Commentaries and Other Bible Study Helps - Prayer Tents - Prayer Tents

6:5 Locusts devastated land, ate crops, and darkened the skies as they were blown in by the wind (Ex. 10:13-15; cf. Joel 1:4, 15-17; 2:1-11).

6:8 The message of the unnamed prophet represents the first time God rebuked the people when they called upon him. The prophet reminded the Israelites of God's faithfulness and their own apostasy.

6:11 the angel of the Lord. See note on 2:1. beating out wheat in the winepress. Grapes were normally trodden in a winepress, a square or circular pit carved into rock (cf. Isa. 16:10; Jer. 48:33), whereas wheat was usually threshed on open threshing floors, where the wind could carry away the chaff in the winnowing process (2 Sam. 24:18). Gideon's secret threshing inside a winepress--when he already had access to a true threshing floor (cf. Judg. 6:37)--shows the desperate straits because of Midianite oppression.

6:13 sir. The term is literally "my Lord" (Hb. ’Adoni; see ESV footnote). This was a polite form of address (cf. 4:18, where Jael spoke the same words to Sisera). Gideon uses the same term to refer to God in 6:15 ("Lord"; Hb. ’Adonay). the Lord (Hb. YHWH). This is the personal name of God (see note on Gen. 2:4).

6:15-16 I am the least. Moses and Jeremiah had similar objections when God called them (Ex. 3:11; Jer. 1:6). I will be with you. This promise of God's presence had also been given to Moses and Joshua (Ex. 3:12; Josh. 1:5, 9), putting Gideon in the same lineage of leaders, with the same guarantee of success. Nonetheless, Gideon had his doubts and fears (cf. Judg. 6:17 and esp. vv. 36-40).

6:22 perceived. Lit., "saw" (Hb. ra’ah, translated seen later in the verse). Gideon feared for his life because he had encountered God's angel face to face (cf. Gen. 32:30; Ex. 33:20).

6:24 To this day. This expression is common in Joshua and Judges (e.g., Josh. 4:9; 5:9; 6:25; 7:26; Judg. 1:21, 26; 15:19). The Abiezrites were part of the tribe of Manasseh that settled west of the Jordan River (Num. 26:30; Josh. 17:1-2).

6:25-26 Asherah may function as both the divine name for a particular goddess or, as in these verses, refer to sacred wooden poles erected at places where she was worshiped (vv. 26, 28, 30; cf. 1 Kings 15:13; 18:19; 2 Kings 17:16). Most frequently, these sacred objects are called "Asherim" (e.g., Ex. 34:13; Deut. 7:5; 12:3; 2 Kings 17:10). and the second bull. There is some debate as to whether Judg. 6:25 refers to one bull or two. The word translated "and" may also be translated "namely," such that the Lord is not indicating a second animal but specifying more clearly to Gideon which bull should be used to tear down the altar and then be sacrificed. Either way, Gideon is instructed to use a bull to topple the altar of Baal, whose symbol was the bull. The need to make such an instruction explicit again shows Gideon's reluctance and slow response (cf. v. 17). wood of the Asherah. Ironically, Gideon's sacrifice was to be offered using the very wood of the image that he was to tear down.

6:32 Gideon's new name, Jerubbaal, meant "Let Baal contend," echoing Joash's mockery of those who trusted in Baal (v. 31). With this name, Gideon became a living reminder of Baal's impotence.

6:34 Spirit of the Lord clothed. See 1 Chron. 12:18; 2 Chron. 24:20. Other terms for the Spirit's activity in Judges include "was upon" (Judg. 3:10; 11:29) and "rushed upon" (14:6, 19; 15:14). See note on 14:6.

6:35 Gideon sent messengers to four northern tribes adjacent to each other--Manasseh, Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali--prior to the first military encounter in 7:1-8:3.

6:36-40 Before the actual military engagement, Gideon again displays his reluctance to be a leader, for he asks for confirmatory signs from God (cf. v. 17). On the one hand, Gideon's fears are understandable: the task he is preparing to do is difficult and dangerous. On the other hand, the angel's appearance and promise (vv. 11-24) already included a confirmatory miracle (v. 21), and Gideon had already begun to obey (vv. 25-27) and to see God's protection (v. 31). In any event, God stoops to Gideon's level and grants the signs requested.

