Bible Strands
Judges 7:9
That night the LORD said to Gideon, “Get up and go down against the camp, for I have delivered it into your hand.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The LORD speaks to Gideon that night while the Midianite camp lies in the valley below him. This occurs after Gideon has dismissed the bulk of the Israelite army and retained only three hundred men.
The words — The imperative ק֖וּם (kum) commands Gideon to arise, and רֵ֣ד (red) instructs him to go down toward the valley. These verbs frame the divine directive to act immediately against the enemy position.
The thread — Nocturnal divine addresses follow a similar pattern in Genesis 46:2 and Acts 18:9, where God speaks to figures during the night to establish contact or provide instruction.
Why it lands — The text requires immediate obedience to a divine command despite the apparent tactical disadvantage of facing a large camp with a small force. It establishes that the promised deliverance precedes the human action rather than resulting from it.
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 it came to pass the same night, that the Lord said unto him, Arise, get thee down unto the host; for I have delivered it into thine hand.
Cross-references
- Acts 18:9 One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: “Do not be afraid; keep on speaking; do not be silent.
- Genesis 46:2 And that night God spoke to Israel in a vision: “Jacob, Jacob!” He said. “Here I am,” replied Jacob.
- Judges 3:28 “Follow me,” he told them, “for the LORD has delivered your enemies the Moabites into your hand.” So they followed him down and seized the fords of the Jordan leading to Moab, and they did not allow anyone to cross over.
- Joshua 1:5 No one shall stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so will I be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.
- Joshua 2:24 “The LORD has surely delivered the entire land into our hands,” they said to Joshua. “Indeed, all who dwell in the land are melting in fear of us.”
- Joshua 10:8 The LORD said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid of them, for I have delivered them into your hand. Not one of them shall stand against you.”
- Judges 3:10 The Spirit of the LORD came upon him, and he became Israel’s judge and went out to war. And the LORD delivered Cushan-rishathaim king of Aram into the hand of Othniel, who prevailed against him.
- 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 with ten thousand men following him.
- 2 Chronicles 16:8 Were not the Cushites and Libyans a vast army with many chariots and horsemen? Yet because you relied on the LORD, He delivered them into your hand.
- 2 Chronicles 20:17 You need not fight this battle. Take up your positions, stand firm, and see the salvation of the LORD on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid or discouraged. Go out and face them tomorrow, for the LORD is with you.’”