Judges 7:17
in Judges 7“Watch me and do as I do,” Gideon said. “When I come to the outskirts of the camp, do exactly as I do.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And he said unto them, Look on me, and do likewise: and, behold, when I come to the outermost part of the camp, it shall be that, as I do, so shall ye do.
KJV
And he said unto them, Look on me, and do likewise: and, behold, when I come to the outside of the camp, it shall be that, as I do, so shall ye do.
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This verse in Judges 7
Commentary
6 notes on this verseFor the same reason was it that when Gideon was about to overcome the Midianites, he commanded three hundred men to take pitchers, and to hold lighted torches inside the pitchers, and trumpets in their right hands. Our predecessors have preserved the explanation received from the apostles, that the pitchers are our bodies, fashioned of clay, which do not know fear if they burn with the fervor of the grace of the Spirit, and bear witness to the passion of the Lord Jesus with a loud confession of the voice.
This site's exposition
Watch me and do as I do
on Judges 7:17-18
The Midianite had said "the sword of Gideon", and Gideon's cry puts another name before his own, "For the LORD and for Gideon". Verse 2 cut the army lest Israel say "My own hand has saved me", and the shout still carries a man's name after God's.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Look on me - For though two hundred of his men were placed on other sides of the camp; yet they were so disposed, that some persons, set as watchmen, might see what was done, and give notice to the rest to follow the example.
And he said unto them, look on me, and do likewise,....
Such is the word of command which our Lord Jesus, the captain of our salvation, gives his soldiers; for he has left us an example, with a charge to follow it: As I do, so shall you do.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
The sleepers started from their rest; not a blow was dealt by the Israelites; but the enemy ran tumultuously, uttering the wild, discordant cries peculiar to the Arab race.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
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.
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
16 Hebrew wordsEvery 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.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֣אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֲלֵיהֶ֔ם | ʾaleihem | to them | H413 → | 5510 times |
| מִמֶּ֥נִּי | mimeni | from me | H4480 → | 1188 times |
| תִרְא֖וּ | tiru | you will see | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| וְכֵ֣ן | vekhen | and thus | H3651 → | 771 times |
| תַּעֲשׂ֑וּ | taasu | you will do | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| וְהִנֵּ֨ה | vehineh | and here! | H2009 → | 843 times |
| אָנֹכִ֥י | ʾanokhi | I | H595 → | 359 times |
| בָא֙ | va' | [will be] coming | H935 → | 2568 times |
| בִּקְצֵ֣ה | biktzeh | in [the] edge of | H7097 → | 97 times |
| הַֽמַּחֲנֶ֔ה | hamachaneh | the camp | H4264 → | 215 times |
| וְהָיָ֥ה | vehayah | and it will be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| כַאֲשֶׁר־ | khaasher- | just as | H834 → | 5497 times |
| אֶעֱשֶׂ֖ה | ʾeeseh | I will do | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| כֵּ֥ן | ken | so | H3651 → | 771 times |
| תַּעֲשֽׂוּן׃ | taasun | you will do ! | H6213 → | 2628 times |
וַיֹּ֣אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
אֲלֵיהֶ֔םto them
ʾaleihemH413 →5510 times
מִמֶּ֥נִּיfrom me
mimeniH4480 →1188 times
תִרְא֖וּyou will see
tiruH7200 →1300 times
וְכֵ֣ןand thus
vekhenH3651 →771 times
תַּעֲשׂ֑וּyou will do
taasuH6213 →2628 times
וְהִנֵּ֨הand here!
vehinehH2009 →843 times
אָנֹכִ֥יI
ʾanokhiH595 →359 times
בָא֙[will be] coming
va'H935 →2568 times
בִּקְצֵ֣הin [the] edge of
biktzehH7097 →97 times
הַֽמַּחֲנֶ֔הthe camp
hamachanehH4264 →215 times
וְהָיָ֥הand it will be
vehayahH1961 →3559 times
כַאֲשֶׁר־just as
khaasher-H834 →5497 times
אֶעֱשֶׂ֖הI will do
ʾeesehH6213 →2628 times
כֵּ֥ןso
kenH3651 →771 times
תַּעֲשֽׂוּן׃you will do !
taasunH6213 →2628 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach 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
Matthew 16:24Then Jesus told His disciples, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me.
it leads to
- Matthew 10:38
and anyone who does not take up his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me.
- Luke 14:27
And whoever does not carry his cross and follow Me cannot be My disciple.
- 1 Peter 4:1–2
Therefore, since Christ suffered in His body, arm yourselves with the same resolve, because anyone who has suffered in his body is done with sin.
- Luke 9:23–27
Then Jesus said to all of them, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me.
- Mark 10:21
Jesus looked at him, loved him, and said to him, “There is one thing you lack: Go, sell everything you own and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then…
- Matthew 10:38
Through
1 Corinthians 11:1You are to imitate me, just as I imitate Christ.
it leads to
- Philippians 3:17
Join one another in following my example, brothers, and carefully observe those who walk according to the pattern we set for you.
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- 1 Thessalonians 1:6
And you became imitators of us and of the Lord when you welcomed the message with the joy of the Holy Spirit, in spite of your great suffering.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Hebrews 6:12
Then you will not be sluggish, but will imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Philippians 3:17
Where this verse is studied
About Judges
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Ambrose of Milan, On the Holy Spirit 1.143-46; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: Joshua, Judges, Ruth and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.