Exposition of the Whole Bible

¥. 1g. The kings came, &c.] Who were with Sifera, as the Targum adds; unlefs Deborab can be. thought to refer to the battle, fuppoted to be fought about the fame place, between fo/bua and the was given by Mojes, half of it to the tribes of kings in confederacy with Yabin, Jofb. x. 1, 7-

Reuben and Gad, and the other half to the half tribe of Manaffeb, Deut. iii. 12, 43. and being here diftinguifhed from Reuben, it feems that not only that tribe, but alfo the tribe of Gad, and the half tribe of Manaffeh, on that fide Jordan, came not to the help of J/rael,; but abode where they were, attending their flocks and herds, and preferring their own private profit to the public good; yet as Gilead was given to Machir, Deut. iii. 15. and fome are faid to come out from thence to ferve in this expedition, ¥. 14. fome read the words, as then fought the kings of Canaan in Taanach by the waters of Megiddo; the other kings of Canaan, which came into the affiftance of Yaéim, either in the times of Fo/oua; or rather, which now joined Sifera’s army, in thofe places, which both belonged to Manafféh, but were in the tribe of Jfachar, of which fee the note on o/b. xvii. 13. and were at fome diftance from each other, as appears by the villages and country around, and belonging to each; and fuch was the largenefs of Si/era’s army, reinforced by thofe kings, that according to the

Kimchi obferves, with an interrogation, did Gilead Targum it reached from Taanach to Megiddo; the abide beyond Jordan? no, he did not; though his fituation was beyond it, as well as Reuben’s, yet fame is obferved by the Fezws/h commentators; the waters of Megiddo are the fame with theriver Ki- he did not continue there, but came over to help| soz, which ran near the city: they took no gain of his brethren; and fo this is introduced to upbraid Reuben, and leave him without excufe, fince he could as well have left his flocks as Gilead did, and come over to the help of his brethren as well as he: and why did Dan remain in fhips? the Danites inhabiting Joppa, and other pares bordering on the Mediterranean fea, attended their navigation and merchandize; and which they chofe rather to do, than to appear inthe field of battle in the behalf of their brethren; judging this to be a fufficient excufe, though the queftion put implies the contrary; according to the Zargum, they were meditating a flight, and put their goods into fhips to flee with them, fhould Sifera get the day: Ajber continued on the fea-foore; onthe fhore of the Mediterranean fea, attending traffick and bufinefs, and did not concern themfelves at all in this war: ‘and abode in his trenches; in his towns and cities, the walls of which had been broken down by the Canaanites, and remained unrepaired, nor were they fuffered to repair them; and therefore excufed themfelves on this account.from engaging in the war, being obliged to ftay at home to keep and defend their cities; which were in fuch a ruinous and weak condition, that the enemy might enter at any time: fome render it, i their creeksi; bays and havens where they had. much fhipping, and which required their attendance.

¥.18. Zebulun and Naphtali were a people, &c.] Thefe two tribes were chiefly concerned in this war; out of them were the 10,000 men that followed Barak, who willingly offered themfelves, and were the moft active and vigorous: that jeoparded themfelves unto the death; expofed them to the utmoft danger, fearlefs of death itfelf: or reproached “their lives; were carelefs of them, valued them not; they were not dear to them, but were ready to part with them freely, in the caufe of liberty in which they were engaged: in the high places of the field; on the top ot mount Labor, where they were muftered, and from whence they beheld the vaft hoft of Sifera furrounding them; and yet, with an undaunted bravery and courage, defcended the hill to fight with them. ‘The Vu/- gate Latin verfion reads, in the country of Merome; inthe plains and fields of it, near which were the waters of Merom, where Fofhua fought Fabin, a former king of Canaan, and fuppofed by fome to money; that is, either of Fabin king of Canaan, whom they came to ferve; but freely engaged with him, and maintained their own troops, which they brought into the field, and had raifed at their own expence; but according to Kimchi the fenfe is, they took no money of the J/rael/ites that fell into their hands, but flew them, would not fave their lives, though they offered them money, being like the mercilefs Medes, J/. xiii. 17,18. but rather the meaning is, that whereas they came big with expectation of a large booty among the J/- raelites, they were difappointed, and obliged to flee without any.

‘YY. 20. They fought from heaven, &c.) Either the angels of heaven, afterwards called ftars; or the heavens, the elements fought for J/rael, and againtt Sifera; a violent ftorm of rain and hail falling at this time, which difcomfited Sifera’s army; fee the note on ch, iv. 15. or this victory was obtained in fuch a manner, as plainly fhewed it was not of man, but of God from heaven; fo the Targum, ** from heaven war was made with them;”” with the kings before mentioned; God fought againft them, and no wonder:they were conquered: the flars in their courfes fought againft Sifera; it feems as if it was in the night that this battle was fought, at leaft that the purfuic lafted till night, when the ftars by their brightnefs and clear fhining favoured the J/raelites, and were greatly to the difadvantage of the Canaanites; unlefs it cam be thought, as is by fome, that the ftars had an influence to caufe a tempeft of rain, hail, thunder, and lightnings, by which the army of Si/era- was difcomfited in the day-time, as before obferved.

¥. 21. The river of Kifbon fwept them away, &c.] To which Si/era’s army was drawn, and where it was difcomfited; and very probably many of them in their confufion, endeavoured to make their efcape by fording or {wimming over the river, by which they were fwept away and drowned, the waters of it at this time fwelling in a miraculous manner, as Ben Gerfom thinks; or were increafed by the large fhowers of rain that fell, as fome note from Fofephus, though I find it not in him; however it is not improbable it might be the cafe; for our countryman Mr. Maundrell' thus obferved ‘when he was at it; ‘* in the condition we faw it, it’s waters were low and inconfiderable; but pafling

* FIM probris affecit, Pagninus; fo along the fide of the plain, we difcovered the he of many leffer torrents falling down into it from the. mountains, which muft needs maké it exceedingly upon fudden rains, as doubtlels it actually did at the deftruétion of Si/era’s hoft, Fudg. Vv. 21.” that ancient river, the river Kifbon; ancient, either becaufe it was from the beginning of the creation, and not cut by the art of men, as fome rivers are; or becaufe it was fpoken of by poets and hiftorians in ancient times; or becauie of famous exploits done here of old; fo the Targum, *« the river where figns and mighty works weze done for J/rae/ of old.” Some take the word Kedumim to be another name of the river, fo from its windings and turnings, and, as it were, meeting itfelf. So fome travellers tell us™, the| river Keduwiniin, the fame with Kifhon, is fo called, becaufe it meets itfelf, being by its meanders formed like a fling or noofe, as Ki/bon fignifies; it rifes at mount Yedor, and difcharges itfelf into the Mediterrancen fea, at the foot of mount Carmel; Hillerus » {ays, Kifbon fignifies bending in of a fnare, or net, or meander, and takes it to be the fame with the Pagida of Pliny °, which in the tongue fignifies the fame: O my foul, thou hafi trodden down firength; a ftrong and mighty army through her prayers and fupplication, advice and direétion; or thou haft trodden with ftrength, that is, the river Ki/bon, as fome Fewi/h interpreters underftand it, who-fuppofe that another miracle was wrought; that as the waters of the river when the Canaanites attempted to efcape over it, it funk and became fordable for Deborah and the Yraelites; a miracle, as they fuppofe, fomewhat fimilar to that at the Red-/ea.

¥. 23. Curfe ye Meroz, faid the angel of thelare Lord, &c.} Not Barak, as the Targum and Farchi, but Deborah herfelf faid this under a fpirit of prophecy, not from her own fpirit in a revengeful way, but from the Spirit of God; or this was fugeefted to her by an angel, not a created, the increated one, the angel of the covenant, by whom fhe was infpired, and an impulfe made by him on her to denounce a curfe on Meroz; which fome fay was 2 ftar, Sifera’s {tar; others the name of a mighy man ’, fo Yarchi; but rather it is fome name of a city or place near where the battle was fought, fo Kimchi, Ben Gerfom and Ben Melech: fome take Meroz to be the fame with Merom, at the waters of which Yeue fought with Fadin, Fofe. Xi. 5. and fuppofed to be the fame with the waters of Megiddo, and the river Ki/bon, where this battle was fought; and Yerom%, under the word Merom, obferves, that there was in his time a villace called Merrus, 12 miles from the city Sebajte near Dethaim, and that Alevoz here is the hi of a place, is clear from what follows: cur/é [ye bitterly the inhabitants thereof 5 or curfe curfing*; fwelllrepeat it, give them curfe upon curfe, curfe them moft vehemently: the reafon of which follows: becanfe they came not to the help of the Lord; that calledjis, of the people of the Lord, whofe caufe was the Lord’s; for though he ftood in no need of their help, yet their negligence and neutrality were highly refented by him, and therefore repeated: to the help of the Lord againft the mighty; the mighty Canaanites, and their mighty kings, and mighty hofts; or with the mighty *, Barak and his 10,000: now though others, who did not come into their calledjaffiftance, are only difcommended, being at a dif{tance, yet thofe are curfed being very near, and aw the peril their brethren were in, and yet would not lend an helping hand.

y. 24. Blefed above women fhall Fael the wife of Heber the Kenite be, &c.] Under the fame influence that Meroz was curfed, Fael is bleffed, the fojone for not helping J/rae! in a public way, the mannerfother for doing it in a private manner; this bleffing is pronounced, either in a way of prayer that Greeklit might be, or in a way of prophecy that it fhould be, and indeed in both: d/effed shall fhe be adove the women in the tent 5 above all women that dwell in tents: this being a proper defcription of a woman, whofe character it is to abide in her tent, dwell at home, and mind the bufinefs of her family; and may have refpect to the manly fwelled)a¢tion fhe performed in her tent, equal, if not fufo perior, to what was done in the field. J ate:

y.25. He afked water, and foe gave him milk, &e.] That is, Stfera afked it of her, as the Targum expreffes it, when he turned into her tent: fhe brought him frefh butter in a lordly difh; which fignifies either the fame, the milk with cream on andjit, for that is meant by butter 5 or having firtt taken off the cream, fhe gave him milk to drink, thejand then brought the cream in a dith for him to vehemence, eat, and thereby the more incline him to fleep; and this fhe brought in a difh fit for any lord or nobleman to eat out of; in fuch a polite and courteous manner did fhe ufe him, fo that he could have no fafpicion of her having any ill defign againft him. R. Fonah, as Kimchi notes, interprets this of a difh of the mighty or lordly ones, of the fhepherds, the principal of the flock, as they called in Fer. XXV. 34, 35. out of which they had ufed to drink their milk, or eat their cream, and fuch an one was likely enough to be in Yae/’s tent; from this Hebrew word Sepel, here ufed, feems to come the Latin word Simpucium or fimpulum, butjufed in things facred, and which, according to Pliny, was an earthen veffel; and fo fome of the Rabdins, as Kimchi obferves, fay, this was a new earthen vial; it is very probable, it was a broad platter or dith fit for fuch an ufe.

y¥. 22. Then were the horfe hoofs broken by means of the pranfings, &c.| Either through the force of the waters of the river, where they pranfed plunged, and could have no ftanding; or thro’ the {wift hafte they made to run away, ftriking earth fo quick, and with fuch force and that their hoofs were broken thereby, efpecially on ftony ground, and fo their fpeed retarded: the ores of the mighty ones; either their riders, princes and great perfonages, who made them] pranfe, leap and run with great fpeed and force; or horfes trong and mighty, being fuch as were {elected for this purpofe, and trained to war.

