[3] The tale is typically presented by scholars as having been added by the Deuteronomistic editor to an original, diminutive story to explain the reduction in the number of warriors to 300 men that ultimately secured victory over a Midianite group.
In the 19th century, Arthur Penrhyn Stanley, in his 1856 book Sinai and Palestine, tentatively associated the "Spring of Jezreel" with En Harod, and by implication with the Ain Jalut.
[2] He noted the suggestion by Rabbi Joseph Schwarz, in his 1850 Descriptive Geography of Palestine, that the name "Jalud" could be derived from the name "Gilead" reminiscing an older name for Mount Gilboa, which is referenced by Gideon ahead of his battle with the Midianites.
[6] In 1882, Claude Reignier Conder alternatively identified En Harod with "Ain el-Jemain", a spring in the nearby Beit She'an valley.
[5] They place En Harod near Shechem (modern day Nablus), in accordance with the narrations of Josephus, who also described the events as occurring near to the River Jordan in Antiquities of the Jews.