"Gideon Gideon () or Gedeon, also named Jerubbaal, and Jerubbesheth, was a military leader, judge and prophet whose calling and victory over the Midianites are recounted in chapters 6 to 8 of the Book of Judges in the Hebrew Bible. Gideon was the son of Joash, from the Abiezrite clan in the tribe of Manasseh and lived in Ephra (Ophrah). As a leader of the Israelites, he won a decisive victory over a Midianite army despite a vast numerical disadvantage, leading a troop of 300 'valiant' men. The nineteenth-century Strong's Concordance derives the name ""Jerubbaal"" from ""Baal will contend"", in"
"Midian war The Midian War, described in the Hebrew Bible (Numbers 31), was intended to exterminate the Midianites, who had ""led the people of Israel to sin against God"". Moses commanded one thousand males from each of the twelve tribes of Israel to destroy the cities and the warriors of Midian. The ""false prophet"" Balaam was killed, along with the five Midianite kings. Only the Midianite women and children were left alive, but Moses was still not satisfied. Because they had ""caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam,"" to sin against the Lord and had sent a"
"and destroys their homes. In the Quran and the Bible there are stories about smaller armies winning victory over larger ones. One story in the Quran and Bible share strong resemblances, although they are placed in different times and attributed to different characters. The Bible story features Gideon from the Book of Judges and the Quran story features Talut (usually translated as Saul). In the Book of Judges 6-8 of the Bible, Gideon receives commands from God to take the Israelites to war against the Midianites. Gideon is reluctant, but accedes after making God prove Himself with three different tests."
"the Book of Judges. Midian war The Midian War, described in the Hebrew Bible (Numbers 31), was intended to exterminate the Midianites, who had ""led the people of Israel to sin against God"". Moses commanded one thousand males from each of the twelve tribes of Israel to destroy the cities and the warriors of Midian. The ""false prophet"" Balaam was killed, along with the five Midianite kings. Only the Midianite women and children were left alive, but Moses was still not satisfied. Because they had ""caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam,"" to sin against the Lord"
"David's Mighty Warriors David's Mighty Warriors (also known as David's Mighty Men or the Gibborim; ""ha-Gibbōrîm"") are a group of 37 men in the Hebrew Bible who fought with King David and are identified in , part of the ""supplementary information"" added to the Second Book of Samuel in its final four chapters. The International Standard Version calls them ""David's special forces"". A similar list is given in but with several variations, and sixteen more names. The text divides them into the ""Three"", of which there are three, and ""Thirty"", of which there are more than thirty. The text explicitly"
"led a 12,000-strong Israelite army against the Midianites to avenge this occasion. Among those slain in the expedition were five Midianite kings, Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba, and also Balaam, son of Beor. According to the Israelite roll-calls, the Israelites did not lose a man in the expedition. Phinehas son of Eleazar appears again in the book of Joshua. When the tribes of Reuben and Gad, together with the half-tribe of Manasseh, depart to take possession of their lands beyond the Jordan, they build a great altar on the other side; the remainder of the Israelites mistake this for"
"their commander Metilius, the garrison surrendered in exchange for unhindered passage from the city, but, led by Eliezar, the Jewish rebels slaughtered all the surrendered soldiers, except for Metilius, who was forced to convert to Judaism. According to fourth-century church fathers Eusebius and Epiphanius, Jerusalem's Jewish Christians fled to Pella before the beginning of the war. As a result of the unrest in Judaea, Cestius Gallus, the legate of Syria, assembled the Syrian legion XII ""Fulminata"", reinforced with units of III ""Gallica"", IIII ""Scythica"", and VI ""Ferrata"", plus auxiliaries and allies - a total of approximately 30,000-36,000 troops, in order"
"As they are heading to fight, God tells Gideon to send away those who are homesick or afraid of dying. Because the army is still large enough to credit its own strength for victory, God tells Gideon to observe the drinking habits of his troops at the river. God says to send those who do not drink with their hands, but lap the water directly like a dog, back to their homes. The remaining Israelites go on to victory. In 2:246-248 of the Quran, God chooses Talut (generally considered to be Saul) to lead the Israelites into battle against the"
