Bible Strands
Judges 6:39
Then Gideon said to God, “Do not be angry with me; let me speak one more time. Please allow me one more test with the fleece. This time let it be dry, and the ground covered with dew.”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Gideon speaks to God immediately after God fulfills his first sign of a wet fleece and dry ground.
The words — The Hebrew phrase אַל־יִחַר אַפְּךָ ('al-yiḥar 'appekha) literally renders "may not burn your anger," functioning as a plea to restrain divine wrath. Gideon's follow-up request uses וַאֲדַבֶּרָה (wa'ădabbērāh), meaning "and let me speak," to frame a second conditional test.
The thread — This exact phrasing "May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak" parallels Abraham’s intercession in Genesis 18:32. The surrounding context of moisture manipulation also connects to Psalms 107:33 and Isaiah 50:2.
Why it lands — The text records a leader demanding repeated empirical proof before acting, and God grants it without rebuke. The reader must observe how divine patience accommodates conditional faith while maintaining sovereign control over the outcome.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And Gideon said unto God, Let not thine anger be hot against me, and I will speak but this once: let me prove, I pray thee, but this once with the fleece; let it now be dry only upon the fleece, and upon all the ground let there be dew.
Cross-references
- Genesis 18:32 Finally, Abraham said, “May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak once more. Suppose ten are found there?” And He answered, “On account of the ten, I will not destroy it.”
- Psalms 107:33 He turns rivers into deserts, springs of water into thirsty ground,
- Isaiah 50:2 Why was no one there when I arrived? Why did no one answer when I called? Is My hand too short to redeem you? Or do I lack the strength to deliver you? Behold, My rebuke dries up the sea; I turn the rivers into a desert; the fish rot for lack of water and die of thirst.
- Matthew 21:43 Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit.
- Isaiah 35:6 Then the lame will leap like a deer and the mute tongue will shout for joy. For waters will gush forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert.
- Isaiah 43:19 Behold, I am about to do something new; even now it is coming. Do you not see it? Indeed, I will make a way in the wilderness and streams in the desert.
- Matthew 8:12 But the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
- Acts 13:46 Then Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly: “It was necessary to speak the word of God to you first. But since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles.
- Romans 11:12 But if their trespass means riches for the world, and their failure means riches for the Gentiles, how much greater riches will their fullness bring!
- Acts 22:21 Then He said to me, ‘Go! I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’”