3 and viii. 4, and that the
two stories, from the one of which we pass to the other at that
point, have to be understood separately; viii. 1-3 is the
conclusion of the first story. We have been told how, after the
success of the first attack on the Midianites, Gideon raised the
levy of all Israel for the pursuit, and how then the Ephraimites
seized the fords of the Jordan before the arrival of the flying
nomads and got the two leaders of the Midianites into their hands.
Now we hear in conclusion that the Ephraimites, elated by their
success began to find fault with Gideon, but that he pacified
their wrath by saying, "What have I done now in comparison of
you? Is not the gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim better than the
vintage of Abiezer? God hath delivered into your hand the princes
of Midian, and what was I able to do in comparison of you?"
A domestic contention like this about the respective shares in
the victory could only arise when the victory had been gained,
when the strife with the enemy was fought out; the metaphor of
harvest and gleaning shows that the victory was complete and
all the fruits of it gathered in.
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