Gideon with a numerous JUDGES. army encamps at Harod. CHAPTER VII. The Lord commands Gideon to make a selection of a small number of his men to go against the Midianites. Three hundred only are selected; and into the hands of these God promises to deliver the whole Midianitish host, 1-8. Gideon is directed to go down unto the host in the night, that he may be encouraged on hearing what they say, 9-12. He obeys, and hears a Midianite tell a remarkable dream unto his fellow, which predicted the success of his attack, 13-15. He takes encouragement, divides his men into three companies, and gives each a trumpet with a lighted lamp concealed in a pitcher, with directions how to use them, 16-18. They come to the Midianitish camp at night, when all suddenly blowing their trumpets and exposing their lamps, the Midianites are thrown into confusion, fly, and are stopped by the Ephraimiles at the passage of Jordan, and slain, 19-24. Oreb and Zeeb, two Midianitish princes, are slain, 25. is the people twenty and two thousand; and there remained ten thousand. A. M. 2759. B. C. 1245. An. Exod. Isr. 246. Anno ante a THEN Jerubbaal, who Gideon, and all the people that were with him, rose up carly, 1. Olymp. 469. 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. A. M. 2759. B. C. 1245. An. Exod. Isr. 246. Anno ante I. Olymp. 469. 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 2 And the LORD said unto Gideon, The whom I say unto thee, This shall go with people that are with thee are too many thee, the same shall go with thee; and of for me to give the Midianites into their whomsoever I say unto thee, This shall not hands, lest Israel vaunt themselves against go with thee, the same shall not go. me, saying, Mine own hand hath saved me.' C 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 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. a Chap. vi. 32. -b Deut. viii. 17; Isa. x. 13; 1 Cor. i. 29; 2 Cor. iv. 7. Deut. xx. 8; 1 Mac. iii. 56. NOTES ON CHAP. VII. Verse 1. Then Jerubbaal, who is Gideon] It appears that Jerubbaal was now a surname of Gideon, from the circumstance mentioned chap. vi. 32. See chap. viii. 35. The well of Harod] If this was a town or village, it is nowhere else mentioned. Probably, as in 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. Verse 2. The people that are with thee are too many] Had he fed 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. Verse 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 endeavours 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 neighbours, 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. 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 twentytwo 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. Verse 5. Every one that lappeth of the water-as a He is encouraged by A. M. 2759. An. Exod. Isr. 6 And the number of them sand by the sea-side for multithat lapped, putting their hand tude. to their mouth, were three hundred men but all the rest of the people bowed down upon their knees to drink water. I. Olymp. 469. d 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: A. M. 2759. B. C. 1245. An. Exod. Isr. 246. Anno ante I. Olymp. 469. 13 And when Gideon was come, behold, there was a man that told his 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. k 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 11 And thou shalt hear what they say and afterward shall thine hands be strength-lamps within the pitchers.. ened to go down unto the host. Then went he down with Phurah his servant unto the outside of the armed men that were in host. the 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 41 Sam. xiv. 6.- e Gen. xlvi. 2, 3.- f Ver. 13, 14, 15; see Gen. xxiv. 14; 1 Sam. xiv. 9, 10.- - Or, ranks by five; Exod. xiii. 18. 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. Chapter vi. 5, 33; viii. 10. Hebrew, the breaking thereof. Heb. trumpets in the hand of all of them.- Or, firebrands, or torches. dog] The original word p yalok is precisely the multitudes; it was to these that Gideon and his servant sound which a dog makes when he is drinking. Verse 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. Verse 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. Verse 9. I have delivered it into thine hand.] I have determined to do it, and it is as sure as if it were done. Verse 11. Unto the outside of the armed men] No doubt the vast multitudes of Midianites, &c., 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 came. Verse 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. Verse 14. Into his hand hath God delivered Midian] This is a full proof that God had inspired both the dream and its interpretation. . Verse 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. Verse 18. The sword of the Lord, and of Gideon.[ The word a chereb, "sword," is not found in this The Lord delivers Midian A. M. 2759. An. Exod. Isr. 246. Anno ante I. Olymp. 469. m 21. And they stood every man A. M. 2759. B. C. 1245. An. Exod. Isr. 246. Anno ante 19 So Gideon, and the hundred | cried, The sword of the LORD, men that were with him, came and of Gideon. upto the outside of the camp in the beginning of the middle in his place round about the I. Olymp. 