So he took the jars of the people from their hands, and their trumpets: Revised Standard Version‘s rendering of this clause is quite different from most of the other versions in English. It is based on an emendation of the Hebrew text, which is literally “And they took the provisions of the people in their hand and their trumpets.” ver RSVver*’s reading seems to follow the text in verse 7.16, which mentions jars and trumpets. These items serve as important props in the story that follows.

So is a good rendering of the Hebrew waw conjunction here, since it serves to introduce what happened next. He took the jars of the people from their hands, and their trumpets means Gideon took the jars and trumpets that the remaining soldiers had before they returned home. They may have used these jars to drink water at the spring. The Hebrew word for jars in verse 7.16 refers to earthen pots that were used to carry water. For trumpets see verse 3.27.

However, as noted above, the majority of English versions follow the Hebrew here, which speaks of “provisions” instead of jars. The Hebrew word for “provisions” refers to a supply of food that travelers have with them. Hebrew Old Testament Text Project gives this word a {B} rating and so is preferred. It would make sense that those going home would leave their food with those staying behind to fight. We might say “So they took the people’s provisions and their horns” (New Jerusalem Bible) or “So [the lappers] took the provisions and horns that the other men had with them” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh).

And he sent all the rest of Israel every man to his tent, but retained the three hundred men is literally “and all the men of Israel he sent man to his tents, and with the three hundred men he kept.” Gideon kept the 300 soldiers who lapped the water, but sent all the others home. The pronoun he refers to Gideon. The verb sent is a keyword used throughout the judges’ narratives (see, for example, verse 4.6; verse 6.8). All the rest of Israel refers to all the soldiers who did not pass the test. The word rest does not appear in Hebrew but makes for a more natural translation in English. Another possible model for this phrase is “all the other soldiers.”

There is an ellipsis in the phrase every man to his tent. Some languages may prefer to supply the missing verb by saying “and each man went to his tent.” Every man is a good rendering of the Hebrew word for “man” here. Tent is an idiomatic way of referring to a person’s dwelling, that is, his home. It may refer to a physical tent (see verse 4.17), but not necessarily so. These people did not return to their military camp, but to their homes. He sent all the rest of Israel every man to his tent may be rendered “Gideon sent all the other Israelites home.”

Retained renders a Hebrew verb that normally means “strengthen.” Here it has the sense of “hold” or “keep,” as in Exo 9.2 and Jdg 19.4. This verb has a singular masculine affix, referring to Gideon as the subject. Many languages will have to insert the pronoun “he” here. The three hundred men refers to those who lapped the water and thus passed the test (see verse 7.6). We might say “But he kept the three hundred men with him” (New Living Translation).

Some versions change the order of the clauses in the first half of this verse, which makes for easier reading in many languages. For example, Good News Translation says “So Gideon sent all the Israelites home, except the three hundred, who kept all the supplies and trumpets,” and New International Version has “So Gideon sent the rest of the Israelites to their tents but kept the three hundred, who took over the provisions and trumpets of the others.” Contemporary English Version changes this text into a dialogue, saying “Then Gideon gave these orders, ‘You three hundred men stay here. The rest of you may go home, but leave your food and trumpets with us.’ ” This rendering has a very lively style, though it is somewhat far from the Hebrew text.

And the camp of Midian was below him in the valley: This sentence links back to verse 7.1, and prepares for the following incident involving the Midianites. The camp of Midian refers to the Midianite army (see verse 7.1). The pronoun him could refer to Gideon or the Israelite army (so Good News Translation with the pronoun “them”). For the valley, see verse 7.1. Contemporary English Version makes Gideon’s camp the point of reference by rendering this sentence as “Gideon’s army camp was on top of a hill overlooking the Midianite camp in the valley.” This model may be helpful in languages where the notion of valley is unclear. There is an important change of scene in this sentence, so Contemporary English Version also has a paragraph break here (also New International Version, Revised English Bible). In many languages this will be the best way to begin the next episode. Other possible models for this sentence are:

• The Midianite army was camped below Gideon’s army in the valley.

• Below them in the valley was the Midianite camp.

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 .