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Judges 6

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Israel Oppressed by Midian 1–6

1
And the children of Israel did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah: and Jehovah delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years. ​
2
And the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel; and because of Midian the children of Israel made them the dens which are in the mountains, and the caves, and the strongholds. ​
3
And so it was, when Israel had sown, that the Midianites came up, and the Amalekites, and the children of the east; they came up against them;
4
and they encamped against them, and destroyed the increase of the earth, till thou come unto Gaza, and left no sustenance in Israel, neither sheep, nor ox, nor ass. ​
5
For they came up with their cattle and their tents; they came in as locusts for multitude; both they and their camels were without number: and they came into the land to destroy it.
6
And Israel was brought very low because of Midian; and the children of Israel cried unto Jehovah. ​

The Lord Sends a Prophet 7–10

7
And it came to pass, when the children of Israel cried unto Jehovah because of Midian,
8
that Jehovah sent a prophet unto the children of Israel: and he said unto them, Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel, I brought you up from Egypt, and brought you forth out of the house of bondage; ​
9
and I delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all that oppressed you, and drove them out from before you, and gave you their land;
10
and I said unto you, I am Jehovah your God; ye shall not fear the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell. But ye have not hearkened unto my voice. ​

The Angel Appears to Gideon 11–24

11
And the angel of Jehovah came, and sat under the oak which was in Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the Abiezrite: and his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites. ​
12
And the angel of Jehovah appeared unto him, and said unto him, Jehovah is with thee, thou mighty man of valor. ​
13
And Gideon said unto him, Oh, my lord, if Jehovah is with us, why then is all this befallen us? and where are all his wondrous works which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not Jehovah bring us up from Egypt? but now Jehovah hath cast us off, and delivered us into the hand of Midian. ​
14
And Jehovah looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might, and save Israel from the hand of Midian: have not I sent thee? ​
15
And he said unto him, Oh, Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? behold, my family is the poorest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house. ​
16
And Jehovah said unto him, Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man.
17
And he said unto him, If now I have found favor in thy sight, then show me a sign that it is thou that talkest with me.
18
Depart not hence, I pray thee, until I come unto thee, and bring forth my present, and lay it before thee. And he said, I will tarry until thou come again.
19
And Gideon went in, and made ready a kid, and unleavened cakes of an ephah of meal: the flesh he put in a basket, and he put the broth in a pot, and brought it out unto him under the oak, and presented it.
20
And the angel of God said unto him, Take the flesh and the unleavened cakes, and lay them upon this rock, and pour out the broth. And he did so.
21
Then the angel of Jehovah put forth the end of the staff that was in his hand, and touched the flesh and the unleavened cakes; and there went up fire out of the rock, and consumed the flesh and the unleavened cakes; and the angel of Jehovah departed out of his sight. ​
22
And Gideon saw that he was the angel of Jehovah; and Gideon said, Alas, O Lord Jehovah! forasmuch as I have seen the angel of Jehovah face to face. ​
23
And Jehovah said unto him, Peace be unto thee; fear not: thou shalt not die.
24
Then Gideon built an altar there unto Jehovah, and called it Jehovah-shalom: unto this day it is yet in Ophrah of the Abiezrites. ​

Gideon Destroys Baal's Altar 25–32

25
And it came to pass the same night, that Jehovah said unto him, Take thy father’s bullock, even the second bullock seven years old, and throw down the altar of Baal that thy father hath, and cut down the Asherah that is by it; ​
26
and build an altar unto Jehovah thy God upon the top of this stronghold, in the orderly manner, and take the second bullock, and offer a burnt-offering with the wood of the Asherah which thou shalt cut down.
27
Then Gideon took ten men of his servants, and did as Jehovah had spoken unto him: and it came to pass, because he feared his father’s household and the men of the city, so that he could not do it by day, that he did it by night. ​
28
And when the men of the city arose early in the morning, behold, the altar of Baal was broken down, and the Asherah was cut down that was by it, and the second bullock was offered upon the altar that was built.
29
And they said one to another, Who hath done this thing? And when they inquired and asked, they said, Gideon the son of Joash hath done this thing.
30
Then the men of the city said unto Joash, Bring out thy son, that he may die, because he hath broken down the altar of Baal, and because he hath cut down the Asherah that was by it.
31
And Joash said unto all that stood against him, Will ye contend for Baal? or will ye save him? he that will contend for him, let him be put to death whilst it is yet morning: if he be a god, let him contend for himself, because one hath broken down his altar. ​
32
Therefore on that day he called him Jerubbaal, saying, Let Baal contend against him, because he hath broken down his altar. ​

