שופטים, פרק ח׳, פסוק א׳

Following a major military triumph against the Midianite army, an internal crisis threatens to overshadow the victory. The men of the tribe of Ephraim confront Gideon with a harsh and bitter complaint about their role in the war. The root of their anger is not that they were entirely excluded from the effort, as Gideon did eventually summon them. Rather, their frustration centers on the timing of his call. They are upset that they were not included at the very beginning of the campaign [מצודת דוד, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. When the war began, Gideon gathered fighters from other tribes—Manasseh, Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali—and only reached out to the region of Ephraim much later [מלבי״ם, חומת אנך].

The men of Ephraim view this delay as a deep personal insult and a severe blow to their honor. They suspect that being left out initially is a sign of hatred toward them, reasoning that if God truly did not want their participation, they could have simply been sent home like the other dismissed warriors [חומת אנך]. The core of their humiliation stems from being called only to chase down a defeated, fleeing enemy, rather than serving as a primary strike force when the battle first began [אברבנאל, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. To them, this implies they are considered unworthy of the difficult frontline combat and are only fit to pursue fugitives and collect the spoils of war. Even though their late entry into the conflict is highly successful—resulting in the capture of the Midianite princes—their anger is not easily calmed. The lingering sense of disgrace drives them to argue fiercely with Gideon [אברבנאל].

Ultimately, the resolution to this internal conflict requires recognizing that the entire sequence of events is directed by Heaven. God intentionally prevented Gideon from calling the tribe of Ephraim at the start of the war specifically to elevate their honor at the end. Gideon manages to appease them by pointing out that their delayed entry allowed them to capture and execute the enemy princes. He explains that this final achievement is actually far more prestigious and significant than the initial fighting his own men endured in the enemy camp [חומת אנך, אברבנאל].