of that nation being peculiar, so were their judges, whose office differed vastly from that of the judges of other nations. The Septuagint entitles it only Kritai , Judges. It is the history of the commonwealth of Israel, during the government of the judges from Othniel to Eli, so much of it as God saw fit to transmit to us. It contains the history (according to Dr. Lightfoot's computation) of 299 years, reckoning to Othniel of Judah forty years, to Ehud of Benjamin eighty years, to Barak of Naphtali forty years, to Gideon of Manasseh forty years, to Abimelech his son three years, to Tola of Issachar twenty-three, to Jair of Manasseh twenty-two, to Jephtha of Manasseh six, to Ibzan of Judah seven, to Elon of Zebulun ten, to Abdon of Ephriam eight, to Samson of Dan twenty, in all 299. As for the years of their servitude, as were Eglon is said to oppress them eighteen years and Jabin twenty years, and so some others, those must be reckoned to fall in with some or other of the years of the judges. The judges here appear to have been of eight several tribes; that honour was thus diffused, until at last it centred in Judah. Eli and Samuel, the two judges that fall not within this book, were of Levi. It seems, there was no judge of Reuben or Simeon, Gad or Asher. The history of these judges in their order we have in this book to the end of ch. 16. And then in the last five chapters we have an account of some particular memorable events which happened, as the story of Ruth did (Rth 1:1) in the days when the judges ruled, but it is not certain in which judge's days; but they are put together at the end of the book, that the thread of the general history might not be interrupted. Now as to the state of the commonwealth of Israel during this period, I. They do not appear here either so great or so good as one might have expected the character of such a peculiar people would be, that were governed by such laws and enriched by such promises. We find them wretchedly corrupted, and wretchedly oppressed by their neighbours about them, and nowhere in all the book, either in war or council, do they make any figure proportionable to their glorious entry into Canaan. What shall we say to it? God would hereby show us the lamentable imperfection of all persons and things under the sun, that we may look for complete holiness and happiness in the other world, and not in this. Yet, II. We may hope that though the historian in this book enlarges most upon their provocations and grievances, yet there was a face of religion upon the land; and, however there were those among them that were drawn aside to idolatry, yet the tabernacle-service, according to the law of Moses, was kept up, and there were many that attended it. Historians record not the common course of justice and commerce in a nation, taking that for granted, but only the wars and disturbances that happen; but the reader must consider the other, to balance the blackness of them. III. It should seem that in these times each tribe had very much its government in ordinary within itself, and acted separately, without one common head, or council, which occasioned many differences among themselves, and kept them from being or doing any thing considerable. IV. The government of the judges was not constant, but occasional; when it is said that after Ehud's victory the land rested eighty years, and after Barak's forty , it is not certain that they lived, much less that they governed, so long; but they and the rest were raised up and animated by the Spirit of God to do particular service to the public when there was occasion, to avenge Israel of their enemies, and to purge Israel of their idolatries, which are the two things principally meant by their judging Israel. Yet Deborah, as a prophetess, was attended for judgment by all Israel, before there was occasion for her agency in war, Jdg 4:4. V. During the government of the judges, God was in a more especial manner Israel's king; so Samuel tells them when they were resolved to throw off this form of government, 1Sa 12:12. God would try what his own law and the constitutions of that would do to keep them in order, and it proved that when there was no king in Israel every man did that which was right in his own eyes; he therefore, towards the latter end of this time, made the government of the judges more constant and universal that it was at first, and at length gave them David, a king after his own heart; then, and not till then, Israel began to flourish, which should make us very thankful for magistrates both supreme and subordinate, for they are ministers of God unto us for good. Four of the judges of Israel are canonized (Heb 11:32), Gideon, Barak, Samson, and Jephtha. The Learned bishop Patrick thinks the prophet Samuel was the penman of this Book.

Matthew Henry: Judges 7 (Chapter Introduction)

This chapter presents us with Gideon in the field, commanding the army of Israel, and routing the army of the Midianites, for which great exploit we found in the former chapter how he was prepared by his converse with God and his conquest of Baal. We are here told, I. What direction God gave to Gideon for the modelling of his army, by which it was reduced to 300 men (Jdg 7:1, Jdg 7:8). II. What encouragement God gave to Gideon to attack the enemy, by sending him secretly into their camp to hear a Midianite tell his dream (Jdg 7:9-15). III. How he formed his attack upon the enemy's camp with his 300 men, not to fight them, but to frighten them (Jdg 7:16-20). IV. The success of this attack; it put them to flight, and gave them a total rout, the disbanded forces, and their other neighbours, then coming in to his assistance (Jdg 7:21-25). It is a story that shines very brightly in the book of the wars of the Lord.

