Gideon and the Miraculous Victory in Battle: 10 Things You Didn't Know About this Biblical Story

1. Gideon, son of Yoash was the fifth shofet (judge and Jewish leader) discussed in the Book of Judges. He was preceded by the prophetess Devorah and followed by his son Avimelech. Gideon is also known as "Yeruba'al" (ShmueI I 12:11) and Yerubeshet (Shmuel II 11:21). He was from the tribe of Menashe, from the family of Aviezri, and he lived in the city of Ophrah. (According to Rashi, Gideon's father descended from the sons of Aviezer, the son of Gilad, and the grandson of Menashe.)

2. Gideon's story is described in chapters 6-8 of the Book of Judges. His victory over the Midianites is remembered as one of the greatest victories of all time, and it is referenced in Tehillim 83:12, Yeshayahu 9:3 and 10:26, and Shmuel I, 12:11.

3. This is the historical background of Gideon's story: After Barak and Devorah's victory over Yavin, king of Canaan, Israel returned to their sinful ways and were therefore subjugated by Midian for seven years. Together with their allies, Amalek and the people of Kedem, the Midianites raided Jewish towns and fields and plundered all their crops. As a last resort, the Jewish people dug tunnels and caves to hide and conceal their harvest.

4. The Jews cried out to Hashem and begged Him to save them. Hashem sent a prophet to rebuke them for abandoning Hashem, but the people didn't listen to him. Hashem then chose Gideon, the youngest son of Yoash, to save the nation.

5. An angel came to Gideon while he was "threshing wheat in the winepress." The commentators explain: "Gideon said to his father: 'Father, you are old, go to your house, and I will thresh here, because if the Midianites come, you won't have the strength to flee.' Hashem said to him: 'You [Gideon] have fulfilled the commandment of honoring your father, you are worthy that My children should be redeemed through you.'"

6. The angel declared: "Hashem is with you, mighty warrior," to which Gideon replied: "But where are all His wonders that our fathers told us about, saying, 'Did not Hashem bring us up from Egypt?'" Rashi explains Gideon's words: "Last night [on Pesach] we read Hallel, and my father read to me and said: 'When Israel went out of Egypt.' Gideon said to Hashem: 'If those people were righteous – act for us in their merit, and if they were wicked – just as You performed miracles for them, perform miracles for us.' Hashem said to him: 'By your life, you speak in defense of My children, you are worthy that I speak with you, go with this strength of yours and save Israel.'"

7. The Zohar comments: "Gideon, the son of Yoash, was neither righteous nor the son of a righteous man, but because he spoke positively of the Jewish people, Hashem said to him: 'Go with this strength of yours.'" (Zohar Part 1, 254)

8. After the angel performed several signs to prove that he was sent by Hashem, Gideon believed that he had been chosen by Hashem to save the Jews. That night, Hashem appeared to him and commanded him to destroy the altar of Baal (idolatry) in his hometown of Ophrah, and build an altar for Hashem in its place. Hashem also instructed him to sacrifice a special bull that had been groomed for idolatry with fire kindled from the wood of the Asherah (idolatrous) tree planted there. 

Gideon's Victory in the Midianite War

Gideon did as Hashem told him, and the next day, when the people of Ophrah discovered what happened, they wanted to kill him. Yoash, Gideon's father, managed to convince them to give up. He declared that if Baal really had power, he would avenge himself on his own, and didn't need the assistance of the townspeople. For this reason, Gideon received the name Yerubaaal, which means "Let Baal contend with him."

9. Meanwhile, Midian gathered together with Amalek and the people of Kedem to wage war against Israel. Gideon blew the shofar and gathered men from his tribe (Menashe), the tribe of Asher, the tribe of Zevulun, and the tribe of Naphtali. All together, 32,000 men responded to Gideon's call. However, Hashem commanded Gideon to reduce the size of his army. Hashem wanted the miraculous nature of the victory to be evident. He didn't want people to mistakenly think that the Jews won on account of the size of their army. 

Gideon ordered all the men who were afraid of battle to return home. 22,000 men turned back, leaving an army of 10,000. Hashem then told him to bring the men to the water and sort them again. Gideon took the people to the water, and Hashem commanded him to separate those who kneeled to drink water from those who lapped water "as a dog laps." After this test, Hashem instructed Gideon to take the 300 men who had lapped water with their tongues to war.

10. The camp of Midian, Amalek, and the people of Kedem numbered 135,000 men, 450 times larger than Gideon's army. Even so, a tremendous miracle occurred and the Jewish people defeated Midian and its allies.

This is how the miracle unfolded: That night, Gideon crept toward the Midianite camp with his servant. and overheard one of the enemy soldiers telling his friend about his dream in which he saw a loaf of barley bread tumbling through the camp and overturning a tent. The second soldier explained that the dream proved that Hashem would deliver the camp into Gideon's hands. Encouraged by the dream, Gideon returned to his men, woke them, and divided them into 3 units. Each soldier carried a shofar and a jug with a torch inside. Gideon's forces reached the Midianite camp in the middle of the night, shortly after the second group of Midianite sentries assumed their posts. When Gideon gave the order, his soldiers blew their shofars, broke the jars, and called out: "A sword for Hashem and for Gideon!" The Midianites woke up in a panic, terrified by the noise and bright light. They assumed that they were under attack by a large army, and, in their confusion, began killing each other since they couldn't identify one another.

As the Midianite army was overcome by panic and tried to escape, the Jews chased after them. At the same time, Gideon sent messengers to the people of Ephraim and asked them to head down to the Jordan River and block the Midianites' escape route. The men of Ephraim complied and also managed to capture and kill two Midianite princes, Orev and Zeev.

Gideon and his men crossed the Jordan in pursuit of the remaining Midianites, including their two kings, Zevach and Zalmunna, who had managed to escape before the men from Ephraim blocked their way.

Subsequently, Gideon's men reached Karkor, where the remaining Midianite troops had assembled. The Midianite army numbered just 15,000 men, since 120,000 had died along the way. Gideon attacked the unsuspecting camp, frightened its inhabitants, and captured Zevach and Zalmunna. In Tehillim (Psalm 83), King David mentions this unbelievable miracle: "Make their nobles like Orev and Zeev, all their princes like Zevach and Zalmunna."