Gideon Seeks Confirmation 33–40

33
Then all the Midianites and the Amalekites and the children of the east assembled themselves together; and they passed over, and encamped in the valley of Jezreel. ​
34
But the Spirit of Jehovah came upon Gideon; and he blew a trumpet; and Abiezer was gathered together after him. ​
35
And he sent messengers throughout all Manasseh; and they also were gathered together after him: and he sent messengers unto Asher, and unto Zebulun, and unto Naphtali; and they came up to meet them.
36
And Gideon said unto God, If thou wilt save Israel by my hand, as thou hast spoken, ​
37
behold, I will put a fleece of wool on the threshing-floor; if there be dew on the fleece only, and it be dry upon all the ground, then shall I know that thou wilt save Israel by my hand, as thou hast spoken. ​
38
And it was so; for he rose up early on the morrow, and pressed the fleece together, and wrung the dew out of the fleece, a bowlful of water.
39
And Gideon said unto God, Let not thine anger be kindled against me, and I will speak but this once: let me make trial, I pray thee, but this once with the fleece; let it now be dry only upon the fleece, and upon all the ground let there be dew. ​
40
And God did so that night: for it was dry upon the fleece only, and there was dew on all the ground.

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

Study Notes for Judges 6

Verse 1

delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years — The verb is nathan, to give, as in 13:1, 'the LORD delivered them into the hand of the Philistines forty years'. Midian came from Abraham's son by Keturah (Gen 25:2) and had lost five kings under Moses (Num 31:8). Seven years is the shortest term the book counts in years (cf. 3:8; 3:14; 4:3; 10:8; 13:1).

Verse 2

dens… caves, and strong holds — Minharah, 'dens', a cleft or cavern, is used only here. The three are mountain refuges, and Israel hides in its own land, as men once did before the Philistines: 'the people did hide themselves in caves, and in thickets, and in rocks, and in high places, and in pits' (1 Sam 13:6).

Verse 4

destroyed the increase of the earth — Yebul, produce. The invaders pitch in the land and strip it as far as Gaza, leaving no 'sustenance' (michyah, what keeps life going) nor livestock. It is the loss Moses set among the covenant curses: 'he shall eat the fruit of thy cattle, and the fruit of thy land' (Deut 28:51).

Verse 6

cried unto the LORD — Za'aq, to cry out in distress, as at 3:9, 3:15 and 10:10. 'Impoverished' is dalal, brought low, the root of the word 'poor' (dal) in v.15. The cry is answered first by a prophet (v.8), then by the angel who finds Gideon (v.11).

Verse 8

a prophet — Literally 'a man, a prophet' (ish navi); he is not named. His message rests on the ground with which the Ten Commandments begin, 'I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage' (Ex 20:2): the rescue from Egypt is the ground of the law, and v.10 names the commandment broken.

Verse 10

fear not the gods of the Amorites — The words are Joshua's: 'choose you this day whom ye will serve… the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell' (Josh 24:15). The prophet calls the people back to the first commandment. 'Ye have not obeyed my voice' (shama, to hear and obey) is the charge made at Bochim (2:2).

Verse 11

threshed wheat by the winepress — Grain was winnowed on the open threshing floor (Ruth 3:2); Gideon beats it out in a winepress (gath), 'to hide it from the Midianites'. The angel sits under the oak at Ophrah, which belongs to Joash the Abiezrite, of Abiezer's line in Manasseh (Josh 17:2).

Verse 12

mighty man of valour — Gibbor chayil, a strong man of standing, said also of Jephthah (11:1) and, as 'a mighty man of wealth', of Boaz (Ruth 2:1). It is spoken to a man at work in a winepress. 'The angel of the LORD' who greets him is called 'the LORD' when he speaks again in v.14.

Verse 13

where be all his miracles — Pala, wonders, the word for what the LORD promised to do against Egypt: 'smite Egypt with all my wonders' (Ex 3:20). Gideon answers the angel's 'with thee' with 'with us', and repeats the prophet's line, 'Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt?' (v.8). The reply is a sending (v.14), and no explanation is given.

