Judges 7:20 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Judges 7:20
And the three companies blew the trumpets, and brake the pitchers, and held the lamps in their left hands, and the trumpets in their right hands to blow withal: and they cried, The sword of the LORD, and of Gideon.
three · noun, common both genders singular construct
companies
הָרָאשִׁ֥יםha.ra.Shim
H7218
the head (as most easily shaken) · definite article + noun, common masculine plural absolute
blew
וַֽ֠יִּתְקְעוּVai.yit.ke.'u
H8628
to clatter · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural
trumpets
בַּשּֽׁוֹפָרוֹת֮ba.sho.fa.rOt
H7782
a cornet (as giving a clear sound) or curved horn · preposition with the article + noun, common feminine plural absolute
brake
וַיִּשְׁבְּר֣וּvai.yish.be.Ru
H7665
to burst (literally or figuratively) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural
pitchers
הַכַּדִּים֒ha.ka.Dim
H3537
properly · definite article + noun, common masculine plural absolute
held
וַיַּחֲזִ֤יקוּvai.ya.cha.Zi.ku
H2388
to fasten upon · conjunction + verb, hiphil sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural
lamps
בַּלַּפִּדִ֔יםba.la.pi.Dim
H3940
a flambeau · preposition with the article + noun, common masculine plural absolute
left
שְׂמאוֹלָם֙se.m.'o.Lam
H8040
properly · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine plural
hands
בְיַדve.yad-
H3027
a hand (the open one (indicating power · preposition + noun, common both genders singular construct
trumpets
הַשּׁוֹפָר֖וֹתha.sho.fa.Rot
H7782
a cornet (as giving a clear sound) or curved horn · definite article + noun, common feminine plural absolute
right
יְמִינָ֔םye.mi.Nam
H3225
the right hand or side (leg · noun, common feminine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine plural
hands
וּבְיַ֨דu.ve.Yad-
H3027
a hand (the open one (indicating power · conjunction + preposition + noun, common both genders singular construct
blow
לִתְק֑וֹעַlit.Ko.a'
H8628
to clatter · preposition + verb, qal infinitive construct
cried
וַֽיִּקְרְא֔וּvai.yik.re.'U
H7121
to call out to (i.e. properly · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural
sword
חֶ֥רֶבChe.rev
H2719
drought · noun, common feminine singular absolute
LORD
לַֽיהוָ֖הla.Yah.weh
H3068
Jehovah · preposition + proper noun, a title
Gideon
וּלְגִדְעֽוֹןu.le.gid.'on
H1439
Gidon · conjunction + preposition + proper noun, a man's name
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Joshua 6:16 And it came to pass at the seventh time, when the priests blew with the trumpets, Joshua said unto the people, Shout; for the LORD hath give…
Isaiah 27:13 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the great trumpet shall be blown, and they shall come which were ready to perish in the land of…
1 Corinthians 15:52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we…
Joshua 6:20 So the people shouted when the priests blew with the trumpets: and it came to pass, when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the…
2 Corinthians 4:7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.
Joshua 6:4 And seven priests shall bear before the ark seven trumpets of rams’ horns: and the seventh day ye shall compass the city seven times, and th…
1 Thessalonians 4:16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Chr…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Judges 7:16-22
Here is, I. The alarm which Gideon gave to the hosts of Midian in the dead time of the night; for it was intended that those who had so long been a terror to Israel, and had so often frightened them, should themselves be routed and ruined purely by terror.
1. The attack here made was, in many circumstances, like that which Abraham made upon the army that had taken Lot captive. The number of men was much the same: Abraham had 318, Gideon 300; they both divided their forces, both made their attack by night, and were both victorious under great disadvantages (Gen 14:14, Gen 14:15); and Gideon is not only a son of Abraham (so were the Midianites by Keturah) but an heir of his faith. Gideon, (1.)…
HIS STRATAGEM AGAINST MIDIAN. (Jdg 7:16-24)
he divided the three hundred men into three companies--The object of dividing his forces was, that they might seem to be surrounding the enemy. The pitchers were empty to conceal the torches, and made of earthenware, so as to be easily broken; and the sudden blaze of the held-up lights--the loud echo of the trumpets, and the shouts of Israel, always terrifying (Num 23:21), and now more terrible than ever by the use of such striking words, broke through the stillness of the midnight air. The sleepers started from their rest; not a blow was dealt by the Israelites; but the enemy ran tumultuously, uttering the wild, discordant cries peculiar to the A…
And the three companies blew the trumpets, and brake the pitchers,.... The other two, observing what Gideon and his company did, followed their example, and at the same time blew their trumpets, and broke their pitchers; for that there were four companies, three besides Gideon's, as Kimchi and Ben Melech suggest, there is no reason to 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 must be very surprising to the host of Midian, just awaked out of their sleep:
and the trumpets in their right hands to blow withal; and which they continued blowing, the sound o…
The Church Fathers
That Gideon would command his three hundred men to shout, saying: The sword for the Lord and Gideon, that is, for himself, means that the sword would do what pleased the Lord and Gideon.
