Commentaria in Judices
Chapter 7
Gedeon, by God’s command, dismisses the fearful, twenty-two thousand of the thirty-two thousand soldiers, and then those who had drunk the water of the river with prone mouth: wherefore he keeps only three hundred for himself. Secondly, verse 9, going down into the camp of Madian, he hears a Madianite’s dream of bread overthrowing the camp of Madian, and that bread is the sword of Gedeon. Hence he conceives sure hope of victory. Thirdly, verse 16, with the three hundred he rushes on the countless Madianites, and, sounding trumpets, breaking pitchers, and thence flashing lamps, strikes the Madianites with such terror that they slay one another in mutual slaughter.
1. Then Jerobaal, who is also Gedeon, rising early, and all the people with him, came to the fountain that is called Harad: now the camp of Madian was in the valley on the north side of the high hill. 2. And the Lord said to Gedeon: The people that are with thee are many, and Madian shall not be delivered into their hands: lest Israel glory against me, and say: I was delivered by my own strength.
3. Speak to the people, and proclaim in the hearing of all: Whosoever is fearful and timorous, let him return. And two and twenty thousand men went away from mount Galaad, and returned home, and only ten thousand remained. 4. And the Lord said to Gedeon: The people are still too many, bring them to the waters, and there I will try them: and of whom I shall say to thee, This shall go with thee, let him go: whom I shall forbid to go, let him return. 5. And when the people were come down to the waters, the Lord said to Gedeon: They that shall lap the water with their tongues, as dogs are wont to lap, thou shalt set apart by themselves: but they that shall drink bowing down their knees, shall be on the other side. 6. And the number of them that had lapped water, casting it with the hand to their mouth, was three hundred men: and all the rest of the multitude had drunk kneeling. 7. And the Lord said to Gedeon: By the three hundred men that lapped water I will save you, and deliver Madian into thy hand: but let all the rest of the multitude return to their place. 8. So taking victuals according to their number, and trumpets, he sent all the rest of the multitude to their tents, and with the three hundred men he gave himself to the battle. Now the camp of Madian was beneath in the valley. 9. The same night the Lord said to him: Arise, and go down into the camp: because I have delivered them into thy hand. 10. But if thou art afraid to go alone, let Phara thy servant go down with thee. 11. And when thou shalt hear what they say, then shall thy hands be strengthened, and thou shalt go down to the camp of the enemies more secure. He went down, himself and Phara his servant, into part of the camp where were the watchmen of the armed men. 12. Now Madian and Amalec, and all the eastern people, lay scattered in the valley as a multitude of locusts: their camels also were innumerable as the sand that lieth on the sea shore. 13. And when Gedeon was come, one told his neighbour a dream: and in this manner related what he had seen: I saw a dream, and methought a hearth cake of barley bread rolled into the camp of Madian: and when it was come to a tent, it struck it, and beat it down flat to the ground. 14. He to whom he spoke answered: This is nothing else but the sword of Gedeon the son of Joas, a man of Israel: for the Lord hath delivered Madian, and all their camp into his hands. 15. And when Gedeon had heard the dream and the interpretation thereof, he adored: and returning to the camp of Israel, he said: Arise, for the Lord hath delivered the camp of Madian into our hands. 16. And he divided the three hundred men into three parts, and gave them trumpets in their hands, and empty pitchers, and lamps within the pitchers. 17. And he said to them: What you shall see me do, do you the same: I will go into the camp, and do you follow what I do. 18. When the trumpet shall sound in my hand, do you also blow the trumpets on every side of the camp, and shout together: To the Lord and to Gedeon. 19. So Gedeon, and the three hundred men that were with him, went into part of the camp, at the beginning of the midnight watch: and when the watchmen were awakened, they began to sound the trumpets, and to clap the pitchers one against another. 20. And when they sounded in three places round about the camp, and had broken their pitchers, they held the lamps in their left hands, and with their right hands the trumpets which they blew, and they cried out: The sword of the Lord and of Gedeon: 21. standing every man in his place round about the enemy’s camp. So all the camp was troubled, and crying out and howling they fled away: 22. and the three hundred men nevertheless continued sounding the trumpets. And the Lord sent the sword into all the camp, and they slew one another, 23. fleeing as far as Bethsetta, and the border of Abelmeula in Tebbath. And the men of Israel shouting from Nephtali, and Aser, and all Manasses, pursued after Madian. 24. And Gedeon sent messengers to all mount Ephraim, saying: Come down to meet Madian, and take the waters before them as far as Bethbera and the Jordan. And all Ephraim shouted, and took the waters before them, and the Jordan as far as Bethbera. 25. And apprehending two men of Madian, Oreb and Zeb, they slew Oreb at the rock of Oreb, and Zeb in the winepress of Zeb. And they pursued Madian, carrying the heads of Oreb and Zeb to Gedeon beyond the waters of the Jordan.