Verse 14

have not I sent thee? — Shalach, the verb of v.8, 'the LORD sent a prophet', and of the commission to Moses: 'Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh' (Ex 3:10). The promise that follows in v.16, 'Surely I will be with thee', is the one made to Moses: 'Certainly I will be with thee' (Ex 3:12).

Verse 15

my family is poor in Manasseh — 'Family' is eleph, the word for a thousand, a clan. 'Poor' (dal) comes from the root of 'impoverished' in v.6; his house shares the nation's lowness. 'Least' (tsa'ir) is the smallest in rank, as Saul spoke when called: 'my family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin' (1 Sam 9:21).

Verse 21

there rose up fire out of the rock — The offering of v.20 lay on 'this rock', and the staff's touch brings fire that consumed the flesh and cakes. The LORD took an offering by fire at the tabernacle (Lev 9:24) and on Elijah's altar (1 Kgs 18:38). Then the angel 'departed out of his sight', and Gideon understands (v.22).

Verse 22

face to face — Gideon fears death, and the LORD answers, 'thou shalt not die' (v.23). Manoah says the same after the angel's departure in the flame: 'We shall surely die, because we have seen God' (13:22). Jacob said the opposite: 'I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved' (Gen 32:30). 'Alas' is ahah, a cry of distress.

Verse 24

Jehovahshalom — 'The LORD is peace', the name taken from the word spoken in v.23, 'Peace be unto thee; fear not'. The divine name stands in the compound beside shalom, peace. The altar was still at Ophrah of the Abiezrites 'unto this day'. The command to build a second altar follows in v.26.

Verse 25

throw down the altar of Baal that thy father hath — The first command is against an altar in his own father's house, not against Midian. 'Grove' is asherah, a wooden image set by an altar, as the law said: 'ye shall destroy their altars, break their images, and cut down their groves' (Ex 34:13). The bullock is then offered on the new altar (v.26).

Verse 27

did as the LORD had said unto him — Obedience and fear stand in one verse: he 'feared his father's household, and the men of the city', yet did it. The verb 'feared' (yare) is the one in the prophet's 'fear not the gods of the Amorites' (v.10). He takes ten of his servants and acts by night, the same night as the command (v.25).

Verse 31

let him plead for himself — Riv, to contend, is used three times in this verse and once in v.32. Joash turns the crowd's demand for his son's death upon those who would defend Baal: they are to die by morning, and a god who is a god can speak for himself. The altar-breaking becomes a test of Baal.

Verse 32

Jerubbaal — 'Let Baal plead against him', from the same riv as v.31. The name stays with him: 'Jerubbaal, who is Gideon' (7:1). Abimelech is later called 'the son of Jerubbesheth' (2 Sam 11:21), with bosheth, shame, in place of Baal. No answer from Baal is recorded; Gideon goes on to lead Israel (7:1).

Verse 33

the Amalekites and the children of the east — The same three peoples who 'came up' in v.3 gather and cross to 'the valley of Jezreel'. Amalek had fought Israel since Rephidim (Ex 17:8). The raids that stripped the land year by year now become an assembled host, and Gideon is next to be called out (v.34).

Verse 34

the Spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon — The verb is labash, to put on as a garment: the Spirit clothes him, as in 1 Chr 12:18 and 2 Chr 24:20, where the same verb is used. It is the only use of labash in Judges. He blows the trumpet, and 'Abiezer was gathered after him', za'aq, the verb of Israel's 'cried' in v.6.

Verse 36

by mine hand — 'Hand' (yad) has been the word of the oppression: Israel was delivered 'into the hand of Midian' (v.1), and the LORD promised to save them 'from the hand of the Midianites' (v.14, where the word is kaph, palm). Gideon now asks to be sure that the saving 'by mine hand' will be 'as thou hast said' (vv.14, 16), after the fire at the rock and the coming of the Spirit.

Verse 37

a fleece of wool in the floor — Gizzah, a shorn fleece, found only in vv.37–40. The 'floor' (goren) is the threshing floor, an open place, unlike the winepress where he threshed in hiding (v.11). The sign is dew on the fleece alone, with all the earth beside dry.

Verse 39

I will speak but this once — The plea of Abraham for Sodom: 'Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak yet but this once' (Gen 18:32). 'Prove' is nasah, to test. The second sign reverses the first, a dry fleece on dewy ground, and v.40 records the answer: 'God did so that night'.