y. 26. She put ber hand to the nail, &c.] Her left-hand, as the Sepiuagint, Arabic and Vulgate Latin verfions exprefs it, and as appears by what follows 3 the having taken up a pin from her tent, with which it was faftened to the ground, fhe clapped it to the temples of Sifera: and her right-hand to the workman’s hammer; in her right-hand fhe took an hammer, fuch as carpenters, and fuch like workmen make ufe of, and workman-like went about her bufinefs fhe had devifed, and was determined upon, being under a divine impulfe, and fo had no fear or dread upon her: and with the hammer fhe fmote Sifera; not that with:the hammer fhe ftruck him on the head, and ftunned him, but fmote the nail fhe had put to his temples and drove it into them: fhe /mote off his bead, after fhe had driven the nail through his temples, fhe took his fword perhaps and cut off his head, as David cut off Goliab’s, after he had flung a ftone bay into his forehead; though as this feems needlefs, nor is there any hint of it in the hiftory of affair, the meaning may only be, that fhe ftruck the nail through his head, as the Septuagint, or broke his head, as the Targum: when fhe bad pierced and firicken thro’ bis temples; that being the fofteft and tendereft part of the head, fhe drove the quite thro’ them to the ground, ch. iv. 21. " y. 27. At ber feet he bowed, he fell, he lay down, &c.] Perhaps at her firft approach to him, and attempt to drive the nail, or at the blow the gave, he rofe up, but fhe had done his bufinefs fo effectually at the firft ftroke, that he dropt atonce, and laid down his head again: at ber fect he bowed, he fell; when fhe redoubled her blow: where be bowed, there he fell down dead; and ftruggled and ftirred no more; thus inglorioufly did this general of a vaft army die. This aétion is no otherwife to be juftified, but by its being done through an impulfe of the Spirit of God upon her, to take away the life of an implacable enemy of God’s people; otherwife it might feem to be a breach of hofpitality towards her gueft fhe had invited in, and of the peace which fubfifted between this general’s prince and her hufband; and therefore is not to be drawn into an example where there is no appearance of a divine warrant.

¥. 30. Have they not ped? Sec | Or found» the thisjenemy Barak and his army, or the fpoil of them? no doubt they have: have they. not divided the prey? doubtlefs they have, which being large, and the captives many, has taken up much of their time to look over, and make an equal and proper nailjdivifion of, and that moft certainly is the caufe of the delay: to every man a damjfel or two? or a womb or two *, ufing both unchafte and contemptuous language *, and pleafing themfelves with the virgins of J/rael being abufed by the common foldiers, which was too frequently the cafe with the heathens at gaining a victory: to Sifera a prey of divers colours, a prey of divers colours of needlework, of divers colours of needle-work on both fides, fuits of clothes of different colours, fuch as were the works of the women of Sidon’, and thofe curioufly interwoven or wrought with a needle, and: that on both fides of the filk or ftuff of which they were made; and fo fuch as were of great worth and efteem, and fuch it was expeéted, and with confidence and affurance of: it, Sifera would bring with him, and make prefents of to his mother and her ladies, or which he would have for his own wear and ufe, or both: meet for the necks of them that take the /poi/? the general of the army, and the chief men to whom the fpoil was brought, and then divided fuitable to the rank and quality of every foldier. Pliny * fays, the Prygians fir invented the art of needle-work; hence the garments wrought, and thoie that made them, were called after their name; but. it is certain it was known by the ancient Hebrews and Ca- “aanites, fee Exod. xxvi. 36. Aiba Hy W.31. So let all thine enemies perifh, O Lord! &c.] As Si/era and his army did, and be difappointed as his mother and her ladies were; which is not only a with or prayer that it might be» but a prophecy that fo it would be: dwt let them that /ove him; that love the Lord fuperlatively and fincerely, with all their heart and foul, and from love ferve and fear him: be as the fun when be go-. eth forth in bis might; in the middle of the day, when its heat and light are the greateft, and in the fummer-folftice in the month of Fune, when the fun is in Cancer, as Ben Gerfom and Abarbinel obferve, and it is hotteft: the fenfe is, let the true friends of God be as bright and as glorious, and increafe in light, luftre and fplendor as that glorious luminary in mid-day, and be no more liabie to be refifted and ftopped by their enemies, and as much out of the reach of them as that is: and the land had reft 40 years; thefe are not the words of Deborah, whofe fong ends with the laft claufe, but of the writer of this book; which years, according to moft, are to be reckoned from the death of Ehud, including the 20 years bondage under fabin, as Ben Gerfom and Abarbinel; fo that frictly fpeaking the reft was but 20 years; one would think they fhould be reckoned from the viétory [obtained over Fabin king of Canaan. Sar y. 28. The mother of Sifera looked out at a window, &c.] Which perhaps looked towards the high road, in which fhe expected Sifera to return in his chariot with his victorious army; and fhe was looking out for him, not through fear of any ill that had befallen him, or fufpicion of bad fuccefs, but through impatience to fee him return in triumph, wreathed with laurels: and cried through the lattice; which is but another word for a window, which was not of glafs, that being of a later invention, but made in lattice-form, in a fort of net-work full of little holes to let in air and light, and look out at; here fhe ftood and cried with a very loud uneafy tone; the word fignifies a fort of a groaning, howling noife, difcovering impatience and uneafinefs; and fo the Vulgate Latin and Syriac verfions render it, /he bowled: faying in a whining way, why is bis chariot fo long in coming? the did not doubt at all of victory, and concluded it would foon be obtained, and there would be very little trouble and difficulty in getting it, and therefore wondered his chariot was not in fight: why ¢arry the wheels of bis chariots? the 900 he took with him, of the return of which fhe made no.doubt, only was uneafy until they appeared, that fhe might be delighted with the glory of the triumphs; the Targum is, ‘* why are the runners hindered, who fhould bring me a letter of the victories?”

¥. 29. Her wife ladies anfwered ber, &c.| Every one in their turn endeavouring to comfort her and make her eafy. The Vulgate Latin verfion is, ‘* one that was wifer than the reft of his wives;” but they fcem rather to be her maids of honour, or ladies of her acquaintance, who were come to they. expected to have of Sifera: yea, fhe returned anfwer to berfelf; before they could well give theirs, fhe foon recollected herfelf what might be, and muft be, the occafion of this delay; and this, according to the Targum, fhe made in her wifdom, what her great wifdom quickly fuggefted to her,was ~ certainly the cafe, and with which fhe comforted and quieted herfelf..

fort, and the ftrong holds for the richer to retire ftreffed condition J/rae/ was in through the @- dianiies, ¥. 1—6. of a praphet being fent untg) them to reprove them for their fins, ¥. 7—10. of an angel appearing to Gideon, with an order him to go and fave J/rae/ out of the hands of the Midianites, ¥.11—16. and of a fign given him by the angel, whereby he knew this order was of God, ¥. 17—24. and of the-reformation from idolatry in his father’s family he made upon this, throwing down the altar.

for the Lord, y¥. 25—32. and of the preparation he made to fight the Midjanites and others, y. 33, 34, 35. but firft defired a fign of the Lord, that J/rael would be faved by his hand, which was to with their goods; tho’, according to Farchi, the latter were no other than fences they made in woods, by cutting down trees, and fetting them round tojabout them, perhaps much the fame as the thickets, 1 Sam, xiii. 6.

. ¥. 3. And fo it was when Irael bad fown, &c.], Their land, and it was grown up, and near being. ripe or quite; for the Midianites gave them no difturbance in the winter, and during feed-time, of Baal, and building one! when they came out of their lurking holes, and manured their land, and fowed it: that the Midanites came up; into the land of Canaan, from the other fide Yordan, where their country lay, and which it feems lay lower than the land of [/rael:

N this chapter we have an account of the di- granted and repeated, ¥..30—40.

¥.1. And the children of Ifrael did evil. in. the and the Amalekites, and the children of the eaft; the former were implacable enemies of J/rael, and on eyery occafion would join other nations in op-

Sight of the Lord, &c.] After the death of Deborab and Barak, during whofe life they kept. to preffing them; and the children of the eaft were 4raézans, as Fofepbus ° exprefsly affirms: even they the pure worlhip of God, and who perhaps lived pretty near the clofe of the 40 years reft, or of the 20 years from their victory oyer Yavin, but they came up againft them all thefe three forts of people in a confederacy. x. 4. And they encamped againfi them, &c. | dying, the children of J/rael fell into idolatry, for that that was the evil they did, appears from y. Formed a camp, from whence they fent out parties to plunder the people; or» * they were fixing

10. even worfhipping the gods of the Amorites: and the Lord delivered them into the hand of Midian Seven years, this was not the Midian where Fetbro, the father in-law of Ado/es lived, which lay more fouthward, but that which joined to. Moab, and was more ealtward. This people had been deftroyed by the J/raelites in the times of Mo/es, in. their way to the land of Cazaan, Numb, xxxi. wherefore they might bear them*‘a grudge, and now took the opportunity.to, revenge themfelves on them, God permitting them fo to do for their fins;, and though the deftruction of this people by Hfrael was very general, yet as fome of them might make their efcape, and afterwards return to their own land, and this being about 200 years ago, might, with others joining them, repeople. their country by this time, and become ftrong and powerfal, their tents among them,” as the Vulgate Latin yerfion; and fo the Targum, ‘* they dwelt by them,” or fixed their habitations by them; for they feem not to have come as a regular army, but as a fort of banditti to pillage, and plunder, and deftroy the fruits of the earth; and the Addianites and Arabians dwelt in tents chiefly: and deftroyed the increafe of the earth; the corn and grafs before they were well ripe, and fit to cut-down; this they did, and gave it to their cattle, and the reft they carried off: till thou come unto Gaza; a principality. of the Pbili/fines, which lay in the weiftern part of Canaqn, on the fhore of the Mediterranean fea; fo that as thefe people came out of the eaft, and entered the eaftern part, they went through the whole land from eaft to weft, cutting down all the fruirs of the earth for forage for their cattle; and left no fuftenance for Ifrael; nothing to fup- y. 2. And the hand of Midian prevailed againjt Tirael, 8cc.| They were too ftrong for them, and port life with, cutting down their corn and their oaks their vines and olives, fo that they had no- overcame them, and brought them into fubjection to them, and no wonder, when the Lord delivered them into their hand: aud. becaufe of the Midianites; becaufe of their ufage of them, their manner of coming upon them yearly, and pillaging and_ plundering their fubftance, as after related: the children of Ifrael made them dens which are in the mountains,; the word.for dens has the fignification of light in it, and are fo called either by an antiphrafis, becaufe they were dark, or, as Kimchi thinks, becaufe they had a window at the top of them, which let in the light*; but Ben Gerfom conjectures they were torches, which gaye a great light, and when they that held them faw from the mountains the Adidianites, by thele torches they made a fignal to the I/raelites to take care and hide themfelves and their fubftance: and caves, end firong bolds; the caves were for the poorer

