Gideon Gideon Gideon () or Gedeon, also named Jerubbaal, and Jerubbesheth, was a military leader, judge and prophet whose calling and victory over the Midianites are recounted in chapters 6 to 8 of the Book of Judges in the Hebrew Bible. Gideon was the son of Joash, from the Abiezrite clan in the tribe of Manasseh and lived in Ephra (Ophrah). As a leader of the Israelites, he won a decisive victory over a Midianite army despite a vast numerical disadvantage, leading a troop of 300 'valiant' men. The nineteenth-century Strong's Concordance derives the name "Jerubbaal" from "Baal will contend", in
Biblical and Quranic narratives and destroys their homes. In the Quran and the Bible there are stories about smaller armies winning victory over larger ones. One story in the Quran and Bible share strong resemblances, although they are placed in different times and attributed to different characters. The Bible story features Gideon from the Book of Judges and the Quran story features Talut (usually translated as Saul). In the Book of Judges 6-8 of the Bible, Gideon receives commands from God to take the Israelites to war against the Midianites. Gideon is reluctant, but accedes after making God prove Himself with three different tests.