The men of Ephraim said to him, Why have you served us thus, that you didn't call us, when you went to fight with Midian? They did chide with him sharply.
"Is not the gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim better than the vintage of Abiezer"  (Judges 8:2).  "Here is an excellent illustration of the proverb that, `A soft answer turneth away wrath  (Proverbs 15:1).'"[3]  Dalglish identified this expression as, "An ancient Ephraimite proverb concerning the superiority of that tribe."[4]  Keil explained the implied application of it in Gideon's usage of it: "The `gleaning of Ephraim' is their victory over the fleeing Midianites (and the capture of the princes Oreb and Zeeb); and the `vintage of Abiezer' was what Gideon accomplished with his three hundred men, because Ephraim had slain the princes."[5]