_Gideon delivers Israel from the Midianites_ For some years the Midianites had been the terror of Central Palestine. These nomad Arabs from the S.E. desert used to pour into the country during harvest time, and devastate the fertile neighbourhood of Shechem and the plain of Jezreel. At last Gideon,... [ Continue Reading ]
_The Midianite oppression_ 1 _._The Deuteronomic editor introduces a fresh subject in his accustomed manner: cf. Judges 2:11; Judges 2:14; Judges 3:7; Judges 4:1. _Midian_ The Midianites had their homes on the E. of the -Arâbah; see Genesis 25:6. At times they are found as far N. as Moab (Genesis 3... [ Continue Reading ]
_the hand … prevailed_ A formula of Rd; cf. Judges 3:10. _dens_ This translation is a guess from the context. The mention of _caves_prepares the way for 11b; for _strong holds_cf. 1 Samuel 23:14; 1 Samuel 23:19; 1 Samuel 23:29 etc. Under pressure from the Philistines at a later time similar refuges... [ Continue Reading ]
_the Amalekites_ Hereditary foes of Israel, Exodus 17:8 ff.; see on Judges 3:13. The _children of the East_were Bedouin from the desert E. of Moab and Ammon; see Jeremiah 49:28; Ezekiel 25:4; Ezekiel 25:10. These tribes appear again in Judges 6:33 and Judges 7:12. There is no reason why they should... [ Continue Reading ]
_Gaza_ in the far south-west, near the coast; a long way from the Manassite district.... [ Continue Reading ]
_as locusts_ Repeated in Judges 7:12; for the comparison see Jeremiah 46:23. The text of Judges 6:3 shews signs of a mixed origin. Thus the grammar is irregular, frequentative tenses in Judges 6:3 are followed by narrative aorists in Judges 6:4, and these again by frequentatives in Judges 6:5. Notic... [ Continue Reading ]
_and … cried_ Editorial formula; see Judges 3:9 _n._... [ Continue Reading ]
_.A prophet is sent with a reproof_ 8 _.a prophet_ This prophetic expostulation reminds us of the words of the Angel in Judges 2:1 b Judges 2:5 a, of Jehovah in Judges 10:11-16, of Samuel in 1 Samuel 7:3 f., Judges 10:17-18; Judges 12:6-15; cf. also 2 Kings 17:35-40. The prophet here is anonymous. H... [ Continue Reading ]
_that oppressed you_ See on Judges 2:18; _and drave them out_cf. Exodus 34:11 JE, Joshua 24:18 E. Judges 6:8-9 are repeated in 1 Samuel 10:18, possibly copied from here. The aim of Judges 6:7 is to enforce the principle that reformation must precede deliverance. But the prophet has hardly reached t... [ Continue Reading ]
_The call of Gideon_. Sequel of 2 6a 11. _the angel of the Lord_ i.e. Jehovah Himself in manifestation; see on Judges 2:1. Closely parallel are the appearances in Judges 13:3-23 and Genesis 18 J; the Angel or Messenger appears in human form, and in the end is recognized as Jehovah; cf. also Genesis... [ Continue Reading ]
_The Lord is with thee_ Cf. Judges 6:16: an assurance given to chosen instruments of God's purpose, such as Jacob, Genesis 28:15, Moses, Exodus 3:12, Joshua, Joshua 1:5. The Angel noticed the energy which Gideon put into his work; he was a _strong man_, like Jephthah Judges 11:1. The winepress must... [ Continue Reading ]
_his wondrous works … from Egypt_ Cf. Exodus 3:20; Exodus 34:10; Joshua 3:5 J. Tradition, handed down from father to son (Psalms 44:1; Psalms 78:3), regarded the deliverance from Egypt and the divine interventions during the wanderings as the starting-point and evidence of Jehovah's special relation... [ Continue Reading ]
_the Lord_ TURNED TOWARDS _him_ The narrator lets us into the secret, though Gideon has not yet recognized who the Traveller is; LXX here and in Judges 6:16 (cf. LXX Exodus 4:24) reads -the angel of the Lord," an obvious way of introducing consistency. _Go in this thy might_ See on Judges 6:12. Gid... [ Continue Reading ]
_Oh Lord_ Read with a slight change, OH MY LORD as in Judges 6:13. _my family … the least_ Saul used the same plea, 1 Samuel 9:21. -Family" is lit. -thousand," a division of the tribe which corresponds to a -clan" (_mishpâḥâh_); the -clan" or -thousand" consisted of several -fathers" houses," the -... [ Continue Reading ]
_Surely I will be with thee_ The same words as in Exodus 3:12 E. The LXX reads -And the Angel of the Lord said unto him, The Lord will be with thee"; hence Moore and Budde emend -and he said, Jehovah will be with thee." If the text be allowed to stand, we must suppose that the narrator is thinking o... [ Continue Reading ]
_shew me a sign that it is thou_ Gideon asks for a sign that it is indeed Jehovah who charges him with this great undertaking (Judges 6:14_; Judges 6:16_); but in the following verse Gideon clearly does not know who is addressing him. Jehovah wills partly to retain and partly to withdraw the disguis... [ Continue Reading ]
_Depart not hence_ is the natural sequel of Judges 6:17 a. Like Abraham (Genesis 18:3 ff.) and Manoah (ch. Judges 13:15), Gideon presses hospitality upon the stranger. He had to run home in order to prepare the food, for the winepress was outside the village. _my present_ The word has this meaning i... [ Continue Reading ]
_a kid_ Cf. Judges 13:15; Judges 13:19 and Genesis 18:7 (a calf). _An ephah_was approximately equivalent to our bushel; in Genesis 18:6 Abraham orders the same quantity, -three seahs" (one ephah, cf. Isaiah 5:10 _ephah_in LXX = μέτρα τρία). _Unleavened cakes_could be made rapidly, 1 Samuel 28:24; fo... [ Continue Reading ]
