Judges 7:24 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Gideon sent messengers throughout all the hill country of Ephraim, saying, “Come down against the Midianites and capture the waters against them, as far as Beth-barah, and also the Jordan.” So all the men of Ephraim were called out, and they captured the waters as far as Beth-barah, and also the Jordan.

NIV: Gideon sent messengers throughout the hill country of Ephraim, saying, 'Come down against the Midianites and seize the waters of the Jordan ahead of them as far as Beth Barah.' So all the men of Ephraim were called out and they seized the waters of the Jordan as far as Beth Barah.

NASB: Then Gideon sent messengers throughout the hill country of Ephraim, saying, 'Come down against Midian and take control of the waters ahead of them, as far as Beth-barah and the Jordan.' So all the men of Ephraim were summoned, and they took control of the waters as far as Beth-barah and the Jordan.

CSB: Gideon sent messengers throughout the hill country of Ephraim with this message: "Come down to intercept the Midianites and take control of the watercourses ahead of them as far as Beth-barah and the Jordan." So all the men of Ephraim were called out, and they took control of the watercourses as far as Beth-barah and the Jordan.

NLT: Gideon also sent messengers throughout the hill country of Ephraim, saying, 'Come down to attack the Midianites. Cut them off at the shallow crossings of the Jordan River at Beth-barah.' So all the men of Ephraim did as they were told.

KJV: And Gideon sent messengers throughout all mount Ephraim, saying, come down against the Midianites, and take before them the waters unto Bethbarah and Jordan. Then all the men of Ephraim gathered themselves together, and took the waters unto Bethbarah and Jordan.

NKJV: Then Gideon sent messengers throughout all the mountains of Ephraim, saying, “Come down against the Midianites, and seize from them the watering places as far as Beth Barah and the Jordan.” Then all the men of Ephraim gathered together and seized the watering places as far as Beth Barah and the Jordan.

The survivors of the Midianite horde (Judges 7:19–23) are fleeing east from Gideon's army. That force started the nighttime attack with only 300 men but is quickly growing to much larger size. The call has gone out to several local tribes, telling them to join the attack on Israel's oppressors (Judges 6:1–5). Those sent away just before from the initial "attack" on the Midianites (Judges 7:2–9) were probably the first assigned to chase down the fleeing enemy and destroy them before they can escape across the Jordan.

The problem, for now, is that Gideon's men are chasing the enemy, and need to stop them from reaching a particular objective. Israel needs someone to secure river crossings at the Jordan, where the Midianites and their allies will attempt to cross back over into their own countries. Gideon's forces won't be able to outrun their enemy in time to stop them from getting away.

So, Gideon sends messengers—in this context, meaning individual runners or riders, who can move much faster than a large group—to call the men of Ephraim into the battle. He specifically commands they race to the Jordan River and cut off all the crossing points the Midianites might use to escape. This will trap the Midianites between the men of Ephraim at the Jordan and Gideon's pursuing forces. The specific location of Beth-barah is unknown to modern scholars.

Judges 7:19–25 describes the Lord's victory over the Midianites through Gideon and his 300 men. The Israelites take positions around the Midianite camp well after dark. They choose a strategic moment to attack: just after the changing of the guard. Nearly in unison, the Israelite soldiers blow trumpets and shout battle cries while exposing torches. The Midianites panic, assuming the enemy force is massive. In the dark, and in a panic, they begin attacking each other. The chaos leads them to flee toward the Jordan River. Gideon calls for men from several tribes to join him in chasing them down. He sends messengers to Ephraim to tell them to cut off the fleeing enemy at the Jordan River. The Midianites do not escape.

Gideon and his 32,000–man army of volunteer Israelites camp in the hills above the Midianite invaders in the valley. The Lord tells Gideon to reduce his troops until only 300 remain. God allows Gideon to overhear the interpretation of a Midianite dream, an event that strengthens his faith. Gideon and his 300 men take positions around the Midianite camp and blow trumpets, hold up torches, and shout battle cries. Those in the camp panic and begin attacking each other. The survivors flee toward the Jordan but are eventually cut off.

Despite a miraculous calling from God, and success in his first actions, Gideon still expressed doubt (Judges 6). After seeing two custom-requested miracles, Gideon prepares to attack the Midianite invaders. He winnows his army down to only 300 men and overhears an encouraging conversation. Gideon and his men surprise the enemy after nightfall with trumpets and torches, sparking a panic. This begins a rout of the enemy. In the next chapter, Gideon succeeds further despite stubbornness from his own people (Judges 8).

The Book of Judges describes Israel's history from the death of Joshua to shortly before Israel's first king, Saul. Israel fails to complete God's command to purge the wicked Canaanites from the land (Deuteronomy 7:1–5; 9:4). This results in a centuries-long cycle where Israel falls into sin and is oppressed by local enemies. After each oppression, God sends a civil-military leader, labeled using a Hebrew word loosely translated into English as "judge." These appointed rescuers would free Israel from enemy control and govern for a certain time. After each judge's death, the cycle of sin and oppression begins again. This continues until the people of Israel choose a king, during the ministry of the prophet-and-judge Samuel (1 Samuel 1—7).