"Battle of Michmash According to the Bible, the Battle of Michmash was fought between Israelites under Jonathan, son of King Saul and a force of Phillistines at Michmash, a town east of Bethel and south of Migron. According to a modern estimate, Saul's army consisted entirely from infantry, about 3,000 soldiers and 1,000 militia men. Phillistine army strength is estimated at about 4,600 men, consisting of 3,000 infantry soldiers and 180-200 special ""hamashhith"" units. Each ""hamashhith"" was composed of a chariot carrying 3-4 men with javelins, swords and spears and three squads of infantry runners, 4-men each. As described in"
"(), causing their tent or camp to collapse. This was interpreted as meaning that God had given the Midianites over to Gideon. Gideon returned to the Israelite camp and gave each of his men a trumpet (""shofar"") and a clay jar with a torch hidden inside. Divided into three companies, Gideon and his 300 men marched on the enemy camp. He instructed them to blow the trumpet, give a battle cry and light torches, simulating an attack by a large force. As they did so, the Midianite army fled (). Gideon sent messengers ahead into Israel calling for the Ephraimites"
"gods. God is angered, orders executions and sends a plague, but ""the main guilt is Midian's and on Midian fell the vengeance"" (Numbers 25 and 31). God orders Moses to ""Harass the Midianites, and smite them"", and to again count ""all that are able to go forth to war in Israel"" (Numbers 25-26). The Isralites war against Midian, and ""slew every male"". They take captive the women and children, and take all cattle, flocks and goods as loot, and burn all cities and camps. When they return to Moses, he is angered, and commands ""Now therefore kill every male among"
"the Kingdom of Israel for having singlehandedly killed several hundred troops with his spear (800 according to Samuel, 300 according to Chronicles). However, in 2 Samuel 23:8–17, in a passage describing the Three (Jashobeam, Eleazar, and Shammah), the Hebrew and most Septuagint manuscripts read, ""Josheb-Basshebeth, a Tahkemonite, was chief of the Three; it was Adino the Eznite[,] who killed eight hundred men in one encounter"" (2 Samuel 23:8b). It is unclear textually whether ""Adino the Eznite"" is meant to refer to someone else apart from the Three (in which case it is out of place in the passage), whether it"
"army. Battle of Michmash According to the Bible, the Battle of Michmash was fought between Israelites under Jonathan, son of King Saul and a force of Phillistines at Michmash, a town east of Bethel and south of Migron. According to a modern estimate, Saul's army consisted entirely from infantry, about 3,000 soldiers and 1,000 militia men. Phillistine army strength is estimated at about 4,600 men, consisting of 3,000 infantry soldiers and 180-200 special ""hamashhith"" units. Each ""hamashhith"" was composed of a chariot carrying 3-4 men with javelins, swords and spears and three squads of infantry runners, 4-men each. As described"
"Shammah Shammah is a name mentioned several times in the Hebrew Bible. In the Book of Samuel, Shammah () was the son of Agee, a Hararite (2 Samuel 23:11) or Harodite (23:25), and one of King David's three legendary ""mighty men"". His greatest deed was the defeat of a troop of Philistines. After the Israelites fled from the troop of Philistines, Shammah stood alone and defeated them himself. He is credited with having single-handedly defeated these Philistine soldiers at a lentil patch. It is also possible Shammah is mentioned in Judges as Shamgar, who defeated 600 men of the Philistines"
"by Nehemiah ben Hushiel and Benjamin of Tiberias (a man of immense wealth), who enlisted and armed Jewish soldiers from Tiberias, Nazareth and the mountain cities of Galilee, and together with a band of Arabs and additional Jews from southern parts of the country they marched on Jerusalem. Some 20,000 Jewish rebels joined the war against the Byzantine Christians. Depending on the chronicler figures of either 20,000 or 26,000 are given. The Persian army reinforced by Jewish forces led by Nehemiah ben Hushiel and Benjamin of Tiberias would capture Jerusalem without resistance. Jews and Samaritans were persecuted frequently by the"
"to God, saying, ""Is it not the blood of men who went at the risk of their lives?"" Jashobeam Jashobeam (; , ""Yāšoḇəʻām""; , whence English Jesbaam or Jesbaham; 10th or 9th century BC), also called Josheb-Basshebeth (; יֹשֵׁב בַּשֶּׁבֶת, ""Yōšēḇ Baššeḇeṯ""; some Septuagint manuscripts ""Ish-Bosheth"") and possibly Adino the Eznite (; עֲדִינֹו, ""ʻAdīnō""), was chief of the Three Mighty Warriors and an officer under David in charge of 24,000 men according to the 2 Samuel and the 1 Chronicles. Jashobeam was a Benjamite from Hakmon (he is variously called a ""Hakmonite"" or ""Tahkemonite""). His father was Zabdiel, a descendant"