469. watch; and they had but newly set the watch: camp: Pand all the host ran, and cried, and fled. and they blew the trumpets, and brake the 22 And the three hundred blew the trumpitchers that were in their hands. pets, and the LORD set every man's sword against his fellow, even throughout all the host and the host fled to Beth-shittah in Zererath, and to the " border of Abel-meholah. unto Tabbath. 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 r Cor. iv. 7.- Psa. lxxxiii. 9; Isa. ix. 4.— 1 Sam. xiv. 20, 2 Chron. xx. 23. Or, toward." Heb. lip m Ver. 18, 22. Ver. 18.- Exod. xiv. 13, 14; 2 Chron. xx. 17. -P2 Kings vii. 7, 15.—— Josh., ví. 4, 16, 20; see 2 verse, though it is necessarily implied, and is found"Gideon, keen in arms, was captain of the host, in ver. 20. But it is found in this place in the Chal- And acquired redemption for his people, but not by his dee, Syriac, and Arabic, and in eight of Kennicott's own power. and De Rossi's MSS. The reading appears to be genuine. Verse 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 splendour, in the same instant, on the half-awakened eyes of the terrified Midianites, accompanied with the clangour of three hundred trumpets, alternately חרב ליהוה ולגדעון mingled with the thundering shout of 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 T, 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, Being strengthened in faith, his heart was influenced to ask a sign The sign was reversed; the fleece remaining dry while all the ground was moist; by this sign he was to know that he should slaughter those troops of robbers. people of Christ conquer without any military Three hundred horsemen, (for the Greek letter T, tau, And the earth are the various nations dispersed over the world. It is the word which nourishes; but night 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. Verse 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 endeavoured to escape for their lives. No stratagem was ever better imagined, better executed, or more completely successful. Verse 22. Fled to Beth-shittah] This is nowhere else mentioned in Scripture. 24 And Gideon sent messengers throughout all Mount Ephraim, saying, Come down against the Midianites, and take before them the waters unto Beth-barah and Jordan. Then all the men of Ephraim gathered themselves Chap. iii. 27.—w Chap. iii. 28. John i. 28. Chap. Zererath] This and Tabbath are nowhere else to be found. Abel-meholah] This was the birth-place of the prophet Elisha, 1 Kings xix. 16.. It was beyond Jordan, in the tribe of Manasseh, 1 Kings iv. 12. The Zartanah, mentioned in this last quoted verse, was probably the same as Zererath. Its situation corresponds well with Abel-meholah. 246. 25 And they took two princes of the Midianites, Oreb 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 side Jordan. viii. 3; Psa. lxxxiii. 11. a other z Isa. x. 26. a Chap. viii. 4. Verse 25. They slew Oreb upon the rock Oreb] These two generals had taken shelter, one in the cavern of the rock, the other in the vat of a winepress; both of which places were, from this circumstance, afterwards called by their names. Brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon] OREB signifies a raven, and ZEEB a wolf. In all ancient nations we find generals and princes taking their names from both birds and beasts; the Romans had their Gracchi, jackdaws; Corvini, crows; Aquilini, eagles, &c. We have the same in our Crows, Wolfs, Lyons, Hawkes, Bulls, Kidds, &c. Among barbarous Verse 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. Verse 24. Take before them the waters unto Beth-nations the, head of the conquered chief was often barah] This is probably the same place as that mentioned John i. 28, where the Hebrews forded Jordan under the direction of Joshua. To this place the Midianites directed their flight that they might escape into their own country; and here, being met by the Ephraimites, they appear to have been totally overthrown, and their two generals taken.. brought to the conqueror. Pompey's head was brought to Cæsar; Cicero's head, to Mark Antony; the heads of Ahab's children, to Jehu, &c. These barbarities are not often practised now, except among the Mohammedans or the savages of Africa and America; and for the credit of human nature it is a pity that such barbarous atrocities had ever been committed. CHAPTER VIII. He The Ephraimites are angry with Gideon because he did not call them particularly to his assistance; he pacıfies them, 1-3. Gideon and his three hundred men pass over Jordan, pursuing the Midianites; and, being faint, ask victuals from the princes of Succoth, but are refused, 4–7. They make the like application to the people of Penuel, and are also refused, 8, 9. Gideon defeats Zebah and Zalmunna, the two kings of Midian, and takes them prisoners, 10-12. He chastises the men of Succoth and Penuel, 13-17. slays Zebah and Zalmunna, who had killed his brethren, 18–21. The Israelites offer him the kingdom, which he refuses, 22, 23.. He requires from them the gold rings which they had taken from the Ishmaelites, and makes an ephod, which he sets up at Ophrah; and it became an instrument of idolatry, 24-27. The land enjoys peace forty years; Gideon dies, having seventy-one sons, 28–32. The Israelites fall into idolatry, and forget their obligations to Gideon's family, 33-35: A. M. 2759. B. C. 1245. An. Exod. Isr. 246. AND с sharply. the men of Ephraim And they did chide with him said unto him, Why hast thou served us thus, that I. Olymp. 