the severest trial. Israel's camp was pitched on the height; probably on a crest of Mount Gilboa, which

seems to have borne the name of Gilead. At its foot rose "the spring Harod" - probably the same which now

bears the name Jalood. Beyond it was the hill Moreh (from the verb "to indicate," "to direct"), and north of

it, in the valley,258 lay the camp of Midian, 135,000 strong (Judges 8:10), whereas the number of Israel

amounted to only 22,000. But even so they were too many - at least for Jehovah "to give the Midianites into

their hand, lest Israel vaunt themselves against Me, saying, Mine own hand hath saved me." In accordance

with a previous Divine direction (Deuteronomy 20:8), proclamation was made for all who were afraid, to "turn

and wind about259 from Mount Gilead."  260

Still, Gideon must have been surprised, when, in consequence, he found himself left with only 10,000 men.

But even these were too many. To "purify them" (as by refining - for such is the meaning of the word),

Gideon was now to bring them down to the spring Harod, where those who were to go to battle would be

separated from the rest.261 All who lapped the water with the tongue out of their hands (out of the hollow

hand), as a dog lappeth water, were to go with Gideon, the rest to return, each to his own place. Only three

hundred were now left, and with these God declared He would save, and deliver the Midianites into Gideon's

hand. If we ask about the rationale of this means of distinction, we conclude, of course, that it indicated the

bravest and most ardent warriors,262 who would not stoop to kneel, but hastily quenched their thirst out of

the hollow of their hands, in order to hasten to battle. But Jewish tradition assigns another and deeper

meaning to it. It declares that the practice of kneeling was characteristic of the service of Baal, and hence

that kneeling down to drink when exhausted betrayed the habit of idolaters. Thus the three hundred would

represent those in the host of Israel - "all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal" (1 Kings 19:18).263

They who had been selected now "took victuals from the people  264 in their hands, and the trumpets" - the

rest were sent away.

That night the small company of Israel occupied an advanced position on the brow of the steep mountain,

that overhangs the valley of Jezreel.265 Effectually concealed, probably by the shelter of wood or vineyards,

the v ast straggling camp of Midian spread right beneath them. That night came the Divine command to

Gideon to go down to the camp, for God had given it into his hand. And yet, alike in condescension to

Gideon's weakness, and to show how thoroughly the Lord had prepared the victory, He first allowed him to

ascertain for himself the state of matters in the camp of Midian. Quietly Gideon and his page Phurah ("the

branch") crept from rock to rock, over where the last patrol of the advance-guard 266 kept watch around the

camp -fire.

Here they overheard the tale of a strange dream. Alike the dream and its interpretation are peculiarly Eastern

and in character. Both would make the deepest impression on those sons of the desert, and, communicated

to the next patrol, as the first watch was relieved by the second, must have prepared for that panic which,

commencing with the advance-guard, was so soon to spread through the whole camp of Midian. The dream

was simply this: "Behold, a loaf of barley-bread rolled itself into the camp of Midian, and it came to the tent

(the principal one, that of the general), and struck it, and it fell, and it turned from above 267 and it was

fallen!" To which his neighbor (comrade) replied: "This is nothing else but the sword of Gideon, the son of

Joash, a man of Israel; given hath the God  268 into his hand Midian and all his camp." So wondrous seemed

the dream and its interpretation, that, when Gideon and his armor-bearer heard it, they bent in silent worship,

assuredly knowing that God had given t hem the victory. In truth, with the tale of this dream the miracle of

the victory had already begun.

There is such pictorialness and such truthfulness of detail about all this narrative, that we almost seem to

see the events enacted before us. That camp of Bedouins, like locusts in numbers - with their wives,

children, and camels, like the sand by the seashore; then the watchfire by which alone they keep guard; the

talk over the camp -fire; the dream so peculiarly Bedouin, and its rapid interpretation, no less

characteristically Eastern - and yet the while all ordered and arranged of God - while that small band of three

hundred Israelites lies concealed on the neighboring height, and Gideon and his "young man," are close by,

behind the great shadows which the watch-fire casts, hidden perhaps in the long grass! Then the dream

itself! It was all quite natural, and yet most unnatural. The Midianites - especially the advanced-guard, that