And the LORD said unto Gideon, The people are yet too many; bring them down unto the water, and I will try them for thee there: and it shall be, that of whom I say unto thee, This shall go with thee, the same shall go with thee; and of whomsoever I say unto thee, This shall not go with thee, the same shall not go.
Too many. Two reductions were ordered; the last by the application of a test which was made known to Gideon alone.
Bring them down to the water. The wandering people in Asia, when, on a journey or in haste, they come to water, do not stoop down with deliberation on their knees, but only bend forward as much as is necessary to bring their hand in contact with the streams, and throw it up with rapidity, and at the same time such address, that they do not drop a particle. The Israelites, it seems were acquainted with the practice; and those who adopted it on this occasion were selected as fit for a work that required expedition; the rest were dismissed, according to the divine direction.