Bible Strands
Judges 7:5
So Gideon brought the men down to the water, and the LORD said to him, “Separate those who lap the water with their tongues like a dog from those who kneel to drink.”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Gideon brings the Israelite army to the water, and the LORD instructs him to separate the men by their drinking posture. This occurs during the immediate military preparation for battle, right after the LORD commanded Gideon to reduce his forces.
The words — The Hebrew verb וַיּוֹרֶד (wa-yyōrēd) literally means "and he brought down" or "he went down," describing Gideon's physical descent to the riverbank. The noun מַיִם (mayim) denotes "water," the precise location where the divine filtering takes place.
The thread — The verse continues the narrative of divine selection, where God filters a military force through a specific behavioral test rather than traditional combat readiness. This sifting process directly follows the command in Judges 7:4 and concludes with the count of survivors in Judges 7:6.
Why it lands — The text demands a reader to observe how divine authority operates through deliberate, countercultural criteria rather than human metrics of strength. It requires attention to the exact physical actions that determine inclusion or exclusion from the coming conflict.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
So he brought down the people unto the water: and the Lord said unto Gideon, Every one that lappeth of the water with his tongue, as a dog lappeth, him shalt thou set by himself; likewise every one that boweth down upon his knees to drink.