He divided the three hundred men into three companies, and he put into the hands of all of them trumpets, and empty pitchers, with torches within the pitchers.
"Even so, while it seems that Gideon has ’moved from fear to faith,’ the situation may actually be more complicated. The two versions of Gideon’s battle cry, ’For the LORD and for Gideon!’ (Judges 7:18) and ’A sword for the LORD and for Gideon!’ (Judges 7:20), suggest that Gideon may also be moving from fear to self-assertion. While from one perspective Gideon may simply be exercising strong military leadership, he also seems willing to take at least some of ’the credit’ (Judges 7:2) for the victory. This is not a good sign." [Note: McCann, p. 67.] 