14
YHWHיְהוָהturnedוַיִּפֶןto himאֵלָיוand said,וַיֹּאמֶר“Goלֵךְin thisזֶהstrength of yoursבְּכֹחֲךָand saveוְהוֹשַׁעְתָּIsraelאֶת יִשְׂרָאֵלfrom the handמִכַּףof Midian.מִדְיָןHave I notהֲלֹאsent you?”שְׁלַחְתִּיךָ
Judges 6:14
Study it in the app“YHWH turned to him and said, “Go in this strength of yours and save Israel from the hand of Midian. Have I not sent you?””
The angel calls Gideon “valiant warrior”, though he sees himself as the least in his houseCourage
With the Hebrew beneath
Judges 6:14, word by word
- YHWHיְהוָהyehva
YHWH
The personal name of the God of Israel, written in Hebrew with four letters, Y-H-W-H, without vowels. Out of reverence Jews stopped pronouncing it and read "Adonai" (Lord), so many Bibles put "the LORD" or "Jehovah". This translation keeps the four letters. The name is related to the verb "to be" (Exodus 3:14-15). He is not a god other than Elohim: "YHWH Elohim" is the same Creator God, called by his name.
Where else “yehva” appears- turnedיִּפֶןyifen
turn
To turn toward something, someone or God.
Where else “yifen” appears- and saidיֹּאמֶרyomer
say
To say with the mouth to someone what one thinks or wants, or to answer him.
Where else “yomer” appears- “Goלֵךְlech
go
To head for a place, to leave where one is in order to reach another.
Where else “lech” appears- strength of yoursכֹחֲchoach
strength
Ability to do something: bodily strength or power to command.
Where else “choach” appears- and saveהוֹשַׁעְתָּhoshata
save
To rescue someone from danger.
Where else “hoshata” appears- Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyisrael
Israel
Israel, the new name Jacob received from God, explained as "you have striven with God" (Genesis 32:28); then the name of the people that came from him and, after the division, of the northern kingdom.
Where else “yisrael” appears- from the handכַּףkaf
palm
The flat, hollow part of the hand; also what someone does or can do with it.
Where else “kaf” appears- of Midianמִדְיָןmidyan
Midian
See it on the mapWhere else “midyan” appears- sent youשְׁלַחְתִּיshelachti
send
To send someone or something.
Where else “shelachti” appears
Translation note
Up to here it is “the angel of YHWH” who speaks; from here on the text says that “YHWH” speaks. The text does not explain the difference (compare Exodus 3:2-4).
Places in this verse
Midian ?
Today: northwest Saudi Arabia, southern Jordan; debated
A region east of the Gulf of Aqaba, in what is now northwest Saudi Arabia; its borders are not certain.
Moses fled to Midian, married there and tended sheep (Exod 2:15-21). Centuries later the Midianites oppressed Israel until Gideon defeated them (Judg 6:1; 7:21).
The context
13Gideon said to him, “Pardon, my lord, if YHWH is with us, why has all this found us? And where are all his wonders that our fathers recounted to us, saying, ‘Did not YHWH bring us up from Egypt?’ But now YHWH has abandoned us and given us into the hand of Midian.”
14 · This verse (above)
15He said to him, “Pardon, Adonai, with what shall I save Israel? Look, my thousand is the poorest in Manasseh, and I am the least in the house of my father.”