They go forth therefore to battle with trumpets, with lamps, and with pitchers. This, as we have said, was an unusual order of battle. They sounded with the trumpets, and the pitchers were held in their left hands. But lamps were placed within the pitchers; but, when the pitchers were broken, the lamps appeared, and by their flashing light the affrighted enemies are put to flight. By the trumpets is designated therefore the loud voice of preachers, by the lamps the brightness of their miracles, by the pitchers the frailness of their bodies. For our Leader led forth with Him, to the contest of preaching, such as by making light of their bodily safety, would overthrow their enemies by dying, and would overcome their swords, not by arms, not by words, but by patience. For our Martyrs came armed under their Leader to battle, but armed with trumpets, with pitchers, with lamps. And they sounded with their trumpets, when preaching; they broke their pitchers, when exposing their bodies to dissolution by the swords of the enemy in their suffering; they shone forth with lamps, when after the dissolution of their bodies they flashed forth with miracles. And their enemies were presently put to flight, because, when they beheld the bodies of dead Martyrs glittering with miracles, they were overpowered by the light of truth, and believed that which they had impugned. They sounded therefore with the trumpets, that the pitchers might he broken; the pitchers were broken, that the lamps might appear; the lamps appeared, that the enemies might be put to flight. That is, the Martyrs preached, till their bodies were dissolved in death; their bodies were dissolved in death, that they might shine forth with miracles; they shone forth with miracles, that they might overthrow their enemies with divine light; so that they might no longer stand up and resist God, but submit to, and be afraid of, Him.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Dream — God has frequently made use of dreams in communicating his will to men. The most remarkable instances of this are recorded in the history of Jacob (Gen. 28:12; 31:10), Laban (31:24), Joseph…
Esdraelon — The Greek form of the Hebrew “Jezreel,” the name of the great plain (called by the natives Merj Ibn Amer; i.e., “the meadow of the son of Amer”) which stretches across Central Palestine from the…
Harod — Palpitation, a fountain near which Gideon and his army encamped on the morning of the day when they encountered and routed the Midianites (Judg. 7). It was south of the hill Moreh. The present ‘Ain…
Lamp — (1.) That part of the candle-sticks of the tabernacle and the temple which bore the light (Ex. 25:37; 1 Kings 7:49; 2 Chr. 4:20; 13:11; Zech. 4:2). Their form is not described. Olive oil was…
Oreb — Raven, a prince of Midian, who, being defeated by Gideon and put to straits, was slain along with Zeeb (Judg. 7:20-25). Many of the Midianites perished along with him (Ps. 83:9; Isa. 10:26).
Sword — Of the Hebrew was pointed, sometimes two-edged, was worn in a sheath, and suspended from the girdle (Ex. 32:27; 1 Sam. 31:4; 1 Chr. 21:27; Ps. 149:6: Prov. 5:4; Ezek. 16:40; 21:3-5). It is a symbol…
According to the command which they had received (Jdg 7:17), the other two tribes followed his example. "Then the three companies blew the trumpets, broke the pitchers, and held the torches in their left hands, and the trumpets in their right to blow, and cried, Sword to the Lord and Gideon! And they stood every one his place round about the camp," sc., without moving, so that the Midianites necessarily thought that there must be a numerous army advancing behind the torch-bearers. וגו ויּרץ, "and the whole army ran," i.e., there began a running hither and thither in the camp of the enemy, who had been frightened out of their night's rest by the unexpected blast of the trumpets, the noise, an…
Had posted. The soldiers had already posted the sentries who were assigned to the middle watch. Members of the military usually assign sentry duty so that some serve during the first third of the night, some during the second third, and some during the final third.13See Yalkut, 63.
And smashed the pitchers. And broke14 נׇפוֹץ is sometimes translated as “dispersed”. Here, however, the translation is שָבוֹר, “broke”, as stated clearly in v.20. the pitchers which were in their hands.
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
