Judges 7:21

21 and they stood all in their place, about the tents of their enemies. And so all the tents were troubled; and they cried [out], and yelled, and fled; (and they all stood in their places, about the tents of their enemies. And all the army was troubled, and many of the enemies cried out, and yelled, and fled away;)

Judges 7:21 Meaning and Commentary

Judges 7:21

And they stood every man in his place around the camp
To see the salvation of God, and that it might most clearly appear to be his own doing; and indeed, had they gone into it, they could have done nothing; they had no weapons in their hands, a trumpet in one hand, and a lamp in the other; though this their position served to increase the terror of the enemy, who might suppose that they stood either to light and introduce a large army at the back of them; or to light the forces already in the midst of them, while they destroyed them; which latter seems rather to be the thing their imaginations were possessed with, since they fell to slaying their fellows, supposing them to be enemies, as in the following verse:

and all the host ran, and cried, and fled;
or "were broken" ^F12; as some render the first word, their lines were broken; they could not put themselves in rank and file, but were thrown into the utmost confusion; and cried as being in the utmost danger of their lives, and fled for their safety as fast, as they could; see ( Isaiah 27:13 ) ( Hebrews 6:18 ) .

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FOOTNOTES:

F12 (Uwr) "confracta", Pagninus, Montanus, Vatablus.

Judges 7:21 In-Context

19 And Gideon entered, and the three hundred men that were with him, into a part of the tents, when the watches of midnight began; and when the keepers were raised, they began to sound with trumps, and to beat together the pots among themselves (and after the guards had changed, they began to sound with the trumpets, and to beat the pots together).

20 And when they sounded in three places by compass, and had broken the pots, they held [the] lamps in their left hands, and [the] sounding trumps in their right hands; and they cried, The sword of the Lord, and of Gideon;

21 and they stood all in their place, about the tents of their enemies. And so all the tents were troubled; and they cried [out], and yelled, and fled; (and they all stood in their places, about the tents of their enemies. And all the army was troubled, and many of the enemies cried out, and yelled, and fled away;)

22 and nevertheless the three hundred men continued, sounding with trumps. And the Lord sent sword in all the tents, and they killed themselves by death each other; and they (who were left) fled till to Bethshittah, (in Zererath), and by the side, from Abelmeholah into Tabbath. (but the three hundred men continued sounding with the trumpets. And the Lord set each man in the camp against his neighbour, and they killed each other with their swords; and those who were left fled to Bethshittah in Zererath, and to Abelmeholah Ridge by Tabbath.)

23 And men of Israel cried together, of Naphtali, and of Asher, and of all Manasseh, and they pursued Midian; and the Lord gave victory to the people of Israel in that day. (Then the men of Israel from Naphtali, and Asher, and from both parts of Manasseh, were called out, and they pursued the Midianites; and the Lord gave victory to the people of Israel on that day.)