Judges 6:21

Jdg 6:21 Then the angel of the LORD put forth the end of the staff that [was] in his hand, and touched the flesh and the unleavened cakes; and there rose up fire out of the rock, and consumed the flesh and the unleavened cakes. Then the angel of the LORD departed out of his sight.

Ver. 21. And there rose up fire out of the rock.] Here was a sign that the Midianites should be destroyed without man’s labour. Christ, as he is Piorum rupes, a rock of refuge to the godly, so he is Reorum scopulus, a rock of revenge to dash the impenitent to pieces, as Valerius Maximus saith of the tribunal of L. Cassius, a rock sending out fire, as here. {a}

{a} As once water came out of a rock. {Exo 17:6}

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Jdg 6:21-24. There rose up fire out of the rock, and consumed the flesh — By which he showed himself not to be a man that needed such provisions, but the Son of God; and by this instance of his omnipotency, gave him assurance that he both could and would consume the Midianites. Alas, O Lord God — I am an undone man: I must die, and that speedily; for that he feared, (Jdg 6:23,) according to the common opinion in that case. The Lord said unto him — Perhaps by an audible voice, for it does not seem as if the angel spoke these words; Peace be to thee — Thou shalt receive no hurt by this vision, but only peace; that is, all the blessings needful for thy own happiness, and for the present work. Gideon built an altar there — On the top of the rock, as is evident from Jdg 6:26, where that which is here expressed only in general, is more particularly described. Jehovah-shalom — That is, the Lord’s peace; the sign or witness of God’s speaking peace to me, and to his people: or the place where he spake peace to me, when I expected nothing but destruction.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

By the power of God only, as in the sacrifice of [Elijah], 1 Kings 18:38.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Verse 21. The angel - put forth the end of the staff] He appeared like a traveller with a staff in his hand; this he put forth, and having touched the flesh, fire rose out of the rock and consumed it. Here was the most evident proof of supernatural agency.

Then the angel - departed out of his sight.] Though the angel vanished out of his sight, yet God continued to converse with him either by secret inspiration in his own heart, or by an audible voice.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(21) The staff that was in his hand.—The ordinary accompaniment of an Eastern traveller (Gen_32:10; Mat_10:10).

There rose up fire.—The common sign of God’s presence and of His acceptance of an offering. (See Lev_9:24; 1Ki_18:24; 1Ch_21:26; 2Ch_7:1.) Water is brought out of the rock for the blessing of man, and fire to show the presence of God.

Departed.—It is not said, as in Jdg_13:20, that he ascended in the flame.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

21. fire … and consumed] The food intended for a meal is converted into a sacrifice, and supernatural fire betokens the divine acceptance; cf. Jdg_13:20, 1Ki_18:38, 2Ch_7:1, Lev_9:24, 2Ma_2:10.

and the angel of the Lord departed] But in Jdg_6:23 Jehovah is still present and speaks to Gideon. Perhaps some distinction was felt at this point between Jehovah and the Angel of Jehovah; the partial manifestation was withdrawn, Jehovah Himself remained. Moore’s suggestion that these words were inserted on the analogy of Jdg_13:20 seems hardly necessary.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And when Gideon perceived he was an angel of the Lord,.... By the miracle wrought, and the manner of his departure:

Gideon said, alas! O Lord God; woe to me, what will become of me, or befall me, I shall surely die:

for because I have seen an angel of the Lord face to face; and whom he had reason to believe was the Lord himself, a divine Person, by the miracle wrought; and it was a commonly received notion even among good men, in those times, that the Lord was not to be seen by them and live, as appears from Jacob, Manoah, and others; at least the appearance of a divine Person, and even of any messenger from heaven, was startling, surprising, and frightful to them; which arose from a sense they had of the divine Being, and of their own sinfulness and frailty.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

By these things he showed himself to be no man that needed such provisions, but a true angel of God, or the Son of God; and by this instance of his omnipotency, gave the assurance that he both could and would consume the Midianites.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

21. The staff that was in his hand — Hitherto the Angel had appeared like a wayfaring man.

Fire out of the rock — Most startling and impressive miracle, showing beyond all possibility of doubt that this was indeed Jehovah’s Angel.

Departed out of his sight — Vanished. “The expression does not warrant the assumption that time Angel ascended to heaven in this instance, as in Jdg_13:20, in time flame of the sacrifice.” — Keil.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

There rose up fire, etc. The consuming of the sacrifice by fire from heaven was the token of its being accepted. (cf. Jud_1:13:20, 23 1Ki_18:23, 1Ki_18:33, 38 1Ch_21:26) The angel of the Lord departed, etc. In the very similar case of the angel who appeared to Manoah, (Jud 13:15-20) the angel ascended in the flame of the altar. It is probable that he did so in the present instance, though it is not expressly stated how he disappeared. (cf. Act_8:39)

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Consumed the flesh - By which, he shewed himself to be no man that needed such provisions, but the Son of God; and by this instance of his omnipotency, gave him assurance, that he both could, and would consume the Midianites.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

angel

(See Scofield "Heb 1:4").

The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

angel of Yahweh

In Jdg 6:11-24 Yahweh appears to Gideon in the form of an angel. See how you translated this in Judges 6:11.

went away

"disappeared"

translationWords

angel

Yahweh

staff

hand

flesh

unleavened bread

fire

consume

Gideon

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.