Judges 7 · Verse 13

Judges 7:13

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.
Judges 7:13, King James Version

Judges 7:13 in other translations

BSBAnd as Gideon arrived, a man was telling his friend about a dream. “Behold, I had a dream,” he said, “and I saw a loaf of barley bread come tumbling into the Midianite camp. It struck the tent so hard that the tent overturned and collapsed.”
WEBWhen Gideon had come, behold, there was a man telling a dream to his fellow. He said, “Behold, I dreamed a dream; and behold, a cake of barley bread tumbled into the camp of Midian, came to the tent, and struck it so that it fell, and turned it upside down, so that the tent lay flat.”
ASVAnd when Gideon was come, behold, there was a man telling a dream unto his fellow; and he said, Behold, I dreamed a dream; and, lo, a cake of barley bread tumbled into the camp of Midian, and came unto the tent, and smote it so that it fell, and turned it upside down, so that the tent lay flat.
YLTAnd Gideon cometh in, and lo, a man is recounting to his companion a dream, and saith, ‘Lo, a dream I have dreamed, and lo, a cake of barley-bread is turning itself over into the camp of Midian, and it cometh in unto the tent, and smiteth it, and it falleth, and turneth it upwards, and the tent hath fallen.'
DARBYAnd Gideon came, and behold, a man was telling a dream to his fellow; and he said, Behold, I dreamed a dream, and lo, a cake of barley-bread tumbled into the camp of Midian, and came to the tent, and smote it that it fell, and overturned it; and the tent lay along.
BBEWhen Gideon came there, a man was giving his friend an account of his dream, saying, See, I had a dream about a cake of barley bread which, falling into the tents of Midian, came on to the tent, overturning it so that it was stretched out flat on the earth.
WebsterAnd when Gideon had come, behold, there was a man that told a dream to his fellow, and said, Behold, I dreamed a dream, and lo, a cake of barley-bread rolled into the host of Midian, and came to a tent, and smote it that it fell, and overturned it that the tent lay along.

What does Judges 7:13 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
13. 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, and of beasts; but most probably, from the widespread destruction of the crops by the invaders, multitudes must have been reduced to poor and scanty fare.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 13 Told 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.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Judges 7:9-15

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…

Read the full comment on Judges 7:9-15 →

Judges 7:13 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וַיָּבֹ֣אvai.ya.Vo'and he cameH935
גִדְע֔וֹןgid.'onGideonH1439
וְהִ֨נֵּה\־ve.Hi.neh-and there!H2009
אִ֔ישׁ'Isha manH376
מְסַפֵּ֥רme.sa.Per[was] recountingH5608
לְרֵעֵ֖הוּle.re.'E.huto neighbor hisH7453
חֲל֑וֹםcha.Loma dreamH2472
וַיֹּ֜אמֶרvai.Yo.merand he saidH559
הִנֵּ֧הhi.Nehhere!H2009
חֲל֣וֹםcha.Loma dreamH2472
חָלַ֗מְתִּיcha.Lam.tiI have dreamedH2492
וְהִנֵּ֨הve.hi.Nehand there!H2009
צְלִ֜ילtze.lola round loaf ofH6742
לֶ֤חֶםLe.chembread ofH3899
שְׂעֹרִים֙se.'o.Rimbarley<s>H8184
מִתְהַפֵּךְ֙mit.ha.peKh[was] tumblingH2015
בְּמַחֲנֵ֣הbe.ma.cha.Nehin [the] camp ofH4264
מִדְיָ֔ןmid.YanMidianH4080
וַיָּבֹ֣אvai.ya.Vo'and it cameH935
עַד\־'ad-toH5704
הָ֠אֹהֶלHa.'o.helthe tentH168
וַיַּכֵּ֧הוּvai.ya.Ke.huand it struck itH5221
וַיִּפֹּ֛לvai.yi.Poland it fellH5307
וַיַּהַפְכֵ֥הוּvai.ya.haf.Khe.huand it overturned itH2015
לְמַ֖עְלָהle.Ma'.lah<to> upwards <towards>H4605
וְנָפַ֥לve.na.Faland it fellH5307
הָאֹֽהֶל\׃ha.'O.helthe tentH168

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Judges 7:13

  • 1 Corinthians 1:27

    But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;

  • Judges 3:31

    And after him was Shamgar the son of Anath, which slew of the Philistines six hundred men with an ox goad: and he also delivered Israel.

  • Judges 3:15

    But when the children of Israel cried unto the Lord, the Lord raised them up a deliverer, Ehud the son of Gera, a Benjamite, a man lefthanded: and by him the children of Israel sent a present unto Eglon the king of Moab.

  • Judges 6:15

    And he said unto him, Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.

  • Isaiah 41:14-15

    Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel; I will help thee, saith the Lord, and thy redeemer, the Holy One of Israel. Behold, I will make thee a new sharp threshing instrument having teeth: thou shalt thresh the mountains, and beat them small, and shalt make the hills as chaff.

  • Judges 4:9

    And she said, I will surely go with thee: notwithstanding the journey that thou takest shall not be for thine honour; for the Lord shall sell Sisera into the hand of a woman. And Deborah arose, and went with Barak to Kedesh.

  • Judges 4:21

    Then Jael Heber’s wife took a nail of the tent, and took an hammer in her hand, and went softly unto him, and smote the nail into his temples, and fastened it into the ground: for he was fast asleep and weary. So he died.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
lo, a cake.
3:15,31; 4:9,21; 6:15; Isa 41:14,15; 1Co 1:27

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Judges 7:12

    And the Midianites and the Amalekites and all the children of the east lay along in the valley like grasshoppers for multitude; and their camels were without number, as the sand by the sea side for multitude.

  • Judges 7:13

    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.

  • Judges 7:14

    And his fellow answered and said, This is nothing else save the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel: for into his hand hath God delivered Midian, and all the host.

Read all of Judges 7

Judges 7:13 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909
Y luego que llegó Gedeón, he aquí que un hombre estaba contando á su compañero un sueño, diciendo: He aquí yo soñé un sueño: que veía un pan de cebada que rodaba hasta el campo de Madián, y llegaba á las tiendas, y las hería de tal manera que caían, y las trastornaba de arriba abajo, y las tiendas caían.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885
Et Gédéon arriva, et voici, un homme racontait un songe à son compagnon; et il disait: Voici, j’ai songé un songe; et voici, un gâteau de pain d’orge roulait dans le camp de Madian, et il arriva jusqu’à la tente et la heurta, et elle tomba; et il la retourna sens dessus dessous, et la tente était là renversée.
German
Elberfelder 1871
Und Gideon kam, und siehe, ein Mann erzählte seinem Genossen einen Traum und sprach: Siehe, ich habe einen Traum gehabt; und siehe, ein Laib Gerstenbrot rollte in das Lager Midians; und es kam bis zum Zelte und schlug es, daß es umfiel, und kehrte es um, das Unterste zu oberst, und das Zelt lag da.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate
Cumque venisset Gedeon, narrabat aliquis somnium proximo suo: et in hunc modum referebat quod viderat: Vidi somnium, et videbatur mihi quasi subcinericius panis ex hordeo volvi, et in castra Madian descendere: cumque pervenisset ad tabernaculum, percussit illud, atque subvertit, et terræ funditus coæquavit.