Judges 6:22

22 Gid`on saw that he was the angel of the LORD; and Gid`on said, Alas, Lord GOD! because I have seen the angel of the LORD face to face.

Judges 6:22 Meaning and Commentary

Judges 6:22

And when Gideon perceived he was an angel of the Lord
By the miracle wrought, and the manner of his departure:

Gideon said, alas! O Lord God;
woe to me, what will become of me, or befall me, I shall surely die:

for because I have seen an angel of the Lord face to face;
and whom he had reason to believe was the Lord himself, a divine Person, by the miracle wrought; and it was a commonly received notion even among good men, in those times, that the Lord was not to be seen by them and live, as appears from Jacob, Manoah, and others; at least the appearance of a divine Person, and even of any messenger from heaven, was startling, surprising, and frightful to them; which arose from a sense they had of the divine Being, and of their own sinfulness and frailty.

Judges 6:22 In-Context

20 The angel of God said to him, Take the flesh and the unleavened cakes, and lay them on this rock, and pour out the broth. He did so.

21 Then the angel of the LORD 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 the LORD departed out of his sight.

22 Gid`on saw that he was the angel of the LORD; and Gid`on said, Alas, Lord GOD! because I have seen the angel of the LORD face to face.

23 The LORD said to him, Shalom be to you; don't be afraid: you shall not die.

24 Then Gid`on built an altar there to the LORD, and called it Yahweh-shalom: to this day it is yet in Ofrat of the Abiezrites.