Atlas Biblica

    Judges · 40 verses

    Judges 6

    Every verse links to the people and places named in it, and to the passages readers connect it with.

    The chapter

    What happens here

    Atlas's own reading, written from this chapter and nothing else, and published only once a person has approved it. Each scene names the verses it covers; the names inside it link to the people and places they name.

    Gideon is hailed as a mighty man of valor while hiding a little harvest in a winepress, and before the chapter is done he has required heaven to pass two damp little examinations with a fleece.

    The hand of Midianvv. 1–10

    Israel is delivered into the hand of Midian for seven years, and the invaders arrive with livestock, tents, camels, and the general air of a locust plague with military intentions. The Israelites retreat into mountains, caves, and strongholds; their crops, animals, and supper all disappear. When Israel cries out, the LORD sends a prophet—not yet a rescuer—to recall Egypt, the land given to Israel, and the command not to fear the gods of the Amorites. The final word is simply that Israel did not obey.

    The winepress and the altarvv. 11–32

    The angel of the LORD finds Gideon threshing wheat in a winepress, which is not the obvious setting for a mighty man of valor, unless the valor is presently being kept out of sight. Gideon answers the greeting with a question about the LORD's absence, then objects that his clan is the weakest in Manasseh and that he is the youngest in his father's house. A fire consumes his offering on a rock, and the angel vanishes. That night Gideon tears down Baal's altar and cuts down the Asherah pole, but sensibly does it by night and with ten servants. When the city demands his death, Joash gives Baal the opportunity to defend his own altar. Baal does not appear, and Gideon acquires the name Jerubbaal.

    An army, and two quite particular morningsvv. 33–40

    The Midianites, Amalekites, and the people of the east gather in the Valley of Jezreel. The Spirit of the LORD comes upon Gideon; he blows the ram's horn, rallies Abiezer, and sends messengers through Manasseh, Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali. Then Gideon asks for a sign involving a fleece: first, dew on the fleece and dry ground; next, a dry fleece and dewy ground. Both arrangements are supplied, with the first morning producing a bowlful of water when Gideon wrings out the fleece. The campaign has assembled, but the fleece has had the more exacting military briefing.

    The text

    Read it

    Berean Standard Bible, public domain. Names the Hebrew and Greek put in the verse link to the person, place or people they name; the address beside each verse is a link to that verse, which is what a reader copies and shares.

    1. Judg 6:1Again the Israelites did evil in the sight of the LORD; so He delivered them into the hand of Midian for seven years,

    2. Judg 6:2and the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel. Because of the Midianites, the Israelites prepared shelters for themselves in the mountains, caves, and strongholds.

    3. Judg 6:3Whenever the Israelites planted their crops, the Midianites, Amalekites, and other people of the east would come up and invade them,

    4. Judg 6:4encamping against them as far as Gaza and destroying the produce of the land. They left Israel with no sustenance, neither sheep nor oxen nor donkeys.

    5. Judg 6:5For the Midianites came with their livestock and their tents like a great swarm of locusts. They and their camels were innumerable, and they entered the land to ravage it.

    6. Judg 6:6Israel was greatly impoverished by Midian, and the Israelites cried out to the LORD.

    7. Judg 6:7Now when the Israelites cried out to the LORD because of Midian,

    8. Judg 6:8He sent them a prophet, who told them, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: I brought you up out of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

    9. Judg 6:9I delivered you out of the hands of Egypt and all your oppressors. I drove them out before you and gave you their land.

    10. Judg 6:10And I said to you: ‘I am the LORD your God. You must not fear the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell.’ But you did not obey Me.”

    11. Judg 6:11Then 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. Judg 6:12And the angel of the LORD appeared to Gideon and said, “The LORD is with you, O mighty man of valor.”

    13. Judg 6:13“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. Judg 6:14The 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. Judg 6:15“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. Judg 6:16“Surely I will be with you,” the LORD replied, “and you will strike down all the Midianites as one man.”

    17. Judg 6:17Gideon answered, “If I have found favor in Your sight, give me a sign that it is You speaking with me.

    18. Judg 6:18Please 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. Judg 6:19So 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. Judg 6:20And 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. Judg 6:21Then 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. Judg 6:22When 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. Judg 6:23But the LORD said to him, “Peace be with you. Do not be afraid, for you will not die.”

    24. Judg 6:24So 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.

    25. Judg 6:25On that very night the LORD said to Gideon, “Take your father’s young bull and a second bull seven years old, tear down your father’s altar to Baal, and cut down the Asherah pole beside it.

    26. Judg 6:26Then build a proper altar to the LORD your God on the top of this stronghold. And with the wood of the Asherah pole you cut down, take the second bull and offer it as a burnt offering.”

    27. Judg 6:27So Gideon took ten of his servants and did as the LORD had told him. But because he was too afraid of his father’s household and the men of the city, he did it by night rather than in the daytime.

    28. Judg 6:28When the men of the city got up in the morning, there was Baal’s altar torn down, with the Asherah pole cut down beside it and the second bull offered up on the newly built altar.

