Judg 6:11 | NETfull | STEP | The Lord ’s angelic messenger came and sat down under the oak tree in Ophrah owned by Joash the Abiezrite. He arrived while Joash’s son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress so he could hide it from the Midianites.

Judges 6:11

Gideon Meets Some Visitors

11 The Lord’s angelic messenger ^{▼▼ The adjective “angelic” is interpretive.} ^{▼▼ The Lord’s angelic messenger is also mentioned in Judg 2:1.} came and sat down under the oak tree in Ophrah owned by Joash the Abiezrite. He arrived while Joash’s son Gideon ^{▼▼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.} was threshing ^{▼▼Heb “beating out.”} wheat in a winepress ^{▼▼ 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.} so he could hide it from the Midianites. ^{▼▼Heb “Midian.”}