® So David de Pomis Lexic. fol. 90. 3. or beeaufe men flowed and flocked to them for fafety; fo Buxtorf. — © TIAN PTD tanquam locultw, Pagninus, V, L, Tigurine verfion, Junius & Ty¢mellius, Pifcator.

thing to live upon: meither sheep, nor on, nor afs; not any thing for thofe creatures to live upon, nor did not leave any of them, but carried them all away.

y. 5. For they. came up with their cattle, and their tents, &c.| Brought their, focks and their herds with them, to eat up the increafe of the earth, and their tents which they pitched and removed from place to place, for the conveniency of feeding their cattle, and whilft they cut down the fruit of the earth every where, which ferves to” confirm the fenfe of the Zargum and Vulgate Latin verfion of ¥.4. oud they came.as grafboppers for multitude; or as locufis*, they were like them for their number, and for devouring all they came to; and their camels were without number; which they brought with- them, to load and carry off their plunder they could not eat. Midian was a vier famous for camels and dromedaries, Jf Ix. 6. and’ fo Arabia, the people of which joined the Midianites in this expedition; of whom Leo. Africanus, fays ¢, that they reckon of their riches and poffeffions by their camels; wherefore if any one peaks of the riches of fuch a prince or nobleman, he fays, that he is poffeffed of fo many camels, and not of fo many thoufands of pieces of gold, fee, Feb i. 3. and they entered into the city to deftroy it; this was their fole view. In fuch like manner as this did A/yatzes king of the Lydians make war with the Milefians, as Herodotus * relates; which paflage Grotius has quoted at large.

out of the band of all that oppreffed you; the Ama= lekites who made war with them. at Rephidim, Si-— bon and Og; kings of the Amorites, who came out to fight with them, and oppole their pafiage thro” their land into Canaan, and the kings of the Ca-_ naanites alfo, who combined againft them: and drave them out from before you, and gave you their land, not only the land of Sihon and Og, but the © whole land of Cavaan, out of which more properly — the inhabitants of it may be faid to be driven. 7 ¥.10. And I faid unto you, I am the Lord your God, &c.] The Covenant-God of them and their fathers, and they ought not to have owned and ac-

¥..6. And Ijrael was greatly impoverifbed, becaufe knowledged any other befides him: fear mot the of the Midianites, &c.] Were reduced very low, brought into famifhing circumftances through the Midianites thus deftroying the fruits of the earth year after year: and the children of Ifrael cried unto the Lord; which they fhould have done at firft, inftead of going into dens and caves; however, etter late than not at all: they cried, not to the idols they had ferved, being fenfible they could not help them, tho’ fo foolifh as to worfhip them; but to Jehovah the God of the whole earth, and who was in a fpecial fenfe their God, tho’ they had forfaken gods of the Amorites, in whofe land ye dwell; mean-— ing not a fear of being hurt by them, but fuch a fear and reverence of them, as to worfhip them, which was only to be given to the Lord. The Amorites are here put for all the Canaanites, they being a principal people among them: ut ye have not obeyed my voice; to cleave to him, fear andworfhip him, they had been guilty of idolatry, and this is the fin the prophet was fent to reprove them for, and bring them to a fenfe of. '

¥. 11. And there came an angel of the Lord, &c. This was not the prophet before mentioned, as”

y.7. Aud it came ta pafs when the children of Wfrael cried unto the Lord, becaufe of the Midianites. Ben Gerfom thinks, but an angel of God, as ex-

Becaufe of their oppreffions and ill ufage of therh, and not becaufe of their fins, which had brought thofe evils on them, of which, at prefent, they feemed not to be fenfible; and yet fuch was the goodnefs and compaffion of God to them, that having a mind to deliver them, he immediately, on their crying to him, fends them a meffenger to bring them to a fenfe of their fins, and prepare them for the deliverance he defigned to work for them, as follows.

y.8. And the Lord fent a prophet anto the children of Ifrael, &c.] A man, a propbet*, as in the Hebrew text, not an angel, but a man; and this not Phinebas, as fay fome Fewi/h writers ®; for it is not probable he fhould live fo long as more than 200 years; and had he been living, it is very much he fhould not have been heard of in the times of the preceding judges, and that he was not made ufe of before now to reprove the people for their fins; but who the prophet was, we have no account now nor hereafter, here or elfewhere. Abarbinel fuppofes, he was raifed up for a fhort time: which faid unto them, thus faith the Lord God of Ifrael; he came in the name of the Lord, and ufing the form and manner of fpeech the prophets of J/rael did, putting them in mind of the true God they had forgot, and who yet was their Lord and God: I drought you up from Egypt, and brought you forth out of the boufe of bondage; reminding them of the benefits they received from God, and the obligations they lay under to ferve him, who when they were bond-flaves in Egypt, he appeared for them, and brought them out of their miferable condition.

y.9. And I delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, &c.| Even after they were brought out of Egypt, when the Egyptians purfued after them, and overtook them at the Red Sea; where they were in the utmoft diftrefs, and the Lord wrought falvation for them, gave them a paffage thro’ it, and deftroyed the Egyptians in it: and prefied, and not a created one, but the angel of Jehovah’s prefence, the Word and Son of God,’ and who is exprefsly called Jehovah himfelf, ¥. 14, 23, 24. and fat under an oak; or ftaid there a while, as Kimchi interprets it, feeing, according to’ his obfervation, angels are not faid to fit but ftand: - which was in Ophrab, that pertaineth to Foajb the Abiezrite; which fhews that this Ophrab is different from a city of this name in the tribe of Benjamin, Joo. xviii. 23. for the oak that was in it, under’ which the angel fat, belonged to Foafh an Abiezrite, a defcendant of Abiezer, fon of the filter of Gilead, who was the fon of Machir the fon of Manaffeb, Foo. xvii. 2. 1 Chron. vii. 17,18, 14. itis called by Fofephus* Ephra, and by Ferom * E- phrata: and bis fon Gideon threfbed wheat by the wine-pre/s, to bide it from the Midianites; left they fhould take it away, and bereave his father’s family of their fuftenance, as they were wont to do, where-ever they could find: it; and alf circum- {tances attending this affair were on this account; he threfhed it himfelf, this he chofe to do, and not truft his fervants, left ic fhould be difcovered; and he beat the wheat out with a ftaff, that it might be more filently done,' and not with oxen, which was the ufual way of treading out corn, who bellowing *, would difcover it; and this was done not ona threfhing-floor, but where a wineprefs ftood, where there could be no fufpicion of fuch work being doing.

¥. 12. And the angel of the Lord appeared unto. him, &c.] He ftayed fome time under the oak, and Gideon being bufy in threfhing, took no notice of him, wherefore he came and ftood before him, in his fight: and faid unto him, the Lord is with thee, the gracious prefence of God was with Gideon while he was threfhing, who very probably was fending up ejaculations to heaven, on account of the diftreffed cafe of J/rae/, and was deep in meditation about the affairs of the people of God, and contriving how to deliver them; or the angel might mean himfelf, who was no other “haa

Chvi.¥.13—19. FUDGES. 287 hovah, the eternal Word of God, who was pre-! fent with him, and fpake unto him; and fo the Targum, “© my Word is thy help:” shou mighty mon of valour; who very probably was a ftout tante, power and authority, by having fuch a number of fervants as to take ten of them with him, y. 27. however, this he fays in great humility and modefty, having no high thoughts of him- man in body, and of a courageous mind naturally, and might at this inftant have an increafe both of bodily ftrength, and greatnefs of foul; or however, this was faid to animate and encourage him to do what he was about to be fent to do.

¥. 13. And Gideon faid to hiin, ob my lord, &c. | Taking him not to be an angel, but fome illuftrious and eminent perfon: if the Lord be with:

us, why then is all this befallen us? all thefe troubles and calamities through the oppreffion of the Midianites; for he underftood what was faid to him in the falutation, refpecting not himfelf perfonally and privately, but the people of J/rae, and he could not tell how to reconcile the Lord’s being with them, and yet fuffering fuch fad things to befal them they groaned under: where be ail his miracles which our fathers told us of, faying, did not the Lord’ bring us up from Egypt? when God was with his people, and brought them out of Egyp/, he wrought miracles for them, whereby. they were delivered out of.their bondage;. of this their fathers had affured them, but nothing of this kind was wrought for them now, and. therefore there was no appearance of the Lord being with them, but all the contrary, as follows: but now the Lord bas forfaken us, and delivered us into the hand of the Midianites; and there was good reafon for it, becaule they had forfaken the Lord, and worfhipped the gods of the Amorites.

¥. 14. And the Lord looked upon bim, 8c.) The fame before called the angel of the Lord, and who was no other than Jehovah himlelf; who looked upon him with great earneftnefs, and with great delight and pleafure fmiled upon him, and thereby fhewing he had a kindnefs for him, and meant well to him: and faid unto him, go in this thy might, both of body and mind, which had been betore given unto him, and was now increafed, felf and family, nor. any dependence on his own {trength, and on an arm of flefh.

W. 16. and the Lord faid unto him, furely I will be with thee, &c.} The Targum is, “ my Word fhall be thy help,” which was fufficient to anfwer all objections taken from his meannefs, unworthinefs and weaknefs: and thou fhalt fmite the Midianites as one man; all together, and as eafily as if thou hadft but one man to deal with, and the deftruction be fo entire and general, that none fhall be left.

¥.17. And he faid unto him, if now I have found

grace in thy fight, &c.] Or feeing he had, as appeared by his falutation of him as a man of might, by the work he gave him a commiffion to do, and by the promife of affiftance and fuccefs: then hew me a fign that thou talkeft with me; in the name of God, as a meffenger fent from him, whether an angel or a man; for who he was as yet Gideon was not clear in it, and that what he had faid was truth, and would be certainly fulfilled; and which Gideon might defire, not fo much, or at leaft not only for his own fake, and the confirmation of his faith, for which he is renowned, as that he might be able to fatisfy others, that he had a commiffion from God by a meffenger of his, to attempt the deliverance of Jjrael.

y. 18. Depart not hence, I pray thee, until I come unto thee, &c | Intending to go to his own, or his father’s houfe, to fetch fome food to entertain him with, and therefore entreats he would not quit the place where he was, until he returned: and bring forth my prefent, and fet it before thee; to treat him with, as a ftranger and a meffenger of God; and perhaps he thought, by this means, the better to difcover who he was, whether an angel or aman: the word for the prefent is minchab, often ufed for a meat-offering, therefore fome have and which no doubt Gideon was fenfible of: and thought of a facrifice,; but it appears by what thou fhall fave Ifrael from the band of the Midianites; as he did, and therefore juftly reckoned among the faviours and judges of Jjrael: have not I fent follows, that it was not of the nature of a facrifice; and befides, Gideon was no prieft, nor was this a place for facrifice, nor was there here any thee? to do this great work, fave the people of altar; and befides, as Gideon did not yet know,

Jfrael, from whence Gideon might perceive who it was that talked with him, and having a command and commiffion from God, had authority enough to go about this fervice.

y. 15. And he faid unto him, O my lord, &c.)} Whether he had yet fufpeéted who he was, or took him ftill for fome eminent perfon, is not cettain; it is very probable he began to think he was fome that it was the Lord himfelf, he could never think of offering a facrifice to him: and he faid, I will tarry until thou come again; which was a wonderful inftance of divine condefcenfion, it being fome time he waited ere Gideon could prepare what he brought, as follows.

