to drink water. : : : þ Taking up alittle water in the Palm of their Hands to put in-
to their mouths:
2 And the LORD faid unto Gideon, By the three Hundred men that lapped, will I fave you, and delgye: the Midianites into thine hand : and ler all the ocher people go every man unto his place z.
7 i.e. To his own home, as Numb. 24. 11.
8 So the people took victuals in their hand, and their trumpets & : and he ſent all rhe reft of Ifrael, eveiy man unto his tent, and retained thoſe three hundied men: and the hoſt of Midian was beneath him in the
valley. | -þ i.e. The Trumpets belonging ro the whole Army.even to thoſe
who were gone away, which he retained for the utc here tollowing.
See wv. 16. ; C And it came to paſs the ſame night / that the
LOR D ſaid unto him m,, Ariſe, get thee down unto the hoſt, for I have delivered it into thine hand. 1 Affeer he had diſmiſſed all but the Three Hundred. 2 In a Dream or Viſion of the Night. 10 But if thou fear to go down », go thou with Phu rah thy ſervant down to the hoſt, » To wit, withour ſome farther aſſurance of thy Succeſs, I wil] condeſcend ſo far to thee as ro give thee another Sign. It And thou ſhalt hear what they ſay, and afrerward ſhall thine hands be ſtrengthned o to go down unto the
: hoſt, Then went he down with Phurah his ſervant I Or, of unto the out-ſide || of the armed men that were in the ranks by hoſt. ;
Foe. o Thou wilt be encouraged to proceed, notwithſtanding the ſmall- neſs of thy number, which may deterr thee.
'-22 Andthe Midianites, and the Amalekites, and * all the children of the eaſt,lay along in the Valley like grat- hoppers for multitude, and their camels vere without ' number, as the ſand by the ſea-ſide for multitude.
1» And. when Gideon was come, behold, there vas
2 man that told a dream unto his fellow, and ſaid, Be-
hold, I dreamed a dream, and Io, a cake of barley
bread p tumbled into the hoſt ot Midian, and came un- to atent, and {mote it thac ir fell, and overturned it, that
the tent lay all along. | = p A weak and contemptible thing; and 1a it ſe]fas unable to o-
verthrow a Tent, as to remove a Mountain; bur being thrown by 2a Divine hand, bore down all before it; whica fitly reſembied Gide- or's caſe, which was mean and deſpicable, as himlelf faith, Judges 6, 15. yet he was Mighty, chrough GOD, to deſtroy the M:aian-
tes.
* Chap. 6 5, 33- and $., 10»
And his fellow anſwered and faid, This nothing
a aſe fave the {word of Gideon the ſon of Joaſh,a man of Irael q: for into his hand hath GOD delivered Midi-
an and all his hoſt. | g As there are many examples of ſignificant Dreams, given by GOD to Heathens, as Gen: 41. Dan. 2. and 4- ſo ſome of them had the gift of interpreting Dreams; which they ſometimes did by Stuoy and Arr, and ſometimes by Divine direthion as in this caſe. + Heb. che , *$ And it was ſo, when Gideon heard the telling of breaking "the dream r, and 7 the interpretation thereof, that he thereof. worſhipped /;, and returned into the hoſt of Iſrael, and ſaid, Ariſe, for the LORD hath delivered into your
hand the hoſt of Midian.
+ Which he underſtood, though ſpoken in the Midienitiſh Lan- guage; either, becauſe it was near a kin to the Hebrew, being only a diff:zring Dale&t of it; or, becauſe rhe /[raclites had now been ac- cuſtomed to rhe Midianites Company ad D.ſcourſe tor feven years. { He praiſed God for this miraculous Work and ſpecial eacourage-
ment, whereby he was confirmed in his enterpriſe. ; : of all of 16 And he divided the three hundred men into three
them- companies 7, and he put * a trumpet 1n every mans | Or fre- hand with empty picchers, and || lamps « within the
aocher> n= pitchets *,
* Heb.
efs in the han
G ES.
# To make a ſhew ofa vaſt Army encompaſſing them. » Or Torches made of ſuch materials as would quickly take Fire, and keep it for ſome time. « Partly to preſerve the Flame from the violence of Wind and Weather; and partly to conceal it, and ſurpriſe their Enemy with ſudden and unexpetted Flaſhes of Light.
| 17 And he ſaid unto them, Look on me, and do likewiſe » ; and behold, when I come to the out-{ide of the camp, it ſhall be, zhar as I do, ſo (ball ye do.
y For though 200 of his men were placed on other ſides of the Camp; yet they were ſo diſpoſed, that ſome perſonor perſons, ſet as Watch-men, might ſee what was done, and give notice to the reſt to follow the Example.
18 When I blow with a trumpet, I, and all that are with me, then blow ye the trumpets alſo on every ſide of all che camp, and ſay, The ſword * of the LORD, _
wy eb fip
and of Gideon 2» by
z He mentions his own Name, together with Gods, not out of woos vain oftentation or arrogance, as if he would equal himſelf with © _ God ; for he mentions God in the firſt and chief place, and himſelf only as his Miniſter ; bur from prudent Policy, becauſe his Name was grown formidable to them, and ſo was likely to further his Deſiyn, and their Flight, as it did.
' 19 JF So Gideon,and the hundred men that were with 11m, came unto the outſide of the camp, in the begin+ ning of the middle watch «, and they had but newly ſet tne watch, and they blew the trumpets, and brake the Dutchers that were in their hands.
2 i.e. Of the ſecond Watch; for though afrerwards the night w.s divided into four Watches by the Romans, Mat: t4; 25. yet in me ancient times, and in the Eaſtern parts, it was divided into tiree? He coſe the dark and: dead of the night, to increaſe their Terror by the Trumpers, whoſe found wou'd then be loudeſt and beſt heard, and the Lamps» whoſe light would then ſhine moſt brightly, and ſeem bigg-ſt, ro ſurpriſe them at diſadvantage,and to concea}] the ſinalineſs of their numbers.
20 And the three companies blew the trumpets,and and brake the pitchers, and held their lamps in their left hands 6b, and their trumpets in their right hands to blow ithall, and they cried, The ſword of the LORD, and
of Gideon, b Thar they might be thought to be a mighty Hoſt, having as many Troops or Companies, as there were Trumpets and Lights.
21 And they ſtood every man in his place c, round a- bout the camp ; and all the hoſt ran,and cried and fled.