6:39 let me test. Ironically, this is the same word (Hb. nasah) used of God earlier, when he "tested" Israel (2:22; 3:1). Gideon's desire to test God was in direct violation of the Mosaic law, which prohibited humans from testing God (Deut. 6:16). Gideon himself was aware that he was doing something unwise, if not sinful, since he asked God not to be angry with him (Judg. 6:39). Gideon already knew God's will (cf. vv. 14-16, 36)--calling him to service on behalf of God's people--so Gideon's requests reveal his weak faith. Despite this lack of faith, God accommodated both of Gideon's requests (vv. 38, 40). More constructive examples of responses to God's call are Isaiah (Isa. 6:8) and Jesus' disciples (Matt. 4:20; Mark 1:18-20).

7:2 lest Israel boast. God made it clear from the very beginning that the glory for this victory was to be all his. This makes all the more absurd the Israelites' request after the battle that Gideon rule over them because he had supposedly delivered them from the Midianites (cf. 8:22).

7:3 The Mosaic laws allowed military exemptions for several classes of people, including those who were fearful (Deut. 20:5-8) since they might cause others also to fear.

7:4-5 Every one who laps . . . as a dog laps. The second test for reducing Gideon's forces involved a strange ritual: taking into account how men drank water from a brook. Neither way of drinking is singled out as the "right" way, so this may be simply a means of trimming down the number of men rather than a critique of either form of drinking.

7:10 if you are afraid. God graciously granted to Gideon, who had been reluctant and afraid previously (6:17, 23, 27, 36-40), a preview of the coming victory by allowing him to enter the Midianite camp and overhear a Midianite's dream about Israel's triumph (7:10-14).

7:13-15 tumbled. This word literally means "turned itself over." The loaf in the dream, symbolizing the sword of Gideon, "overturned" the Midianite camp. The dream provided the confirmation that Gideon needed, in light of his earlier fear (v. 10). he worshiped. This indicates prostrating oneself to the ground in humble obeisance.

7:18 For the Lord and for Gideon. See note on 7:20.

7:19 middle watch. Jewish tradition speaks of three nighttime watches (Jubilees 49.10, 12); the "morning watch" is mentioned in Ex. 14:24 and 1 Sam. 11:11. The later division into four watches (Matt. 14:25; Mark 13:35) seems to have been influenced by Roman practice.

7:20 A sword for the Lord and for Gideon! The full war cry is now uttered in the event of battle (cf. the previews of this in vv. 14, 18). Ironically, no Israelite swords were used at all, only torches, trumpets, and jars--scarcely classic military weapons.

7:22-25 The victory was clearly God's: he turned the Midianites' swords against them (v. 22), and they fled south and east to the Jordan River and across (vv. 23-25).

8:1-3 The Ephraimites complained that they had been called out only belatedly, but Gideon's flattering response had a soothing effect on them.

8:11-12 Gideon's active involvement in attacking and chasing the enemy contrasts sharply with his and the people's standing by while the Lord gave them the victory in the earlier encounter (see esp. 7:21).

8:16-17 Gideon's actions here fulfill his pledges in vv. 7 and 9.

8:18-21 The private nature of Gideon's feud with the Midianites is seen most clearly in this conversation, where Zebah and Zalmunna challenged Gideon's manhood, and Gideon responded by killing them himself. Holy war, which is to be fought at God's command for the protection of the whole people, gives no warrant for this kind of personal vengeance.

8:22-23 Rule over us. This request, while understandable from a human perspective, as Gideon may have begun to conduct himself like a king (v. 18), flew directly in the face of the entire narrative up to this moment: it was God (not any human being) who was to get the credit for delivering his people (see note on 7:2). the Lord will rule over you. The Hebrew word order might be paraphrased as, "It is the Lord, and no other, who shall rule over you!" While Gideon's words were theologically correct, his subsequent actions show either that he was only pretending or that he was self-deceived; he appears eventually to have been seduced by the lures of being a king (8:24-28, 31).

8:26 Despite Gideon's protest that he would not become a king (see v. 23), the ornamentation of the Midianite kings--the crescent ornaments and the pendants and the purple garments--was now Gideon's.

8:27 The original ephod was an ornate ceremonial garment worn by the high priest (Exodus 28; 39; see illustration). It was made of choice materials ornamented with gold and onyx stones. According to the Mosaic law, there was to be only one ephod in Israel, and it was to have a "breastpiece of judgment" (Ex. 28:15-30). The ephod was used to inquire of God (cf. 1 Sam. 14:3; 23:9; 30:7). By setting up another ephod in his own city, Gideon may have been making it his own to use, at his own whim. Ultimately, it became a snare to Gideon and his family, echoing Judg. 2:3. whored. See note on 2:17.