As we saw in the previous chapter, God pulled a resounding victory over Midian, the Hebrew
troops under Gideon acting in cameo roles. Taking the field were the judge’s three hundred
men. Yet, they were not the only participants. The earlier chapter also gives a shout-out to the
tribes of Naphtali, Asher, and Menasseh for their part in pursuing the routed Midianites.
“And the men of Ephraim said unto him: Why have you served us thus, that you
did not call us when you went to fight with Midian? And they did chide with him
sharply.”
In fact, the concluding verses of Judges 7 also extends honorable mention to the tribe of
Ephraim. Nevertheless, Abravanel writes, Ephraim had choice words for Gideon, as our
chapter’s lead verse records. “And the men of Ephraim said unto him: Why have you served us
thus, that you did not call us when you went to fight Midian? And they did chide him sharply.”
On the surface, Ephraim’s complaint doesn’t make sense, Abravanel notes. Well, what was their
gripe? Gideon had included Ephraim in the smashing victory over Midian. “And Gideon sent
messengers throughout all the hill-country of Ephraim, saying: Come down against Midian, and
take before them the waters, as far as Beth-barah, and also the Jordan. So, all the men of
Ephraim were gathered together, and took the waters as far as Beth-barah, and also the
Jordan.”
Here is the point. Ephraim earned high marks in the war against Midian. “And they took the two
princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb; and they slew Oreb at the Rock of Oreb, and Zeeb they slew
at the Winepress of Zeeb, and pursued Midian; and they brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to
Gideon beyond the Jordan.” Still and all, Ephraim harbored deep resentment for Gideon. “Why
have you served us thus…”
Ephraim felt indignation because they believed that Gideon’s call to Ephraim for assistance
came late in the game, meaning after the main thrust of the battle had already been launched.
That is, Ephraim complained that Gideon enlisted Ephraim for the purpose of chasing Midian’s
defeated and fleeing army. For courageous warriors, Ephraim asserted, nothing could be more
insulting. They were willing and able to take an active part in the toe-to toe combat. Thus,
Ephraim’s job of merely chasing Midian represented a slight to their manliness, chivalry. “And
they did chide with him sharply.”
Ruthless fighters, such as the men of Ephraim, could not abide Gideon’s affront, one that stung
like a slap. They insisted that Gideon should have mobilized them at the outset of the war, not
its conclusion.
Gideon immediately sought to right the wrong. “And he said unto them: What have I now done
in comparison with you? Is not the gleaning of Ephraim better than the vintage of Abiezer? God
has delivered into your hand the princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb; and what was I able to do in
comparison with you?” Gideon downplayed his own role in the war with Midian. At the same
time, the Hebrew judge praised Ephraim’s contribution to the hilt. “What was I able to do in
comparison with you?”, referring to Midian’s highest-ranking officers that Ephraim captured.
“God has delivered into your hands the princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb…” Militarily speaking,
Gideon acknowledged, that while Ephraim took on Midian’s most formidable commanders, he
himself fought against a ragtag, Midianite encampment.
“Is not the gleaning of Ephraim better than the vintage of Abiezer?” Gideon’s extolment,
essentially a reframing of the events of the war, pleased Ephraim. Reconciliation followed.
“Then their anger was abated toward him, when he had said that.”