וַיֹּ֨אמֶר יְהוָ֜ה אֶל־גִּדְע֗וֹן בִּשְׁלֹשׁ֩ מֵא֨וֹת הָאִ֤ישׁ הַֽמֲלַקְקִים֙ אוֹשִׁ֣יעַ אֶתְכֶ֔ם וְנָתַתִּ֥י אֶת־מִדְיָ֖ן בְּיָדֶ֑ךָ וְכָל־הָעָ֔ם יֵלְכ֖וּ אִ֥ישׁ לִמְקֹמֽוֹ׃
여호와께서 기드온에게 이르시되 내가 이 물을 핥아 먹은 삼백 명으로 너희를 구원하며 미디안 사람을 네 손에 붙이리니 남은 백성은 각각 그 처소로 돌아갈 것이니라 하시니
Chizkuni
אלה פקודי בני ישראל וגו, “these were those who were numbered among the Children of Israel, six hundred thousand, seventeen hundred and thirty.” This total is smaller than the total reported at the previous census by eighteen hundred and twenty. If this total had been greater than the previous total they would have said that they were now numerically strong enough to take on the Canaanites militarily. G-d wanted to demonstrate to the people under the command of Joshua that though there were slightly fewer Israelite soldiers than forty years earlier when the spies had considered themselves too weak to conquer the Canaanites, they still would manage to do so, not because of their numbers but because of G-d’s assistance. When one enjoys His assistance numbers become irrelevant. (This point was made even more pronouncedly during the days of Gideon in Judges 7,7.)