Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Judges 7:10
But if thou fear to go down, go thou with Phurah thy servant down to the host:
10. thy servant ] A warrior of rank Had an attendant who acted as armour-bearer, cf. Jdg 9:54, 1Sa 14:1; 1Sa 14:6. With a companion danger is more easily faced; cf. the words of Diomedes when he offers to explore the Trojan camp:
,
, . Iliad X. 222 f.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
If thou fear to go down, to wit, without some further assurance of thy success, I will condescend so far to thee, as to give thee another sign.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
But if thou fear to go down,…. With his little army, to attack a numerous host in the night, then he is directed to take this step first:
go thou with Phurah thy servant down to the host; in a private manner; perhaps this man was his aid-de-camp, or however a trusty servant in whom he could confide, as well as valiant: more it was not proper to take in such a secret expedition, and the fewer the better to trust, and less liable to the observation of the enemy; and yet it was proper to have one with him, being company and animating, and who would be a witness with him of what should be heard; in like manner, and for like reasons, as Diomedes and Ulysses went into the Trojan army y.
y Homer. Iliad. 10. ver. 222, &c.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(10) To go down.If thou fear to make the attack at once, without still further encouragement. Let it be borne in mind that the courage required by Gideon and his men was in many respects far beyond that of the much more vaunted 300 at Thermopyl(1) because they were to attack, not to defend; (2) because they were to attack a host in the plain, not to hold a narrow valley; (3) because they had not a large number of allies and attendants with them, as the 300 Spartans had (Grotes Greece, v. 103, 121).
Phurah thy servant.The name Phurah means branch; the word for servant is literally boy, but here means the armour-bearer. The classical reader will recall the night-raid of Diomedes and Odysseus into the camp of the Thracians at Troy (Il. x. 220, et seqq.).
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
10. But if thou fear The meaning of this verse and the preceding is thus well paraphrased by Keil: “Go with thy three hundred men into ( ) the hostile camp to smite it, for I have given it into thy hand; but if thou art afraid to do this, go down first with thine attendant to ( ) the camp, to ascertain the state and feeling of the foe, and thou wilt hear,” etc. He who would give to a wicked and adulterous generation no sign but that of Jonah (Mat 12:39) multiplied his signs to the simple minded and humble Gideon.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Jdg 7:10-11 a
‘But if you are afraid to go down, you yourself go with Purah, your servant, down to the camp. And you will hear what they say, and afterwards your hands will be strengthened to go down into the camp.’
So God gave him permission to go out as a scout to assess the enemy, assuring him that what he would overhear would give him the strength to go forward with the attack.
Jdg 7:11 b
‘Then went he down with Purah his servant to the outermost part of the armed men who were in the camp.’
So Gideon and his servant made their way down and wormed their way in the darkness to where there were men at the extremity of the camp. These would be the sentinels, standing on duty and talking with each other to pass the first watch away.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Jdg 7:10 But if thou fear to go down, go thou with Phurah thy servant down to the host:
Ver. 10. Go thou with Phurah thy servant. ] Optimum solatium, sodalitium. Two is better than one. Christ sent out the seventy disciples by two and two. And himself took Peter, James, and John with him into the garden, where he was to begin his passion. This Phurah was but a servant; yet, for his faithfulness, he is renowned in God’s book, when many great monarchs, who strove by pyramids, palaces, arches, porches, and other monuments, to eternalise their memories, lie nevertheless obscured, or wrapt up in the sheet of shame.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Jdg 4:8, Jdg 4:9, Exo 4:10-14
Reciprocal: 1Sa 26:6 – Who will go Act 10:7 – two