Judges 7:15-25

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 ¹torches 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, ²'For the LORD and for Gideon.'"

Gideon Defeats Midian

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. ³And they cried out, "A sword for the LORD and for Gideon!"

21 Every man stood in his place around the camp, ⁴and all the army ran. They cried out and fled.

22 ⁵When they blew the 300 trumpets, ⁶the LORD set ⁷every man's sword against his comrade and against all the army. And the army fled as far as Beth-shittah toward Zererah,^[a] 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.

24 ⁸Gideon sent messengers throughout ⁹all the hill country of Ephraim, saying, "Come down against the Midianites and capture the waters against them, as far as ¹⁰Beth-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 ¹¹the two princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb. They killed Oreb ¹²at 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 ¹³across the Jordan.

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Judges 7:15-25 Meaning and Commentary

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, Jud 7:1-8 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, Jud 7:9-15 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, Jud 7:16-22 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, Jud 7:23-25.

Taken from John Gill's Exposition of the Bible

Cross References 13

1. Judges 15:4; Genesis 15:17
2. [Exodus 14:13, 14; 2 Chronicles 20:17]
3. [See ver. 18 above]
4. [2 Kings 7:7]
5. [Josh. 6:4, 16, 20]
6. [Psalms 83:9; Isaiah 9:4]
7. 1 Samuel 14:20; [2 Chronicles 20:23]
8. Judges 6:35
9. See Joshua 24:33
10. [Judges 3:28]
11. Judges 8:3; Psalms 83:11
12. Isaiah 10:26
13. Judges 8:4

Footnotes 1

[a]. Some Hebrew manuscripts Zeredah

The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.