Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 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 valor.
12. The Lord is with thee ] Cf. Jdg 6:16: an assurance given to chosen instruments of God’s purpose, such as Jacob, Gen 28:15, Moses, Exo 3:12, Joshua, Jos 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.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
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).
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 12. The Lord is with thee] “The WORD of the Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valour.” – Targum. It appears that Gideon had proved himself, on former occasions, to be a man of courage anti 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.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
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.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
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.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(12) The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valour.Three words in the Hebrew: Jehovah immek, Gibbor. It was once a salutation and a blessing. (Comp. Jos. 1:5; Luk. 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 Taborpossibly even (so scanty are all our details, and so little certain is the chronology) in the struggle against the Canaanites (Jdg. 8:18; Jdg. 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 (Jdg. 7:10; Jdg. 8:20).
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
12. The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valour These inspiring words were designed to be a source of comfort and strength to Gideon. He is called a mighty hero, not because he has already distinguished himself by great deeds of valour, but in reference to what he is yet to do, all which was known to this Angel.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘ And the Angel of Yahweh appeared to him, and said to him, “Yahweh is with you, you mighty man of valour.” ’
Gideon may well have been thinking of His people’s troubles, and scheming as to what he could do about it, possibly considering daring, and perhaps foolhardy and impractical plans, although only theoretical, as to how he could reverse the situation. In view of what follows it is probable that he was associating such actions with allegiance to Yahweh, and that he was himself a faithful worshipper of Yahweh. Then suddenly the Angel of Yahweh ‘appeared to him’. He found himself confronted face to face with the One he had been thinking about.
The words of this stranger probably shook Gideon. His thoughts had not been intended to be taken too seriously too quickly. And yet here was this clearly important and imposing person encouraging his thoughts and assuring him that Yahweh was with him in them. The actual words spoken by the Angel demonstrated to him that He was not only aware that his thoughts had been moving in that direction, but was actually encouraging him, no, even forcing him in that direction.
“Yahweh is with you”. He was being assured that Yahweh was with him in what he had been theoretically planning to do. And ‘you mighty man of valour’ confirmed that He had war in His mind, and that He felt that Gideon was just the man for it. Gideon would be of the wealthy landowning class. He had known that it was the responsibility of people like him to give a lead to the people, but he had not known how it could be done, or even that it could be done.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Jdg 6:12. And said unto him, the Lord is with thee The Targum translates it, the word of the Lord is thy help; which shews, that the ancient Jews looked upon this Angel as the LORD himself, and this is confirmed by the Targum translation of the following verse; Is the SCHECHINAH of the Lord our help? whence, then, hath all this happened unto us? a paraphrase, which shews that they took the word of the Lord to be the same with the Schechinah of the Lord.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
There is somewhat very striking in this short conversation; short as it is, it conveys much more than the mere words express. If this angel was, as the whole sense of the passage seems to intimate, the Lord Jesus, it is very true indeed, that the Lord was with him. The answer is also as striking: for according to the Chaldee reading of it, the words are, If the Shechinah, (the well known character of the promised seed of the Lord) be our help, why then is all this befallen us? Reader! remark how common it is in all ages for the Lord’s people to be a tried people. And Reader! add this other remark to the observation; if the Lord’s people be a sinning people, their offences shall be visited with rods. Psa 89:30-31 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Jdg 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.
Ver. 12. And the angel appeared unto him. ] As he was threshing. So God called Moses and David from following the ewes, Elisha from the ploughing, the apostles from fishing, washing, and mending their nets, &c. He usually appeared to the busy visions, like as Satan doth to the idle in manifold temptations.
Thou mighty man of valour.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Angel of the LORD = angel of Jehovah: i.e. the Covenant God “with” His servant (Gideon). Compare Jdg 6:20 = angel of Elohim, the Creator working a miracle for His creature.
mighty man. Hebrew. gibbor.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
the angel: Jdg 13:3, Luk 1:11, Luk 1:28
The Lord: Jdg 2:18, Exo 3:12, Jos 1:5, Jos 1:9, Rth 2:4, Mat 1:23, Mat 28:20, Luk 1:28, Act 18:9, Act 18:10
Reciprocal: Gen 21:20 – God Deu 20:1 – the Lord Jos 3:10 – among Jdg 1:19 – the Lord Jdg 6:16 – General Jdg 11:1 – a mighty 1Sa 10:7 – God 1Ki 13:18 – an angel 1Ch 22:18 – Is not 1Ch 26:6 – mighty men of valour 2Ch 17:3 – the Lord Job 29:5 – the Almighty Mat 4:18 – for Luk 2:9 – lo Joh 1:18 – he hath
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
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.