ae 1g. And Gideon went in, &c.] Into his own houfe, or his father’s: and made ready a kid; boil- extraordinary perfon fent of God, and fpeaking in his name, and therefore expoftulates with him) about the work he put him upon: wherewith /ball J fave Irael? in what way is it poffible for me to do it, who had neither men nor money fufficient! ed it, as appears by the broth he brought, at leatt part of it was fo drefled; and perhaps it was only fome part of one that he brought, fince a whole one was too much to be fet before one perfon, and if even he himfelf intended to eat with him: and for fuch an undertaking? bebold, my family is poor in Manaffeh; of which tribe he was, and the thou-. fend in it, as the word ‘here ufed fignifies, was the meaneft of all the thoufands in that tribe; fome render it, my father™: and I am the leaft in my father’s houfe; perhaps the youngeft fon; tho’ fome take him, and others his father, to be the Chiliarch, or head of the thoufand; but by thefe unleavened cakes of an ephab of flour; that is, probably thofe were made out of an epbab of flour; not that the whole epbab was made into cakes; fince an omer, the tenth part of an ephah, was fufficient for one man a whole day; and, according to the computation of /Va/erus®, an ephah was enough for 45 men for a whole day; unlefs it can be thought, that this was done to fhow his words of his, it does not feem as if either was true; not but that he was of fome wealth and fubgreat hofpitality to a ftranger, and the great re- {pect he had for him as a mefienger of God: the rather unleavened cakes were brought, becaufe of difpatch, being foon made. archi fays, from hence it may be learned, that it was now the time of the paffover, and the day of waving the fheaf;

is no fufficient ground for it: shen the angel of the Lord departed out of his fight, not went on his”

but this is no fufficient’ proof of it; befides, if journey as he might feem, but vanifhed immedi~~ this was new wheat Gideon had been threfhing, it fhows it to be about the wheat-harveft, which was ately; which circumftance plainly fhewed, and fully convinced Gideon, that he was not a man, not till Pentecoft; it was the barley-harveft that began at the paflover: the flefh he put in a but an angelic fpirit, as well as the miracle wrought bafket)proved him to be more than a man 3 and fo Gi-° the flefh of the kid which was boiled, or if any part of it was dreffed another way, it was put by itfelf in a bafket for more eafy and commodious carriage: and he put the broth ina pot, a brazen deon had what he defired, a fign that he might.

know who talked with him, and that what he talked of, would certainly come to pais. 3 yx. 22. And when Gideon perceived he was an an- pot, as Kimchi interprets it, in which the kid was ge? of the Lord, &c.| By the miracle wrought, © boiled; and this, as he fays, was the water it was boiled in: and brought it out unto bim under the oak; where he firft appeared, and was now waitin@ the return of Gideon there: and prefented it; fet it before him, perhaps upon a table, which might be brought by his fervants, or on a feat, which was placed under the oak to fic upon under its fhade for pleafure.

¥. 20. And the angel of God faid unto him, &c.]} Inftead of fitting down and partaking of the entertainment made for him, he bid him do as foland the manner of his departure: Gideon Jaid, alas! O Lord Ged; wo to me, what will become of me, or befal me, I fhall furely die: for decauje

‘1 have feen an angel of the Lord face to face; and whom he had reafon to believe was the Lord himand it was a commonly received notion even among good men, in thofe times, that the Lord was not to be feen by them and live, as appears from Facob, Manoab, and oihers; at leaft the appearance of a divine perfon, and even of any meffenger lows: take the feo, and the unleavened cakes, and from heaven was ftartling, furprizing and fright- _ lay them upon this rock, not as a table to eat it from, but as an altar to offer it upon; and which rock and altar might be typical of Chrift, who fanétifies every gift, prefent and offering of his people: this rock was undoubtedly in fight, and very probably the oak, under which they were, grew upon it, or at the bottom of it, where it was no unufual thing for oaks to grow, Ge. xxxv. 8. but it was upon the top of the rock, that thefe were to be laid; where afterwards.an altar was built, ¥, 26. and pour out the broth; upon the flefh and cakes, and upon the rock alfo, which by bringing from his houfe muft have been cool, and it became cooler by being poured out, and cooler ftill by being poured upon a cold rock: and he did fo; he readily obeyed his orders; though he had reafon to wonder he fhould have fo-ordered the food he brought for his entertainment to be thus made ufe of; perhaps he might expect, that he intended to give him a fign as he defired, and therefore the more readily, without any objection, ‘complied with his order.

y.21. Then the angel of the Lord put forth the end of the fiaff that was in his baud, &c.) With which he walked, appearing as a traveller, and which was one reafon of Gideon’s providing for his refrefhment, before he proceeded on in his journey: and touched the fiefo and the unleavened cakes; did not itrike the rock with it, as Moj/es did with his rod, te fetch out water for the J/raelites, but touched the provifions brought him; not ufing it inftead of a knife to feparase any part of them, but for the working of a miracle, as follows: and there rofe up fire out of the rock; had he ftruck the rock with his f{taff, the miracle would not have appeared fo great, becaufe it might be thought there was an iron ferule at the end of it, which ftrikine on a flinty rock might caufe fire; but it was the flefh and cakes only that were touched, and thefe alfo as having broth poured on them, and the rock likewile: and confumed the flefh, and the unleavened cakes, though they had the broth poured on them, and were fodden with it; fo that the miracle was fimilar to that wrought by E/jah on mount Carmel, & Kings xviii. 33—38. and thofe who think that this angel was the man, the prophet before men- ful to them; which arofe from a fenfe they had of the divine being, and of their own finfulnefs and frailty. > yt. 23. And the Lord faid unto him, &c.] Either’ by a fecret impulfé upon his fpirit, or by a voice from heaven; and even, as Kimchi obferves, the angel, after he afcended, might caufé’ this voice to be heard, feeing him in great fear, becaufe he knew he was an angel; and which is another proof of this angel being Jehovah himfelf, the eternal Word: peace be unto thee, fear not, thou fhalt not die, let not thy mind be ruffled and difturbed, but ferene and calm; fear not that any evil fhall befal thee, and particularly death; thou fhalt be fafe from any danger whatever, and efpecially from death, which he expected in his fright would immediately follow. Oh SPR ¥. 24. Then Gideon built an altar there unto the Lord, &c.] On the top of the rock where He had laid his provifions, and which had been confumed by fire iffuing out of it, as a token of divine acceptance, and as an affurance of his deftreying the Midianites as eafily and quickly as the fire had confumed them, and therefore had great encouragement to erect an altar ‘here for God: and called it Fehovah-foalom; the Lord is peace, the author and giver of peace, temporal, {piritual and eternal; fo ‘Yarchi, “* the Lord is our peace,” a fit name for the angel that appeared to him, who was no other than the man the peace; who is our peace, the author of peace between God ‘and man. This name he gave the altar, with refpect to the words of comfort faid to’him in his fright, peace be to thee and by way. of prophecy, that peace would be wrought for I/rael by the Lord, and profperity given them; or by way of prayer, the Lord grant or fend peace: unto this day it is yetin Ophrab of the Abiezrites; that is, the altar,Gideon™ built remained to the times of Samue/, the writer o this book, and was then to be feen in the city of nafjeb, —— ¥.25. And it came to pafs the fame nj ite; The night which followed the day in a he ic was in the night: fake thy father’s young bullock; or the bullock, the ox® a bullock which was a large grown ox, and was not only his father’s property, but what his father defigned, and fet apart for the fervice of Baal; and though it was his father’s, yet having a divine warrant for it, it was fufficient for him to take it without his leave, and efpecially as it was defigned for fuch an ill ufe: even the fecond bullock of feven years old; which, according to Hefiod 4, is in its prime and full ftrength at-nine years old, and lives much longer.. In Homer *, one of five years old is to be facrificed: this farther defcribes what he was to take, the fecond that ftood in the ftall of the bullocks, or that drew in the fecond row at plough, or the fecond in age and value, or the fecond that was fet apart for the fervice of Baal; though the words may rendered, and the fecond builock*; befides that of his father’s, he was to take another, which perhaps belonged to the people, and was the fecond in birth or age with refpeét to the former, being feven years old; or as the Targum is, that had been fatted feven years, and had been fo long preparing for the facrifice of Baal; which was as long as the tyranny of the Midianites over them, and was occafioned by the idolatry of the people of I/rael; and fauch a bullock was ordered to be taken with refpe€t to that, and to fhew that would end with the facrifice of this creature: throw down the altar of Baal that thy father bath; upon his ground, in fome part of his poffeffions, and perhaps built at his own expence, though public ule: and cut down the grove that is by it; or about it, as the Vulgate Latin verfion; it being ufual with the heathens to plant groves near or around their altars and temples, where religious worfhip was performed; partly to make them more pleafant and venerable, and partly for the commiffion of deeds which would not bear the light; or over it, for they were commonly tall trees which grew over the altar they erected. Some|&c. render it, upon itt, and underftand by it an idol placed on it: fo the rabic verfion is, ‘¢ cut down the female idol 4/fra (perhaps the fame with / which is upon the fame altar;” and fo the Syriac verfion to the fame purpofe, which calls it the idol Effere, fet upon the altar.

3. 26. And build an altar to the Lord thy God upon the top of this rock, &c.) Where the provifions were laid, and out of which came forth fire that confumed them; and where the altar, called by the name of ¥ebovab-/balom, had been built by him, near it very probably; and there might be room enough for both upon the top of the rock; for this feems to be a diftinét altar from that, that was erected as a monumental altar, in memory of the miracle there wrought, and in gratitude by Gideon for the prefervation of his life, and the peace and profperity there and then promifed, and which altar was to continue, and did; but this was for facrifice, and only for the prefent time; for the proper place for facrifice was the tabernacle: and this was to be built in the ordered place; either in the place where Gideon was ordered to put the flefh and the unleavened cakes; or in an orderly way and manner, according as was commanded in the law, as that it fhould be of earth and unhewn ftones, and {fo framed, as that it might be fit to have the wood and facrifice laid in order on it; or ina plain place, as Kimchi, wpon the top of the rock, where he might lay <in order the ftones of the! altar: and take the fecond bullock, and offer a burnt focrifice with the wood of the grove which thou fhalt cut dews;, mention being made only of one bullock that was to be offered, has made fome think, that only one was ordered to be taken, namely this fecond, which agrees with our verfion of y. 2:5) for if two were taken, what became of the firft, fince faid only the fecond was ordered to be facrificed? to which Kimchi makes an{wer, that he was ordered to take it away, that his father might not offer it to an idol, as he intended, and therefore this was done to prevent idolatry; and as this fecond bullock was to be a burnt-facrifice, and to be burned with the wood of the grove juft cut down, it feems to confirm the fenfe of {uch verfions and interpreters who underftand it of an idol on the altar of Baal; fince wood juft cut down would not be fit to burn, whereas an idol of wood, that had been of fome {tanding, would be very proper: every thing ordered and done were different. from the laws and ufages directed to by Mo/es, and practiced by the Zews. Gideon was no prieft, and yet bid to offer facrifice, and that on an altar of his own erecting, icjand not the altar of God; and upon the top of anudja rock, and not at the tabernacle; and the wood of a grove or idol was to be made ufe of, which in other cafes was not allowed; and all this done in forjthe night, which was not the time of facrificing; but the divine warrant was fufficient for Gideon, The Jews fay *, there were eight things that were made free or allowed now, which were not at an+ other time: and it was neceffary before Gideon acted the part of a deliverer, that he fhould become a reformer, and it was proper to begin at his owh family.

y.27. Then Gideon took ten men of bis fervants, Not only whom he could command, but could confide in, and whom he knew would chearfully engage in this work, being like himfelf, who farte)|had not bowed the knee to Baal; and as there was much work to do, and it required difpatch, fuch a number was neceffary 3 fince he had not only the altar of Baal to throw down, and his grove or idol to cut down, but an altar to build, and a facritice to be taken and offered: and did as the Lord bad faid unto him, all the above things, he fet about them at once, and difpatched them jall in one night; fo ready and chearful was he in obedience to the divine command: and fo it was, Secaufe be feared his father’s houfhold, and the men of the city, that be could not do it by day, that be did it by night; for both his father’s family, and the inhabitants of the city of Ophrah, were all idolaters, worfhippers of Baal; and this fear of them }was not a fear of being reproached or punifhec for what he did, or of any harm coming to him for the fact, which as he might expect would be known, fo the rifque was the fame, be it done when it would; but it was a fear of being reftrained and hindered from doing it, and therefore in point of prudence, and confulting the honour of God and religion, and not his own fafety, he took the time of the night to do it in.

