שופטים, פרק ח׳, פסוק ה׳

Deep in the pursuit of the Midianite army, Gideon and his exhausted men arrive at the city of Sukkot in the Transjordan region. He turns to the local residents, who are fellow Israelites [רש"י], with a plea for provisions to sustain his weary soldiers. He specifically requests whole loaves of bread [מצודת ציון] for the men marching steadily behind him [מצודת ציון, ביאור שטיינזלץ].

Gideon directs his request to the general public of the city rather than its leaders or officials. Supporting an army typically relies on two different pillars: the formal obligation of leaders to supply rations from tax funds as part of the war effort, and the moral duty of everyday citizens to provide charity to those who are hungry. By highlighting the deep fatigue of his men, Gideon hopes to stir the residents' compassion and appeal to their sense of kindness, reminding them that the soldiers are in the midst of a crucial mission [מלבי"ם].

The primary goal of this relentless chase is to capture Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian. The Midianites do not operate under a single monarch. Instead, the leaders of their largest tribes hold the title of king or prince [ביאור שטיינזלץ]. Gideon's urgency to hunt them down stems from a need to permanently eliminate the threat they pose. These leaders either managed to flee the initial battlefield before the water escape routes were cut off, or they had remained safely in their own land without joining the fight at all. In either case, Gideon is determined to reach them and destroy their power entirely [מצודת דוד].