Judges 6:11
in Judges 6Then 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.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the angel of Jehovah came, and sat under the oak which was in Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the Abiezrite: and his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites.
KJV
And there came an angel of the Lord, and sat under an oak which was in Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the Abi–ezrite: and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites.
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This verse in Judges 6
Commentary
7 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
An oak - “The oak,” indicating it as a well-known tree, still standing in the writer’s days. There was another Ophrah in Benjamin Jos 18:23. This Ophrah was in Manasseh, and was the village of Joash, the head, apparently, of the family of Abiezer, which was one of the families of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh Num 26:30.
This site's exposition
threshing wheat in a winepress to hide it
on Judges 6:11-12
A threshing floor wants open ground and wind, and a winepress is a pit cut into rock. So Gideon threshes in the wrong place to stay out of sight. He calls Gideon "mighty man of valor" while he hides food from raiders, before he has done anything.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
When Gideon, the son of Joash, was beating the grain of wheat with a rod under an oak tree, he merited to hear an angel promise that he would deliver God's people from the power of their enemies. It is no wonder that he was …
When Jerubbaal, as we read, was beating out wheat under an oak, he received a message from God in order that he might bring the people of God from the power of strangers into liberty.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
In Ophrah - In Manasseh: there was another Ophrah in Benjamin, Josh. xviii, 23. The Abi-ezrite - Of the posterity of Abiezer. Threshed - Not with oxen, as the manner was, Deut. xxv, 4, but with a staff to prevent discovery.
And there came an angel of the Lord,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
There came an angel of the Lord - The prophet came to teach and exhort, the angel comes to confirm the word of the prophet, to call and commission him who was intended to be their deliverer, and to work miracles, in order to inspire him with supernatural courage and a confidence of success. Ophrah - Or Ephra, was a city, or village rather, in the half tribe of Manasseh, beyond Jordan. His son Gideon threshed wheat - This is not the only instance in which a man taken from agricultural employments was made general of an army, and the deliverer of his country. Shamgar was evidently a ploughman, and with his ox-goad he slew many Philistines, and became one of the deliverers of Israel. Cincinnatus was taken from the plough, and was made dictator and commander-in-chief of the Roman armies. There is a great similarity between his case and that of Gideon. Threshed wheat by the winepress - This was a place of privacy; he could not make a threshing-floor in open day as the custom was, and bring either the wheel over the grain, or tread it out with the feet of the oxen, for fear of the Midianites, who were accustomed to come and take it away as soon as threshed. He got a few sheaves from the field, and brought them home to have them privately threshed for the support of the family. As there could be no vintage among the Israelites in their present distressed circumstances, the winepress would never be suspected by the Midianites to be the place of threshing corn.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
The Aviezrite. One of the sons of Aviezer ben Gilod ben Menasheh.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
Adonoy is with you, man of supreme power. Since He infused you with such power.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 2 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
20 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיָּבֹ֞א | vaiyavo' | and he came | H935 → | 2568 times |
| מַלְאַ֣ךְ | malakh | [the] angel of | H4397 → | 213 times |
| יְהוָ֗ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| וַיֵּ֙שֶׁב֙ | vaiyeshev | and he sat | H3427 → | 1079 times |
| תַּ֤חַת | tachat | under | H8478 → | 505 times |
| הָֽאֵלָה֙ | haelah | the oak | H424 → | |
| אֲשֶׁ֣ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| בְּעָפְרָ֔ה | beaferah | [was] in Ophrah | H6084 → | 8 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| לְיוֹאָ֖שׁ | leyoash | [belonged] to Joash | H3101 → | 47 times |
| אֲבִ֣י | ʾavi | [the] Abi- | H33 → | 6 times |
| הָֽעֶזְרִ֑י | haezri | <the> -ezrite | H33 → | 6 times |
| וְגִדְע֣וֹן | vegidon | and Gideon | H1439 → | 39 times |
| בְּנ֗וֹ | beno | son his | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| חֹבֵ֤ט | chovet | [was] beating out | H2251 → | |
| חִטִּים֙ | chitim | wheat<s> | H2406 → | |
| בַּגַּ֔ת | bagat | in the winepress | H1660 → | |
| לְהָנִ֖יס | lehanis | to hide [it] | H5127 → | 159 times |
| מִפְּנֵ֥י | mipenei | from <the face of> | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| מִדְיָֽן׃ | midyan | Midian | H4080 → | 59 times |
וַיָּבֹ֞אand he came
vaiyavo'H935 →2568 times
מַלְאַ֣ךְ[the] angel of
malakhH4397 →213 times
יְהוָ֗הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
וַיֵּ֙שֶׁב֙and he sat
vaiyeshevH3427 →1079 times
תַּ֤חַתunder
tachatH8478 →505 times
הָֽאֵלָה֙the oak
haelahH424 →
אֲשֶׁ֣רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
בְּעָפְרָ֔ה[was] in Ophrah
beaferahH6084 →8 times
אֲשֶׁ֥רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
לְיוֹאָ֖שׁ[belonged] to Joash
leyoashH3101 →47 times
אֲבִ֣י[the] Abi-
ʾaviH33 →6 times
הָֽעֶזְרִ֑י<the> -ezrite
haezriH33 →6 times
וְגִדְע֣וֹןand Gideon
vegidonH1439 →39 times
בְּנ֗וֹson his
benoH1121 →4930 times
חֹבֵ֤ט[was] beating out
chovetH2251 →
חִטִּים֙wheat<s>
chitimH2406 →
בַּגַּ֔תin the winepress
bagatH1660 →
לְהָנִ֖יסto hide [it]
lehanisH5127 →159 times
מִפְּנֵ֥יfrom <the face of>
mipeneiH6440 →2123 times
מִדְיָֽן׃Midian
midyanH4080 →59 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Isaiah 63:9In all their distress, He too was afflicted, and the Angel of His Presence saved them. In His love and compassion He redeemed them; He lifted them up and carried them all the days…
it leads to
- Exodus 33:14
And the LORD answered, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”
- Exodus 23:20–21
Behold, I am sending an angel before you to protect you along the way and to bring you to the place I have prepared.
- Malachi 3:1
“Behold, I will send My messenger, who will prepare the way before Me. Then the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to His temple—the Messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight—see, He…
- Acts 7:34–35
I have indeed seen the oppression of My people in Egypt. I have heard their groaning and have come down to deliver them. Now come, I will send you back to Egypt.’
- Acts 12:11
Then Peter came to himself and said, “Now I know for sure that the Lord has sent His angel and rescued me from Herod’s grasp and from everything the Jewish people were anticipating.”
- Exodus 33:14
Through
Judges 13:3The angel of the LORD appeared to the woman and said to her, “It is true that you are barren and have no children; but you will conceive and give birth to a son.
it leads to
- Luke 1:13
But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, because your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John.
- Luke 1:11
Just then an angel of the Lord appeared to Zechariah, standing at the right side of the altar of incense.
- Genesis 18:10
Then the LORD said, “I will surely return to you at this time next year, and your wife Sarah will have a son!” Now Sarah was behind him, listening at the entrance to the…
- Luke 1:13
Where this verse is studied
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Studies12
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About Judges
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Ambrose of Milan, On the Holy Spirit, Book 1.1; Caesarius of Arles, SERMON 117.1; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: Joshua, Judges, Ruth.