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%. 28. Arid when ihe men of the city arofe early in the morning, &c.| And came to the place where the altar of Baal, his grove and image were, to pay their morning-devotions to him: behold, the altar of Baal was caft down, and the grove was cut down that was by it, and the fecond bullock was offered upon the altar that was built; wpon the new altar that Gideon built, and which very probably was burning when they came; and it is very likely «that the place, where the altar of Baal had was not far from the rock where this new altar was will ye plead for Baal? what, J/rcelites, and: plead for Baal! or what need is there for this, can’t he plead for himfelf? will ye fave him? what, take upon you to fave your god! can’t he fave bimfelf? he ought to fave both himfelf and »you, if he is a god, and not you jave him: de shar wil/ plead for him, let bim be put to death, whilft it jis yet morning; immediately, betore noon, for it was now morning when they came to him 3: this ftood, jhe faid to terrify them, and to exprefs the hatred he now had of idolatry, and the juft fenfe of its erected. being punifhable with death by the law of God.

y.29. And they foid one to another, who hath done this thing? &c.] They were ftruck with amazement, and could not devife who could be fo daring and wicked as to do fuch an action: when they enquired and afxed; one and another, every one prefent, or they could think of as proper to enquire of; they were very diligent and induftrious to find it out; and perhaps they enquired of the family and fervants of Yoafh and Gideon, in whofe ground the altar ftood: they faid, Gideon the fon of Foafo bath done this thing; when they had enquired of every body they could, and -thought of one perfon and another, there was none appeared to them more likely to have done it than Gideon; partly becaufe they knew he was no friend of Baal, and partly becaufe he was a man fpirit and courage; and they concluded none but fuch an one would have ventured to have done it; and befides, they confidered he was the fon of Foafb, who perhaps was their chief magiftrate, and that he might prefume on his father’s protection, as they might fuppofe, and being neat the premifes, he was the moft likely perfon they could think of; and it is not improbable, that upon enquiry they got it out of the fervants concerned, or that had knowledge of it from them, or from fome that faw him that morning at the facrifice, or returning from it, and therefore peremptorily affert he was the man that did it..% Baal plead;

¥. 31. And Foaf faid unto all that fiood againft him, &c.] Againft his fon; that were his accufers and adverfaries, and required him to be given up to them, that they might put him to death: ~ Apud Eufeb, Evangel. Prepar. 1.1. p. 31. This he may be fuppofed to fay, to fave his fon from their prefent wrath and fury, hoping by that time to find out fome ways and means for his andjfafety: if he bea god, let him plead for himfelf, Zecaufe one bath caft down his altar; if he isa god, he knows who has done it, and is able to avenge himfelf on him, and put him to death himfelf that has done it, and therefore leave it with him to plead his own caufe, and avenge his own injuries: this he faid, deriding the deity; for thous;h Foa/b had been a worfhipper of Baal, yet he might be now convinced by his fon of the finfulnefs of it, and of the neceffity of a reformation, in _order to.a deliverance from the Midianites, for which he had a commiffion, and ‘had perhaps informed of; his father of it; or however he was not fo attaclied to £aa/, bur that he preferred the life of his: fon to the worfhip of him.

y. 32. Therefore on that day he called him Jerub- 4aa/, &c.] That is, Foa/b called his fon Gideon by that name; who; fore think, is the fame with ferombalus the prieft of the god evo or Febovab; from whom Sanchoniatho, an ancient Phanician writer, as Philo Byblius fays *, received the principal things in his hiftory refpecting the Fews: faying, Jet Baal plead againft him, becaufe be bath thrown down bis a/tar; giving this as the reafon of the name of Ferubbaal he called him by, which fignifies, de \et Baal plead his own caufe, and avenge himfelf on Gideon for what he has done to him, and put him to death if -he can, y¥. 33. Them all the Midianites, and the Amalekites, and the children of the eaft, &c.] The Aras bians, fee ¥. 3. were gathered together; not as being alarmed with this fact of Gideon in deftroying the altar of Baal, and fo came to avenge it; but it was their ufual time of gathering together to come into Canaan, being harveit-time; as appears by Gideon being employed in threfhing, to fetch away the increafe of the earth, as they had done for fome years paft: and went ever; the river Yor= dan, which lay between the Midianites and the J/raelites: and pitched in the valley of Fezreel; a very large, delightful and fruitful plain; of which fee the note on Hof i. 5. a very proper place for f{ach a large number to pitch on, and from whence they might receive much; and a fuitable place to bring the increafe of the land to, from the feveral parts of it, which was the bufinefs they came upon; ourfJand as this lay on the borders of Hachar and Mamafeb, it was not far from Gideon, and this gave him an opportunity of exerting himfelf, and exe+ cuting his commiffion. "Sha But the fpirit of the Lord came upon Gideon, &c.| Not the fpirit of prophecy, as Maimonides*, who calls this fpirit the firft degree of prophecy, but a fpirit of fortitude and courage, as — the Targum the Spirit of God filled him, or as * Moreh Nevochim, par. 2. ¢. 45.

y. 30. Then the men of the city faid unto Foaf>, &c.] The principal inhabitants of the place met together, and in a body went to Foafh their chief magiftrate, to have juftice done in this cafe: dring out thy fon, that be may die; they don’t afk to have the caufe tried by him, to hear what proof they had of the fact, or what Gideon had to fay in his own defence; nor do they wait for the fentence of Foa/b, but determine it themfelves, and require the delinquent to be given up to them, that they might put him to death; a ftrange requeft of Traelites, whofe law judged no man before it heard him; and befides, according to that, the worfhippers of Baal, and not the deftroyers of him, and his altars, were to be put to death, which fhows how ftrangely mad and infatuated thefe people were: becaufe he hath cut down the altar of Baal, and becaufe be hath cut down the grove that was by it; they take no notice of the bullock which he had taken and offered, it being his father’s property; and which feems to confirm the fenfe of verfion, that there was but one, ¥. 25. for had the fecond been a different one, and the peoples property, they would have accufed him of theft as well as facrilege refpecting that. ¥. 34.

Gasvis. 35-40. FUDGAEE 29% in the. Hebrew text, clothed * him with zeal, ftrength and might, moved and animated him to engage with this great body of people come into the land, to ravage and wafte it, and to attempt the deliverance of J/rael from their bondage: and be blew a trumpet; as an alarm of war, and.as a token to as many as heard to refort to him, and join with him in the common caufe againft the enemy: and Abiezer was gathered after him the Abiczrites; one.of the families of the tribe of Maxafjeh, of which Gideon, and his father’s houfe were; and even it is probable the inhabitants. of Opbrab, who were Abiezrites, being now convinced of their idolatry, and having, entertained a good opinion of Gideon as a man of valour, and who, in the prefent emergence, they looked upon as an hopeful inftrument of their deliverance, and therefore joined him. ‘

¥.35. And he fent meffengers through. all Manafjeb, &c.\ OF which tribe he was; not only he called by the trumper that part of the tribe the Abiezrites, who were within the found of it, but the reft of the tribe at a greater diftance from him he fent meflengers to, acquainting them with his defign, and inviting them to his affiftance. Some think this refers both to the half tribe of Mana/- feb within Fordan, and the other halt tribe on the other fide Yordan; but that is not very probable, only the half tribe within it is meant: who alfo was gathered after him; obeying the fummons and invitation he gave them by the meffengers: and he fent meffengers unto Afher, and unto Zebulun, and unto Naphiali, which three tribes lay neareft to him on the north; but he fent not to the inhabitants of the tribe of Ephraim, which lay to the fouth, and which afterwards occafioned a quarrel, ch. viii. 1. and they came up to meet them; that is. the inhabitants of the above three tribes, at leaft many of them, came up from the places of their habitations to meet Gideon, and thofe that were affociated with him, at their place of rendezvous.

y. 36. And Gideon faid unto God, &c.] Not to a prophet of God who was there, of whom he afked the following figns to be done, as Ben Gerfom, but to God in prayer, as Abarbinel: if thou wilt fave Ifrael by mine hand, as thou haf faid; not that he doubted of it, but was willing to have a confirmation of his faith; and perhaps his view was more for the encouragement of thofe that were with him than himfelf, that he defired the following figns; and though he had had one before, that was to fhew that he was truly an angel that fpoke to him, and not to afcertain the falvation that fhould be wrought by him; though that might be concluded from his being an angel that fpoke. to him, and affured him of it.

¥. 37. Behold, I will put a fleece of wool on the floor, 8cc.] On the floor where he was threfhing, where the angel firft appeared to him, and which lay expofed to the open air, fo that the dew might eafily fall upon it: and if the dew be om the fleece only; the dew that falls from heaven in the night, _when he propofed it fhould lie on. the, floor till morning: and it be dry upon all the earth befide; meaning not upon all the world, nor even upon all the land of J/rael, but upon all the floor about the fleece: then fhall I know that thou wilt fave Ifrael by my band, as thou haft said, for the dew \dinances with which they were watered, when the Gentiles all around them were like a barren wildernefs; fo under the Gofpel-difpenfation, the Gentiles fhare the above benefits to a greater degree; whilft the Fews are entirely deftitute of them.

being a token of divine favour, fee Hof. xiv. 5. it would fhew that Gidecw would partake of it, whilft his enemies would be dry and defolate, and ruin -and deftruétion would be their portion.

¥. 38. And it was fo, &c.] The Lord condefcended to work this miracle for the confirmation of his faith, and for the encouragement-of thofe that were with him; the fleece was wet with the dew of heaven, and all the ground about it dry: for be rofe up early in the morning; being eagerly defirous of knowing whether his requeft would be granted, and how it would be with the fleece: and thruft the fleece together; to fatisiy himfelf whether the dew had fallen on it,.and there was any moifture in it, which by being fqueezed together he would more eafily perceive: and wringed the dew out of the fleece, a bowl full. of water; fo that it appeared it had not only fallen on it, but it had taken in a large quantity of it; the word here ufed is the fame.as in ch. v, 25. fee the note there; the Targum calls it a flagon.

