John Gill Commentary Judges 8

And the men of Ephraim said unto him
To Gideon, when they brought him the heads of Oreb and Zeeb; taking this to be a proper opportunity to expostulate and chide with him, when they had done so much service:

why have you served us thus ;
neglected them, overlooked them, which they took as a reproach to them, and as if he had bore them ill will:

that you did not call us when you went to fight with the
Midianites ?
that he did not call them first, when he called other tribes, as Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali, when they were as near or nearer, and more nearly allied, being both the descendants of Joseph; and were the tribe that Jacob had given the preference to; and being of proud spirits they envied the glory that Gideon, who was of the tribe of Manasseh, had got; and by which they were jealous he would advance that tribe above theirs:

and they did chide with him sharply ;
used rough words and ill language, and threw out many keen and biting expressions, which discovered great anger and wrath, envy and ill will.

And he said unto them
In a very mild and gentle manner, giving soft words, which turn away wrath:

what have I done in comparison of you ?
he and his men, he signifies, had only blew trumpets, broke pitchers, and held torches; it was the Lord that did all, and set the Midianites one against another to slay each other; and in the pursuit as yet he had only picked up and slain some common soldiers, they had taken two princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb, and had brought their heads in triumph to him:

is not the gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim better than the vintage of
Abiezer ?
the family of Abiezer, of which Gideon was; the meaning is, that whereas he began the fight, which may be called the vintage, and they had finished it, which was like gleaning; yet what they did last was much preferable to what was done by him at first; or the princes of Midian, which they had taken in the pursuit, and was like gleaning after a vintage, were equal, yea, superior to all the camp of Midian, or that part of it that had fallen into his hands. The Targum is,``are not the weak of the house of Ephraim better than the strong of the house of Abiezer?''

God has delivered into your hands the princes of Midian, Oreb
and Zeeb
A high honour this conferred upon you, and with which you may be well contented:

and what was I able to do in comparison of you ?
what he had done in defeating and pursuing the army of Midian, in slaying and taking any of them prisoners, was nothing in comparison of what they had done; nay, he signifies that he was not capable of doing anything worth mentioning without them; the glory of finishing this conquest was reserved for them:

then their anger was abated towards him when he had said that ;
it being what gratified their pride and was pleasing to them; and this conduct of Gideon showed him to be a wise and humble man.

And Gideon came to Jordan, and passed over .
&c.] That river; (See Gill on Judges 7:25) he and three hundred men that were with him, at the defeat of the Midianites in the valley of Jezreel; so that neither at that nor in the pursuit of them hitherto, has he lost one man:

faint, yet pursuing [them] :
they were faint with being up all night, and continually blowing their trumpets; and had been upon the pursuit of their enemies ever since the defeat; and yet, though they were so faint, they did not leave off the pursuit, but were eager at it.

And he said to the men of Succoth
The inhabitants of that place, the principal men of it, which lay in his way as he was pursuing the Midianites in their flight to their own country; for this was a city on the other side Jordan, and in the tribe of Gad and was inhabited by Israelites, (Joshua 13:27) it had its name from the booths or tents which Jacob erected here, (Genesis 33:17)

give, I pray you, loaves of bread to the people that follow me ;
he did not desire them to leave their habitations and families, and join him in pursuing his and their enemies, or to furnish him and his men with arms; only to give them some provisions and that not dainties, but loaves of bread; or "morsels of bread" ^F20 , and broken pieces; and these he did not demand in an authoritative manner, as he might have done as a general, but in a way of entreaty; and the arguments he uses are,

for they are faint ;
for want of food, through the long fatigue from midnight hitherto, in the pursuit of the enemy, and which was not over:

and I am pursuing after Zebah and Zalmunna, kings of Midian ;
who had fled with 15,000 men, and were now, as Jarchi conjectures, destroying the countries of Reuben and Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh; and now Gideon and his men were closely pursuing them, in hopes of taking them, and so complete the conquest, and thoroughly deliver Israel from their bondage on both sides Jordan, the benefits of which these men of Succoth would share with others; these were the arguments, and cogent ones they were, to persuade them to give his weary troops some refreshment.

FOOTNOTES:

• F20: (Mxl twrkk) "buccellas panis", Vatablus; "tractas panis", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator; so the Targum.