4. But Gideon was in great fear, for God had told him beforehand that he
should set upon his enemies in the night-time; but God, being willing to
free him from his fear, bid him take one of his soldiers, and go near to
the Midianites' tents, for that he should from that very place have his
courage raised, and grow bold. So he obeyed, and went and took his
servant Phurah with him; and as he came near to one of the tents, he
discovered that those that were in it were awake, and that one of them
was telling to his fellow soldier a dream of his own, and that so
plainly that Gideon could hear him. The dream was this:—He thought he
saw a barley-cake, such a one as could hardly be eaten by men, it was so
vile, rolling through the camp, and overthrowing the royal tent, and the
tents of all the soldiers. Now the other soldier explained this vision
to mean the destruction of the army; and told them what his reason was
which made him so conjecture, viz. That the seed called barley was all
of it allowed to be of the vilest sort of seed, and that the Israelites
were known to be the vilest of all the people of Asia, agreeably to the
seed of barley, and that what seemed to look big among the Israelites
was this Gideon and the army that was with him; "and since thou sayest
thou didst see the cake overturning our tents, I am afraid lest God hath
granted the victory over us to Gideon."
5. When Gideon had heard this dream, good hope and courage came upon
him; and he commanded his soldiers to arm themselves, and told them of
this vision of their enemies. They also took courage at what was told
them, and were ready to perform what he should enjoin them. So Gideon
divided his army into three parts, and brought it out about the fourth
watch of the night, each part containing a hundred men: they all bare
empty pitchers and lighted lamps in their hands, that their onset might
not be discovered by their enemies. They had also each of them a ram's
horn in his right hand, which he used instead of a trumpet. The enemy's
camp took up a large space of ground, for it happened that they had a
great many camels; and as they were divided into different nations, so
they were all contained in one circle. Now when the Hebrews did as they
were ordered beforehand, upon their approach to their enemies, and, on
the signal given, sounded with their rams' horns, and brake their
pitchers, and set upon their enemies with their lamps, and a great
shout, and cried, "Victory to Gideon, by God's assistance," a disorder
and a fright seized upon the other men while they were half asleep, for
it was night-time, as God would have it; so that a few of them were
slain by their enemies, but the greatest part by their own soldiers, on
account of the diversity of their language; and when they were once put
into disorder, they killed all that they met with, as thinking them to
be enemies also. Thus there was a great slaughter made. And as the
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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