¥. 39. And Gideon faid unto Gad, &c.| In the fame way as before, and on the morning when he had been favoured with the fight of the above miracle: let. mot thine anger be hot againft me, and I will [peak but this once; he was confcious to himtelf that it fhewed great —prefumption and boldnefs in him to repeat his requeft, and that ic had the appearance of great diffidence and diftruft in him, after he had been indulged with fuch a fign to confirm his faith; but as it was not fo much on his own account as others, and promifing to afk no more favours of this kind, he hoped his boldnefs would not be refented: let me prove, I pray thee, but this once with the fleece; one time more with it, and that not to try the power of God, of which he had no doubt, but the will of God, whether it was the good pleafure of God to iave L rael by his hand, and whether now was the time, or another: Jet it now be dry only upon the fleece, and upon all the ground let there be dew; which might feem to be a greater, at leaft a plainer miracle than the former, and lefs liable to cavil and objection 5 for it might be urged, that a fleece of wool naturally draws in, and drinks up moifture about. it $_ wherefore that to be dry, and the ground all around it wet, would be a fure fign and evidence of the wonderful interpofition of the power and provi« dence of God, in directing the fall of the dew on the one, and not on the other.

y. 40. And God did fo that night, &c.] The night following, the night being the feafon in which the dew falls: for it was dry upon the fleece only, and there was dew on all the ground; and this might fignify, that not Gédeon only, as before, fhould partake of the divine favour, but all the [ raelites, who would fhare in the falvation wrought by him. Many interpreters obferve, that all this is an emblem of the different cafe and ftate of the Fews and Gentiles under the different difpenfations; that whereas under the former difpenfation the ews partook of the divine favour only, and of the bleflings of grace, and enjoyed the words and or- re=yad induit, Pagninus, Montanus, &c, Vid. Maimon, ut fupra. So Homer often reprefents his heroes as clothed with fortitude and courage; fee Iliad. 17, ' ee this chapter we have an account of the army| under Gideon gathered out of feveral tribes, which from 32,000, were reduced to 300, and we are told by what means this was done, y. 1—8. and how he was direéted to go into the hoft of the Midianites, where he heard one of them telling his dream to his fellow, which greatly encouraged him to believe he fhould fucceed, ¥. 9—15. alfo we are told the form and manner in which he difpofed of his little army to attack the Midianites, and the orders he gave them to obferve, which had the defired effect, and iffued in the total rout of that large body of people, ¥. 16—22, and thofe that were not deftroyed, were purfued by perfons gathered out of feveral tribes, and the paflages of Jordan were taken by the Ephraimites, fo that thofe that attempted their efcape into their own country, there fell into their hands, ¥. 23—25. enemy: aying, mine own hand hath Joved me, or glory over me, take the glory from me, and afcribe it to themfelves, boafting that by their power and. prowefs they had obtained the victory.: y¥. 3. Now therefore go to, proclaim in the ears of the people, &c.] Such a proclamation as follows, was, according to the law of God, to be madé when J/rael went out to battle againft their enemies, Deut. xx. 8. though it looks as if Gideon would not have made fuch proclamation, had he not been direéted to it by the Lord, his army being’fo fmallin comparifon of the enemy; and perhaps Gideon might underftand that law, to have refpect only to war made for the enlargement of their country, and not for defence againft invaders: faying, whofoever is fearful and afraid; to engage in battle, becaufe of the number of the Jet him return and depart early from mount

Gilead; where it feems they now were, being the vy. 1. Then Ferubbaal, who is Gideon, &c.| That being the name his father had lately given him, ch, vi. 32. and all the people that were with bim rofe up early; encouraged by the figns and miracles wrought, by which he was affured of fuccefs; he was eager to be about his work, and therefore rofe early in the morning, and got his army together, and marched to engage the enemy: aad pitched befide the well of Hared, which he might chufe for the refrefhment of his army on occafion; or however, fo he was direéted in providence here, where a trial was to be made of them by water: this well or fountain feems to be the fame with that in 1 Sam. xxix. 1. it fignifies fear and trembling, and might have its name either from the fear and trembling of the 22,000 J/raelites, whofe hearts were difmayed at the Midianites, and they were ordered to return home; or from the fear and trembling of the Midianites, who were difcomfited here; the former feems to be the true reafon, fee

** by the hill which looks to the plain;” from whence he could have a view of the Midianitif, army, and the difpofition of it. Some think’ this hill had its name from the Médianitifh archers; but according to Kimchi and Ben Melech, from there being a watch here to direct the ways, ‘or to give notice to the inhabitants of the valley when an army came againft them; though fome take it to be a fchool of fome eminent teacher in thofe fame with the hill of Moreb, or adjoining toit 3 a mountain in the tribe of Manaffeb, fo called either from its likenefs to mount Gilead on the other fide Jordan; or rather in memory of Gilead, the fon of Machir, the fon of Manajeb, from whence the half tribe fprung, which was on this fide, as well as that on the other; and perhaps this name might be given to the mount, to fhew that they were of the fame tribe, though feparated by Jordan: now the fearful and faint-hearted had leave given them by this proclamation to return home direétly; and as both armies lay fo hear, and it might reafonably be expected the battle would be _ the next day, they are directed to get away in the morning, as early as they could, that they might not be {een, and {o be filled with fhame themfelves, and difcourage others. ‘Tho’ fome think mount Gilead, on the other fide Yordam, is meant, from whence it is fuppofed many came to Gideon, ch. vi. 35. and now are ordered to return back, as many as were fearful; and inftead of from, they ~ render the word #0, or towards, or beyond Gilead. Kimchi thinks the word we render depart early, has the fignification of furrounding, a diadem being the Targum is, exprefled by a word from hence, which encompaffes the head, J/ xxviii. 5. and fo the fenfe is, that they were ordered to go round about mount Gilead, and fo return home; but it rather may fignify their hafty departure and fpeedy flight, like that of a bird, Pf xi. 1. and there returned of she people 22,000, and there remained 10,000; fo that they were in all 32,000: now tho’ thefe of their own accord came and joined Gideon with an intention and refolution to ftand by him, and

¥. 3. fo that the Midianites were on the north-fide of them, which Gideon, no doubt, judged to be an advantageous poft to him: dy the bill of Moreb, in the valley; the valley of Fezreel, one of the mountains of Gilboa, as is fuppofed;

days *, fight the enemy, yet when they came and faw

¥.2. And the Lord faid unto Gideon, the people that are with thee, are too many, 8c.) It appears by what follows, that there were 32,000 of them, which was but a {mall army to engage with one of 100,000 more than they; for fuch was the army of the Midianites and their affociates, fee ch. viii. 10. but the people were too many, fays the Lord, for me to give the Midianites into their hands, who would be apt to afcribe the victory themfelves, and not to the Lord; to their number, ftrength and valour, and not to the hand of the Lord: left I/rael vaunt themfelves againft me, what a large hoft they had to engage with, and how fmall the army was with Gideon, their hearts failed them, and they were glad to take the advantage of the proclamation.

y.4. 4nd the Lord faid to Gideon, the people are yet too many, &c.] Though they were but juft the number that Barak had with him, when he attacked Sifera’s army and got the victory, tol which yet was afcribed to God, whofe hand way manifeftly feem in it; but as thefe might be fuppofed to be able men of valour that remained, they were too many for God to haye that glory down, unto the water; from the hill on which they were, to a brook. that ran at the bottom of it, perhaps a ftream from the fountain or well of Harod, ¥.1. and 1 will try them for thee there, or purge them *, as filver is purged from. drofs, fo the word fignifies, as Kimchi. obferves, the righteous from the wicked, as he thinks; who, with others, fuppofe that by thofe who bowed on their knees to drink, were fuch as had been ufed to bow: the knee to Baal, and the reft not, and fo one were difcerned from the other; but this trial was only for the fake of Gideon, to direct him whom he fhould take with him, and whom not.: and it hall be, that of whom I fay unto thee, this fhall go with thee, the fame foall go with thee; and of whom/oever I fay unto thee, this fhall not go with thee, the fame fhall not go; by the different manner of his men drinking at the water, after related, Gideon knew not who fhould go with him, and who not, whether they that bowed down to drink, or only Japped the water; this was determined by the mouth of the Lord, as follows.

¥. 5. So be brought them down to the water, &c.] His whole army of 10,000 men: and the Lord faid unto Gideon, every one that lappeth of the water with bis tongue, as a dog lappeth, him halt thou Jet by bimfelf; this has led tome, as particularly Grotius, to think of the Egyptian dogs; of whom félianus relates *, that they don’t drink at once freely, and to fatiety, being afraid of the crocodiles in the river; but run about the bank, and by ftealth foatch’a little here, and a little there, and fo fatisfy them{elves: but the allufion here is to dogs in common, whofe ufual way it is not to fup in, and drink a draught, but by putting ouc their tongues to lick and Jap water with them, as yifiotle * fays, all creatures do that have teeth like faws; and the likenefs between the drinking of thefe men, to be obferved, lay not in any thing elfe, but in the fingle action of lapping; for they firft took the water in the hollow of their hands, out of the ftream, and then lapped it, as in ¥. 6. whereas a dog does not, and cannot take water that way; and this lapping was ftanding upright, whereas dogs in common, as “/ianus in the fame place fuggefts, bow themfelves and lap as much water as will fatisfy their thirft; and by this thefe men were diftinguifhed from thofe that bowed on their knees to drink; for had they not taken up water in their hands, they muft have bowed down on their knees to have lapped, as well as thofe did, to fup it, or take ina large draught of it; now all thofe that thus lapped, were to be fet apart by themfelves; but whether they were to go with Gideon or not, as yet he knew not: “kewi/e every one that boweth down on his knee to drink; were to be fet by themifelves alfo, but which of thofe were to go with him, is after related.

¥. 6. And the number of them that lapped, putting their hand to their mouth, &c.| That is, that took up water in the hollow of their hands, which they lifted up to their mouths, and fo lapped it, ‘as the Egyptians about. the Nile are faid ¢ to do.

who drank not out of pots and cups, but ufed heir hands to drink with: were 300 men; only dian was beneath him in the valley; in the of Fezreel; for it feems as if Gideon, after he intended to difplay in this victory: bring their fer; even 9,700; and it was the cultom of fome nations, as the {chthyophagi, or fith-eaters, to catt themfelves with their face to the ground, and drink after the manner of oxen‘. 5!

-¥. 9. And the Lord faid unto Gideon, by the 300 men that lapped, I will fave, and deliver the Midianites into. thine hand, &c.} It is hard to fay, what character this action of the 300 is expreffive of, whether of weaknefs or of courage. Some think, that thofe who drank upon their knees were faint and weary, and men of intemperance, and indulged themfelves, and were unfit for war, whilft thofe that only lapped a little water to refreth themfelves, appeared to be eager, and in hatte and readinefs to engage in it;.and fo Ben Gerjom takes thofe that bowed to be flothful perfons, and thofé that lapped, couragious and mighty men; and fo were ordered to be taken and go along with Gideon s and this agrees with the method before taken, to difmifs the fearful, and only take thofe that were men of courage; but Jofephus ‘is of opinion, that they that drank upon their knees were the men of {pirit and courage, and thofe that lapped, fuch who drank haftily, with trembling, and through fear of the enemy, and thefe were ordered to go with Gideon, and not the other: and indeed, this moft difplays the glory of God to fave //rae/, and deliver them from the Midienites by a handful of fuch poor difpirited creatures. Though it feems that all the 10,000 men were men of courage; and this method was taken not to diftinguifh thofe that were the moft couragious, from thofe that were the leaft fo, but only to reduce the number that fhould be engaged in this battle; for it *being the fummer-feafon, it may reafonably be fuppofed that the greater part of the army was very thirfty, and would kneel down to take a large draught of water, when. thofe that were not { thirfty would be the fewer number, and fo taken: and let all the other people go every man to bis place; all the reft who bowed on their knees to drink, which were 9,700, thefe were ordered to march homewards; though perhaps before they got home, hearing of the victory, they returned and-joined in the purfuit, ¥. 23.

