Notes
6:36–40. In these verses Gideon bids fair to assume
complete command, but demands from the deity some further proof that he had
really meant what he had said in the enlistment interview. The pericope picks
up a theme that had been succintly introduced at the end of Gideon’s first
interview, when Yahweh had said, “I will wait” (vs. 18). Cf. Jephthah’s vow
(11:29–31 and Note on 11:30).
36. to God.
Notice the complete absence of the divine name in this pericope, which uses
exclusively the generic noun ʾelōhīm.
Like the great E source stratum of
the Tetrateuch, this pericope displays a heightened interest in the miraculous.
This is often regarded as the first clear E
pericope to be encountered in the book, but the criterion of divine names
cannot be pressed very far in this case. Cassuto’s recognition of the
subjective use of Elohim heightens the impression that is clear on other
grounds; Gideon is now exploiting God. See Note on vs. 14.
37. will
acknowledge. The careful placement of this unit within the Gideon
collection is a clue to the covenantal semantics of the Heb. ydʿ (lit. “know,” “acknowledge”). See Note
on 2:10.
38. bowl. Heb. śēpel, as in 5:25.
39. Do not let your
wrath blaze … let me speak just once more. There is a nearly verbatim
parallel to this petition in Gen 18:32, which is part of a J story, as pointed out to me by Freedman.
40. God meant what he had said. But on the basis of this
assurance Gideon took to the field with a vast army; God had other expectations
for Gideon.
Comment
That rain can fall in one place and, miraculously, leave
the surrounding area dry is a frequent motif in legends of saints (as noted by
Gaster in MLC, pp. 419–20, 530–31).
At this point the depiction of the judges period begins
to resemble the modern theater of the absurd. Gideon had exploited his sober
judicial responsibility by seeking a superfluous divine “yes” or “no” before
battle. The audience of course knows, in general, that what is to follow is a
sparkling account of Yahweh’s victory, without Gideon or anyone else actually
fighting, at first.
With the physical properties of fleece lying exposed
overnight on bare rock, the differentials of condensation and evaporation
necessary to give rise to the story are entirely understandable; fishermen
living on one of the streamless and springless Desert Islands have obtained
sufficient water for their livelihood by spreading out fleece in the evening
and wringing dew from them in the morning (S. Tolkowsky, Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society, 3 [1923], 197–99). The
true miracle is the reverse of the process, and that’s what young Gideon had
required. (Robert G. Boling, Judges: Introduction, Translation,
and Commentary [AYB 6A; New Haven: Yale University Press, 208], 140-41)
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