Editing Gideon (section)

==Cultural references==
[[The Gideons International]], an evangelical Christian organization known for distributing Bibles, takes its name from Gideon:

<blockquote>"Gideon was a man who was willing to do exactly what God wanted him to do, regardless of his own judgment as to the plans or results. Humility, faith, and obedience were his great elements of character. This is the standard that The Gideons International is trying to establish in all its members, each man to be ready to do God's will at any time, at any place, and in any way that the [[Holy Spirit in Christianity|Holy Spirit]] leads."<ref>{{Cite web |title=History |url=http://www.gideons.org/history.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19981206145802/http://www.gideons.org/history.html |archive-date=1998-12-06 |website=Gideons International}}</ref></blockquote>

=== Origin of the phrase "putting out a fleece" ===

The origin of the phrase "putting out a fleece" is a reference to the story of Gideon meaning to look for a sign from God before undertaking some action or carrying out some plan.<ref>{{cite news |last=Holbrook |first=Patricia |date=May 9, 2020 |title=Don't try to manipulate God |newspaper=The Atlanta Journal-Constitution |url=https://www.ajc.com/lifestyles/religion/don-try-manipulate-god/7kHohvuX6m3ty27nRWqTmO/}}</ref>

===Military references===
Much like the 300 Spartans [[Battle of Thermopylae|at Thermopylae]], Gideon has become symbolic of military success of a small elite force against overwhelming numerical odds. The 12th-century ''[[Poem of Almería]]'' invokes "the strength of Samson and the sword of Gideon" in the context of the [[Reconquista]] of [[Almería]] led by [[Ponce Giraldo de Cabrera]] (1147). [[Benedikt Gletting]] (16th century) invokes the "Sword of Gideon" in a call for a pious and confident defense of the [[Old Swiss Confederacy]] against the threat of the [[Franco-Ottoman alliance]].<ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://dx.doi.org/10.5169/seals-117277|doi = 10.5169/seals-117277|year = 1978|last1 = Schwarzenbach|first1 = Rudolf|title = "... Wol uff den hohen alpen fruch"? Ein Lied Benedikt Glettings als Quelle des "Vermahnlieds an die Eidgenossenschaft" von Hanns in der Gand |journal=Schweizerisches Archiv für Volkskunde – Archives suisses des traditions populaires| volume=74 | issue=1–2 | page=1 }}</ref>  The Gideon narrative was invoked by [[Covenanter]] commander [[Archibald Strachan]] prior to [[Battle of Carbisdale]] (1650).  The [[Gideon Force]] was a small British-led  special force in the [[East African Campaign (World War II)|East African Campaign]] during World War II. [[El Junquito raid]] code-named Operation Gideon in 2018 and [[Operation Gideon (2020)]] were dissident military operations in [[Venezuela]].