W.8. So the people took vittuals in their hands, and their trumpets, &c.\ That is, the 300 took victuals of thofe that departed, as much as was neceflary for them, and alfo their trumpets, being directed thereunto by Gideon, no doubt; perhaps they took all the trumpets they had, however, as many as would furnifh every man with one. And from hence it appears, that thefe 300 that were ordered to ftay and go with Gideon, were unarmed men, at leaft could carry no arms in their hands; for in one hand they carried their victuals, and in the other hand their trumpets, fo that the falvation wrought by them would moft clearly appear to be of the Lord: and he fent ail the reft of Vrael, every man unto his tent; not to his tent in the army, but to his own houfe, in the tribe and city to which he belonged: and retained thefe 3-0 men that had lapped water, to engage with the Midianites and their affociates: and the boft of Mivalley he had fuch a number out of 10,000: Sut all the reft of the people bowed down upon their knees to drink brought down his men to the water to be tried, wa-)went up to the hill again with his 300 men only, to wait the divine orders, when he fhould attack fion, fetting forth the great number of them which the army of Midian below him. ' y¥. 9. And it came to pajs, the fame night that the Lord faid to bim, &c.) The night after there had been fo great a reduction of his army, from 32,000 to 300: arije, get thee down unto the hoft, ford have delivered it into thine hands, thatis, go down from the hill where he and his little army were, to the valley of fezreel, where lay the numerous hoft of Midian; affuring him, that though the difproportion was fo very great, the army of Midian fhould be delivered into his hands; and it was enough that the Lord had faid it, for him to believe it; but in fuch circumftances that he was, it is no wonder that he had his fears and mifgiving of heart, wherefore it follows. >

¥. 10. But if thou fear to go down, &c.] With his little army, to attack a numerous hoft in the night, then he is directed to take this ftep firft: ga thou with Phurab thy servant down to the boft, ina private manner; perhaps this man was his aid-decamp, or however a trufty fervant in whom he could confide, as well as valiant; more it was not proper to take in fuch a fecret expedition, and the fewer the better to truft, and lefs liable to the obfervation of the enemy; and yet it was proper to have one with him, being company and animating, and who would be a witnefs with him of what fhould be heard; in like manner, and for like reafons, as Diomedes and Ulyfes went into the Trojam army %. « y. 11. And thou fhalt hear what they hall fay, &c.] The Midianites, or what fhall be faid by any of them; for though it was the night-feafon, and fo not a time for much converfation, as it may be fuppofed to be the dead of the night; yet fomething would be faid and heard, which is a clear proof of the prefcience of God refpecting future contingent events: and afterwards fhall thine bands be firengthened; and his heart encouraged by what he fhould hear: to go down into the camp; in an hoftile manner, with his 300 men, after his return to them: then went he down with Phurab bis fervant; firft privately, only they two, leaving his little army on the hill: and came auto the outfide of the armed men that were iz the hoft; the centinels, who were without-fide the camp, and ftood compleat in armour to guard it; and they came as near to them, in as ftill and private manner as they could, withcut being difcovered. The /eptuagint verfion is, ‘* to the beginning of the 50 that were in the hoft;” and the Syriac and Arabic verfions, ** to the captain of the fifty;” thefe might be a party of the outguards, confifting of fifty men, with one at the head of them, placed for the fafety of the army in the night-feafon, and to give notice:

_ “of any approach to them, or attempt on them. y. 12. And the Midianites and the Amalekites, and the children of the eaft, &c.] The Arabians, the countries of Midian and Arabia abounded with 5 ‘and were very proper to bring with them, to load and carry off the booty, they came for, the fruits of the earth; fee ch. vi. 4, 5.

y¥. 13. And when Gideon was come, &c.| With his fervant, near and within hearing the talk and converfation of the out-guards or centinels: there was 2 man that told a dream unto bis fellow; his comrade that ftood next him, and was upon guard | with him; perhaps it was a dream he had dreamt the night before, or this felf-fame night, being.

juft called up to take his turn in the watch, and fo it was fresh upon his mind: and faid, bebold, I dreamed a dream, and lo; thus it was as I am going to relate; twice he ufes the word Sebold, or lo, the dream having very much ftruck and impreffed his mind, and was what he thought worthy of the attention of his comrade: a cake of barley bread tum. bled into the hoft of Midian; barley bread, Pliny = fays, was the moft ancient food; the word for cake * fignifies a fhadow, and may defign the appearance of a barley-loaf; or fomething like one, to him appeared in the dream: or a noifé; the noife of it rolling and tumbling, fo that it feemed to the foldier that he heard a noife, as well as faw fomething he took for a barley-loaf. archi obferves, that it fignifies a cake baked upon coals, and it feemed to this man as if it came fmoking hot, from the coals, tumbling down an hill, fuch an one where Gideon and his army were, and rolling into the hoft of Médien, which lay in a valley: and came unto a tent; or, the tent”; the largeft and moft magnificent in the hoft; and Fofephus * calls it exprefsly the king’s tent, and the

Arabic verfion the tent of the generals: aud /mote it that it fell; which might juftly feem ftrange, that a barley-loaf fhould come with fuch a force © again{t a tent, perhaps the largeft and ftrongeft in the whole camp, which was faftened with cords to {takes and nails driven into the ground, fo as to caufe it to fall: yea, it is added, and overturned it, that the tent lay along; turned it topfyturvy, or turned it upwards, asthe phrafe in the Hebrew text is; it fell with the bottom upwards; it was entirely demolifhed, that there was no raifing and fetting of it up again.

¥. 14. And bis fellow anfwered and fatd, &e,} As the dream was no doubt from God, {fo the interpretation of it was; it was he that put into the mind-of the foldier’s comrade to whom he told it, to interpret it as follows; or otherwife in all likelihood he would never have thought of it: sis is nothing elfe fave the fword of Gideon, the fon of Foafo, aman of Irael; that is, this fignifies nothing elfe, and a, fit emblem it was of him and his little army. A cake is but a {malt thing, and let it come tumbling as it will, can have no force or who with the dmalekites joined the Midianites in this expedition’: Jay along in the valley; in the valley of Fezreel, in their tents, which overfpread the valley, or at leaft great part of it: like gra/shoppers for multitude, or locufts, which ufually come in great numbers, and cover the air and the fun where they fly, and the earth where they light, as they did the land of Egypt; this army confifted at leaft of 135,000 men, as is clear from ch. viii. 10. and their cainels were without number, as the fand is by the fea-fide for multitude; an hyperbolical expre {trength in it equal to overturna tent; anda cake of barley is mean and contemptible; and a cake baked under afhes, or on coals, is what is foon and haftily done, and fitly reprefented the {malnefs and weaknefs of Gideon’s army, their meannefs and contemptiblenefs; the J/raelites being, a Yo/epbus ° reprefents the foldier faying, the vileft of all the people of 44a; and thofe that were with Gideon were fuddenly and hattily got together raw and undifciplined, and very unfit to enga: -| the veteran troops of the united forces of Midian,

Amalek, and Arabia. It appears from hence, that Gideon’s name was well known in the camp of Midian, what was his defcent, and his charaéter as a valiant man, which is meant by a man. of Ifrael, namely, a courageous mighty man, and the very name of him might {trike with terror: for into bis hands bath God delivered Midian and all his bof, which the man concluded from this dream, and the interpretation of it fuggefted to him from God, and impreffed upon his mind; which he fpeaks of with the greateft affurance and confidence, which he was infpired to do, for the ftrengthening of Gideon, andthe encouragement of him to come down with his army, and fall on the hoft of Midian. v.15. And it was fo when Gideon heard the telling of the dream, and the interpretation thereof, &c.] Or, the breaking of it *; the dream itfelf being like fomething clofed up and fealed, and the interpretation of it was like the breaking of a feal, and difcovering what is hid under it; or like a nut, the kernel of which cannot be come at till the fhell is broken: shat he worfbipped; bowed his head with an awful reverence of God, and a fenfe of his divine majefty, and worfhipped him by fending an ejaculatory prayer and praife to him; and fo the Targum, ‘“* and he praifed;” praifed God for likewife, 8c.) Obferve what I do, and do the faimes in blowing a trumpet, breaking a -pitcher, and fhouting with the words exprefled by him: and behold, when I come to the cuthde of the camp, where the centinels ftood, and the watch wes fet: i feall be that as I do, fo foallye do; and not before; a trumpet was not to be blown, nor a pitcher broken, nor atorch held out, nor a word ipoken, till juft they came to the outfide of the camp; and then they were to obferve the motions of Gideon, and do as he did.

¥. 18. When 1 blow with a trumpet, I and all that are with me, &c.) He being at the head of one of the three companies, ¥.19. perhaps the middle« moft, which might ftand for the body of the army; and the other two be oné to the right, and the other to the left of him, and fo could mote eafily difcover his motions: thew blow ye the trumpet alfo on every fide of all the camp; for it feemsthey were fo difpofed as to be around the camp, which when the trumpets were blown at orice: on every fide; with fuch a blaze of light, and crafhing of the pitchers, muft be very terrifying, as if there was no way for them to efcape, and efpecially when they fhould hear the following dreadful founds: and fay, the fword of the Lord, and of Gideon;

this gracious encouragement he had given, the furance of victory he now had; for he faw clearly the hand of God inall this, both in caufing one of the foldiers to-dream as he did, and giving other the interpretation of it, and himfelf the hear. ing of both: and returned into the hoft of I fuch an one as it was, confifting only of 300 armed men: and faid, arife; from their fleep and beds, it being the night-feafon;

y. 16. And he divided the 300 men into 3 companies, &c.] 100 in a company, partly to makejhad the better figure, a fhew of an army, and left wing, and partly that they might fall upon the camp of Midian in different parts: aad he pat a trumpet in every man’s band, they that returned of the trumpeters having left their trumpets behind them, whereby there was a fufficient number for 300 men; and thefe were put into their hands, that when they blew them together, the noife be very great; and it would feem as if they were an exceeding great army, and fo very much terrify af-jor for the Lord, and for Gideon; and which may be fupplied, either the fight is for the Lord, and for Gideon, or the victory is for the Lord, and thejfor Gideon, we fupply it from y. 20. The name 'febovah, thefe heathens had often heard, as the God rael;j0f Tract, would now be dreadful to them, and the un-!name of Gideon alfo; whofe name, as appears by the interpretation of the dream, was terrible among and from theirjthem; for which reafon Gideon added it, and not for the Lordjout of arrogance and vanity; and puts it after the hejname of the Lord, as being only an inftrument the Lord thought fit to make ufe of, otherwife all the glory belonged to him.