    29. Judg 6:29“Who did this?” they said to one another. And after they had investigated thoroughly, they were told, “Gideon son of Joash did it.”

    30. Judg 6:30Then the men of the city said to Joash, “Bring out your son. He must die, because he has torn down Baal’s altar and cut down the Asherah pole beside it.”

    31. Judg 6:31But Joash said to all who stood against him, “Are you contending for Baal? Are you trying to save him? Whoever pleads his case will be put to death by morning! If Baal is a god, let him contend for himself with the one who has torn down his altar.”

    32. Judg 6:32So on that day Gideon was called Jerubbaal, that is to say, “Let Baal contend with him,” because he had torn down Baal’s altar.

    33. Judg 6:33Then all the Midianites, Amalekites, and other people of the east gathered together, crossed over the Jordan, and camped in the Valley of Jezreel.

    34. Judg 6:34So the Spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon, who blew the ram’s horn and rallied the Abiezrites behind him.

    35. Judg 6:35Calling them to arms, Gideon sent messengers throughout Manasseh, as well as Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali, so that they came up to meet him.

    36. Judg 6:36Then Gideon said to God, “If You are going to save Israel by my hand, as You have said,

    37. Judg 6:37then behold, I will place a fleece of wool on the threshing floor. If there is dew only on the fleece and all the ground is dry, then I will know that You are going to save Israel by my hand, as You have said.”

    38. Judg 6:38And that is what happened. When Gideon arose the next morning, he squeezed the fleece and wrung out the dew—a bowlful of water.

    39. Judg 6:39Then Gideon said to God, “Do not be angry with me; let me speak one more time. Please allow me one more test with the fleece. This time let it be dry, and the ground covered with dew.”

    40. Judg 6:40And that night God did so. Only the fleece was dry, and dew covered the ground.

    01 — Also here

    Who else the chapter reaches

    Names written in the English are linked in the text above. These are the ones that are not: an entity the Hebrew or Greek names under a spelling the translation does not use, or one reached only by an assertion about a verse of this chapter.

    Named in the Hebrew or Greek somewhere in this chapter, under a form the English renders differently — the registry's Ludim against the translation's Ludites — so there is no word in the sentence to hang the link on.

    Reached by an assertion Atlas extracted from a verse of this chapter rather than by a name written in it — a pronoun, a title, or a participant the sentence carries without naming. This layer is model-read and measured at 88.6–90.3% precision, and it is kept separate from the names above for that reason.

    02 — Read alongside

    Where this is echoed

    Readers' own connections, from OpenBible's crowd-voted cross-references — agreement about relevance, and not scholarly confidence. 303 passages were voted onto 36 verses of this chapter; the 16 shown lead on votes, and each is listed at the verse it was voted onto most strongly.

    • 24Genesis 22:14And Abraham called that place The LORD Will Provide. So to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided.”
    • 24Exodus 17:15And Moses built an altar and named it The LORD Is My Banner.
    • 12Joshua 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.
    • 12Luke 1:28The angel appeared to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”
    • 12Judges 2:18Whenever the LORD raised up a judge for the Israelites, He was with that judge and saved them from the hands of their enemies while the judge was still alive; for the LORD was moved to pity by their groaning under those who oppressed them and afflicted them.
    • 12Joshua 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.”
    • 15Exodus 3:11But Moses asked God, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”
    • 13Psalms 77:7–9“Will the Lord spurn us forever and never show His favor again?
    • 14Hebrews 11:34quenched the raging fire, and escaped the edge of the sword; who gained strength from weakness, became mighty in battle, and put foreign armies to flight.
    • 151 Samuel 9:21Saul replied, “Am I not a Benjamite from the smallest tribe of Israel, and is not my clan the least of all the clans of Benjamin? So why would you say such a thing to me?”
    • 39Genesis 18:32Finally, Abraham said, “May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak once more. Suppose ten are found there?” And He answered, “On account of the ten, I will not destroy it.”
    • 12Judges 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.
    • 141 Samuel 12:11So the LORD sent Jerubbaal, Barak, Jephthah, and Samuel, and He delivered you from the hands of your enemies on every side, and you dwelt securely.
    • 11Joshua 17:2So this allotment was for the rest of the descendants of Manasseh—the clans of Abiezer, Helek, Asriel, Shechem, Hepher, and Shemida. These are the other male descendants of the clans of Manasseh son of Joseph.
    • 132 Chronicles 15:2So he went out to meet Asa and said to him, “Listen to me, Asa and all Judah and Benjamin. The LORD is with you when you are with Him. If you seek Him, He will be found by you, but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you.
    • 15Exodus 4:10“Please, Lord,” Moses replied, “I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since You have spoken to Your servant, for I am slow of speech and tongue.”

    Onward

    Keep reading

    Next chapterJudges 725 verses.Named hereMidianEverything the graph connects to this name.BookJudgesAll 21 chapters.Every bookThe Bible66 books, 1,189 chapters.