Chapter 7
Selecting Gideon’s Fighting Men
7:1 Then Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) and all the people who were with him rose early and encamped beside the spring of Harod. And the camp of Midian was north of them, by the hill of Moreh, in the valley.
Gideon and the people with him camp beside the spring of Harod between Mount Gilboa to the south and the hill of Moreh to the north (modern-day Ein Harod) in the Jezreel Valley. The camp of Midian was nearby, just north of them.
7:2 The LORD said to Gideon, “The people with you are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hand, lest Israel boast over me, saying, ‘My own hand has saved me.’ 3 Now therefore proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, ‘Whoever is fearful and trembling, let him return home and hurry away from Mount Gilead.’ ” Then 22,000 of the people returned, and 10,000 remained.
God had two primary goals for this coming battle, the first being victory so that the oppression of the people of Israel from the Midianites will stop, but also to demonstrate that He was the one that provided that victory so that the people will return to Him and stop worshiping idols. To that end the victory would need to be obvious that they received supernatural assistance. So God had Gideon reduce the number of fighting people in two steps. He tells Gideon to tell them if anyone is fearful and trembling they can leave (the reference to Mount Gilead is likely a scribal error, as Gilead is on the east side of the Jordan, the Septuagint names it Mount Gideon, some believe it should be Mount Gilboa). Twenty-two thousand of the people returned home while ten-thousand stayed.
7:4 And the LORD said to Gideon, “The people are still too many. Take them down to the water, and I will test them for you there, and anyone of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall go with you,’ shall go with you, and anyone of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall not go with you,’ shall not go.” 5 So he brought the people down to the water. And the LORD said to Gideon, “Every one who laps the water with his tongue, as a dog laps, you shall set by himself. Likewise, every one who kneels down to drink.” 6 And the number of those who lapped, putting their hands to their mouths, was 300 men, but all the rest of the people knelt down to drink water. 7 And the LORD said to Gideon, “With the 300 men who lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hand, and let all the others go every man to his home.” 8 So the people took provisions in their hands, and their trumpets. And he sent all the rest of Israel every man to his tent, but retained the 300 men. And the camp of Midian was below him in the valley.
This second step to reduce the number of people is widely interpreted. Some point out that those who draw water with their hands are more alert and situationally aware and more vigilant by keeping their eyes up watching their surroundings for any danger. Which may be true, but this test, regardless of the ‘why’, is a tangible, God ordained, easy-to-spot method for Gideon to reduce the number of men. Gideon now has an army of three-hundred men. God promises that He will save Gideon and give the Midianites into his hand.
7:9 That same night the LORD said to him, “Arise, go down against the camp, for I have given it into your hand. 10 But if you are afraid to go down, go down to the camp with Purah your servant. 11 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 outposts of the armed men who were in the camp.
That night YHWH spoke to Gideon and told him to get up and attack the Midianite camp. But understanding Gideon’s fears, God offers him another supernatural sign, this one to encourage him to proceed. God tells Gideon to go down to the enemy camp and to take his servant Purah with him and listen to what they are saying. So the two men went down to the edge of the camp.
7:12 And the Midianites and the Amalekites and all the people of the East lay along the valley like locusts in abundance, and their camels were without number, as the sand that is on the seashore in abundance. 13 When Gideon came, behold, a man was telling a dream to his comrade. And he said, “Behold, I dreamed a dream, and behold, a cake of barley bread tumbled into the camp of Midian and came to the tent and struck it so that it fell and turned it upside down, so that the tent lay flat.” 14 And his comrade answered, “This is no other than the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel; God has given into his hand Midian and all the camp.”
The camp of the three groups, the Midianites, the Amalekites, and the Arabs was vast, looking like locusts in great number along with their camels, too many to count. When Gideon approached he overheard a man describing a dream to a fellow soldier. He said he dreamed that a cake of barley bread rolled into their camp and struck a tent and the tent collapsed flat. The person responded, that was the sword of Gideon, the son of Joash, a man of Israel, who God as given Midian and the whole camp into his hands.