tents, and defcend the hill with him: hath delivered into your hand the boft of Midian, made now no doubt of it, it was as fure tohim as if it had been actually done; hence Gideon is renowned for his faith, though he fometimes was not without his fits of diffidence; fee Heb. x. 32.

y. 19. So Gideon and the 100 men that were with him, &c.] Which was one of the three companies his army was divided into, and which company he the command of particularly: came unto. the witharightioutide of the camp, in the beginning of the middle watch; the fecond watch, for the night was divi- ° ded into three watches; for though in after times there were four watches, among the Romans», and which the Fews received from them; hence in the new teftament we read of the fourth watch; yet in earlier times, with the ews and other eaftern wouldj nations, there were but three watches, as affirmed by Farchi and Kimchi onthe place: and very wifely did Gideon fix on this watch for the time of his co- their enemies: with empty pitchers, and lamps with the pitchers; the pitchers were of earth, and fo eafily broken, and would make a great noife when clafhed againft each other; and thefe were empty of water, or otherwife would not have been fit to put lamps into, and the lamps put in them were not of oil; for then when the pitchers were broken, the oil would have run out; but were a-kind of torches, made of rofin, wax,’ pitch, and fuch “like things; and thefe were put into the pitcher, partly to preferve them from the wind, and chiefly to conceal them from the enemy, till juft they came upon them, and then held them out; which in a dark night would make a terrible blaze, as ming; for had he come at the firft watch, many as yet might not have been in bed, or at leaft not fallen afleep; and had hecome in the third watch, many might have been awake out of their fleep, and others up; but he took this time, a little after midnight, in the dead of the night, when the whole army was faft afleep: and they had but newly et the watch; the firft watch were juft gone off, and the fecond were placed in their room; but fince fuch an obfervation feems in a good meafure unneceflary, for as Gideon came in the beginning of the watch it muft in courfe be newly fet, rather the words may be rendered, in raifing they raifed up the watch *; that is, Gideor and his men did it by before they ferved to give them light down the hill their approach; and they might call to them’ on purpofe to give the alarm to the army, who upon

¥. 17. And be faid unto them, look on me, and do| & \\Uy frationem ejus, Vatablus, Drufius; that would at once hear the found of the trumpets, fra€turam ejus, Pifcator.. \ in voce mgo@vaaxn, & in vace PvAaxn. Montanus.

and the clattering of the pitchers, and. fee the} torches burning, to their great furprize: and they blew the trumpets, and brake the pitchers that were in their hands; as {oon as they came up to the watch and had raifed them; this did Gideon and his hunwere brokem; they could not put themfélves in rank and file, but were thrown into the utmoft confufion; and cried as being in the utmoft danger of their lives, and fled for their fafety as faft as. they could; fee J, xxvii. 13. Hed..vi. 18. it dred men. Ce ¥. 22. And the 300 men blew the trumpets, &e.}

¥.20. And the three companies blew the trumpets,\ and brake the pitchers, &c.| ‘The other two, obferving what Gideon and his company did, followed Kept blowing them to continue and increafe the terror of the enemy, and {till held the lampsin their hands, and ftood as torch-bearers to light the A@- their example, and at the fame time blew their trumpets, and broke their pitchers; for that there were four companies, three befides Gideon’s, as dianites and their affociatesto deflroy one another, as follows: and the Lord fet every man’s fword againft bis fellow throughout the hoft; and fo flew

Kimchi and Ben Melech fuggeft, there is no io believe: and held the lamps in their left hands; which they took out of the pitchers when they broke them, and holding them up in their left hands, gave a great blaze of light, which muft very furprizing to the hoft of Midian, juft out of their fleep: and the trumpets in their right reafonjone another; either fufpecting treachery, as Grotius, and {o in revenge, wrath, and indignation, drew.heir {words on each other; or through the ~ terror and amazement they were in at the founds bejthey heard, and the blazing torches dazzling their awakedjeyes, they knew not what they did, or who they fell upon, taking their friends for foes, fuppofing hands to blow withal; and which they continued blowing, the found of which mutft be very dreadful, fince it might-be concluded from fuch a number of trumpets, that there mult be a vaft army: and they cried, the fword of the Lord and of Gideon; fignifying that was drawn againft the Midzanites, and they muft expect to be cut in pieces by it, fince the fword was ‘febovab’s, fent and commifiioned by him, and was put into the hand of Gideon as an inftrument, with which execution would be done, the Lord helping him. The Targum is, ‘* the {word of the Lord, and victory by the hand of Gideon;’? which victory was to be afcribed to the {word and power of God.. This was an emblem of the efficacy of the word of God, accompanied with his power, to the deftruction of the kingdom of Satan; the blowing of the trumpets may denote the miniftration of the gofpel, the great trumpet to be blowed by the apoftles and minifters of the word; the holding forth the. lamps may fignify the fame, the light of the divine word in the minifters of it, and the holding forth of it to others; and which is carried in earthern veffels, frail mortal men; and done that the excellency of the power may appear to be of God, and not of men; and the fword of the Lord is the word of God in the souths of minifters, accompanied by the power of God; for it can only be through God that fuch weapons of warfare can become mighty to do the execution that is done by them; fee 2 Cor. iv. 7. and x. 4, 5. blowing of trumpets, and then a cry or fhout of the foldiers to terrify the enemy, were ufed in later times *.

y. 21. And they ftood every man in his place around the camp, &c.] To fee the falvation of God, and that it might moft 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 pofition ferved to increafe the terror of the enemy, who might fuppofe that they ftood either to light and introduce a large army at the back of them; or to light the forces already in the midft of them, whilft they deftroyed them; which latter feems rather to be the thing their imaginations were poffeffed with, the J/raelites were got into their campy and the rather they might be led into this miftake, fince there were p2ople of different languages among them, as ¥o/epbus ™ obferves; but the thing was of God, it was he that took away their reafon and judgment from them, and infatuated them, and filled their imaginations with fuch f{trange apprehenfions of things; and threw-into their minds fuch terror and amazement, and direSted them to point their {words at one another: and the boft fled to Beth-fhittab in Zererath, that isy which was left of it, which had not deftroyed each other; the firft of thefe places fhould be read Beth-ba hittab 5.

and perhaps had its name from the /hittab or fhit= tim trees which might grow near it in plenty, or the houfes in it might be built of /bittim wood; of it may be here ftood a temple formerly dedicated to fome deity of this name, and near it a grove of the above trees. Zererath, Kimchi observes, is written with two Refbes, or R’s, to diftinguith it from another place called Tzeredah; but where either of thefe places mentioned were cannot be particularly faid; though it is highly probable they were in the tribe of Manaffeh, and in the way to Fordan, whither in all probability the Midianites would fteer their courfe to efcape to their own land > and to the border of Abel-meholab unto Taboath x the former of thefe was the birth-place of Eiéj/ba the prophet, 1 Kings xix. 16. and it appears very plainly that it was in the tribe of Manajfeh, being mentioned with other places in that tribe, 1,Kings iv. 12. Ferom" under this word fays, there was in his time a village in 4u/on, or the plain, ro miles. from Scythopolis to the fouth, which was called. Bethabula, and the Targum is, ** to the border of. the plain of sbel-mebolah;” but of Tabbath we no where elfe read.

¥. 23. Ard the men of Ifrael gathered themfelves together, &c.} Not out of all the tribes, but out. of thofe which Jay neareft, and which are. particularly mentioned: out of Napbtali, and out of Afoer, and out of all Manafeb; and thefe feem to be the fame perfons out of thofe tribes who firft joined Gideon, but were feparated from his army; both thofe that were fearful, and thofe that bowed their knees to drink, and who perhaps had not - fince they fell to flaying their fellows, fuppofing thei to be enemies, as in the following verfe: all the hoft ran and cried, and fled, or were brotew+ 3 as fome render the firft word, their lines gone far before they heard of the defeat and flight andjof the Midianites, and therefore though they had not courage to face the enemy, at leaft mott of |them, yet had fpirit enough to purfue a flying enemy; wherefore they returned, or however directed their courfe the neareft way, where they fuppoted they fled: and purfued after the Midianites; and thofe that were with them.

y.24. And Gideon fent meffengers throughaut all mount Ephraim, &c.] To raile the inhabitants of] it, who lay nearer Fordan, to which the Midianites would make, in order to intercept them in their flight; or however get poffeffion of the fords of Fordan before them, and hinder their paffage over it: faying, come down againft the Midignites, for though he had routed them, and they were fled before him, yet he had not men enough with him to! deftroy them; and befides as they had their to ride on, and he and his menonly on foot, they could not come up with them: and take before them the waters unto Beth-barab and Jordan; namely, all the fords and paflages over Fordan, reaching from the lake of Genefaret to Beth-barab, the fame with Bethgbara, Fob. i. 28, which was a paflage over Yordan, or thefe waters were, as Kimchi thinks, diftinét from thofe of Fordan, and were waters that lay in the way of the flight of the dianites, before they came to Beth-barab, paflage over Yordan; and Farchi thinks they were waters, which divided between Syri¢ and the land of Canaan, which is not likely; others think the waters are the fame with Fordan, and render the words, take the waters—even Jordan °; gain the paffes over that before them, and {fo prevent their efcape to their own land: then all the men of Ephraim; that is, great numbers of them, whofe hearts were inclined to, and whofe fituation lay beft for this fervice: gathered themfelves together; in a body, at fome place of rendezvous appointed; aud took the waters unto Beth-barah and Fordan; took poffeffion of all the pafics, and guarded them, Oreb, and Zeeb, &c.| The one fignifies a raven and theother a wolf; which were either nicknames given them becaufe of their voracioufnels and cruelty, or which they took themfelves, or their anceftors before them, to make themfelves. terrible to others; fo the Romans had the families of the Corvini, 8cc. and they flew Oreb upon the rock Oreb; perhaps they found him in a caye of the rock, and dragging him out flew him, from whence the rock afterwards had its name. So we read of therock of Corax in Homer ®, which was in Ithaca, and another high mountain of the fame name in 4folia, mentioned by Livy 2, and which fignifies camels ' the fame as Ored, This isa different rock or mountain from Horeb, the fame with Sinai, from whence the law was given; which always ought to be written with an H orCA, to diftinguith it from this; though that is written Ored by Ladantius', and fo by Milton +, contrary to the propriety of the lan guage: and Zeeb they flew at the wine-prefs of Zeeb; the Targum is, the plain of Zech, which, as Kimchi and Ben Gerfom fuppofe, was in the form Mi-jof a wine-prefs, having high lips or hills around theirlit, and which afterwards took its name from this prince being flain in it: and purfued Midian, the reft of the AMidiauites, even beyond Jordan, thofe that got over it: and brought the beads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon on the other fide Fordan; that is, when he had paffed over it the next morning, as farchi remarks; for after this we read of Gideon's going over Fordan, ch. viii. 4. unlels this is {aid by way of anticipation; though the phrafe will bear to be rendered, om this fide Fordan, for it fignifies both. It feems they cut off the heads of thofe two princes, and prefented them to Gideon, as it has been ufual to bring the heads of enemies to kings and conquerors; fee 1 Sem. xvii. 54. and