Constable: Judges (Book Introduction)

Introduction

Title

The English title, Judges, comes to us from the Latin translation (Vulgate) that the Greek translation (Septuagint) influenced. In all three languages the title means "judges." This title is somewhat misleading, however, because most English-speaking people associate the modern concept of a judge with Israel's judges. As we shall see, judges then were very different from judges now. The Hebrew title is also Judges (Shophetim). The book received its name from its principle characters, as the Book of Joshua did.

The judge in Israel was not a new office during the period of history that this book records. Moses ordered the people to appoint judges in every Israelite town to settle civil disputes (Deut. 16:18). In addition, there was to be a chief justice at the tabernacle who would, with the high priest, help settle cases too difficult for the local judges (Deut. 17:9). Evidently there were several judges at the tabernacle who served as a supreme court (Deut. 19:17).

When Joshua died God did not appoint a man to succeed him as the military leader of the entire nation of Israel. Instead each tribe was to proceed to conquer and occupy its allotted territory. As the need arose God raised up several different individuals who were judges in various parts of Israel at various times to lead segments of the Israelites against local enemies. These judges were similar to modern mayors of towns. God endowed them with certain qualities and identified them in various ways as being those He had chosen to lead His people. This leadership sometimes involved military command. As God had raised up Moses and Joshua, and as he would raise up David (1 Sam. 16:13), so He also raised up the judges. The writer also described Yahweh as a judge in Judges (11:27). This points out the fact that the judges were God's agents in Israel who judged under Him at this period in the nation's history.

"Though the judge enjoyed great prestige, he was in no sense a king. His authority was neither absolute, nor permanent, nor in any case hereditary; it rested solely in those personal qualities (the charisma) that gave evidence that he was the man of Yahweh's spirit. It was a type of authority perfectly expressive of the faith and constitution of early Israel: the God-King's direct leadership of his people through his spirit-designated representative. . . .

"The judges were by no means men of identical character. Some (e.g., Gideon) rose to their task at the behest of a profound experience of divine vocation; one (Jephthah) was no better than a bandit who knew how to strike a canny bargain; one (Samson) was an engaging rogue whose fabulous strength and bawdy pranks became legendary. None, so far as we know, ever led a united Israel into battle. All, however, seem to have had this in common: they were men who, stepping to the fore in times of danger, by virtue only of those personal qualities (charisma) which gave evidence to their fellows that Yahweh's spirit was upon them, rallied the clans against the foe."¹

Judges is the second book of the Former Prophets section of the Hebrew Old Testament. As I pointed out in the notes on Joshua, the fact that the Hebrews placed the book in this section of their canon is significant. It demonstrates that they recognized it as God's selective history of the period designed to teach spiritual lessons more than simply to record historical facts. God revealed Himself through the events of life and history as well as through the sermons of the prophets.

Date and Writer

Internal references help us locate the approximate date of composition of this book. The clause, "In those days there was no king in Israel," (17:6; 18:1; 19:1; 21:25) suggests that someone wrote Judges during the monarchical period that followed the period of rule by judges (amphictyony). Someone probably wrote it after 1051 B.C. when Saul became king. However at the time of writing Jerusalem was still in the hands of the Jebusites (1:21). David captured Jerusalem about 1004 B.C. Therefore the writing of Judges seems to date between 1051 and 1004 B.C.

Jewish tradition suggests that Samuel wrote Judges.² This was the opinion of the writers of the Talmud, the collection of Jewish writings that grew up around revealed Scripture beginning very early in Israel's history. Samuel is a likely writer because of his role in Israel when someone wrote Judges. Samuel's ministry began about 1090 B.C. and apparently ended a few years before Saul's death (ca. 1021 B.C.). If Samuel wrote Judges, he probably did so between 1051 and about 1021 B.C.

Scope

In contrast to Joshua, which spans only about 35 years, Judges covers a much longer period of Israel's history.

