Judges 7:13

Judges 7:13 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And when Gideon was come, behold, there was a man that told a dream unto his fellow, and said, Behold, I dreamed a dream, and, lo, a cake of barley bread tumbled into the host of Midian, and came unto a tent, and smote it that it fell, and overturned it, that the tent lay along.
• New International Version (NIV)Gideon arrived just as a man was telling a friend his dream. “I had a dream,” he was saying. “A round loaf of barley bread came tumbling into the Midianite camp. It struck the tent with such force that the tent overturned and collapsed.”
• English Standard Version (ESV)When Gideon came, behold, a man was telling a dream to his comrade. And he said, "Behold, I dreamed a dream, and behold, a cake of barley bread tumbled into the camp of Midian and came to the tent and struck it so that it fell and turned it upside down, so that the tent lay flat."
• New King James Version (NKJV)And when Gideon had come, there was a man telling a dream to his companion. He said, “I have had a dream: To my surprise, a loaf of barley bread tumbled into the camp of Midian; it came to a tent and struck it so that it fell and overturned, and the tent collapsed.”

Context of Judges 7:13

11Listen to what the Midianites are saying to each other. That will make you brave enough to attack them.’ So Gideon took Purah with him to the edge of the Midianite army's camp, where they had guards. 12The valley was full of Midianites, Amalekites and all the people from the east. They covered the ground like locusts. There were too many men to count. Their camels also were more than the sand on the shore of the sea. When Gideon came nearer, he heard a Midianite soldier tell his friend about a dream. The soldier said, ‘In my dream, I saw a loaf of bread that was rolling into our camp. It hit one of our tents and it knocked the tent down to the ground!’ 14The other soldier replied, ‘This dream is telling us about Joash's son Gideon, the leader of the Israelites. It shows us that he has the power to kill us. God has put Midian and all our army under his power!’ 15When Gideon heard this news about the dream and its meaning, he praised God. He returned to the Israelites' camp. He shouted to his men, ‘Get up now! The Lord has put Midian's army under your power!’

Judges 7:13 word by word

וַיָּבֹ֣א גִדְע֔וֹן וְהִ֨נֵּה־אִ֔ישׁ מְסַפֵּ֥ר לְרֵעֵ֖הוּ חֲל֑וֹם וַיֹּ֜אמֶר הִנֵּ֧ה חֲל֣וֹם חָלַ֗מְתִּי וְהִנֵּ֨ה צְלִ֜יל לֶ֤חֶם שְׂעֹרִים֙ מִתְהַפֵּךְ֙ בְּמַחֲנֵ֣ה מִדְיָ֔ן וַיָּבֹ֣א עַד־הָ֠אֹהֶל וַיַּכֵּ֧הוּ וַיִּפֹּ֛ל וַיַּהַפְכֵ֥הוּ לְמַ֖עְלָה וְנָפַ֥ל הָאֹֽהֶל׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And when Gideonגִּדְעוֹןgid‛ôn · GideonH1439
• was comeבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
• a manאִישׁ'îysh · manH376
• that toldסָפַרsâphar · to recountH5608
• a dreamחֲלוֹםchălôm chălôm · dreamH2472
• unto his fellowרֵעַrêa‛ rêya‛ · neighborH7453
• and saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• Behold, I dreamedחָלַםchâlam · to dreamH2492
• and, lo, a cakeצְלִילtselûl · cakeH6742
• of barleyשְׂעֹרָהώe‛ôrâh ώe‛ôrâh ώe‛ôr ώe‛ôr · barleyH8184
• breadלֶ֫חֶםlechem · food: breadH3899
• tumbledהָפַךְhâphak · to overturnH2015
• into the hostמַחֲנֶהmachăneh · campH4264
• of Midianמִדְיָןmidyân · MidianH4080
• unto a tentאֹ֫הֶל'ôhel · tentH168
• and smoteנָכָהnâkâh · to smiteH5221
• it that it fellנָפַלnâphal · to fall: fallH5307
• and overturnedמַ֫עַלma‛al · aboveH4605

Cross-references for Judges 7:13

• Judges 3:15Again the Israelites called out to the Lord for help. He chose Ehud to be their leader. He was the son of Gera, from Benjamin's tribe. Ehud's strong hand was his left hand. The Israelites sent him to pay their taxes to King Eglon of Moab.
• Judges 4:9Deborah said, ‘Yes, I will go with you. But you will not receive honour for the battle. Instead, the Lord will put Sisera under the power of a woman.’ So Deborah went with Barak to Kedesh.
• Judges 6:15Gideon said, ‘But sir, how can I rescue Israel? Look at me! My clan is the weakest in the tribe of Manasseh. And I am the youngest person in my family.’
• Isaiah 41:14Do not be afraid, you Israelites, descendants of Jacob. You may seem unimportant, like a worm, but I myself will help you.’ That is what the Lord says. He is your Redeemer, the Holy God of Israel.
• 1 Corinthians 1:27Instead, God chose to use things that people think are silly. He did this so that clever people would be ashamed. Yes, God chose to use things that people think are weak. He did this so that powerful people would be ashamed.

Commentaries on Judges 7:13

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 13Told a dream - Both the dream and the interpretation were inspired by God for the purpose of increasing the confidence of Gideon, and appalling his enemies.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 13A cake of barley bread - i. e. such a cake as could hardly be eaten by men, it was so vile: a term expressive of the contempt of the Midianites for the people of Israel. A tent - The tent, meaning, probably, the tent of the king of Midian, or of the captain of the host.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 9-15Verses 9-15 The dream seemed to have little meaning in it; but the interpretation evidently proved the whole to be from the Lord, and discovered that the name of Gideon had filled the Midianites with terror. Gideon took this as a sure pledge of success; without delay he worshipped and praised God, and returned with confidence to his three hundred men. Wherever we are, we may speak to God, and worship him. God must have the praise of that which encourages…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 13-14People in Egypt and Babylonia often talked about dreams and their meanings. The Old Testament says God inspires dreams, and they are best understood through his guidance (see Genesis 41:15–16, 25; Daniel 2:28). The message of this dream is clear: Gideon's group, symbolized by a round loaf of barley bread, would roll down and defeat the Midianite camp.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1313. I dreamed a dream, and, lo, a cake of barley bread tumbled into the host of Midian--This was a characteristic and very expressive dream for an Arab in the circumstances. The rolling down the hill, striking against the tents, and overturning them, naturally enough connected it in his mind with the position and meditated attack of the Israelitish leader. The circumstance of the cake, too, was very significant. Barley was usually the food of the poor…Read the comment

Topics related to Judges 7:13

• Bread
• Courage
• Dream
• Pitcher
• Trumpet

In the dictionaries

• Gideon
• Midian
• Midian; Midianites
• Midian, Midianite
• Barley
• Bread
• Cake
• Divination
• Dream
• Esdraelon

Commentaries on Judges 7

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• Darby Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings