Judges 6:11-24 | The Way of Scripture

Judges 6:11-24

The Call of Gideon

Berean Standard Bible

11 Then the angel of the LORD came and sat down under the oak in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, where his son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to hide it from the Midianites. 12 And the angel of the LORD appeared to Gideon and said, “The LORD is with you, O mighty man of valor.”
13 “Please, my Lord,” Gideon replied, “if the LORD is with us, why has all this happened to us? And where are all His wonders of which our fathers told us, saying, ‘Has not the LORD brought us up out of Egypt?’ But now the LORD has forsaken us and delivered us into the hand of Midian.”
14 The LORD turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and save Israel from the hand of Midian. Am I not sending you?”
15 “Please, my Lord,” Gideon replied, “how can I save Israel? Indeed, my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the youngest in my father’s house.”
16 “Surely I will be with you,” the LORD replied, “and you will strike down all the Midianites as one man.”
17 Gideon answered, “If I have found favor in Your sight, give me a sign that it is You speaking with me. 18 Please do not depart from this place until I return to You. Let me bring my offering and set it before You.”
And the LORD said, “I will stay until you return.”
19 So Gideon went in and prepared a young goat and unleavened bread and an ephah of flour. He placed the meat in a basket and the broth in a pot and brought them out to present to Him under the oak.
20 And the angel of God said to him, “Take the meat and the unleavened bread, lay them on this rock, and pour out the broth.” And Gideon did so.
21 Then the angel of the LORD extended the tip of the staff that was in his hand and touched the meat and the unleavened bread. And fire flared from the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened bread. Then the angel of the LORD vanished from his sight.
22 When Gideon realized that it was the angel of the LORD, he said, “Oh no, Lord GOD! I have seen the angel of the LORD face to face!”
23 But the LORD said to him, “Peace be with you. Do not be afraid, for you will not die.”
24 So Gideon built an altar to the LORD there and called it The LORD Is Peace. To this day it stands in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

Context

Judges 6:11-24 should be read within the flow of its chapter and the larger argument of Judges.

Common Interpretations

Again the pattern. The Malak Yahweh appears. The text moves seamlessly between calling him "the Angel of the LORD" and "the LORD" as if they are the same person — because they are. Gideon's response upon realizing who he has spoken to is the same response seen elsewhere in Scripture: he believes he will die because he has seen God face to face. An ordinary angel would not produce that response.

Current Position

This site's current position is that Judges 6:11-24 should be read as another direct identification of the Angel of the LORD with the LORD Himself. The narrative does not slow down to explain a transition because it does not treat one as necessary. Gideon's fear of death after the encounter is taken here as part of the evidence. He does not believe he has merely seen a messenger; he believes he has seen God face to face.

Deeper Study

Who is The Angel of the Lord?

A Living Study And Exchange

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