Judges 6:24-27

6:24 Gideon built an altar for the Lord there, and named it “The Lord is on friendly terms with me.” ¹  To this day it is still there in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

Gideon Destroys the Altar

6:25 That night the Lord said to him, “Take the bull from your father’s herd, as well as a second bull, one that is seven years old. ²  Pull down your father’s Baal altar and cut down the nearby Asherah pole. 6:26 Then build an altar for the Lord your God on the top of this stronghold according to the proper pattern. ³  Take the second bull and offer it as a burnt sacrifice on the wood from the Asherah pole that you cut down.” 6:27 So Gideon took ten of his servants ⁴  and did just as the Lord had told him. He was too afraid of his father’s family ⁵  and the men of the city to do it in broad daylight, so he waited until nighttime. ⁶ 

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¹ tn Heb “The Lord is peace.” Gideon’s name for the altar plays on the Lord’s reassuring words to him, “Peace to you.”

² tn Or “Take a bull from your father’s herd, the second one, the one seven years old.” Apparently Gideon would need the bulls to pull down the altar.

³ tn Possibly “in a row” or “in a layer,” perhaps referring to the arrangement of the stones used in the altar’s construction.

⁴ tn Heb “men from among his servants.”

⁵ tn Heb “house.”

⁶ tn Heb “so he did it at night.”