The Meaning of Judges 7:6 Explained

Judges 7:6

KJV: And the number of them that lapped, putting their hand to their mouth, were three hundred men: but all the rest of the people bowed down upon their knees to drink water.

YLT: And the number of those lapping with their hand unto their mouth is three hundred men, and all the rest of the people have bowed down on their knees to drink water.

Darby: And the number of those that lapped, putting their hands to their mouths, was three hundred men; but all the rest of the people knelt down to drink water.

ASV: And the number of them that lapped, putting their hand to their mouth, was three hundred men: but all the rest of the people bowed down upon their knees to drink water.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And the number  of them that lapped,  [putting] their hand  to their mouth,  were three  hundred  men:  but all the rest  of the people  bowed down  upon their knees  to drink  water. 

What does Judges 7:6 Mean?

Context Summary

Judges 7:1-8 - Quantity Versus Quality
"No king is saved by the multitude of an host," Psalms 33:16. God does not need multitudes. It is false to say that He is "on the side of the heaviest battalions." Read 2 Chronicles 14:1-15; 2 Chronicles 23:1-21. Those that are fearful and trembling, because they look at the might of their enemies rather than to the eternal God, had better depart to their homes; they are an impediment and hindrance, and may, by an evil telepathy, slacken the faith of others. Those also who forget that they are soldiers, who put the ease of the body before the strenuous attitude of the soul, who think most and first of their physical indulgence, are of no use to God for great exploits. Send them to their tents; they can assist in the secondary work of pursuit.
It was a very little act-the attitude in drinking-but how much it meant! The 300 who caught up the water in the hollow of their hands, showed that they could not forget the foe; that they were resolved to subordinate bodily appetite to the spirit and dared not relax their girded loins. These are the men that God can use! But 300 of these are enough to rout 135,000, Judges 7:8-10. Live in the Spirit; walk in the Spirit; be always in touch with the Spirit, and make no provision for the flesh, Romans 13:14; Galatians 5:16. And be faithful, also, in very little actions. [source]

Chapter Summary: Judges 7

1  Gideon's army of thirty-two thousand is brought to three hundred
9  He is encouraged by the dream and interpretation of the burley cake
16  His plan of trumpets and lamps in pitchers
24  The Ephraimites take Oreb and Zeeb

What do the individual words in Judges 7:6 mean?

And was the number of those who lapped [putting] their hand to their mouth three hundred men but all the rest of the people got down on their knees to drink water -
וַיְהִ֗י מִסְפַּ֞ר הַֽמֲלַקְקִ֤ים בְּיָדָם֙ אֶל־ פִּיהֶ֔ם שְׁלֹ֥שׁ מֵא֖וֹת אִ֑ישׁ וְכֹל֙ יֶ֣תֶר הָעָ֔ם כָּרְע֥וּ עַל־ בִּרְכֵיהֶ֖ם לִשְׁתּ֥וֹת מָֽיִם ס

וַיְהִ֗י  And  was 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אֶהְיֶה 
Sense: to be, become, come to pass, exist, happen, fall out.
מִסְפַּ֞ר  the  number 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: מִסְפָּר  
Sense: number, tale.
הַֽמֲלַקְקִ֤ים  of  those  who  lapped 
Parse: Article, Verb, Piel, Participle, masculine plural
Root: לָקַק  
Sense: to lap, lick, lap up.
בְּיָדָם֙  [putting]  their  hand 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, feminine singular construct, third person masculine plural
Root: יָד  
Sense: hand.
פִּיהֶ֔ם  their  mouth 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine plural
Root: פֶּה  
Sense: mouth.
שְׁלֹ֥שׁ  three 
Parse: Number, feminine singular construct
Root: מִשְׁלֹשׁ 
Sense: three, triad.
מֵא֖וֹת  hundred 
Parse: Number, feminine plural
Root: מֵאָה 
Sense: hundred.
אִ֑ישׁ  men 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: אִישׁ 
Sense: man.
וְכֹל֙  but  all 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: כֹּל  
Sense: all, the whole.
יֶ֣תֶר  the  rest 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: יֶתֶר 
Sense: .
הָעָ֔ם  of  the  people 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: עַם 
Sense: nation, people.
כָּרְע֥וּ  got  down 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: כָּרַע  
Sense: to bend, kneel, bow, bow down, sink down to one’s knees, kneel down to rest (of animals), kneel in reverence.
בִּרְכֵיהֶ֖ם  their  knees 
Parse: Noun, fdc, third person masculine plural
Root: בֶּרֶךְ  
Sense: knee.
לִשְׁתּ֥וֹת  to  drink 
Parse: Preposition-l, Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct
Root: שָׁתָה  
Sense: to drink.
מָֽיִם  water 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: מַיִם  
Sense: water, waters.
ס  - 
Parse: Punctuation

What are the major concepts related to Judges 7:6?

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