North of the Hill of Moreh. En-Harod was to the south of the Hill of Moreh, while the camp was to the north in the valley.

The people who are with you are too many. Hashem desired that it be evident that He had wrought the victory by miracle. For if there were many people, they would say that they themselves had prevailed.

(3) What is meant by “let him return and depart early”? And why here does it say, “and there returned of the people,” whereas in verse 8 it says, “and he sent every man to his tent”?

Whoever is fearful and trembling. The divine influx rests only upon those who are prepared and worthy of it. Here two qualifications were required: (1) preparation of courage, and (2) preparation of holiness to receive the divine matter — for this victory would be girded with valor and accomplished by a miracle, adorned with divine strength.

Therefore he first commanded that the fearful and fainthearted return, for they were not prepared for courage. And afterward he separated those who knelt upon their knees, who were unworthy of the miracle.

Let him return and depart early. That is, let him return at once and lodge at Mount Gilead, and in the morning go to his home. He did not command them to go home immediately, because he knew that the deliverance would occur at night, and these men would pursue from Mount Gilead after the fleeing enemy.

For this reason he used the expression “depart early” (yitzpor), which also implies flying swiftly like birds after the enemy.

But regarding those who knelt upon their knees, he commanded that they go immediately to their homes, for these were idol worshipers, and he did not wish them to participate in the war at all — not even in the pursuit.

(4) Why did he conduct a second test? What is meant by “and I will refine him for you”? Why the doubled expression: “everyone of whom I say… this one shall go,” and “everyone of whom I say… this one shall not go”? And in the first case it says “shall go with you,” but in the second it says “shall not go” without the words “with you”?

The people are still too many. At first it said, “The people who are with you are too many,” for the earlier ones were not idol worshipers and were aligned with him — they were with him in spirit. But these, who were idol worshipers, were not truly with him.

And I will refine them for you. That is, I will determine who is fit to go with you. Whoever is worthy shall go with you — meaning, according to your intention before Hashem in this war. But of whoever I say, “This one shall not go,” he shall not go at all — not only that he will not go with you in the proper spirit and intention, but he will not go at all, for when he sees the battle he will turn back, being without faith.

Everyone who laps. That is, one who brings the water with his hand to his mouth is called “lapping,” whereas one who kneels fills his mouth directly from the water.

And according to our Sages, those who knelt were accustomed to kneel before their reflection (as an act connected to idolatry). Moreover, kneeling indicates a gluttonous impulse to drink all at once and a weakening of the limbs, as explained in the Akedah.

Therefore he commanded that those who knelt be set aside, for they would not go. And those who lapped with the tongue — that is, those who brought the water with their hands to their mouths — they were the ones who went.

Rashi, however, explains this matter in a different way.

And all the rest. At first it said, “and ten thousand remained,” and as I have explained elsewhere, what “remains” is something intentional and purposeful. But “the rest” refers to what is unnecessary and superfluous.

(8) Why does it state again, “and the camp of Midian was below him in the valley,” when this had already been said in verse 1?

And they took. The three hundred men took the provisions of those who were departing; therefore there were found in their hands three hundred jars and shofars.

“And the camp of Midian was below him” — this had already been mentioned in verse 1, but now he had ascended the mountain, and the camp was beneath him.

Go down… into the camp… and if you are afraid… go down… to the camp. “In the camp” means to descend upon the camp to conquer it; but “to the camp” means to stand at a distance and hear what they are saying.

Therefore it says, “And if you are afraid” — that is, since it is impossible to bestow upon you a spirit of might if fear remains in your heart — “go down, you yourself, to the camp.” And afterward, “your hands shall be strengthened, and you shall go down into the camp” — to fight.

To the edge of the armed men. That is, the armed ones, for not all were armed; only those stationed at the edge stood on guard.

(13) What is the meaning of the dream in its details? (17) Why the repetition: “From me you shall see and so shall you do,” and “and it shall be, as I do, so shall you do”?

And behold, a cake of barley bread. It was then the sixteenth of Nisan, the time of the barley harvest, and they had come to plunder the harvest of the fields, which was barley bread. He saw a cake — and heard the sound, the clatter of the barley bread they had come to seize — rolling and overturning in the camp of Midian. Instead of Israel hiding from them as before, it was now reversed: the barley cake came to rule over their enemies. And it came as far as the tent — that is, into the very camp where the tents stood.

And it struck it and it fell. This represents that the slain would fall in battle.

“And it overturned it upward” — this was a second vision: afterward they would flee from the valley to the surrounding hills, and there the tent would collapse completely.

And therefore it says, “And his fellow answered and said…”

And he divided. He describes eight of his stratagems:

(1) He divided them into three companies, to attack from three directions. (2) He placed shofars in all their hands, to terrify them with the blast of war. (3) Torches — to frighten them with pillars of fire and smoke. (4) Empty jars — so that the torches would suddenly appear, and that a loud crashing sound would be heard when the jars were shattered.

And he said, “From me you shall see, and so shall you do.” (5) They were not to act until he acted — for since he was coming to the edge of the camp, he would be the one to begin.

(6) “And it shall be, as I do, so shall you do” — that everything he would do, they were to do exactly as he did. And he explains:

And I will blow the shofar… and you shall also blow the shofars. (7) The blasts were to surround the entire camp, so that they would think there were many battalions — for in every battalion one blows the shofar. And they would imagine themselves encircled, since the sound would travel all around them.

(8) That they should cry out, “A sword for Hashem and for Gideon” — that is, there is here a miraculous element attributed to Hashem, and a natural element attributed to Gideon.

(19–23) Why does it repeat: “and they blew the shofars,” “and the three companies blew the shofars,” and “and the three hundred blew the shofars”? First it says “and they blew,” and afterward “and they held the shofars to blow”? And why the repetition: “and the camp ran,” “and they fled,” and “and the camp fled”?

And they came… at the beginning of the middle watch. At that time most were asleep; only those who had just risen to relieve the guards were awake. Thus those going off duty were lying down to sleep, and those coming on duty still had drowsiness upon their eyelids.

And they blew. Gideon and his men blew first. And then—

And the three companies blew. As he had said, “From me you shall see, and so shall you do.”

And they held. Here he begins to describe the confusion that arose in the enemy camp. At the moment when they held the torches in their left hands and the shofars in their right hands to blow — while not all had yet blown, but were preparing themselves to do so — at that moment they cried out, “A sword for Hashem and for Gideon.”

And they stood. That is, each man still stood in his place around the camp, and from this alone a commotion already arose within the enemy camp.

And all the camp ran.

They began to run — some in one direction and some in another — out of confusion and panic.

And they shouted and fled.

Some of them raised a battle cry, while others began to flee, for great confusion had arisen among them.

And they blew. But when all three hundred shofars began actually to sound, then Hashem set every man’s sword against his fellow. For since some were shouting a battle cry and others were fleeing, those who shouted assumed that those who fled were enemies. This confusion spread throughout the entire camp, and thus the whole camp fled, scattering in every direction.

And he cried out. As I mentioned earlier (v. 3), he instructed those whom he had first sent away to lodge at Mount Gilead so that they would be ready to pursue. And they came, were summoned, and pursued.

And likewise he sent messengers to the hill country of Ephraim to seize the waters; and they captured the waters and seized the two kings of Midian.

And the phrase “and they pursued to Midian” — whereas it should have said “after Midian” or “Midian” — means that they pursued them face to face, for by capturing the waters they came before them and cut them off.