"in his 'Melian Dialogue'. The Old Testament documents the destruction of the Midianites, taking place during the life of Moses in the 2nd millennium BCE. The Book of Numbers chapter 31 recounts that an army of Israelites killed every Midianite man but captured the women and children as plunder. These were later killed at the command of Moses, with the exception of girls who had not slept with a man. The total number killed is not recorded but the number of surviving girls is recorded by the Book of Numbers as 32,000. Ben Kiernan has labelled the destruction of Carthage"
"back under his control. He waged a major battle against Jeroboam in the mountains of Ephraim. According to the Book of Chronicles Abijah had a force of 400,000 and Jeroboam 800,000. The Biblical sources mention that Abijah addressed the armies of Israel, urging them to submit and to let the Kingdom of Israel be whole again, but his plea fell on deaf ears. Abijah then rallied his own troops with a phrase which has since become famous: ""God is with us as our leader"". The biblical account states that his elite warriors fended off a pincer movement to rout Jeroboam's"
"appears in the Qu'ran 2:246–251. The Israelites demand their of prophet to appoint a king, and so God appoints the man Talut. The people respond poorly to the selection, upset that Talut does not seem special. God gives the Ark of the Covenant back to the Israelites in order to verify His choice (this is an event that predates Saul in the Bible). Talut leads the men to battle against an army led by the General Goliath. The Israelite army is small and doubtful, but a few men trust that God can still give them victory. David then kills Goliath"
"Gideon captures the kings of Midian Zebah and Zalmunna (Judges 8:10). After Gideon's son Jeter shies away from decapitating the two Midianite kings, Gideon slays the kings personally (Judges 8:21). Gideon and Samson: Great Leaders of the Bible Gideon and Samson: Great Leaders of the Bible (or I grandi condottieri) is a 1965 Italian historical film directed by Marcello Baldi and Francisco Pérez-Dolz. Consisting of two segments, the first half tells the story of Gideon, while the second the story of Samson. Isralites are faulted for worshipping Baal instead of Jehovah. Jehovah is said to have abandoned the Israelites for"
"(as reported in ). The Rabbis explained that when God told Moses in to ""avenge the children of Israel of the Midianites; afterward shall you be gathered to your people,"" Moses did not delay carrying out the order, even though God told Moses that he would die thereafter. Rather, Moses acted promptly, as reports: ""And Moses sent them."" When God directed Joshua to fight against the 31 kings, however, Joshua thought that if he killed them all at once, he would die immediately thereafter, as Moses had. So Joshua dallied in the wars against the Canaanites, as reports: ""Joshua made"
"gathering 300 men of his own clan and pursuing the Midianite chiefs Zebah and Zalmunna, slaying them and consecrating an idol (""ephod"") made from the spoils of war, which makes his city of Ophrah the seat of an oracle and giving Gideon himself the status of a rich chief with a large harem (Judges 8 4:4-10a, 11-21, 24-27a, 29-32). The name Jerubbaal given to Gideon is originally a theophoric name meaning ""Baal strives"", but it was later given the interpretation of ""let Baal strive against him"" in order to avoid conflict with the more rigorous development of the religion of"
"of the empire. Bacchides led an army of 20,000 infantry and 2,000 cavalry into Judea intending to reconquer the newly emerging autonomous kingdom. The Seleucid general Bacchides hastily marched through Judea after carrying out a massacre in the Galilee. He quickly made for Jerusalem, besieging the city and trapping Judah Maccabee, the spiritual and military leader of Judea, inside. 1 Maccabees records that Judah's army consisting of 3,000 men were terrified of such a large force and two thirds of them fled the battle field, leaving Judah with only 800 or 1,000 soldiers (1 Maccabees, and Flavius Josephus respectively). Judah"
"sea, with the fleet commanded by Gerard of Sidon. The crusader force was also bolstered by a large group of pilgrims, who happened to be on their way to Jerusalem at the time. On the Fatimid side, the city was garrisoned by members of the local Kananiyya tribe, as well as a cavalry contingent from Cairo, some 400 to 600 strong, that was rotated into the city every six months. In response to the Crusader attack, the vizier Ibn as-Sallar began preparing reinforcements for the city in March, as well as a naval expedition. The army set off and got"
"). The Rabbis explained that when God told Moses in to ""avenge the children of Israel of the Midianites; afterward shall you be gathered to your people,"" Moses did not delay carrying out the order, even though God told Moses that he would die thereafter. Rather, Moses acted promptly, as reports: ""And Moses sent them."" When God directed Joshua to fight against the 31 kings, however, Joshua thought that if he killed them all at once, he would die immediately thereafter, as Moses had. So Joshua dallied in the wars against the Canaanites, as reports: ""Joshua made war a long"