The book opens shortly after the death of Joshua (1:1). God did not give us sufficient information to enable us to fix the date of Joshua's death. Leon Wood figured that he died about 1390 B.C.³ Eugene Merrill calculated his death at about 1366 B.C.⁴ The latest event the writer of Judges recorded is probably the death of Samson (16:30-31). Wood believed Samson died about 1055 B.C.⁵ Merrill wrote that he died near 1084 B.C.⁶ Consequently the Book of Judges records about 300 years of Israel's history (cf. 11:26).⁷ The period of rule by the judges, however, extended beyond the events the Book of Judges records to Saul's coronation in 1050 or 1051 B.C.⁸ According to Wood's chronology this was five years beyond the end of Judges and according to Merrill's it was 33 years beyond.

The judgeships of some of the individual judges apparently overlapped. Some ruled in one area of Israel while one or more others ruled elsewhere in some cases.⁹

The Book of Judges does not record the ministries of all Israel's judges. Eli and Samuel were also judges whose work the writer of 1 Samuel recorded. Only the judges whom the divine Author selected for inclusion appear in this book.

Purpose

Arthur Cundall suggested that one of the purposes of Judges may have been to provide apologetic justification for Israel's monarchy.¹⁰ William Dumbrell believed its purpose was primarily to show the sovereign grace of God in preserving Israel in spite of Israel.¹¹ Leon Wood wrote that its primary purpose was to show why Israel did not experience God's promised blessings.¹² Herbert Wolf believed the primary purpose was to show that Israel's spiritual condition determined its political and material situation.¹³ Daniel Block argued that it was to reveal the Canaanization of Israel in the premonarchic period of Israel's history.¹⁴ All these explanations seem to me to be in harmony with what the book records.

Message¹⁵

Joshua reveals that victory, success, and progress result when God's people trust and obey Him consistently. Judges shows that defeat, failure, and retrogression follow when they fail to trust and obey consistently. In this respect Joshua and Judges are like two sides of one coin. The former is a positive lesson and the latter a negative one.

Judges portrays the deterioration of the nation of Israel: what caused it, the course it followed, and the chaos that resulted.

Israel failed because her heart turned from Yahweh, and then her head forsook His covenant. Keil and Delitzsch wrote, "The writer writes throughout from a prophet's point of view. He applies the standard of the law to the spirit of the age by which the nation was influenced as a whole, and pronounces a stern and severe sentence upon all deviations from the path of rectitude set before it in the law."¹⁶

We could visualize the structure of the book as a descending spiral. Israel departed from God, fell under His discipline, repented, experienced deliverance from her oppressors, dedicated herself anew to Yahweh, experienced His blessing, and then apostatized again. In each cycle Israel seems to have sunk lower than she had been previously even though each cycle included a spiritual revival.

Judges reveals the course and process by which Israel deteriorated as a nation. The same process takes place on the personal level as well as on the national level, but it is easier to observe on the national level in Judges.

The root cause of Israel's deterioration was religious apostasy. The Israelites turned from God. They did not drive out the Canaanites as God had commanded (1:21, 27-33). Instead they made covenants with them (2:1-2). Rather than destroying the pagan altars, the Israelites served idols and forsook the Lord (2:11-12, 17, 19).

Their apostasy began with toleration of things that God had condemned and prohibited. In time the Israelites began to admire these things. Finally they conformed to them.

The story of Micah and the Danites (chs. 17-18) is a short illustration of the religious apostasy in Israel at this time. Chapters 17-21 are an appendix to the book.

Religious apostasy led to political disorganization in Israel. Shortly after Israel departed from God it began to come apart as a nation. The people stopped working together toward their God-given goal of possessing the entire land and began fighting with one another instead. At the beginning of the amphictyony the tribes were fairly united, but by the end of this period of Israel's history anarchy prevailed (21:25).

The government in Israel deteriorated from theocracy (rule by God) to anarchy (no rule or government). Israel became fragmented, weak, and unable to withstand her enemies. This is ironic because after Joshua died Israel was in position to begin to enjoy the benefits of the theocracy in the land for the first time. Until Judges opens, God was preparing Israel to enjoy the theocracy in the land.

There are several examples of tribal jealousies in Judges (e.g., 8:1-3; 12:1-6), but the worst example of political disorganization is the vignette that concludes the book. This is the civil war in which 11 of the tribes almost annihilated the twelfth, Benjamin (chs. 20-21). Instead of destroying the Canaanites, God's people allowed them to live among them while the Israelites proceeded to destroy one another.

