Judges 7 is the seventh chapter of the Book of Judges in the Old Testament or the Hebrew Bible.[1] According to Jewish tradition the book was attributed to the prophet Samuel,[2][3] but modern scholars view it as part of the Deuteronomistic History, which spans in the books of Deuteronomy to 2 Kings, attributed to nationalistic and devotedly Yahwistic writers during the time of the reformer Judean king Josiah in 7th century BCE.[3][4] This chapter records the activities of judgeGideon,[5] belonging to a section comprising Judges 6 to 9 and a bigger section of Judges 6:1 to 16:31.[6]
A linguistic study by Chisholm reveals that the central part in the Book of Judges (Judges 3:7–16:31) can be divided into two panels based on the six refrains that state that the Israelites did evil in Yahweh's eyes:[10]
Panel One
A 3:7 ויעשו בני ישראל את הרע בעיני יהוה
And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD (KJV)[11]
B 3:12 ויספו בני ישראל לעשות הרע בעיני יהוה
And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD
B 4:1 ויספו בני ישראל לעשות הרע בעיני יהוה
And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD
Panel Two
A 6:1 ויעשו בני ישראל הרע בעיני יהוה
And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD
B 10:6 ויספו בני ישראל לעשות הרע בעיני יהוה
And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD
B 13:1 ויספו בני ישראל לעשות הרע בעיני יהוה
And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD
Furthermore from the linguistic evidence, the verbs used to describe the Lord's response to Israel's sin have chiastic patterns and can be grouped to fit the division above:[12]
Panel One
3:8 וימכרם, "and he sold them," from the root מָכַר, makar
3:12 ויחזק, "and he strengthened," from the root חָזַק, khazaq
4:2 וימכרם, "and he sold them," from the root מָכַר, makar
Panel Two
6:1 ויתנם, "and he gave them," from the root נָתַן, nathan
10:7 וימכרם, "and he sold them," from the root מָכַר, makar
13:1 ויתנם, "and he gave them," from the root נָתַן, nathan
Chapters 6 to 9 record the Gideon/Abimelech Cycle, which has two major parts:
the account of Gideon (6:1–8:32)
the account of Abimelech (8:33–9:57).
The Abimelech account is really a sequel of the Gideon account, resolving a number of complications originated in the Gideon narrative.[13]
In this narrative, for the first time Israel's appeal to Yahweh was met with a stern rebuke rather than immediate deliverence, and the whole cycle addresses the issue of infidelity and religious deterioration.[13]
The Gideon Narrative (6:1–8:32) consists of five sections along concentric lines — thematic parallels exist between the first (A) and fifth (A') sections as well as between the second (B) and fourth (B') sections, whereas the third section (C) stands
alone — forming a symmetrical pattern as follows:[14]
A. Prologue to Gideon (6:1–10)
B. God's plan of deliverance through the call of Gideon—the story of two altars (6:11–32)
B1. The first altar—call and commissioning of Gideon (6:11–24)
B2. The second altar—the charge to clean house (6:25–32)
C. Gideon's personal faith struggle (6:33–7:18)
a. The Spirit-endowed Gideon mobilizes 4 tribes against the Midianites, though lacking confidence in God's promise (6:33–35)
b. Gideon seeks a sign from God with two fleecings to confirm the promise that Yahweh will give Midian into his hand (6:36-40)
c. With the fearful Israelites having departed, God directs Gideon to go down to the water for the further reduction of his force (7:1–8)
c'. With fear still in Gideon himself, God directs Gideon to go down to the enemy camp to overhear the enemy (7:9–11)
b'. God provides a sign to Gideon with the dream of the Midianite and its interpretation to confirm the promise that Yahweh will give Midian into his hand (7:12–14)
a'. The worshiping Gideon mobilizes his force of 300 for a surprise attack against the Midianites, fully confident in God's promise (7:15–18)
B'. God's deliverance from the Midianites—the story of two battles (7:19–8:21)
Following Deuteronomy 20:5–7, God ordered the Israelites to allow the fearful to return home (verse 2).[15] This battle against the Midianites was not proof of Israelite prowess but of God's glory, so the fighting men did not have to be numerous. God used a test of the mode of drinking to reduce the force to a mere 300 men (verse 8), who were the 'lappers' (cf. 2 Chronicles 25:7-8 and the
humbled stance of Israelite kings in the face of war at 2 Chronicles 14:9–15; 12:6; 20:12; 16:8).[15]
Gideon Chooses 300 Soldiers (Judges 7:1-7). Doré's English Bible 1866. Painting by Gustave Doré (1832–1883)
During Gideon's reconnaissance mission before the battle (a common biblical war motif, cf. Numbers 13; Joshua 2), God offered the 'always humble and hesitant hero'
Gideon a positive sign before the battle: through the dream of the enemy which had divinatory significance (cf. Joseph's dreams and his interpretations of other dreams in Genesis 37:5–7; 40:8–22; 41:1–36).[16] A section in Judges 6:36–40 about 'a pair of fleecings' complements the section in 7:12–14 (sections C.b. and C.b'. in the structure) which recounts two Midianites (one telling the dream, one interpreting) to encourage Gideon into action.[17]
Verse 1
Then Jerubbaal, who is Gideon, and all the people that were with him, rose up early, and pitched beside the well of Harod: so that the host of the Midianites were on the north side of them, by the hill of Moreh, in the valley.[18]
"The hill of Moreh": located to the north of Mount Gilboa in the Jezreel Valley, to the south of Mount Tabor, about 8 miles (13 km) northwest of the well of Harod.[19][21][22]
The repetition of the Midianites' location in verses 1 and 8 marks off the boundaries of one section of this passage.[21]
Gideon defeats Midian (7:19–25)
"The Midianites Are Routed". Doré's English Bible 1866.
The detailed instructions before the battle and the mentioned instruments of war recall the battle of Jericho (Joshua 6), including the shouting, the trumpets, the torches, and the breaking jars, which led to the enemy's rout. Then as judge, Gideon called up tribe members of the Israelite confederation to pursue the Midianites (verse 23; cf. Judges 5:14–18). For the final operation, Gideon called up the tribe of Ephraim, whose army captured and beheaded the Midianite commanders Oreb and Zeeb (verses 24–25).[23]
Verse 25
And they captured two princes of the Midianites, Oreb and Zeeb. They killed Oreb at the rock of Oreb, and Zeeb they killed at the winepress of Zeeb. They pursued Midian and brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon on the other side of the Jordan.[24]
"Princes" from Hebrew śārîm, which also means "leaders",[25] or "generals".[26]
"Oreb" means "raven", whereas "Zeeb" means "wolf",[25][26] alluding to the Midianites as 'scavengers and predators to Israel'.[27] The settings of their execution: Oreb on a 'rock' and Zeeb at a 'winepress' may recall the winepress and rock in Ophrah where Gideon was called by God to deliver the Israelites from the Midianites (6:11–20).[25]
"The other side of the Jordan": Gideon and his army had apparently crossed the Jordan to pursue the Midianites, then the Ephraimites followed suit, bringing the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon.[26]
^ abGilad, Elon. Who Really Wrote the Biblical Books of Kings and the Prophets?Haaretz, June 25, 2015. Summary: The paean to King Josiah and exalted descriptions of the ancient Israelite empires beg the thought that he and his scribes lie behind the Deuteronomistic History.
