The narrator now turns to a description of Gideon’s battle plan. The text does not say whether this plan was revealed by the LORD or whether this is Gideon’s own idea.

And he divided the three hundred men into three companies: The Hebrew waw conjunction rendered And may be translated “Then” or “So.” The pronoun he refers to Gideon. Three hundred men into three companies is repetitive, but if possible, translators should render the text as it stands. The three motif, so prominent in the Gideon cycle, is prominent here. However, Contemporary English Version eliminates the repetition by rendering this clause as “Gideon divided his little army into three groups of one hundred men [each].” Here the Hebrew word for companies (literally “heads”) refers to military units. The word “groups” in Contemporary English Version is a simple equivalent, but it is better to use a military term in the target language if possible. Another model for this clause is “Then he separated/cut his three hundred men into three units.”

And put trumpets into the hands of all of them …: Gideon provides a trumpet for each of his soldiers. The Hebrew verb rendered put is literally “gave.” Though it sounds as if Gideon gave out 300 trumpets, it is far more likely that he gave an order for others to do it. For trumpets see the comments on verse 3.27. Into the hands of all of them closely follows the Hebrew. There may be some exaggeration here, since it is hard to imagine that there were 300 trumpets available. However, the narrator puts heavy emphasis on this fact. Once again the word hand plays an important role in the victory over the enemies of Israel. It may be necessary to restructure this clause by saying “and he gave orders that each soldier should be handed a trumpet….”

And empty jars, with torches inside the jars: People hearing or reading this story for the first time will wonder what in the world the soldiers will do with all the trumpets. The narration becomes even more puzzling here by saying each soldier also received a jar and a torch. The Hebrew word for jars refers to earthenware pots that were used to carry water. They were small enough to be carried in one hand. Translators should not use a word that might refer to metal jars or those made out of some modern material such as plastic. This word occurred in Revised Standard Version‘s rendering of verse 7.8, but most versions do not introduce it until this verse. Empty jars means there was nothing inside them. But in the following phrase, it becomes clear the soldiers are to put torches inside these jars. So Good News Translation and Contemporary English Version omit the word empty in anticipation of this. Contemporary English Version renders this whole clause as “and he gave each soldier a trumpet and a large clay jar with a burning torch inside.” However, according the narrator, the soldiers receive empty jars and torches, and then they place the torches in the jars. The Hebrew word rendered torches can refer to a flash of light, but here it probably refers to a handheld stick with fire at the end. People put rags or other material on the end of the stick and lit it to provide light. Alternatively, it could refer to a small oil lamp, which would have been easy to place inside a jar. Translators must be careful to avoid any word that refers to a modern flashlight or lamp. Since the text says nothing about how the soldiers put the torches in the jars, a good model for this clause is “and he gave each soldier a trumpet and an empty clay jar, along with a torch to put inside it.” Deborah’s husband is named “Torches,” which may be a humorous touch (see comments at verse 4.4).

Translation models for this verse are:

• Gideon then divided the three hundred warriors into three companies and gave orders for each one to get a trumpet and an empty clay pot, along with a torch to put inside.

• Then he divided the men into three units of a hundred each, giving each man a trumpet and an empty clay pot with a torch to place inside it.

Quoted with permission from Zogbo, Lynell and Ogden, Graham S. A Handbook on Judges. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2019. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .