F R¹ 6:1-10. Midian. R² 6:11–8:35. Gideon.
R¹ g 1-. the evil wrought.
h -1-. The oppressor.
i -1. Servitude (seven years).
h 2-6-. The oppression.
g -6-10. The evil repented of.
1265-1225 B.C.
Judges 6)
1: And the sons of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord (Yahaveh):
and the Lord delivered them into the hand of Midian
seven years.
1225-1218 B.C.
2: And the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel: and because of the Midianites the sons of Israel made them the dens which are in the mountains, and caves, the strong holds.
3: And so it was, when Israel had sown, that the Midianites came up, and the Amalekites, and the sons of the east, even they came up against them;
4: And they encamped against them, and destroyed the increase of the earth, till you come to Gaza, and left no sustenance for Israel, neither sheep, nor ox, nor ass.
5: For they came up with their cattle and their tents, and they came as locusts for multitude; for both they and their camels were without number: and they entered into the land to destroy it.
6: And Israel was greatly impoverished because of the Midianites;
and the sons of Israel cried to the Lord.
7: And it came to pass, when the sons of Israel cried to the Lord because of the Midianites,
1219-1218 B.C.
8: That the Lord sent a prophet (Heb. "a man [’ish] a prophet") to the sons of Israel, which said to them, “ ‘Thus says the Lord God of Israel, I brought you up from the land of Egypt, and brought you forth out of the house of bondage (Heb. bondmen);
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 to you, ‘I am the Lord your God; fear not the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you all dwell:’ but you all have not obeyed My voice.’ ”
R² S¹ 6:11–7:18. The Deliverer. Raised up.
T¹ 7:19–8:23. Deliverance.
S² 8:24-27. The Deliverer. Rewarded.
T² 8:28. Rest (forty years).
S³ 8:29-35. The Deliverer. Forgotten.
S¹ U j 6:11-16. Angel of Yehovah. Message to Gideon.
k 6:17-24. Sign. Fire.
l 6:25-27. Command.
V m 6:28-32. Obedience of Gideon.
n 6:33. Midiantes.
U j 6:34,35. Spirit of Yehovah. Message to tribes.
k 6:36-40. Signs. Fleece.
l 7:1-11. Directions.
V n 7:12-14. Midianites.
m 7:15-18. Obedience of Gideon.
j o¹ 11-. Angel. Place.
p¹ -11. Gideon. Employment.
o² 12. Angel. Encouragement.
p² 13. Gideon. Complaint.
o³ 14. Angel. Mission.
p³ 15. Gideon. Question.
o4 16. Angel. Answer.11: And there came an Angel of the Lord, and sat under the oak which was in Ophrah (as being well known), that pertained to Joash (= Yahaveh gave) the Abi-ezrite:
and his son Gideon (= cutter down) threshed wheat in the winepress (shows the straits of the people. Cp. vv.2-6. Threshing-floor exposed, winepress sunk in ground), to hide it from the Midianites.
12: And the Angel of the Lord appeared to him (i.e. the Covenant God "with" His servant [Gideon]. Cp. v.20 = Angel of God, the Creator working a miracle for His creature), and said to him, “The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valour.” (Heb. gibbõr)
13: And Gideon said to Him, “Oh my Lord (Adonai), if the Lord be with us, why then is all this befallen us? and where be all His miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?’ but now the Lord has forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.”
14: And the Lord looked upon him, and said, “Go in this your might (his might lay in the knowledge of Yehovah's strength [v13] and his own weakness), and you shall save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent you?”
15: And he said to Him, “Oh Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? behold, my family (= 1,000 [1 Sam.10:19]) is the meanest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house.”
16: And the Lord said to him, “Surely I will be with you (cp. Ex.3:12. Isa.7:14. Matt.1:23), and you shall smite the Midianites as one man.”
k q¹ 17,18-. Gideon. Request.
r¹ -18. Angel. Compliance.
q² 19. Gideon. Offering.
r² 20,21. Angel. Acceptance.
q³ 22. Gideon. Fear.
r³ 23. Angel. Assurance.
q4 24. Gideon. Worship.
