Judges 6:12
in Judges 6And the angel of the LORD appeared to Gideon and said, “The LORD is with you, O mighty man of valor.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the angel of Jehovah appeared unto him, and said unto him, Jehovah is with thee, thou mighty man of valor.
KJV
And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him, and said unto him, The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valour.
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This verse in Judges 6
Commentary
8 notes on this verseThe Lord is with thee - “The Word of the Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valor.” - Targum. It appears that Gideon had proved himself, on former occasions, to be a man of courage and personal prowess; and this would naturally excite the confidence of his countrymen. God chooses for his work those instruments which, in the course of his operations in nature and providence, he has qualified for his purpose. The instruments thus chosen are generally unlikely, but they will be ever found the best qualified for the Divine employment.
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.
This site's exposition
O mighty man of valor
The Targum renders the greeting as the Word of the LORD is with you, as Adam Clarke reports. Clarke reads mighty man of valor as a title Gideon had earned, since he thinks Gideon had already shown courage on earlier occasions. The chapter itself opens his story at the winepress.
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
And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him,....
He that is faithful in a few things shall be ruler over many. Gideon was a man of a brave active spirit, and yet buried alive in obscurity, through the iniquity of the times; but he is here animated to undertake something great, like himself, with that word, The Lord is with thee, or, as the Chaldee reads it, the Word of the Lord is thy help.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
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 Luk 1:28, Luk 1:30).
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
Adonoy is with you, man of supreme power. Since He infused you with such power.
2 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
The Aviezrite. One of the sons of Aviezer ben Gilod ben Menasheh.
If [lit. and] Adonoy is with us. 6 Not “And Adonoy is with us,” as the literal reading would indicate, but “If Adonoy is with us,” as demonstrated by the following phrase cited by Rashi, “why has [all this] occurred, etc.”.
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
10 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֵּרָ֥א | vaiyera' | and he appeared | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| אֵלָ֖יו | ʾelav | to him | H413 → | 5510 times |
| מַלְאַ֣ךְ | malakh | [the] angel of | H4397 → | 213 times |
| יְהוָ֑ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| וַיֹּ֣אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֵלָ֔יו | ʾelav | to him | H413 → | 5510 times |
| יְהוָ֥ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| עִמְּךָ֖ | ʾimekha | [is] with you | H5973 → | 1050 times |
| גִּבּ֥וֹר | gibor | O mighty [man] of | H1368 → | 158 times |
| הֶחָֽיִל׃ | hechayil | <the> strength | H2428 → | 246 times |
וַיֵּרָ֥אand he appeared
vaiyera'H7200 →1300 times
אֵלָ֖יוto him
ʾelavH413 →5510 times
מַלְאַ֣ךְ[the] angel of
malakhH4397 →213 times
יְהוָ֑הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
וַיֹּ֣אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
אֵלָ֔יוto him
ʾelavH413 →5510 times
יְהוָ֥הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
עִמְּךָ֖[is] with you
ʾimekhaH5973 →1050 times
גִּבּ֥וֹרO mighty [man] of
giborH1368 →158 times
הֶחָֽיִל׃<the> strength
hechayilH2428 →246 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
Joshua 1:9Have I not commanded you to be strong and courageous? Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”
it leads to
- Genesis 28:15
Look, I am with you, and I will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what…
- Jeremiah 1:7–8
But the LORD told me: “Do not say, ‘I am only a child.’ For to everyone I send you, you must go, and all that I command you, you must speak.
- Psalms 27:1–2
The LORD is my light and my salvation— whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life— whom shall I dread?
- Joshua 1:6–7
Be strong and courageous, for you shall give these people the inheritance of the land that I swore to their fathers I would give them.
- Deuteronomy 20:1
When you go out to war against your enemies and see horses, chariots, and an army larger than yours, do not be afraid of them; for the LORD your God, who brought you out…
- Genesis 28:15
Through
Joshua 1:5No one shall stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so will I be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.
it leads to
- Romans 8:31
What then shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
- Deuteronomy 31:6–8
Be strong and courageous; do not be afraid or terrified of them, for it is the LORD your God who goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you.”
- Matthew 28:20
and teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
- Romans 8:31
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies12
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); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: Joshua, Judges, Ruth and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.