Another evidence of Israel's deterioration as a nation was social chaos.

Three characteristics marked the social chaos in Israel during the period of the judges. Lawlessness characterized national life. People were afraid to go out in public and traveled the byways rather than the highways of the land (5:6). People committed violent crimes without fear of punishment (ch. 19). Blindness also characterized the people. They were blind to what was happening in their midst, namely, God using discipline after apostasy to bring them to repentance and deliverance. They were also blind to God's dealings with their ancestors in their history. Third, immorality marked Israel's social life. Even Samson, one of the judges, was a victim of this cancer.

The story of the Levite and his concubine who visited the town of Gibeah (ch. 19) is a slice of life out of the period of the judges that shows the immorality that characterized Israel's social life. The behavior demonstrated in this story was the fruit of departure from God. The sin that had previously characterized the Canaanites of Sodom (Gen. 19) now marked God's people. Chapter 19 is a third part of the appendix to the book.

God revealed this process of deterioration to warn all people. Spiritual apostasy leads to political disorganization and social chaos. Social and governmental evils rise out of spiritual conditions. When the Israelites repented and rededicated themselves to God, God brought political deliverance and restored social order.

Judges not only reveals what causes deterioration, but it also clarifies the steps to restoration. Israel's history during this period resembles a downward spiral. The general trend was downward. Nevertheless there were six revivals of the peoples' faith in God and commitment to him too. These revivals cycled in Israel's history at this time.

Israel began from a privileged position of divine blessing.

In time the people apostatized by turning away from God and His covenant to the gods and practices of the Canaanites.

To bring them back to Himself God disciplined His people by allowing them to fall under the control and domination of their enemies. Israel chose to bow down to idols, so God allowed the idolaters to bend her over in bondage. The Israelites tolerated the Canaanites, but God made the Canaanites intolerant of them. The people with the birthright to the land had to hide in caves and among the rocks fearing to show themselves (6:2). God disciplined them severely for their apostasy. In Joshua God dealt with sin primarily among the Canaanites, but in Judges He dealt with it primarily among the Israelites. However, God's discipline was always remedial. God designed it to bring the Israelites back to a consciousness of sin and their need for God.

When the Israelites cried out to Yahweh in repentance, God heard their cry and delivered them mercifully. I mean "repentance" in the general sense of turning to God, not in the specific sense of cleaning up the life. God did not give deliverance as a reward the people had earned, but as grace in response to their helpless cry, as the text makes clear.

When they truly repented, He delivered them by raising up a judge. In each case, deliverance came at the right moment. It always came by the right instrument. God raised up the right person in each case. In almost every case God used one person, either a man or a woman. Judges reveals how God remarkably works through all types of different individuals to accomplish His purposes. He raised up the judge whom He had prepared for the needs of his time and place. Each judge was just right for his mission. In almost every case God used one single individual to change the whole course of history in Israel. E. M. Bounds wrote, "The Holy Spirit does not flow through methods, but through man. He does not come on machinery, but on men. He does not anoint plans, but people--people of prayer."

As a result of this deliverance the people rededicated themselves anew to Yahweh. Spiritual revival was the result of God's physical deliverance.

The people then began to enjoy God's blessing again. God gave them rest from the oppression of their enemies. Arthur Cundall labeled these stages "sin, servitude, supplication, and salvation."¹⁷

God's methods are the same today as they were in the days of the judges.

The fact that the writer repeated this cycle of events six times in Judges points to its timeless quality and its universality. Charles Feinberg wrote, "If ever there were history with a purpose it is here."¹⁸

I would state the message of the Book of Judges therefore as follows. Apostasy leads to disorganization and chaos, but repentance results in deliverance and blessing. This is true nationally and personally.