1. AT THE FOUNTAIN THAT IS CALLED HARAD.—Harad signifies fear, that we may learn that “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” For “blessed is the man that is always fearful,” Prov. 28:14. This fountain is a type of baptism and penance, which soldiers ought to send before them to battle, as they did by command of the Emperor Constantine about to fight against Maxentius, who therefore gained the victory over him, as Theodoret narrates, book III, chap. 3.
I WAS DELIVERED BY MY OWN STRENGTH.—“That the work of the heavenly right hand be not assigned to human virtue,” etc. “That the few might not claim anything for themselves of the work of war divinely accomplished,” says Salvian, book VII On Providence, as if to say: I will that you employ only three hundred, and those unarmed, for this battle, that it may be plain to all that the victory was won not by soldiers, but by my strength. For this cause God chose the weak things of the world, to confound the strong, 1 Corinth. 1, namely vile and unlearned fishermen, that by them as Apostles he might convert the world; for a type of these were these soldiers of Gedeon.
3. WHOSOEVER IS FEARFUL AND TIMOROUS, LET HIM RETURN,—lest he communicate this his fear to the other soldiers, and that according to the law Deut. 20:8. So Christ rejected the timid from his warfare, saying: “He that taketh not up his cross and followeth me, is not worthy of me,” Matt. 10:38. Let the brave soldier of Christ say therefore: “The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear? The Lord is the protector of my life, of whom shall I be afraid?” Psalm 26.
AND WENT AWAY FROM MOUNT GALAAD.—This is a different mount from Galaad, on which Jacob made a covenant with Laban, Genesis 31:48, which was beyond the Jordan: this was on this side of the Jordan, for there Gedeon had his camp. Serarius thinks that mount Gelboe is here called mount Galaad.
5. THEY THAT SHALL LAP THE WATER WITH THEIR TONGUES, AS DOGS ARE WONT TO LAP (that they cast water drawn from the river with the hand into themselves, as the following verse explains, as dogs lapping water with the tongue cast it into the mouth, but do not apply the mouth to the water to suck up water, as horses and oxen do), THOU SHALT SET APART BY THEMSELVES (that thou mayest enlist them for the warfare and expedition of thine against Madian); BUT THEY THAT SHALL DRINK BOWING DOWN THEIR KNEES, SHALL BE ON THE OTHER SIDE,—that thou mayest send them away home from thy camp. Josephus thinks that those were here chosen by Gedeon who were cowardly, and the brave rejected. Hear him: “That they might know that the whole matter depended on the help of God, he commanded him about midday, when the heat is hottest, to lead the army to the river, and to count as brave men whoever should drink bending down, but whoever should take drink in a fearful and hurried manner, to reckon that they did this from fear of the enemies, and with these he bade him attack the enemy.” Whence Abulensis gathers that those who lapped the water, as more timid, cowardly and contemptible, were chosen by Gedeon and God, that the greater power of God might shine in this victory. So also Theodoret, Question 15, and St. Augustine, Question 37.