Discovery BoxJudges 6:11 
Context6:11 The Lord’s angelic messenger 1 came and sat down under the oak tree in Ophrah owned by Joash the Abiezrite. He arrived while Joash’s son Gideon 2 was threshing 3 wheat in a winepress 4 so he could hide it from the Midianites. 5
Judges 6:24
Context6:24 Gideon built an altar for the Lord there, and named it “The Lord is on friendly terms with me.” 6 To this day it is still there in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.
Judges 6:34
Context6:34 The Lord’s spirit took control of 7 Gideon. He blew a trumpet, 8 summoning the Abiezrites to follow him. 9
1 tn The adjective “angelic” is interpretive.
sn The
2 tn Heb “Now Gideon his son…” The Hebrew circumstantial clause (note the pattern vav [ו] + subject + predicate) breaks the narrative sequence and indicates that the angel’s arrival coincided with Gideon’s threshing.
3 tn Heb “beating out.”
4 sn Threshing wheat in a winepress. One would normally thresh wheat at the threshing floor outside the city. Animals and a threshing sledge would be employed. Because of the Midianite threat, Gideon was forced to thresh with a stick in a winepress inside the city. For further discussion see O. Borowski, Agriculture in Iron Age Israel, 63.
5 tn Heb “Midian.”
6 tn Heb “The
7 tn Heb “clothed.”
8 tn That is, “mustered an army.”
9 tn Heb “Abiezer was summoned after him.”