Constable: Judges (Outline)

Outline

I. The reason for Israel's apostasy 1:1-3:6

A. Hostilities between the Israelites and the Canaanites after Joshua's death 1:1-2:5

1. Initial successes and failures ch. 1

2. The announcement of God's discipline 2:1-5

B. Israel's conduct toward Yahweh and Yahweh's treatment of Israel in the period of the judges 2:6-3:6

1. Review of Joshua's era 2:6-10

2. The pattern of history during the judges' era 2:11-23

3. God's purposes with Israel 3:1-6

II. The record of Israel's apostasy 3:7-16:31

A. The first apostasy 3:7-11

B. The second apostasy 3:12-31

1. Oppression under the Moabites and deliverance through Ehud 3:12-30

2. Oppression under the Philistines and deliverance through Shamgar 3:31

C. The third apostasy chs. 4-5

1. The victory over Jabin and Sisera ch. 4

2. Deborah's song of victory ch. 5

D. The fourth apostasy 6:1-10:5

1. The story of Gideon 6:1-8:32

2. Israel's departure from Yahweh 8:33-35

3. The story of Abimelech ch. 9

4. The judgeships of Tola and Jair 10:1-5

E. The fifth apostasy 10:6-12:15

1. Renewed oppression 10:6-7

2. Oppression under the Ammonites 10:8-18

3. Deliverance through Jephthah 10:1-12:7

4. The judgeships of Ibzan, Elon, and Abdon 12:8-15

F. The sixth apostasy chs. 13-16

1. Samson's birth ch. 13

2. Samson's intended marriage to the Timnite ch. 14

3. Samson's vengeance on the Philistines ch. 15

4. Samson's final fatal victory ch. 16

III. The results of Israel's apostasy ch. 17-21

A. The idolatry of Micah and the Danites ch. 17-18

1. The idolatry of Micah ch. 17

2. The apostasy of the Danites ch. 18

B. The immorality of Gibeah and the Benjamites chs. 19-21

1. The atrocity in Gibeah ch. 19

2. The civil war in Israel ch. 20

3. The preservation of Benjamin ch. 21

Constable: Judges

Judges

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Malamat, A. "The Danite Migration and the Pan-Israelite Exodus-Conquest: A Biblical Narrative Pattern." Biblica 51 (1970):1-16.

Manor, Dale W. "The Topography and Geography of the Jezreel Valley as they Contribute to the Battles of Deborah and Gideon." Near Eastern Archaeology Society Bulletin NS28 (Winter 1987):25-32.

Margalith, Othniel. "The Legends of Samson/Heracles." Vetus Testamentum 37:1 (January 1987):63-70.

_____. "More Samson Legends." Vetus Testamentum 36:4 (October 1986):397-405.

_____. "Samson's Foxes." Vetus Testamentum 35:2 (April 1985):224-29.

_____. "Samson's Riddle and Samson's Magic Locks." Vetus Testamentum 36:2 (April 1986):225-34.

Matthews, Victor H. "Hospitality and Hostility in Judges 4." Biblical Theology Bulletin 21 (Spring 1991):13-21.

Mazar, Amihai. Archaeology of the Land of the Bible 10,000-586 B.C.E. New York: Doubleday, 1990.

_____. "Bronze Bull Found in Israelite High place' From the Time of the Judges." Biblical Archaeology Review 9:5 (September-October 1983):34-40.

_____. "On Cult Places and Early Israelites: A Response to Michael Coogan." Biblical Archaeology Review 15:4 (July-August 1988):45.

_____ "A Philistine Temple at Tell Qasile." Biblical Archaeologist 36 (1973):43-48.

Merrill, Eugene H. Kingdom of Priests. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1987.

_____. "Paul's Use of About 450 Years' in Acts 13:20." Bibliotheca Sacra 138:551 (July-September 1981):246-57.

Mitchell, T. Crichton. "Abimelech--The Bramble King." Preacher's Magazine 58:3 (March-May 1983):16-19, 61.

Monson, James M. The Land Between. Jerusalem: By the Author, P.O. Box 1276, 1983.

Morgan, G. Campbell. Living Messages of the Books of the Bible. 2 vols. New York: Fleming H. Revell Co., 1912.

Mosca, Paul G. "Who Seduced Whom? A Note on Joshua 15:18// Judges 1:14." Catholic Biblical Quarterly 46 (1984):18-22.

Mullen, E. Theodore, Jr. "The Minor Judges': Some Literary and Historical Considerations." Catholic Biblical Quarterly 44 (April 1982):185-201.

Nel, Philip. "The Riddle of Samson (Judg. 14, 14.18)." Biblica 66:4 (1985):534-45.

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_____. 2nd ed. S.v. "Mesopotamia," by D. J. Wiseman.

