Verse Lens · Expanded explanation
Judges 6:26 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 26. 26And build an altar unto the LORD thy God upon the top of this rock, in the ordered place, and take the second bullock, and offer a burnt sacrifice with the wood of the grove which thou shalt cut down.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
This verse orders a proper altar and burnt offering using the cut cultic wood.
Read It With
- Judges 6:25–32
Read Judges 6:25–32 together. This verse orders a proper altar and burnt offering using the cut cultic wood. The night command, altar destruction, new sacrifice, town investigation, demand for Gideon's death, Joash's defense, and Jerubbaal naming form one household-town confrontation; verse 33 gathers the raiding coalition.
Why This Verse Appears Here
Before public battle, the story locates covenant conflict inside Gideon's own household and town, while his fear and Joash's intervention keep the act from becoming a simple lone-hero template. Within that movement, orders a proper altar and burnt offering using the cut cultic wood.
Read Judges 6:25–32 together
Why these verses belong together: The night command, altar destruction, new sacrifice, town investigation, demand for Gideon's death, Joash's defense, and Jerubbaal naming form one household-town confrontation; verse 33 gathers the raiding coalition.
Verse 25. 25 And it came to pass the same night, that the LORD said unto him, Take thy father’s young bullock, even the second bullock of seven years old, and throw down the altar of Baal that thy father hath, and cut down the grove that is by it:
Verse 26. 26 And build an altar unto the LORD thy God upon the top of this rock, in the ordered place, and take the second bullock, and offer a burnt sacrifice with the wood of the grove which thou shalt cut down.
Verse 27. 27 Then Gideon took ten men of his servants, and did as the LORD had said unto him: and so it was, because he feared his father’s household, and the men of the city, that he could not do it by day, that he did it by night.
Verse 28. 28 And when the men of the city arose early in the morning, behold, the altar of Baal was cast down, and the grove was cut down that was by it, and the second bullock was offered upon the altar that was built.
Verse 29. 29 And they said one to another, Who hath done this thing? And when they enquired and asked, they said, Gideon the son of Joash hath done this thing.
Verse 30. 30 Then the men of the city said unto Joash, Bring out thy son, that he may die: because he hath cast down the altar of Baal, and because he hath cut down the grove that was by it.
Verse 31. 31 And Joash said unto all that stood against him, Will ye plead for Baal? will ye save him? he that will plead for him, let him be put to death whilst it is yet morning: if he be a god, let him plead for himself, because one hath cast down his altar.
Verse 32. 32 Therefore on that day he called him Jerubbaal, saying, Let Baal plead against him, because he hath thrown down his altar.
Follow the Context
- The LORD commands Gideon to dismantle his father's cult installation and build an orderly altar.
- Gideon obeys at night with ten servants because he fears his household and town.
- The town seeks execution, but Joash challenges Baal to plead for himself and Gideon receives a polemical name.
Phrase-by-Phrase Explanation
“And build an altar unto the LORD thy God upon the top of this rock, in…”
In plain language: orders a proper altar and burnt offering using the cut cultic wood
Gideon destroys his father's Baal altar and Asherah by night, builds an altar to the LORD, and offers his father's bull with the cut wood. Townsmen demand his death, but Joash argues Baal should defend himself, giving Gideon the name Jerubbaal. Within that movement, this wording orders a proper altar and burnt offering using the cut cultic wood.
Why it matters: This wording carries a material narrative, textual, historical, violence, vulnerable-person, land, leadership, or misuse boundary.
How certain? probableWhat This Verse Is Not Saying
Judges 6:26 does not stand alone from 6:25–32. The altar destruction does not authorize vandalizing other religions' property today. Its verse-specific role is: orders a proper altar and burnt offering using the cut cultic wood.
What Remains True
Orders a proper altar and burnt offering using the cut cultic wood. Reform often begins near home and can provoke real danger, but ancient covenant iconoclasm is not a license for modern private destruction.
How It Can Shape Life
- Because Judges 6:26 orders a proper altar and burnt offering using the cut cultic wood, challenge harmful practices within one's own institution through lawful, accountable processes and protect people from retaliatory violence.
Teach It Back
Explain Judges 6:26's precise role in Judges 6:25–32. Include the scene's ancient covenant setting, one material uncertainty, the affected people, and one conclusion or violent imitation the context does not authorize.
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Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read Judges 6:25–32 — Gideon tears down his household's Baal altarSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? probable
Where care is needed
The exact cult installation, relation of the bulls, Joash's own allegiance, and the name Jerubbaal are discussed differently. The narrative's polemic and lethal social risk are explicit.
The bull descriptions and altar-location phrase have textual and syntactical questions. The household ownership, nocturnal fear, and town's capital demand remain clear.
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact reader-facing Scripture wording, paragraph markers, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage.
Exact location: Judges 6:25–32, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Judges
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording, morphology, names, clause relationships, repeated terms, wordplays, and translation control.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Judg.xml, 6:25–32
Open source ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible: Judges with translators' notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2006
Supports: Verse-level translation, syntax, textual, poetic, geographical, social, and uncertainty notes.
Exact location: NET Bible Judges PDF, printed pp. 461-463, translation and notes on 6:25–32
Open source ↗