"If her husband annulled one of her vows after the day that he learned of it, he would bear her guilt. In the second reading (, ""aliyah""), God directed Moses to attack the Midianites, after which he would die. At Moses' direction, a thousand men from each tribe, with Phinehas son of Eleazar serving as priest on the campaign with the sacred utensils and trumpets, attacked Midian and slew every man, including five kings of Midian and the prophet Balaam. The Israelites burned the Midianite towns, took the Midianite women and children captive, seized all their beasts and wealth as"
"orders. According to what is written in his book ""The Wars of the Jews"", Vespasian sent an army of 600 riders, under the command of Placidus, who fought the rebels. Placidus understood that he could not reach the top of the steep mountain with his forces, and therefore called the fortified rebels to walk down the mountain. A group of Jewish rebels descended from the mountain, supposedly, in order to negotiate with Placidus, but they attacked him. The Roman forces initially retreated, but while they were in the valley, they returned towards the mountain, attacked the Jewish rebels, killed many"
"into the Land of Canaan. Gideon was a military leader, judge and prophet whose calling and decisive victory over the Midianites. He went on to send out messengers to gather together men in order to meet an armed force of the people of Midian and the Amalek that had crossed the Jordan River, and they encamped at the Well of Harod in the Valley of Jezreel. But God informed Gideon that the men he had gathered were too many – with so many men, there would be reason for the Israelites to claim the victory as their own instead of"
"ones, and Jeroboam has 800,000 brave warriors with him. Before the battle, Abijah addressed the armies of Israel, urging them to submit and to let the Kingdom of Israel be whole again. As written in the biblical narrative (2 Chronicles 13:4-12), Abijah then rallied his own troops with an address to all the people of Israel: Abijah's phrase ""God is with us as our head (or leader)"" became famous since that event. However, his plea to Jeroboam was not heeded. Jeroboam had set up an ambush to come from the rear of Abijah's army, so that the latter's army would"
"Gorgias (general) Gorgias () was a Syrian-Seleucid General of the 2nd century BC, in the service of Antiochus Epiphanes (1 Macc 3:38; 2 Macc 8:9). After Judas Maccabeus's forces defeated the Seleucid army at the Battle of Beth Horon, they were determined to send a stronger force against him. According to 1 Maccabees iii. 38, which Josephus follows (""The Antiquities of the Jews"" xii. 7, § 3), it was the governor Lysias, who had been left as regent during the absence of Antiochus in Persia, who commissioned the generals Nicanor and Gorgias, sending them with a large army to Judea;"
"confusion. He was regarded with special hostility by the Jews. In 2 Macc 12:35 he is described as ""the accursed man."" Hutchinson, J. (1915). Gorgias. ""International Standard Bible Encyclopedia"". Eds. Orr, James, M.A., D.D. Retrieved December 9, 2005. Gorgias (general) Gorgias () was a Syrian-Seleucid General of the 2nd century BC, in the service of Antiochus Epiphanes (1 Macc 3:38; 2 Macc 8:9). After Judas Maccabeus's forces defeated the Seleucid army at the Battle of Beth Horon, they were determined to send a stronger force against him. According to 1 Maccabees iii. 38, which Josephus follows (""The Antiquities of the"
"hands to their mouths, you shall put to the other side. The number of those that lapped was three hundred; but all the rest of the troops knelt down to drink water. Then the Lord said to Gideon, “With the three hundred that lapped I will deliver you, and give the Midianites into your hand. Let all the others go to their homes.” (). During the night, God instructed Gideon to approach the Midianite camp. There, Gideon overheard a Midianite man tell a friend of a dream in which ""a loaf of barley bread tumbled into the camp of Midian"""
"Goliath Goliath is described in the biblical Book of Samuel as a Philistine giant defeated by the young David in single combat. The story signified Saul's unfitness to rule, as Saul himself should have fought for the Kingdom of Israel. The phrase ""David and Goliath"" (or ""David versus Goliath"") has taken on a more popular meaning, denoting an underdog situation, a contest where a smaller, weaker opponent faces a much bigger, stronger adversary. Saul and the Israelites are facing the Philistines in the Valley of Elah. Twice a day for 40 days, morning and evening, Goliath, the champion of the"