Leviticus 26:8

Lev 26:8 And five of you shall chase an hundred, and an hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight: and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword.

Ver. 8. And five of you.] God strengthens or weakens the arm of either party, {Eze 30:24} strikes a panic terror oft, as into those Aramites that heard a hurry noise in the air, made by the angels likely, and fled.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Lev_26:8

And five of you shall chase an hundred.

Panic among soldiers

During the Italian war a panic occurred in a whole reserve corps darmee of the French forces, and the account is given us by the Hen. Mr. R-- , the editor of a prominent American journal, who was there, partook of the fright, and ran himself with the fugitives. Five Austrians, whose retreat was cut off, rode rapidly into the village where the reserve forces were stationed, with the design of giving themselves up. The frightened inhabitants cried out, The Austrians are coming! and ran for their lives. The soldiers followed suit--horse, foot, and dragoons, pell-mell, without waiting to take care of the wounded, ran fifteen miles without stopping. One wounded French general offered a large reward to be carried to a place of safety. Mr. R--confesses to have run ten miles on foot before he stopped. A panic among the loyal troops in the first battle of Bulls Run in the American civil conflict, if not the cause of their defeat, greatly aggravated the disasters of the battle. (Lowrie.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Lev 26:8-9. Five of you shall chase a hundred — A proverbial expression, signifying that a small number of them should be an over-match for many of their enemies. I will establish my covenant — Will actually perform all that I have promised in my covenant made with you.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

(8) And five of you shall chase an hundred.—This is a proverbial saying, corresponding to our phrase “A very small number, or a mere handful, shall be more than a match for a whole regiment.” The same phrase, with different proportions to the numbers, occurs in other parts of the Bible (Deu_32:30; Jos_23:10; Isa_30:17).

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

For I will have respect unto you,.... Look at them with delight and pleasure, and with a careful eye on them, watch over them to do them good, and protect them from all evil; or turn himself to them from all others, having a particular regard for them and special care of them:

and make you fruitful and multiply you; increase their number, as he did in Egypt, even amidst all their afflictions; and much more might they expect this blessing in the land of Canaan, when settled there, which is the original blessing of mankind, see Gen 1:28,

and establish my covenant with you; not the new covenant spoken of in Jer 31:31; as Jarchi and other Jewish writers (l) suggest; for that was not to take place but in future time, under the Gospel dispensation; but rather the covenant made with them at Sinai, though perhaps it chiefly respects the covenant made with their ancestors concerning multiplication of their seed as the stars of heaven and the sand of the sea, Gen 15:5, since it follows upon the promise of an increase of them.

(l) Torat Cohenim, apud Yalkut, par. 1. fol. 196. 3.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Five. Thus Gedeon’s 300 men put to flight the great army of the Madianites; (Judges vii. 22,) and the Machabees destroyed vast numbers with a small force.

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Five of you, i.e. a small number; a certain number for an uncertain.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

8. Five… shall chase a hundred — So great would be the prestige of the Hebrew name that a panic would seize the myriads of their foes on the battle field when confronted by a household of Israelites. This was true of the Canaanites when the spies visited Jericho, (see Jos_2:9-11, note,) and of the hosts of Midian who decamped in confusion before Gideon and his select band of three hundred men. See also 2Sa_23:8; 2Sa_23:18; 1Ch_11:18. Many are the parallel instances in Christian history in which hosts of foes to Christ have been overcome by simple faith in him exercised by a few believers.

A hundred… ten thousand — The ratio of efficiency increases with the number. Of five, each one routs twenty; of a hundred, each puts to flight a hundred. At this rate an aggressive Christianity would soon conquer the whole world.

By the sword — They would not be delivered from foreign wars, but they would conquer the enemy in his own country, since the sword should not go through their land.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And five of you shall chase a hundred. Cf. Jos_23:10, "One man of you shall chase a thousand." For examples, see Jud_1:3:31 15:15 1Sa_14:6-16 2Sa_23:8.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Five - A small number; a certain number for an uncertain.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

ורדפו מכם [AND FIVE] OF YOU SHALL PURSUE [A HUNDRED] — five of the weakest among you — and not alone of the most robust among you (Sifra, Bechukotai, Chapter 2 4).

‎חמישה מאה ומאה מכם רבבה FIVE [OF YOU SHALL PURSUE] A HUNDRED AND A HUNDRED… TEN THOUSAND — But is this the right proportion? Surely it should have stated only “and a hundred of you shall pursue two thousand (and not ten thousand)!? But the explanation is: a few who fulfill the commandments of the Torah cannot compare with the many who fulfill the commandments of the Torah (i. e. the greater the group of those loyal to the Torah, the greater is the morale and, under God’s blessing, the physical strength of each individual belonging to the group) (Sifra, Bechukotai, Chapter 2 4).

'ונפלו איביכם וגו AND YOUR ENEMIES SHALL FALL etc. — The repetition of this promise already expressed in v. 7 suggests that they will fall before you in a supernatural way (lit., not in the way of the world) (Sifra, Bechukotai, Chapter 2 4).

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.

AND YOUR ENEMIES SHALL FALL BEFORE YOU BY THE SWORD. He assured them at first that they would chase their enemies and that they would fall by their sword, and then He stated again by way of repetition [in the verse before us], and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword, in order to give them fortitude of heart and strength so that five [of them would not be afraid] to pursue a hundred. He [furthermore promised that He] would put faintness into the heart of their enemies, so that a hundred would [in fact] flee before five, and would all fall by the sword of the five, for it would be possible that they [a hundred people] would flee because of the sword and because of their fear, but that they would not be able to kill them by the sword because of their few numbers [therefore He mentioned specifically that they would be able to put them to the sword too]. Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra has said that this repetition [in our verse] means that they [the enemies] will fall continually, time after time, without regaining [their strength].

Ramban (Nachmanides) on the Tanakh — English translation: “Commentary on the Torah by Ramban (Nachmanides). Translated and annotated by Charles B. Chavel. New York, Shilo Pub. House, 1971-1976” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.