He is now told to set down the flesh and the cakes upon the rock, and to pour out the broth. The latter act was distinctly sacrificial, though broth is not used elsewhere for a libation. There is reason to think that this verse did not belong to the original form of the narrative; note the terms -me... [ Continue Reading ]
_fire … and consumed_ The food intended for a meal is converted into a sacrifice, and supernatural fire betokens the divine acceptance; cf. Judges 13:20; 1 Kings 18:38; 2 Chronicles 7:1; Leviticus 9:24; Malachi 2:10; Malachi 2:10. _and the angel of the Lord departed_ But in Judges 6:23 Jehovah is st... [ Continue Reading ]
Now at last Gideon recognizes the nature of his Guest; he is overwhelmed with terror, for he has intruded upon the holiness of God, and death must be the penalty; cf. Judges 13:22 and Genesis 16:13; Genesis 32:30; Exodus 33:20 (all J), Deuteronomy 4:33; Deuteronomy 5:24; Deuteronomy 5:26; Isaiah 6:5 [ Continue Reading ]
_Peace be unto thee_ Jehovah cherishes no resentment, nothing but good-will, cf. Genesis 43:23. This idea is finely developed by a prophet in Isaiah 54:9-10.... [ Continue Reading ]
_built an altar there_ where the Deity had appeared; the patriarchs observed this custom, see Genesis 12:7; Genesis 26:25; Genesis 35:1. The altar with its name _Jehovah is peace_, i.e. _well-disposed_, commemorated the revelation; cf. the naming of an altar in Genesis 33:20; Genesis 35:7; Exodus 17... [ Continue Reading ]
_the same night_ Not the night after the events related in 11 24, for the reasons just given. Moore suggests the night after the prophet delivered his message, 7 10. It is safer to say that the original connexion is lost. _thy father's bullock_ AND _the second bullock of seven years old_ The text i... [ Continue Reading ]
_Gideon overthrows the altar of Baal and receives the name Jerub-baal_. This story has no connexion with the preceding narrative Judges 6:11-24; for after Gideon had built the altar Jehovah-shalom (Judges 6:24), it is not likely that he would have been told to build another altar at once and in the... [ Continue Reading ]
_build an altar unto the Lord_ The present narrative tells another story about Gideon independently of what has gone before, Judges 6:24. _this strong hold_ Strictly -place of refuge"; but sometimes, as here and in Isaiah 17:9-10, the idea of strength is added. For Jehovah's altar a new site is to... [ Continue Reading ]
_ten men of his servants_ Clearly Gideon and his family held a position of consequence in the village.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Bring out thy son_ If the father gave up his son there would be no blood-feud.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Will ye plead for Baal?_ Cf. Job 13:8. The pron. is emphatic: -Will _ye_contend for Baal? will _ye_save him?" The next sentence, -whoever takes up arms for the false god shall be put to death forthwith," interrupts the argument, and introduces an idea foreign to the context; the words appear to hav... [ Continue Reading ]
_on that day he called him Jerubbaal_ Or with a slight change, _he was called_; in consequence of the foregoing episode the people give Gideon a new name. This is explained to mean -Let Baal contend against him"; but the explanation will not hold good, for (_a_) if _Jerub-baal_is connected with the... [ Continue Reading ]
_The Midianite invasion; the sign of the fleece_ 33 _.Then all the Midianites … assembled themselves_ Better, _Now all the M.… had assembled themselves_. This verse may be connected with Judges 6:7_; Judges 6:25_; it prepares the way for the account of the battle in ch. 7 For _the Amalekites_etc. s... [ Continue Reading ]
_the spirit of the Lord came upon_ lit. -put on as a garment," i.e. _took possession of Gideon_; cf. 1 Chronicles 12:18; 2 Chronicles 24:20. The verb is used in Syriac with the same metaphorical sense; e.g. -Ignatius, God-clad and martyr," a frequent expression in the Syr. fragments of the Ignatian... [ Continue Reading ]
In Judges 7:23 these tribes, with the exception of Zebulun, gather together _after_the battle: here Gideon summons them _before_. It is difficult to reconcile the two statements. Some notice of a general muster is wanted to account for the large numbers with Gideon in Judges 7:2-8; probably this was... [ Continue Reading ]
_as thou hast spoken_ The words are meant to refer to Judges 6:14.... [ Continue Reading ]
The divine impulse has seized Gideon, he has called out his men, he is ready to attack; but here he seems to be still at home, hesitating and waiting to be convinced. In order of time these verses are parallel, not subsequent, to Judges 6:11-24; and indeed, after the revelation of the Angel, it is s... [ Continue Reading ]
_a fleece of wool on the threshing-floor_ We may think of Gideon sleeping out of doors on the airy threshing-floor near his home; it is a hot night in July, when the dews are heavy in Palestine; at any rate it is the harvest season, for the Midianites are in the land. Gideon has with him a fleece, p... [ Continue Reading ]
_I will speak but this once_ recalls the language of Abraham in Genesis 18:32 J. The dew would naturally soak the fleece more than the rocky threshing-floor; so Gideon asks for a sign still more extraordinary.... [ Continue Reading ]