7:15 As soon as Gideon heard the telling of the dream and its interpretation, he worshiped. And he returned to the camp of Israel and said, “Arise, for the LORD has given the host of Midian into your hand.” 16 And he divided the 300 men into three companies and put trumpets into the hands of all of them and empty jars, with torches inside the jars. 17 And he said to them, “Look at me, and do likewise. When I come to the outskirts of the camp, do as I do. 18 When I blow the trumpet, I and all who are with me, then blow the trumpets also on every side of all the camp and shout, ‘For the LORD and for Gideon.’ ”
When Gideon heard about the dream and its interpretation, he immediately worshiped (Hebrew yiš·tā’·ḥû, to bow down, to prostrate oneself). When he returned to Israel’s camp he calls his men to “Arise, for the LORD has given the host of Midian into your hand.” He divided the men into three groups, gave each man a shofar and empty jars with torches inside. Then he gave them the instructions to follow his lead, when he blows his shofar, they are to blow their shofars while shouting, “For YHWH and for Gideon.”
Gideon Defeats the Midianites
7:19 So Gideon and the hundred men who were with him came to the outskirts of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, when they had just set the watch. And they blew the trumpets and smashed the jars that were in their hands. 20 Then the three companies blew the trumpets and broke the jars. They held in their left hands the torches, and in their right hands the trumpets to blow. And they cried out, “A sword for the LORD and for Gideon!”
Now divided into three groups, they surround the camp at the beginning of the third watch (approximately 2:00 A.M. to 6:00 A.M., click here for more information regarding times of watches). Often thought to be a vulnerable time as people are transitioning and not fully settled. Gideon and his group of one-hundred men at that time blew their shofars and smashed the jars, then the other two groups did the same thing. After blowing the shofars they shouted together, “A sword for YHWH and for Gideon!”
7:21 Every man stood in his place around the camp, and all the army ran. They cried out and fled. 22 When they blew the 300 trumpets, the LORD set every man’s sword against his comrade and against all the army. And the army fled as far as Beth-shittah toward Zererah, as far as the border of Abel-meholah, by Tabbath. 23 And the men of Israel were called out from Naphtali and from Asher and from all Manasseh, and they pursued after Midian.
While Gideon’s men remained standing around the camp, the enemy ran in a panic. God had the Midianites, Amalekites, and the Arabs fight each other with their swords. Several fled the camp running towards Zererah, to Beth-shittah (still in the Jezreel Valley towards the Jordan), and some to the border of Abel-meholah (further south in the Jordan Valley, location where Elijah found Elisha, see 1 Kings 19:16) near Tabbath. The men of Israel from Naphtali, Asher, and Manasseh were called to pursue after the fleeing Midianites.
Assistance from Ephraim - Part 1
The text from Judges 7:24-8:3 appear to be parenthetical (perhaps added later) as the storyline continues in Judges 8:4 with Gideon crossing over the Jordan River.
7:24 Gideon sent messengers throughout all the hill country of Ephraim, saying, “Come down against the Midianites and capture the waters against them, as far as Beth-barah, and also the Jordan.” So all the men of Ephraim were called out, and they captured the waters as far as Beth-barah, and also the Jordan. 25 And they captured the two princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb. They killed Oreb at the rock of Oreb, and Zeeb they killed at the winepress of Zeeb. Then they pursued Midian, and they brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon across the Jordan.
Gideon requested assistance from the tribe of Ephraim to capture some of the fleeing Midianites. The men of Ephraim responded and captured the waters (they got to the fords where they could cross the river first, the location of Beth-barah in unknown, some believe that it is the same as Bethbaraba mentioned in John 1:28 where Jesus was baptized). The men of Ephraim were able to capture Oreb and Zeeb both princes of Midian. They killed Oreb on a rock and Zeeb at a winepress, both locations named after them posthumously. As they continued pursuing the other Midianites, they caught up with Gideon on the east side of the Jordan River and gave him the heads of the two princes.