469. thou calledst us not, when thou wentest to fight with the Midianites? Anno ante A. M. 2759. B. C. 1245. An. Exod. Isr. 246. Anno ante L. Olymp. 469. 2 And he said unto them, What have I done now in comparison of you? Is not the gleaning of the grapes a See chap. xii. 1; 2 Sam. xix. 41.- Heb. What thing is this thou hast done unto us? Heb. strongly. NOTES ON CHAP. VIII. yond that river that the Ephraimites brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to him, chap. vii. 25. Verse 1. The men of Ephraim said] This account is no doubt displaced; for what is mentioned here Verse 2. Is not the gleaning, &c.] - That is, The could not have taken place till the return of Gideon Ephraimites have performed more important services from the pursuit of the Midianites; for he had not yet than Gideon and his men; and he supports the asserpassed Jordan, ver. 4. And it was when he was-be-tion by observing that it was they who took the two and taken prisoners. A. M. 2759. B. C. 1245. 9 And he spake also unto the men of Penuel, saying, When I An. Exod. Isr. come again in peace, I will break down this tower. 246. Anno ante I. Olymp. 469. 10 Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor, and their hosts with them, about fifteen thousand men, all that were left of all the hosts of the children of the east for there fell a hundred and twenty thousand men that drew sword. 11 And Gideon went up by the way of them that dwelt in tents on the east of Nobah and Jogbehah, and smote the host: for the host was secure. 8 t 12 And when Zebah and Zalmunna fled, he pursued after them, and took the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, and "discomfited all the host. 13 And Gideon the son of Joash returned from battle before the sun was up, 14 And caught a young man of the men of Succoth, and inquired of him: and he ▾ described unto him the princes of Succoth, and the elders thereof, even threescore and seventeen men. 15 And he came unto the men of Succoth, and said, Behold Zebah and Zalmunna, with whom ye did upbraid me, saying, Are the W P. Chap. vii. 12.- - Or, a hundred and twenty thousand every one drawing a sword; chap. xx. 2, 15, 17, 25; 2 Kings iii. 26. Numbers xxxii. 35, 42.- Chapter xviii. 27; 1 Thess. v. 3. Psa. lxxxiii. 11. "Heb. terrified.—▾ Heb. writ,————▾ Ver. 6. Midianitish generals, having discomfited their hosts at threshing instruments; or, Ye shall be trodden down the passes of Jordan. Verse 3. Then their anger was abated] A soft answer turneth away wrath. He might have said that he could place but little dependence on his brethren when, through faint-heartedness, 22,000 left him at one time; but he passed this by, and took a more excellent way. Verse 4. Faint, yet pursuing] The Vulgate paraphrases this, et, præ lassitudine, fugientes persequi non poterant; "and, through fatigue, unable to pursue the fugitives." Verse 5. Give, I pray you, loaves of bread] As Gideon was engaged in the common cause of Israel, he had a right to expect succour from the people at large. His request to the men of Succoth and Penuel was both just and reasonable, under the feet of my victorious army, as the corn is trodden out with the feet of the ox. Succoth was beyond Jordan, in the tribe of Gad. Penuel was also in the same tribe, and not far distant from Succoth.. Verse 9. I will break down this tower.] Probably they had not only denied him, but insultingly pointed to a tower in which their chief defence lay; and intimated to him that he might do his worst, for they could amply defend themselves. Verse 10. Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor] If this were a place, it is nowhere else mentioned in Scripture. Some contend that pp karkor signifies rest; and thus the Vulgate understood it: Zebah and Zalmunna requiescebant, rested, with all their army. And this seems the most likely, for it is said, ver. 11, that Gideon smote the host, for the host was secure. Verse 13. Returned from battle before the sun was Verse 6. Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in thine hand] They feared to help Gideon, lest, if he should be overpowered, the Midianites would re-up] This does not appear to be a proper translation of venge it upon them; and they dared not trust God. pian nhyphp milmaaleh hechares. It should be rendered from the ascent of Chares; this is the reading of the Septuagint, the Syriac, and the Arabic. Verse 14. He described unto him the princes of Suecoth] The young man probably gave him the names |