successful harvest or a victory (v. 3). Many modern scholars recommend emending “the nation” to “the gladness”, thereby doubling the joy of this verse. But there is no ancient evidence to support this. The recent death of Tiglath-Pileser may have given rise to the belief that oppression, symbolized by yoke, staff and rod, was finally over (v. 4). It seemed as if God had stopped beating Israel with the rod of his anger (10:5). “The day of Midan” is an allusion to the sensational victory of Gideon