Abravanel uses the previous chapter (Judges 6) to get a better grip on our chapter. Recall,
Judges 6 concluded with the outward miracle by way of fleece of wool, as per Gideon’s request
of God. A divine message to Gideon conveyed that he would emerge victorious over the
Midianites.
“Then Jerubbaal, who is Gideon, and all the people that were with him, rose up
early, and pitched beside En-harod; and the camp of Midian was on the north
side of them, by Gibeath-moreh, in the valley. And the LORD said unto Gideon:
The people that are with you are too many for Me to give the Midianites into
their hand, lest Israel vaunt themselves against Me, saying: mine own hand has
saved me.”
Judges 7 opens with Gideon’s war preparations, one that centered on enlisting and mobilizing a
sizeable army. God had different ideas: “And the LORD said unto Gideon: The people that are
with you are too many for Me to give the Midianites into their hand…” The Maker even
provided the rationale for a much-downsized army. “Lest Israel vaunt themselves against Me,
saying: mine own hand has saved me.”
God continues whittling away at Gideon’s army, paring it down to nubbins. “Now therefore
make proclamation in the ears of the people, saying: Whosoever is fearful and trembling, let
him return and depart early from mount Gilead. And there returned of the people twenty and
two thousand; and there remained ten thousand.”
Abravanel explains why the Creator required Gideon to make drastic cuts in the army size. He
also sheds light on the method whereby the number of troops would be released from army
service. “And the LORD said unto Gideon: The people are yet too many. Bring them down unto
the water, and I will try them for you there; and it shall be, that of whom I say to you: This shall
go with you, the same shall go with you; and of whomsoever I say unto you: This shall not go
with you, the same shall not go.”
Early in the morning after the fleece of wool miracle (actually two fleece miracles transpired),
Gideon and his men woke up. God came to the Hebrew judge, informing him that the army size
was too large. As quoted above, the “official reason” had to do with Hebrews not misconstruing
the upcoming military victory, taking credit. That, Abravanel learns, sidestepped the real reason
for cutting the army size. The Maker understood that many soldiers were fearful of the
imminent war with Midian. Hence, Heaven deemed it an expedient to let the faint of heart go
home. Deuteronomy 20 makes explicit: All men who fear that their sins will cause them to fall
in battle are exempt. Here in Judges, owing to the large number of men engaged in paganism,
they certainly feared divine payback on the battle field.
Accordingly, God ordered Gideon to proclaim: “Whosoever is fearful and trembling, let him
return…” The Creator did not want to draw attention to these soft-hearted men. “Let him
return and depart early…” For Abravanel, the point is clear. God demanded them to depart the
camp quietly, under cover of the wee hours of dawn. Why? Only the cowardly refuse army
service; it’s humiliating.
How widespread was the phenomenon of weak-kneed Hebrews at that time? Numbers speak
for themselves. Gideon began with thirty-two thousand troops. Twenty-two thousand
disappeared at sunrise. That left ten thousand. God did not desire them, and so He devised a
test to weed out the masses. “So he brought down the people unto the water; and the LORD
said unto Gideon: Everyone that laps of the water with his tongue, as a dog laps, him shall you
set by himself; likewise, every one that bows down upon his knees to drink.”
Abravanel provides his rationale for Heaven’s trial by the river, but for brevity we omit it here.
Note here, though, the number of troops deemed unworthy or unwilling to join the war efforts.
Put differently, of the original thirty-two thousand men, how many did the Creator allow to
fight? “And the number of them that lapped, putting their hand to their mouth, was three
hundred men; but all the rest of the people bowed down upon their knees to drink water.”
Gideon inspected his remaining warriors. He might have experienced a sinking feeling. Now, he
beheld and inspected not an army, nor even a division. Instead, his fighting troops barely
registered the size of a small battalion. God dd not want Gideon to fret, and so delivered a
promise: “And the LORD said unto Gideon: By the three hundred men that lapped will I save
you, and deliver the Midianites into your hand; and let all the people go every man unto his
place.”