Charles Ellicott Commentary Judges 6:29

"And they said one to another, Who hath done this thing? And when they inquired and asked, they said, Gideon the son of Joash hath done this thing." — Judges 6:29 (ASV)

They said. —We are not told that Gideon’s servants betrayed his secret, but suspicion would naturally fall on so brave and prominent a worshipper of Jehovah as Gideon was; and it is rarely that actions which require so much effort and so many helpers can be kept secret. Gideon had proved himself to be what his name signifies—“a hewer.” A man so brave and so patriotic must have stood almost alone among a cringing and apostate people.