And five of you shall chase an hundred
One man chase twenty; and an hundred of you put ten
thousand to flight;
which, had it been in proportion to the other number, should have
been two thousand, as in ( Deuteronomy
32:30 ) ; where there is a proportion observed; and Abendana
observes, there are some that give the sense of it thus, an
hundred of you, an hundred times five, that is, five hundred, and
so it comes up to a right computation; but here it seems to be a
certain number for an uncertain, and only a proverbial
expression, signifying that a very few, under the blessing of
divine Providence, should get the advantage over a large number,
and oblige them to retire, and pursue them closely: instances we
have of large bodies of the enemy being defeated by a small
number of Israelites, ( Judges 7:21 Judges 7:22 ) ; and
even many by a single person or two, ( 1 Samuel
14:13 1 Samuel
14:14 ) ( 2
Samuel 23:8-16 ) ; and your enemies shall fall before
you by the sword;
(See Gill on
Leviticus 26:7).