Judges 7

Chapter context

What is happening in Judges 7?

apostasydeliverancedisorderleadership

Judges 7 belongs to the middle movement of the book, especially the section often described as the major judge cycles from Othniel to Samson. Judges recounts the troubled era of charismatic deliverers, recurring apostasy, local rescues, and the national unraveling summed up by the line that everyone did what was right in his own eyes. Read this chapter with the wider themes of apostasy, deliverance, and disorder in view so the individual verses keep their proper weight.

¹ Then Jerubbaal, who is Gideon, and all the people that were with him, rose up early, and pitched beside the well of Harod: so that the host of the Midianites were on the north side of them, by the hill of Moreh, in the valley. 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 vaunt themselves against me, saying, Mine own hand hath saved me. ³ Now therefore go to, proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, Whosoever is fearful and afraid, let him return and depart early from mount Gilead. And there returned of the people twenty and two thousand; and there remained ten thousand. ⁴ And the LORD said unto Gideon, The people are yet too many; bring them down unto the water, and I will 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. 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; likewise every one that boweth down upon his knees to drink. ⁶ And the number of them that lapped, putting their hand to their mouth, were three hundred men: but all the rest of the people bowed down upon their knees to drink water. 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 people go every man unto his place. ⁸ So the people took victuals in their hand, and their trumpets: and he sent all the rest of Israel every man unto his tent, and retained those three hundred men: and the host of Midian was beneath him in the valley. ⁹ And it came to pass the same night, that the LORD said unto him, Arise, get thee down unto the host; for I have delivered it into thine hand. ¹⁰ But if thou fear to go down, go thou with Phurah thy servant down to the host: ¹¹ And thou shalt hear what they say; and afterward shall thine hands be strengthened to go down unto the host. Then went he down with Phurah his servant unto the outside of the armed men that were in the host. ¹² And the Midianites and the Amalekites and all the children of the east lay along in the valley like grasshoppers for multitude; and their camels were without number, as the sand by the sea side for multitude. 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 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. ¹⁴ And his fellow answered and said, This is nothing else save the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel: for into his hand hath God delivered Midian, and all the host. ¹⁵ And it was so, when Gideon heard the telling of the dream, and the interpretation thereof, that he worshipped, and returned into the host of Israel, and said, Arise; for the LORD hath delivered into your hand the host of Midian. 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 within the pitchers. ¹⁷ And he said unto them, Look on me, and do likewise: and, behold, when I come to the outside of the camp, it shall be that, as I do, so shall ye do. 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, The sword of the LORD, and of Gideon. ¹⁹ So Gideon, and the hundred men that were with him, came unto the outside of the camp in the beginning of the middle watch; and they had but newly set the watch: and they blew the trumpets, and brake the pitchers that were in their hands. 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 sword of the LORD, and of Gideon. ²¹ And they stood every man in his place round about the camp; and all the host ran, and cried, and fled. ²² And the three hundred blew the trumpets, and the LORD set every man’s sword against his fellow, even throughout all the host: and the host fled to Bethshittah in Zererath, and to the border of Abelmeholah, unto Tabbath. ²³ And the men of Israel gathered themselves together out of Naphtali, and out of Asher, and out of all Manasseh, and pursued after the Midianites. ²⁴ And Gideon sent messengers throughout all mount Ephraim, saying, Come down against the Midianites, and take before them the waters unto Bethbarah and Jordan. Then all the men of Ephraim gathered themselves together, and took the waters unto Bethbarah and Jordan. ²⁵ And they took two princes of the Midianites, Oreb and Zeeb; and they slew Oreb upon the rock Oreb, and Zeeb they slew at the winepress of Zeeb, and pursued Midian, and brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon on the other side Jordan.

Study helps

Glossary

Harod Place v. 1: Palpitation, a fountain near which Gideon and his army encamped on the morning of the day when they encountered and routed the Midianites (Judg. 7). It was south of the hill Moreh. Modern identification: Well of Harod.
Midian Place v. 1-2, 7-8, 12-15, 23-25: Biblical region. Modern identification: Al Bad.
Moreh Place v. 1: Biblical hill. Modern identification: Givat HaMoreh.
Mount Gilead Place v. 3: Biblical mountain. Modern identification: Mount Gilboa.
Amalek Place v. 12: Biblical region. Modern identification: Ain el Qudeirat.
East Place v. 12: (1. ) The orient (mizrah); the rising of the sun. Thus “the east country” is the country lying to the east of Syria, the Elymais ( Zech. 8:7 ). (2). Modern identification: Amman.
Joash Person v. 14: Whom Jehovah bestowed. (1. ) A contracted form of Jehoash, the father of Gideon ( Judg. 6:11 , 29; 8:13, 29, 32). (2. ) One of the Benjamite archers who joined David at Ziklag ( 1 Chr. 12:3 ).
Abel-meholah Place v. 22: Biblical settlement. Modern identification: Tell Abu Sus.
Beth-shittah Place v. 22: Biblical settlement. Modern identification: Tel Salwim.
Tabbath Place v. 22: Biblical settlement. Modern identification: Ras Abu Tabat.
Zererah Place v. 22: ( Judg. 7:22 ), perhaps identical with Zereda or Zeredathah. Some identify it with Zahrah, a place about 3 miles west of Beth-shean. Modern identification: Tell es Sa’idiyeh.
Naphtali Person v. 23: My wrestling, the fifth son of Jacob. His mother was Bilhah, Rachel’s handmaid ( Gen. 30:8 ). When Jacob went down into Egypt, Naphtali had four sons ( Gen. 46:24 ). Little is known of him as an individual.
Beth-barah Place v. 24: House of crossing, a place south of the scene of Gideon’s victory ( Judg. 7:24 ). Modern identification: Wadi al Fara.
Jordan Place v. 24-25: Biblical river. Modern identification: Jordan River.