17: And he said to him, “If now I have found grace in Your sight, then show me a sign that You are the Lord Who talks with me.
18: Depart not from this place, I pray You, until I come to You, and bring forth my present (Heb. minchah. = the Meal offering. Hence a gift offering, not necessarily to secure admittance, but to secure favor), and set it before You.”
And He said, “I will tarry until you come again.”
19: And Gideon went in, and made ready a kid of the goats, and unleavened cakes of an ephah of flour (for offering: quickly made): the flesh he put in the tray (Heb. sal, always connected with royalty, or sacrifice), and he put the broth in the pot, and brought it out to Him under the oak, and presented it.
20: And the Angel of God) (see note on v.12) said to 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 the Lord put forth the end of the staff that was in His hand, and touched the flesh and the unleavened cakes; and there rose up the fire out of the rock (this fire was the token of Yahaveh's acceptance. See note on "respect", Gen. 4:4), and consumed the flesh and the unleavened cakes. Then the Angel of the Lord departed out of his sight.
22: And when Gideon perceived that He was an Angel of the Lord, Gideon said, “Alas, O Lord God! forasmuch as I have seen an Angel of the Lord face to face.”
23: And the Lord said to him, “Peace be to you; fear not: you shall not die.”
24: Then Gideon built an altar there to the Lord, and called it Yehovah-shalom (= Yahaveh gives peace): to this day it is yet in Ophrah of the Abi-ezrites.
25: And it came to pass the same night, that the Lord said to him, “Take your father's young bullock, and the second bullock of seven years old, and throw down the altar of Baal that thy father hath, and cut down the asherah that is by it (see Ex. 34:13):
26: And build an altar to the Lord your God upon the top of this strong place, in the ordered place (or due order), and take the second bullock, and offer a burnt sacrifice with the wood of the grove which you shall cut down.”
27: Then Gideon took ten men of his servants, and did according as the Lord had said to him: and so it was, because he feared his father's household, and the men of the city, 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 cast 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 has done this thing?” And when they inquired and asked, they said, “Gideon the son of Joash has done this thing.”
30: Then the men of the city said to Joash, “Bring out your son, that he may die: because he has cast down the altar of Baal, and because he has cut down the asherah that was by it.”
31: And Joash said to all that stood against him, “Will you all plead for Baal? will you all save him? he that will plead for him, let him be put to death while it is yet morning: if he be a god, let him plead for himself, because one has cast down his altar.”
32: Therefore on that day he called him Jerubbaal (Lit. Let Baal plead. 1 sam.12:11. 2 Sam.11:21), saying, “Let Baal plead against him, because he has thrown down his altar.”
33: Then all the Midianites and the Amalekites and the children of the east were gathered together, and went over, and pitched in the valley of Jezreel.
34: But the Spirit (= Rûach) of the Lord clothed Gideon (1 Chron. 12:18. 2 Chron. 24:20. Heb. labash, to put on as to fill), and he blew a trumpet; and Abi-ezer was gathered by proclamation after him.
35: And he sent messengers throughout all Manasseh; who also was gathered after him: and he sent messengers to Asher, and to Zebulun, and to Naphtali; and they came up to meet them.
k s 36,37. Request.
t 38. Compliance.
s 39. Request.
t 40. Compliance.
36: And Gideon said to God, “If You will save Israel by my hand, as You have said,
37: Behold, I will put a fleece of wool in the threshing-floor; and if the dew be on the fleece only, and it be dry upon all the earth beside, then shall I know that You will save Israel by my hand, as You have said.”
38: And it was so: for he rose up early on the next day, and thrust the fleece together, and winged the dew out of the fleece, a bowl full of water.
39: And Gideon said to God, “Let not Your anger be hot against me, and I will speak but this once: let me prove, I pray You, 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.