_____. 2nd ed. S.v. "Mill, Millstone," by A. R. Millard.

_____. 2nd ed. S.v. "Number," by R. A. H. Gunner.

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Copyright 2003 by Thomas L. Constable

Haydock: Judges (Book Introduction)

INTRODUCTION.

THE BOOK OF JUDGES.

This Book is called Judges, because it contains the history of what passed under the government of the judges, who ruled Israel before they had kings. The writer of it, according to the more general opinion, was the prophet Samuel. (Challoner) --- Some are of opinion, that the judges might have each left records of their respective administration, (Menochius) which might be put in order by Samuel. The author of this book seems to have lived under the reign of Saul, before David had expelled the Jebusites, chap. xviii. 31. (Du Hamel) --- The captivity, which is mentioned [in] ver. 30, must be understood of that when the ark of God, as well as the idol Micha, and may of the people were taken by the Philistines. (Huet) --- Many passages of the Psalms, &c., are taken from this book, which shew its antiquity, Psalm lxvii. 8., and 2 Kings xi. 21. The divine Providence is here displayed in a very striking manner. (Du Hamel) --- The theocracy still subsisted and God generally chose these judges to be his ministers, and to deliver the people, on their repentance, from some dreadful calamity. (Haydock) --- They exercised a supreme power, yet without bearing the insignia of regal authority, or imposing taxes, or making any alteration in the established laws. The Suffetes, who were Carthaginian magistrates, seem to have taken their name from these Ssuptim. (Du Hamel) --- When God did not raise up judges, in an extraordinary manner, a kind of ananchy prevailed. (Haydock) --- Each of the tribes regarded only their own affairs, and the republic was dissolved. (Grotius) --- Prosperous and unfortunate days succeeded each other, in proportion as the people gave themselves up to repentance or to dissolution. Sicut se habebant peccata populi & misericordia Dei, alternaverunt prospera & adversa bellorum. (St. Augustine, City of God xviii. 23.) St. Jerome (ep. ad Eust. & ad Paulin.) exhorts us to penetrate the spiritual sense of the historical books, and he regards "the judges as so many figures" of the apostles, who established the church of Christ. Though some of them had been noted for their misconduct, they were reclaimed by the grace of God. Then all the judges, every one by name, whose heart was not corrupted, who turned not away from the Lord, that their memory might be blessed, &c., Ecclesiasticus xlvi. 13, 14. (Worthington) --- St. Paul mentions four of them, though the conduct of Jephte and of Samson might have been regarded as more exceptionable than that of Othoniel, who is said to have been filled with the spirit of the Lord, chap. iii. 10. Serarius doubts not but they are all in heaven. Salien (in the year of the world 2640,) supposes that the transactions recorded in the five last chapters, took place before this 40th year from the death of Josue, which was the last of Othoniel. With respect to the chronology of these times, there are many opinions. Houbigant endeavours to shew that the system of Usher is inadmissible, as well as that of Petau. Marsham maintains that many of the captivities, and of the Judges, related only to some tribes, so that the different years which are specified, must be referred to the same period of time. Thus while Jephte ruled over those on the east side of the Jordan, and fought against the Ammonites, other judges endeavoured to repel the armies of the Philistines on the west. See 3 Kings vi. 1., and Judges xi. 16. By this expedient, he finds no difficulty in shewing that 480 years elapsed from the departure out of Egypt till the building of the temple, and that the Israelites had occupied the country of the Ammonites during the space of 300 years. (Haydock) --- Houbigant seems to adopt this system in some respects, and he thinks that errors have crept into some of the numbers, so that Aod procured a peace of only 20 instead of 80 years, &c. He observes that the name of judge here designates, 1. A warrior, like Samson; 2. a person who passes sentence according to the law, which was the office of Heli; 3. one divinely commissioned to exercise the sovereign authority, as Samuel did, even after Saul had been elected king. (Proleg. Chronol.) Others have compared the power of these judges with that of the Roman Dictators, or the Archontes of Athens. (Serarius) --- They were properly God's lieutenants. Their revenue seems to have been very precarious, and their exterior deportment modest and unassuming. They were guided by the declarations of the high priests, when arrayed with the Urim and Thummim; and their business was to promote the observance of the true religion, and to defend the people of God. This book concludes with the history of Samson, describing the transactions of 317 years, (Calmet) according to the calculation of Usher, which has met with the approbation of many of the learned, and is therefore chiefly inserted in this edition, as it was in that which was published in 1791, at Dublin, by the care of the Rev. B. Mac Mahon, who seems to have made some alterations. It is not indeed free from many serious difficulties. But we have not leisure to examine them at present. See chap. iii. 11, 30. We shall only subjoin the chronological table of Houbigant, which is not very common, that the reader may perceive where they are chiefly at variance. Moses governed 40 years, Josue 20, the Ancients 20, king of Mesopotamia 8, Othoniel 40, Moabites 18, Aod 20, Samgar 0, the Chanaanites 20, Debora and Barac 40, Madianites 7, Gedeon 40, Abimelech 3, Thola 23, Ammonites 0, Jair 22, Jephte 6, Abesan 7, Ahialon 10, Abdon 8, Philistines 0, Samson 20, and with Heli 20, Heli and Samuel 25, Samuel and Saul 20, David 40, Solomon 3. In the 4th year of his reign the temple was begun, 480 years after the liberation from Egypt. Those to whom no years are assigned, lived at the same time with others whose years enter into the calculation. Thus Samgar gained a victory over the Philistines, while the Chanaanites held the Israelites in subjection, chap. iii. 31. For other particulars we must refer to the author. (Chron. sacra.) (Haydock)

