At this point, Gideon seemed as focused on revenge as on victory. His earlier conversations with the Lord suddenly stopped. The group of 300 men made a final attack on the Midianites.
Gideon chased the fleeing Midianite kings through the Jabbok gorge and then south toward Rabbah, following the caravan route onto the Transjordan plateau.
Succoth and Peniel were Israelite cities, but their loyalty to Gideon, a new general, was weak. The tribes east of the Jordan were often under Midianite pressure and seemed to fear them.