Then Jerubbaal, who is Gideon, and all the people who were with him, rose up early, and encamped beside the spring of Harod: and the camp of Midian was on the north side of them, by the hill of Moreh, in the valley.
In the law Moses had said that the Israelites should not force the fearful to go into battle (Deuteronomy 20:8). God reminded Gideon to give any who were afraid the opportunity to go home, which he did (Judges 7:3). However the large number that deserted him, more than two out of three, must have shocked Gideon. Then God said that even the remaining 10,000 soldiers (or 10 units) were too many (Judges 7:4).