Bible Strands
Judges 7:6
And the number of those who lapped the water with their hands to their mouths was three hundred men; all the others knelt to drink.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Gideon stands at the water source as the LORD instructs him to separate the drinking men. The verse records the exact count of those who lap water with their hands to their mouths at that moment.
The words — מִסְפַּ֞ר (mispar) records the counted total, while הַֽ/מֲלַקְקִ֤ים (ha-mallakkim) isolates the specific group that lapped. The phrase בְּ/יָדָ/ם (be-yadam) specifies the physical method of drinking directly with the hands.
The thread — This count fulfills the separation command in Judges 7:5 and directly triggers the deliverance promise in Judges 7:7. The three hundred become the exact force designated for the coming battle.
Why it lands — The text requires the reader to observe that the selected group uses a distinct, unadorned physical method. It asks the reader to accept the recorded number as the complete and sufficient basis for the stated outcome.
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
And the number of them that lapped, putting their hand to their mouth, were three hundred men: but all the rest of the people bowed down upon their knees to drink water.