He said to them, What have I now done in comparison with you? Isn't the gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim better than the vintage of Abiezer?
The leaders of this tribe protested Gideon’s action, ". . . less from any dissatisfied longing for booty, than from injured pride or jealousy, because Gideon had made war upon the enemy and defeated them without the co-operation of this tribe, which was striving for the leadership [in Israel]." [Note: Keil and Delitzsch, p. 351.] 