Judges 7:12

12 And Midian and Amalek and all the sons of the east lay along in the valley like locusts in multitude, and their camels were not numbered as the sand by the sea side for multitude.

Judges 7:12 Meaning and Commentary

Judges 7:12

And the Midianites and the Amalekites, and the children of the
east
The Arabians, who with the Amalekites joined the Midianites in this expedition:

lay along in the valley
in the valley of Jezreel, in their tents, which overspread the valley, or at least great part of it:

like grasshoppers for multitude;
or locusts, which usually come in great numbers, and cover the air and the sun where they fly, and the earth where they light, as they did the land of Egypt; this army consisted at least of 135,000 men, as is clear from ( Judges 8:10 )

and their camels were without number; as the sand is by the sea side
for multitude;
an hyperbolical expression, setting forth the great number of them which the countries of Midian and Arabia abounded with; and were very proper to bring with them, to load and carry off the booty they came for, the fruits of the earth; see ( Judges 6:4 Judges 6:5 ) .

Judges 7:12 In-Context

10 But if thou art afraid to go down, go with Phurah thy servant down to the camp,
11 and thou shalt hear what they say; and then thy hands shall be strengthened, and thou shalt go down to the camp. Then he went down with Phurah his servant unto the outside of the armed men that were in the camp.
12 And Midian and Amalek and all the sons of the east lay along in the valley like locusts in multitude, and their camels were not numbered as the sand by the sea side for multitude.
13 And when Gideon arrived, behold, a man was telling a dream to his fellow, saying, Behold, I dreamed a dream that I saw a cake of barley bread tumbled into the camp of Midian and come unto the tents, and it smote them so that they fell and overturned them, and the tents fell.
14 And his fellow answered and said, This is nothing else but the sword of Gideon, the son of Joash, a man of Israel, for God has delivered the Midianites with all the camp into his hand.
The Jubilee Bible (from the Scriptures of the Reformation), edited by Russell M. Stendal, Copyright © 2000, 2001, 2010