Judges 6:12

And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him, and said unto him, The LORD is with thee, thou mighty man of valour.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(12) The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valour.—Three words in the Hebrew: Jehovah immekā, Gibbor. It was once a salutation and a blessing. (Comp. Joshua 1:5; Luke 1:28). The address seems to show that Gideon had already distinguished himself by bravery in war; it can hardly refer to the vigour with which he was wielding the flail. Only the second and third of the three epochs of his life are narrated; but we see from scattered glimpses that he and his brothers had possibly taken part already in some battle on Mount Tabor—possibly even (so scanty are all our details, and so little certain is the chronology) in the struggle against the Canaanites (Judges 8:18; Judges 4:6); that he was a man of kingly presence, and had a youthful son; that he had numerous slaves, and even an armour-bearer (Judges 7:10; Judges 8:20).

Benson Commentary

Jdg 6:12. The Lord is with thee — That is, to guide and strengthen thee, to animate and support thee. He is with thee, giving thee a commission to go out against the enemies of Israel, communicating to thee all necessary qualifications for the execution of this commission, and assuring thee of success therein. The Chaldee interprets it, The Word of the Lord is thy help, “which shows,” says Dr. Dodd, “that the ancient Jews looked upon this angel as the Lord himself, which is confirmed by the Targum translation of the following verse. Is the Shechinah of the Lord our help? Whence then hath all this happened unto us? A paraphrase which shows that they took the Word of the Lord to be the same with the Shechinah of the Lord.” Thou mighty man of valour — To whom I have given courage and strength for the work to which I have called thee. Gideon, though a mighty man, could bring nothing to pass without the presence of God. But as that presence is enough to make any man mighty in valour, and to give him courage at any time, so it is all in all to our prosperity, whatever we do.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

6:11-24 Gideon was a man of a brave, active spirit, yet in obscurity through the times: he is here stirred up to undertake something great. It was very sure that the Lord was with him, when his Angel was with him. Gideon was weak in faith, which made it hard to reconcile the assurances of the presence of God with the distress to which Israel was brought. The Angel answered his objections. He told him to appear and act as Israel's deliverer, there needed no more. Bishop Hall says, While God calls Gideon valiant, he makes him so. God delights to advance the humble. Gideon desires to have his faith confirmed. Now, under the influences of the Spirit, we are not to expect signs before our eyes such as Gideon here desired, but must earnestly pray to God, that if we have found grace in his sight, he would show us a sign in our heart, by the powerful working of his Spirit there, The Angel turned the meat into an offering made by fire; showing that he was not a man who needed meat, but the Son of God, who was to be served and honoured by sacrifice, and who in the fulness of time was to make himself a sacrifice. Hereby a sign was given to Gideon, that he had found grace in God's sight. Ever since man has by sin exposed himself to God's wrath and curse, a message from heaven has been a terror to him, as he scarcely dares to expect good tidings thence. In this world, it is very awful to have any converse with that world of spirits to which we are so much strangers. Gideon's courage failed him. But God spoke peace to him.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Thou mighty man of valor - Known to God to be such, though as yet not known to be such either by himself or his countrymen (compare Luke 1:28, Luke 1:30).

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

Jud 6:11-16. An Angel Sends Gideon to Deliver Them.

11. there came an angel of the Lord—He appeared in the character and equipments of a traveller (Jud 6:21), who sat down in the shade to enjoy a little refreshment and repose. Entering into conversation on the engrossing topic of the times, the grievous oppression of the Midianites, he began urging Gideon to exert his well-known prowess on behalf of his country. Gideon, in replying, addresses him at first in a style equivalent (in Hebrew) to "sir," but afterwards gives to him the name usually applied to God.

an oak—Hebrew, "the oak"—as famous in after-times.

Ophrah—a city in the tribe of Manasseh, about sixteen miles north of Jericho, in the district belonging to the family of Abiezer (Jos 17:2).

his son Gideon threshed wheat by the wine-press—This incident tells emphatically the tale of public distress. The small quantity of grain he was threshing, indicated by his using a flail instead of the customary treading of cattle—the unusual place, near a wine-press, under a tree, and on the bare ground, not a wooden floor, for the prevention of noise—all these circumstances reveal the extreme dread in which the people were living.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

i.e. Will assist thee against thine and mine enemies.

Thou mighty man of valour; to whom I have given strength and courage for this end.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him,.... He stayed some time under the oak, and Gideon being busy in threshing, took no notice of him wherefore he came and stood before him, in his sight:

and said unto him, the Lord is with thee; the gracious presence of God was with Gideon while he was threshing, who very probably was sending up ejaculations to heaven, on account of the distressed case of Israel, and was deep in meditation about the affairs of the people of God, and contriving how to deliver them; or the angel might mean himself, who was no other than Jehovah, the eternal Word of God, who was present with him, and spake unto him; and so the Targum,"my Word is thy help:"

thou mighty man of valour; who very probably was a stout man in body, and of a courageous mind naturally, and might at this instant have an increase both of bodily strength and greatness of soul; or, however, this was said to animate and encourage him to do what he was about to be sent to do.

Geneva Study Bible

And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him, and said unto him, The LORD is with thee, thou mighty man of valor.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

12. The Lord is with thee] Cf. Jdg 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 Jdg 11:1. The winepress must have been situated near the terebinth.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 12. - Appeared. Angels were not always visible when present (see Numbers 22:31; 2 Samuel 24:17; 2 Kings 6:19, etc.). Judges 6:12

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

While he was thus engaged the angel of the Lord appeared to him, and addressed him in these words: "Jehovah (is) with thee, thou brave hero." This address contained the promise that the Lord would be with Gideon, and that he would prove himself a mighty hero through the strength of the Lord. This promise was to be a guarantee to him of strength and victory in his conflict with the Midianites.