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Judges 7:15

in Judges 7

When Gideon heard the dream and its interpretation, he bowed in worship. He returned to the camp of Israel and said, “Get up, for the LORD has delivered the camp of Midian into your hand.”

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And it was so, when Gideon heard the telling of the dream, and the interpretation thereof, that he worshipped; and he returned into the camp of Israel, and said, Arise; for Jehovah hath delivered into your hand the host of Midian.

KJV

And it was so, when Gideon heard the telling of the dream, and the interpretation thereof, that he worshipped, and returned into the host of Israel, and said, Arise; for the Lord hath delivered into your hand the host of Midian.

This verse in Judges 7

Commentary

5 notes on this verse

This site's exposition

When Gideon heard the dream

on Judges 7:15-16

Gideon "bowed in worship" inside the enemy's lines on a stranger's dream, his first recorded worship since the altar at 6:24. Each man holds a horn and a jar with a torch inside, which fills both hands, and the three hundred draw no sword in the chapter. Matthew Henry sets the broken jars beside the treasure in clay jars of 2 Corinthians 4:7, and that link is his.

The record, by era

The Medieval Church1 voice

I think it will not be amiss if we consider at greater length this war of the Madianites, which was intentionally introduced by the Prophet in comparison with the coming of the Lord. For in the book of Judges Gedeon is described as having fought against the Madianites. When he was bringing forth the multitude of the army to war, he was ordered by a Divine admonition, to remove from the conflict of battle all whom on coming to the water he beheld drinking the water with bended knees.

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

And it was so, when Gideon heard the telling of the dream, and the interpretation thereof,....

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

How he gave God the glory of it; he worshipped immediately, bowed his head, or, it may be, lifted up his eyes and hands, and in a short ejaculation thanked God for the victory he was now sure of, and for this encouragement to expect it. Wherever we are, we may speak to God, and worship him, and find a way open heavenward.

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

proposed

when Gideon heard the telling of the dream, and the interpretation . . . he worshipped--The incident originated in the secret overruling providence of God, and Gideon, from his expression of pious gratitude, regarded it as such.

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase

How the passage was read

What the Jewish commentators add

The recounting of the dream. The story of the dream. 7 מִסְפַר, generally translated as “number”, is interpreted here as “story”. "The retelling of the dream and its interpretation." 8 This is Targum Yonasan’s translation.
Rashi: France, 1040–1105 · Rashi on Judges 7:15:1, via Sefaria, The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
Shofars and torches to invoke the merit of the giving of the Torah. 10 At Mount Sinai, when the shofar sounded, and fire descended on the mountain. (Shemos,:16–19). According to the plain explanation: this took place at night, as it is written, 11 V. and it was dark.
Rashi: France, 1040–1105 · Rashi on Judges 7:16:1, via Sefaria, The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J

This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.

Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.

The words behind it

22 Hebrew words

Every Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

  • וַיְהִי֩and it was

    vayhiH1961 →3559 times

  • כִשְׁמֹ֨עַwhen heard

    khishmoa'H8085 →1159 times

  • גִּדְע֜וֹןGideon

    gidonH1439 →39 times

  • אֶת־<obj.>

    ʾet-H853 →10935 times

  • מִסְפַּ֧ר[the] recounting of

    misparH4557 →134 times

  • הַחֲל֛וֹםthe dream

    hachalomH2472 →65 times

  • וְאֶת־and <obj.>

    veetH853 →10935 times

  • שִׁבְר֖וֹinterpretation its

    shivroH7667 →

  • וַיִּשְׁתָּ֑חוּand he bowed down

    vaiyishtachuH7812 →172 times

  • וַיָּ֙שָׁב֙and he returned

    vaiyashovH7725 →1056 times

  • אֶל־to

    ʾel-H413 →5510 times

  • מַחֲנֵ֣ה[the] camp of

    machanehH4264 →215 times

  • יִשְׂרָאֵ֔לIsrael

    yisraelH3478 →2507 times

  • וַיֹּ֣אמֶרand he said

    vaiyomerH559 →5305 times

  • ק֔וּמוּarise

    kumuH6965 →628 times

  • כִּֽי־for

    ki-H3588 →4482 times

  • נָתַ֧ןhe has given

    natanH5414 →2011 times

  • יְהוָ֛הYahweh

    yahwehH3068 →6520 times

  • בְּיֶדְכֶ֖םin hand your

    beyedkhemH3027 →1618 times

  • אֶת־<obj.>

    ʾet-H853 →10935 times

  • מַחֲנֵ֥ה[the] camp of

    machanehH4264 →215 times

  • מִדְיָֽן׃Midian

    midyanH4080 →59 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

The walk

8 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    Judges 4:14

    Then Deborah said to Barak, “Arise, for this is the day that the LORD has delivered Sisera into your hand. Has not the LORD gone before you?” So Barak came down from Mount Tabor…

    it leads to

    • 2 Samuel 5:24

      As soon as you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, move quickly, because this will mean that the LORD has marched out before you to strike the camp…

    • Deuteronomy 9:3

      But understand that today the LORD your God goes across ahead of you as a consuming fire; He will destroy them and subdue them before you. And you will drive them out and annihilate…

    • Isaiah 52:12

      For you will not leave in a hurry nor flee in haste, for the LORD goes before you, and the God of Israel is your rear guard.

  • Through

    Genesis 40:8

    “We both had dreams,” they replied, “but there is no one to interpret them.” Then Joseph said to them, “Don’t interpretations belong to God? Tell me your dreams.”

    it leads to

    • Daniel 2:47

      The king said to Daniel, “Your God is truly the God of gods and Lord of kings, the Revealer of Mysteries, since you were able to reveal this mystery.”

    • Genesis 41:15–16

      Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I had a dream, and no one can interpret it. But I have heard it said of you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it.”

    • Daniel 2:28

      But there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in the latter days. Your dream and the visions that came into your…

  • Through

    Genesis 24:48

    Then I bowed down and worshiped the LORD; and I blessed the LORD, the God of my master Abraham, who led me on the right road to take the granddaughter of my master’s brother…

    it leads to

Where this verse is studied

About Judges

Gideon Chooses 300 Soldiers — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain
Gideon Chooses 300 Soldiers — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain

This page draws on Gregory the Dialogist, Morals on the Book of Job, Book 30, Section 73; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.