Judges 7 in plain modern English. New Ground English Translation.
Time Period
Roughly the 12th century BC, immediately after Gideon's call
Location
The spring of Harod at the foot of Mount Gilboa, looking down on the Midianite camp near the hill of Moreh in the Jezreel Valley, with the pursuit running east toward the Jordan River
Audience
Israelites of a much later period, reading a battle account built to show that the victory was not won by numbers
Situation
Gideon's force of 32,000 is cut to 300, first by sending home anyone afraid and then by a test at the water. Gideon overhears an enemy soldier recounting a dream, then attacks at night with trumpets, torches hidden in clay jars and a shout, and the panicked Midianite camp turns on itself and flees.
Key Background
Ancient armies divided the night into three watches, and the changing of the middle watch was the moment when sentries were being relieved and confusion was easiest to create. Each of the three hundred carried a trumpet and a torch rather than a weapon, and since a trumpet normally signaled a whole company, three hundred of them sounding at once made the camp believe it was surrounded by a vast force. A dream and its interpretation were taken seriously as omens throughout the region, so the loaf of barley bread tumbling into the camp was read by the Midianites themselves as a sign of defeat, barley being the cheap grain of poor farmers.
Early in the morning, — that is, Gideon — and all his troops camped beside the of The Midianite camp was north of them, in the valley near the hill of Moreh.
Yahweh told Gideon, "You have too many troops with you. I'm not going to hand Midian over to them — Israel would just the and say, 'We rescued ourselves by our own strength.'"
"So announce to the troops: 'Anyone who is with — go home. Leave now.'" Twenty-two thousand men turned back, and ten thousand stayed.
But Yahweh told Gideon, "There are still too many. Take them down to the water, and I'll them out for you there. When I say, 'This one goes with you,' he goes. When I say, 'This one doesn't go,' he stays behind."
So Gideon brought the troops down to the Yahweh told him, "Separate everyone who with a from everyone who kneels down to drink."
Three hundred men lapped water from their hands to their mouths. All the rest got down on their knees to drink.
Yahweh told Gideon, "With these three hundred men who lapped, I will you and hand Midian over to you. Everyone else can go home."
So Gideon sent all the other Israelites home but kept the three hundred. They took the provisions and from the troops who left. The Midianite camp was below him in the valley.
That night Yahweh told him, "Get up and go down to attack the camp, because I am handing it over to you."
"But if you're to attack, go down to the camp first with your servant Purah."
"Listen to what they're saying, and afterward you'll have the to attack the camp." So Gideon went down with his servant Purah to the edge of the armed camp.
Now the Midianites, the Amalekites, and all the had spread across the valley a swarm of locusts. Their camels were beyond counting — on the
Gideon arrived just as a man was telling his friend about a dream. He said, "I just had this dream — a round loaf of came tumbling into the Midianite camp. It hit a tent so hard the tent flipped upside down and collapsed flat."
His friend answered, "That can only be the sword of Gideon son of Joash, the Israelite. has handed Midian and the whole camp over to him."
When Gideon heard the dream and its interpretation, he in Then he went back to the Israelite camp and said, "Get up! Yahweh has handed the Midianite camp over to you!"
He divided the three hundred men into three companies and gave each man a rams' horn and an empty with a torch inside it.
He told them, "Watch me and do exactly what I do. When I get to the edge of the camp, do whatever I do."
"When I and everyone with me blow our horns, you blow yours too from all around the camp and shout, 'For and for
Gideon and the hundred men with him reached the edge of the camp at the beginning of the just after the guards had been changed. They blew their horns and smashed the jars they were holding.
All three companies blew their horns and smashed their jars. They held the torches in their left hands and the horns in their right hands, ready to blow, and they shouted, "A for and for
Each man around the camp while the entire Midianite army ran, and fled.
When the three hundred horns sounded, Yahweh the of every in the camp The army fled as far as toward Zererah, all the way to the border of Abel-meholah near Tabbath.
The men of Israel from and all of were called out to chase down the Midianites.
Gideon also sent messengers through all the of saying, "Come down to cut off the Midianites! Seize the ahead of them as far as Beth-barah, and the Jordan too." So all the men of were called out, and they seized the as far as Beth-barah and the Jordan.
They captured two Midianite commanders, and They killed at the rock of and at the of They continued chasing the Midianites and brought the heads of and to Gideon, who was across the Jordan.