Yahweh said to Gideon, The people are yet too many; bring them down to the water, and I will try them for you there: and it shall be, that of whom I tell you, This shall go with you, the same shall go with you; and of whoever I tell you, This shall not go with you, the same shall not go.
Barnes was of the opinion that the choice of the three hundred was due to the fact that they, "Slaked their thirst with moderation, and without being off their guard for an instant,"[7] which caution was not exhibited by the great majority who simply bowed down upon their knees to drink of the stream of water.  Although, that may very well be the grounds of the selection, there is also the definite possibility, as suggested by Bruce, that, "The test was quite arbitrary."[8]