Discovery BoxJudges 8:4 
ContextGideon Tracks Down the Midianite Kings
8:4 Now Gideon and his three hundred men had crossed over the Jordan River, and even though they were exhausted, they were still chasing the Midianites. 1
Judges 8:20
Context8:20 He ordered Jether his firstborn son, “Come on! 2 Kill them!” But Jether was too afraid to draw his sword, 3 because he was still young.
1 tn Heb “And Gideon arrived at the Jordan, crossing over, he and the three hundred men who were with him, exhausted and chasing.” The English past perfect (“had crossed”) is used because this verse flashes back chronologically to an event that preceded the hostile encounter described in vv. 1-3. (Note that 7:25 assumes Gideon had already crossed the Jordan.)
2 tn Or “Arise!”
3 tn Heb “did not draw his sword for he was afraid.”
