Jesus' Appearance to Gideon in the Book of Judges
Gideon, the fifth judge of Israel, encountered "the angel of the LORD" in a significant event detailed in Judges 6 [1, 4]. This encounter is often interpreted as a Christophany, an appearance of the pre-incarnate Jesus Christ. The narrative begins with Israel suffering under the oppression of the Midianites, Amalekites, and other "children of the east" who plundered their land annually [3, 6].
Gideon, the youngest son of Joash of the Abiezrites, was threshing wheat in a winepress to hide it from the Midianites when the angel of the LORD appeared to him [1, 9]. The angel greeted Gideon, saying, "The LORD is with you, O mighty man of valor" [Judges 6:12]. Gideon expressed his doubts and the distress of Israel, questioning why God had seemingly abandoned them [Judges 6:13]. The angel, identified as "the LORD," then commissioned Gideon, stating, "Go in this your might and save Israel from the hand of Midian; have I not sent you?" [Judges 6:14]. This direct command and promise revealed the divine nature of his visitor to Gideon [5].
Gideon, like Moses, initially hesitated due to a sense of humility and the daunting nature of the task [5]. He requested a sign to confirm the divine origin of the mission. The angel instructed Gideon to prepare an offering of a young goat and unleavened cakes. When Gideon presented the offering, the angel touched it with the tip of his staff, and fire consumed the offering, after which the angel vanished [Judges 6:19-21].
Upon realizing that his visitor was indeed "the angel of the LORD," Gideon exclaimed, "Alas, O Lord GOD! For now I have seen the angel of the LORD face to face" [2]. This moment solidified Gideon's understanding of the divine presence he had encountered. The Lord reassured him, "Peace to you, do not fear; you shall not die" [Judges 6:23]. This encounter marked the beginning of Gideon's call to deliver Israel, a task for which he was supernaturally endowed with wisdom and energy when the Spirit of the Lord came upon him [8]. The account emphasizes that Israel's salvation would come not from human strength, but solely from God [7].
Sources
- Smith's Bible Dictionary “Smith's Bible Dictionary: Gideon — (he that cuts down), youngest son of Joash of the Abiezrites, an undistinguished family who lived at Ophrah, a town probably on the west of Jordan, (Judges 6:15) in the territory of Manasseh, near Shechem. He was the fifth recorded judge of Israel, and for many reasons the greatest of them all. When we first hear of him he was grown up and had sons, (Judges 6:11; 8:20) and from the apostrophe of the angel, ch. (Judges 6:12) we may conclude that he had already distinguished himself in war against the roving bands of nomadic robbers who had oppressed Israel for”
- Judges “Judges 6:22 (NASB) — When Gideon saw that he was the angel of the LORD, he said, "Alas, O Lord GOD! For now I have seen the angel of the LORD face to face."”
- Easton's Bible Dictionary “Easton's Bible Dictionary: Gideon — Called also Jerubbaal (Judg. 6:29, 32), was the first of the judges whose history is circumstantially narrated (Judg. 6-8). His calling is the commencement of the second period in the history of the judges. After the victory gained by Deborah and Barak over Jabin, Israel once more sank into idolatry, and the Midianites (q.v.) and Amalekites, with other "children of the east," crossed the Jordan each year for seven successive years for the purpose of plundering and desolating the land. Gideon received a direct call from God to undertake the task of delivering”
- Easton's Bible Dictionary “Easton's Bible Dictionary: Judges, Book of — Is so called because it contains the history of the deliverance and government of Israel by the men who bore the title of the "judges." The book of Ruth originally formed part of this book, but about A.D. 450 it was separated from it and placed in the Hebrew scriptures immediately after the Song of Solomon. The book contains, (1.) An introduction (1-3:6), connecting it with the previous narrative in Joshua, as a "link in the chain of books." (2.) The history of the thirteen judges (3:7-16:31) in the following order: | FIRST PERIOD (3:7-ch. 5) | Year”
- Judges (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on Judges 6:14: the Lord looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might . . . have not I sent thee?--The command and the promise made Gideon aware of the real character of his visitor; and yet like Moses, from a sense of humility, or a shrinking at the magnitude of the undertaking, he excused himself from entering on the enterprise. And even though assured that, with the divine aid, he would overcome the Midianites as easily as if they were but one man, he still hesitates and wishes to be better assured that the mission was really from God. He resembles Moses also in”
- Judges (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Judges 6 (introduction): INTRODUCTION TO JUDGES 6 In this chapter we have an account of the distressed condition Israel was in through the Midianites, Jdg 6:1, of a prophet being sent unto them to reprieve them for their sins, Jdg 6:7 of an angel appearing to Gideon, with an order to him to go and save Israel out of the hands of the Midianites, Jdg 6:11 and of a sign given him by the angel, whereby he knew this order was of God, Jdg 6:17, and of the reformation from idolatry in his father's family he made upon this, throwing down the altar of Baal, and building one for the Lord,”
- Judges (Lutheran) “Keil & Delitzsch on Judges 6:11: Call of Gideon to Be the Deliverer of Israel. - As the reproof of the prophet was intended to turn the hearts of the people once more to the Lord their God and deliverer, so that manner in which God called Gideon to be their deliverer, and rescued Israel from its oppressors through his instrumentality, as intended to furnish the most evident proof that the help and salvation of Israel were not to be found in man, but solely in their God. God had also sent their former judges. The Spirit of Jehovah had come upon Othniel, so that he smote the enemy in the power o”
- Judges (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on Judges 6:34: the Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon--Called in this sudden emergency into the public service of his country, he was supernaturally endowed with wisdom and energy commensurate with the magnitude of the danger and the difficulties of his position. His summons to war was enthusiastically obeyed by all the neighboring tribes. On the eve of a perilous enterprise, he sought to fortify his mind with a fresh assurance of a divine call to the responsible office. The miracle of the fleece was a very remarkable one--especially, considering the copious dews th”
- Judges (Nonconformist/Puritan) “Matthew Henry on Judges 6:11: It is not said what effect the prophet's sermon had upon the people, but we may hope it had a good effect, and that some of them at least repented and reformed upon it; for here, immediately after, we have the dawning of the day of their deliverance, by the effectual calling of Gideon to take upon him the command of their forces against the Midianites. I. The person to be commissioned for this service was Gideon, the son of Joash, Jdg 6:14. The father was now living, but he was passed by, and this honour put upon the son, for the father kept up in his own family t”