Judges 7:3

Now therefore go to, proclaim in the ears of the people,.... Such a proclamation as follows, was, according to the law of God, to be made when Israel went out to battle against their enemies,

Now therefore go to, proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, Whosoever is fearful and afraid, let him return and depart early from mount Gilead.

Mount Gilead; not that famous Mount Gilead which was beyond Jordan; for it is apparent that both the camps of the Israelites and of the Midianites were on this side Jordan: but another Mount Gilead in the tribe of Manasseh; which might be so called, either for some resemblance it had with the other Mount Gilead, or in remembrance of their father Gilead; or that this might be a memorial of their near relation to their brethren, notwithstanding their being divided one from another by Jordan; or for some other reason now unknown at this distance of time and place. Or, the words may be rendered towards Mount Gilead; for the Hebrew particle mid, or mere, is sometimes rendered towards, of which see 13:11 . And so it may be understood of the famous Mount Gilead beyond Jordan, which he may mention here, either, 1. Because many of his soldiers were of that half tribe of Manasseh which dwelt there, and so it was most proper for them to return thither; or, 2. Because that was their safest course, to get furthest from the danger which they feared; or, 3. Because though he would remove them from danger, yet he would not have them dispersed, but kept together in a body about Mount Gilead; knowing that they who had not courage enough to fight their enemies, might have valour enough to pursue them when they were beaten by others; and suspecting that the Midianites, if beaten, would probably flee that way. Twenty and two thousand; who finding their whole army to be very small in comparison of their enemy’ s, who were a hundred and thirty-live thousand, , and they, no doubt, well armed and disciplined, and encouraged by long success; whereas the Israelites were dispirited with long servitude, and many of them unfurnished with arms and provisions, lost the courage which in the beginning they seemed to have.

Judges 7:3 Now therefore go to, proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, Whosoever [is] fearful and afraid, let him return and depart early from mount Gilead. And there returned of the people twenty and two thousand; and there remained ten thousand.Ver. 3. Let him depart.] Lest the rest be discouraged, for cowardice is catching. Judas Maccabeus made the like proclamation. And there returned of the people twenty and two thousand.] Though they had been so long and so heavily oppressed, though now they had God’ s promise of victory, and a fair opportunity put into their hands of recovering their ancient liberties, - which ought to have been as precious unto them as a drop of cold water would have been to the rich man in hell when he was so grievously tormented in those flames, - yet away they went, and deserted their brethren. So little trust is there to be put in the fickle and faithless multitude.

(3) Whosoever is fearful and afraid.—This proclamation is in exact accordance with Deuteronomy 20:8 (and the other general directions in that chapter). It is there founded on the psychological observation that cowardice is exceedingly contagious, so that the presence of timid men in an army is a source of direct danger. The same rule was rigidly observed by the faithful Judas Maccabæus (1Ma 3:56). Epaminondas, for the same reason, made the same proclamation before the battle of Leuctra. In this instance there was the further reason given in the previous verse. “The ancients had observed that even when there are many legions it is always the few that win the battle” (Tac. Ann. xiv. 36). Depart early.—The Hebrew word tsaphar occurs here only. The Chaldee explains it by tsiphra, “in the morning;” and Abarband says that this injunction was given in order that they might not incur shame when they retired. The rendering “hastily” is explained to mean “like a bird” (tsippor). Keil, connecting it with an Arabic root, makes it mean “slink away by bye-paths.” It seems to involve a shade of contempt—“Let him take himself off.” (Trolle sich: Cassel.) From mount Gilead.—This expression has caused great difficulty, but the Hebrew cannot mean “to mount Gilead,” nor yet “beyond mount Gilead.” The only tenable solution of the difficulty is, (1) to alter the text into “mount Gilboa” (Clericus), or from meehar, “from mount,” to maheer, “speedily” (Michaelis); or (2) to suppose that “mount Gilead” was a rallying-cry of the Manassites in general, for Gilead was a son of Abiezer (Numbers 26:30, where Jeezer is merely an error); and hence was derived the name “Gilead” of the trans-Jordanic district which fell to the half-tribe of Manasseh (Joshua 17:5-6). If this be a true conjecture, the phrase “let him depart from mount Gilead” means “let him leave the camp of Manasseh.” One more conjecture is that Gilead is an ancient name for Gilboa (Schwarz). There returned of the people twenty and two thousand.—No detail could more decisively show the terror struck into them by the sight of the Midianite host. They looked on them with the same alarm with which the Greeks, before Marathon, used to gaze on the Persian dress. It must not, however, be supposed that all the defaulters went straight to their homes. Doubtless many of them took part in the pursuit which made the victory decisive.

Verse 3. Whosoever is fearful and afraid, let ham return - from Mount Gilead] Gideon was certainly not at Mount Gilead at this time, but rather near Mount Gilboa. Gilead was on the other side of Jordan. Calmet thinks there must either have been two Gileads, which does not from the Scripture appear to be the case, or that the Hebrew text is here corrupted, and that for Gilead we should read Gilboa. This reading, though adopted by Houbigant, is not countenanced by any MS., nor by any of the versions. Dr. Hales endeavours to reconcile the whole, by the supposition that there were in Gideon's army many of the eastern Manassites, who came from Mount Gilead; and that these probably were more afraid of their neighbours, the Midianites, than the western tribes were; and therefore proposes to read the text thus: Whosoever from Mount Gilead is fearful and afraid, let him return (home) and depart early. So there returned (home) twenty-two thousand of the people. Perhaps this is on the whole the best method of solving this difficulty. There returned of the people twenty and two thousand] Gideon's army was at this time thirty-two thousand strong, and after the above address twenty-two thousand went away. How astonishing, that in thirty-two thousand men there should be found not less than twenty-two thousand poltroons, who would neither fight for God nor their oppressed country! A state of slavery debases the mind of man, and renders it incapable of being influenced by the pure principles of patriotism or religion. In behalf of the army of Gideon we may say, if the best appointed armies in Europe had the same address, bona fide, from their generals as the Israelites had, at least an equal proportion would return home.

3. trembling] Hebr. ḥ ?ârçd, with pointed reference to the name of the spring Ḥ ?ãrôd. The sentence ‘whosoever is fearful … let him return’ closely resembles Deuteronomy 20:8, and may allude to the ordinance there laid down. and depart from mount Gilead] The verb (ṣ ?afar) occurs only here, and its meaning must be guessed from the context; the renderings ‘depart early’ (AV. following Kimchi, from Aram. ṣ ?afra ‘morning’), or ‘go round,’ or ‘spring away from’ (Arab. ḍ ?afara ‘leap’) are impossible or very doubtful. Moore’s emendation ‘And Gideon tried (ṣ ?araf) them’ is adopted by many, but the ‘testing,’ appropriate in Judges 7:4, is not suitable here. Mount Gilead is probably a mistake for mount Gilboa, for Gilead was a district on the east of the Jordan.

The proclamation was in accordance with the Law (see the marginal reference). No mountain of the name of Gilead is known in this locality, and it has been conjectured that the right reading is Gilboa.

3. Whosoever is fearful and afraid — The word rendered afraid is identical with the name Harod, given to the fountain in Judges 7:1, and hence some have supposed that the fountain took its name —