Judges 8:3

Then their anger was abated towards him. — The soft answer turned away wrath (Proverbs 15:1). The word for anger is mach, “wind,” or “spirit” — anger expressed by fierce breathing through the nostrils, “the blast of the terrible ones” (Isaiah 25:4). (Comp. Ecclesiastes 10:4 : “If the spirit (ruach) of the ruler rise up against thee, leave not thy place; for yielding pacifieth great offences.”) “Gideon’s good words were as victorious as his sword.” — Bp. Hall.