Judges 6:7-17

7 When the {Israelites} cried out to Yahweh on account of the Midianites,

8 Yahweh sent a prophet to the {Israelites}, and he said to them, "Thus says Yahweh the God of Israel: 'I brought you up from Egypt; I brought you from the house of slavery.

9 I delivered you from the hand of Egypt and from the hand of all your oppressors, and drove them out from {before you}; and I gave you their land.

10 And I said to you, 'I [am] Yahweh your God; do not fear the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you [are] living.' But you have not listened to my voice."

The Angel of Yahweh Calls Gideon

11 The angel of Yahweh came and sat under the oak that [was] at Ophrah that belonged to Jehoash [the] Abiezrite; and Gideon his son [was] threshing wheat in the winepress to hide [it] from the Midianites.

12 The angel of Yahweh appeared to him and said to him, "Yahweh [is] with you, {you mighty warrior}."

13 Gideon said to him, "Excuse me, my lord. [If] Yahweh is with us, why then has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonderful deeds that our ancestors recounted to us, saying, 'Did not Yahweh bring us up from Egypt?' But now Yahweh has forsaken us; he has given us into the palm of Midian."

14 And Yahweh turned to him and said, "Go in this your strength, and you will deliver Israel from the palm of Midian. Did I not send you?"

15 He said to him, "Excuse me, my lord. How will I deliver Israel? Look, my clan [is] the weakest in Manasseh, and I [am] the youngest in my father's house."

16 And Yahweh said to him, "But I will be with you, and you will defeat Midian {as if they are one man}."

17 And he said to him, "Please, if I have found favor in your eyes, {show me a sign} that you [are] speaking with me.

Judges 6:7-17 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO JUDGES 6

In this chapter we have an account of the distressed condition Israel was in through the Midianites, Jud 6:1-6, of a prophet being sent unto them to reprieve them for their sins, Jud 6:7-10 of an angel appearing to Gideon, with an order to him to go and save Israel out of the hands of the Midianites, Jud 6:11-16 and of a sign given him by the angel, whereby he knew this order was of God, Jud 6:17-24, and of the reformation from idolatry in his father's family he made upon this, throwing down the altar of Baal, and building one for the Lord, Jud 6:25-32, and of the preparation he made to fight the Midianites and others, Jud 6:33-35, but first desired a sign of the Lord, that Israel would be saved by his hand, which was granted and repeated, Jud 6:36-40.

Footnotes

• [a]. Literally "sons/children of Israel"
• [b]. Hebrew "Midianite"
• [c]. Literally "sons/children of Israel"
• [d]. Hebrew "slaves"
• [e]. Literally "your face/presence"
• [f]. Or "revere"
• [g]. Hebrew "Amorite"
• [h]. Or "terebinth"
• [i]. Or "keep [it] away"
• [j]. Hebrew "Midianite"
• [k]. Literally "strong/mighty of power"
• [l]. Or "fathers"
• [m]. Literally "as one man"
• [n]. That is, Gideon
• [o]. Literally "make a sign for me"