What Does Judges 6:15 Mean?
And he said to him, Oh my lord, with what shall I deliver Israel? Look, my clan is emptied in Manasseh, and I am the smallest in my father's house.
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
And he said unto him, Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.THE KEY
The word “save” names a way out, while the speaker’s low standing says nothing about whether that way can open.
THE MEANING
This verse meets the reader when a task feels larger than their place in a family or community. The word translated “save” carries the sense of deliverance, of being brought out into safety, while the speaker names how low he sees his standing. The tension remains alive wherever smallness feels like proof that no opening can come through you.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the belief that a low place in a family or community disqualifies someone from becoming a point through which deliverance moves.
THE ROOT
אוֹשִׁיעַ
ʾôšîaʿ
GROWS FROM
י־שׁ־ע
y-š-ʿ
To deliver and bring into safety; deliverance opens a way out of constriction.
“deliver” in this verse is ʾôšîaʿ. The English “save” can sound like preventing loss or rescuing from danger; this root opens a movement out of constriction into safety and room. Gideon’s question is about deliverance as an opening for Israel, even as he names his own small place.
ALSO GROWS
yeshuah: Deliverance
יְשׁוּעָה
The noun from this root names the deliverance Gideon asks about as something that can be experienced, not merely an idea.
moshia: Deliverer
מוֹשִׁיעַ
This branch names the one who brings deliverance, connecting the act of bringing Israel out with the person through whom it comes.
הַדַּל
ha-dal
GROWS FROM
ד־ל־ל
d-l-l
To be low, weak, or reduced.
Here “poor” describes the clan as low or weak in standing; it need not mean lacking money. The root gives the verse a picture of diminished stature, echoed by Gideon’s own claim to be the least in his father’s house.
ALSO GROWS
dal: Low, weak, or poor
דַּל
This adjective describes the clan’s reduced standing that Gideon sees as a reason Israel’s deliverance cannot come through him.
dallut: Poverty or low condition
דַּלּוּת
This related noun makes the root’s image of diminished condition visible beneath the English word “poor.”
הַצָּעִיר
ha-tsa'ir
GROWS FROM
צ־ע־ר
ṣ-ʿ-r
To be small, young, or insignificant.
“least” in this verse is ha-tsa'ir. The Hebrew word can carry both smallness and youth, so the speaker’s claim holds more than a rank in the household. Alongside his clan’s low standing, he sees himself as the small one within his own family.
ALSO GROWS
tsa'ir: Young, small, or least
צָעִיר
This is the word describing Gideon’s place in his father’s house, joining low rank with the sense of being small.
mits'ar: A little one or a small amount
מִצְעָר
This related form keeps the root’s scale of smallness in view, sharpening the contrast between Gideon’s self-estimate and the deliverance he asks about.
THE PATTERN
A person’s stated inadequacy does not define the reach of the deliverance they are summoned to carry.
And Moses said to God, Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?Then I said, Ah, Lord LORD! Look, I do not know how to speak, for I am a youth.And he said to me, "My favor is enough for you, for strength is carried to its end in weakness." Most gladly, then, I will boast all the more in my weaknesses, so that the strength of the Anointed One may pitch its tent over me.THE THREAD
And Moses said to the people, Do not fear, take your stand, and see the deliverance of the LORD, which he will do for you today; for the Egyptians whom you have seen today, you will never see them again for the ages.Judges uses the verb yasha, “deliver,” while Exodus uses yeshuah, “deliverance”; both grow from the same root. The phrase “see the salvation” opens Gideon’s question further: deliverance comes into view as a way out, even when the person asking feels small.
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