Gill: Judges (Book Introduction)

INTRODUCTION TO JUDGES

The title of this book in the Hebrew copies is Sepher Shophetim, the Book of Judges; but the Syriac and Arabic interpreters call it,

"the Book of the Judges of the Children of Israel;''

and the Septuagint only Judges; so called, not because it was written by them, though some think it was compiled out of annals and diaries kept by them; but it seems to be the work of one person only: the true reason of its name is, because it treats of the judges of Israel, gives an account of their lives and actions, and especially such as concerned their office; which office was different from that of kings, and seems only to have been occasional, and chiefly lay in delivering the people out of the hands of their enemies, when oppressed, distressed, or carried captive by them; in protecting them in the enjoyment of their country, rights, and liberties; in leading out their armies against their enemies when needful; and in settling differences, judging law suits, and administering justice. The government of the nation, during their time, was a theocracy. It is not certain who was the penman of this book; some ascribe it to King Hezekiah, others to Ezra; but the Jewish writers ^a are generally of opinion that it was written by Samuel, which is most likely, who was the last of the judges; and it seems plainly to be written before the times of David, us appears from a speech of Joab, 2Sa 11:21; and from some passages in Psa 68:8, which seem to refer or allude to Jdg 5:4; and from Jerusalem being called Jebus, which shows it to be inhabited by the Jebusites in the time of the writer of this book, whereas it was taken out of their hands by David; besides, Samuel himself refers to the annals of this book; 1Sa 12:9; and from whose testimonies, as well as from others in the New Testament, there is no doubt to be made of its being genuine and authentic, and written by divine inspiration; as is evident from the use the Apostle Paul, and the author of the epistle to the Hebrews, have made of it, Act 13:20; it is useful as an history, and without which the history of the people of Israel would not be complete; it containing an account of all their judges, excepting the two last, Eli and Samuel, of whom an account is given in the following books, and of some facts incidental to those times, related in an appendix at the end of it, concerning the idol of Micah, and the war of Benjamin; and furnishes out many useful moral observations concerning God's displeasure at sin in his own people Israel, and his corrections for it; and about his providential care of them in raising up for them deliverers in their time of need, as well as points at various virtues and excellencies in great and good men, worthy of imitation. It contains, according to Piscator, Dr. Lightfoot, and others, an history of two hundred ninety and nine years.

Gill: Judges 7 (Chapter Introduction)

INTRODUCTION TO JUDGES 7

In this chapter we have an account of the army under Gideon gathered out of several tribes, which from 32,000 were reduced to three hundred, and we are told by what means this was done, Jdg 7:1 and how he was directed to go into the host of the Midianites, where he heard one of them telling his dream to his fellow, which greatly encouraged him to believe he should succeed, Jdg 7:9 also we are told the form and manner in which he disposed of his little army to attack the Midianites, and the orders he gave them to observe, which had the desired effect, and issued in the total rout of that large body of people, Jdg 7:16 and those that were not destroyed were pursued by persons gathered out of several tribes, and the passages of Jordan were taken by the Ephraimites, so that those that attempted their escape into their own country, there fell into their hands, Jdg 7:23.