The Meaning of Judges 7:21 Explained

Judges 7:21

KJV: And they stood every man in his place round about the camp: and all the host ran, and cried, and fled.

YLT: And they stand each in his place, round about the camp, and all the camp runneth, and they shout, and flee;

Darby: They stood every man in his place round about the camp, and all the army ran; they cried out and fled.

ASV: And they stood every man in his place round about the camp; and all the host ran; and they shouted, and put them to flight.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And they stood  every man  in his place round about  the camp:  and all the host  ran,  and cried,  and fled  {08675;05127:08686}. 

What does Judges 7:21 Mean?

Context Summary

Judges 7:9-23 - The Sword Of Jehovah And Of Gideon
Gideon asked for the sign of the fleece, but God, without his asking, gave him that of the barley-cake. It was only barley-bread, the cheapest and commonest kind of food, but it overthrew a tent. Gideon was quick to recognize the symbol of his weakness and helplessness, but he recognized also the presage of victory. Lying there in the moonless night, with his head toward that tent, he worshiped and hastened back to his camp. We remember what Jesus made of barley-loaves. See John 6:9; John 6:13.
The blare of the trumpets, the breaking of the pitchers, the flashing of the lights, and the shouting from three sides of the camp startled the sleeping host into panic. Surely this scene was in Paul's thought when he said that God's light had shone forth on the midnight darkness of that age; and then confessed that the light was contained in the earthen vessel of mortality, "that the excellency of the power might be of God." Let us not be too greatly disturbed when the sorrows and persecutions of earth break up our peace and strength-this is the breaking of the earthen vessel. Our business must be to see that the torch burns within, 2 Corinthians 4:6, etc. [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 7:21 mean?

And stood every man in his place all around the camp and ran whole the army and cried out - and fled
וַיַּֽעַמְדוּ֙ אִ֣ישׁ תַּחְתָּ֔יו סָבִ֖יב לַֽמַּחֲנֶ֑ה וַיָּ֧רָץ כָּל־ הַֽמַּחֲנֶ֛ה וַיָּרִ֖יעוּ [ויניסו] (וַיָּנֽוּסוּ)

וַיַּֽעַמְדוּ֙  And  stood 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: עָמַד  
Sense: to stand, remain, endure, take one’s stand.
אִ֣ישׁ  every  man 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: אִישׁ 
Sense: man.
תַּחְתָּ֔יו  in  his  place 
Parse: Preposition, third person masculine singular
Root: מִתְחָה 
Sense: the under part, beneath, instead of, as, for, for the sake of, flat, unto, where, whereas.
סָבִ֖יב  all  around 
Parse: Adverb
Root: מוּסָב 
Sense: places round about, circuit, round about adv.
לַֽמַּחֲנֶ֑ה  the  camp 
Parse: Preposition-l, Article, Noun, common singular
Root: מַחֲנֶה  
Sense: encampment, camp.
וַיָּ֧רָץ  and  ran 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: רוּץ 
Sense: to run.
כָּל־  whole 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: כֹּל  
Sense: all, the whole.
הַֽמַּחֲנֶ֛ה  the  army 
Parse: Article, Noun, common singular
Root: מַחֲנֶה  
Sense: encampment, camp.
וַיָּרִ֖יעוּ  and  cried  out 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Hifil, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: רוּעַ  
Sense: to shout, raise a sound, cry out, give a blast.
[ויניסו]  - 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Hifil, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine plural
(וַיָּנֽוּסוּ)  and  fled 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: נוּס  
Sense: to flee, escape.