Jehovah-Shalom: the Lord is peace (Judges 6)

Jehovah-Shalom means “Jehovah is peace”. It is the name Gideon gave to an altar he built at Ophrah, after the angel of Jehovah appeared to him, called him to deliver Israel from Midian, and then, when Gideon feared he would die for having seen him, said “Peace be unto thee.” Like the other compound names, it is a phrase of confession attached to a particular place and event, not a separate name to be recited. The Hebrew word shalom means far more than the absence of war: it is wholeness, soundness, welfare, and a right relationship with God and others. English spellings of the phrase vary only slightly, but readers will find Shalom, Shalum and Salom in older works, since Hebrew transliteration is not fixed. The King James Version prints “Jehovah–shalom” at Judges 6:24, one of the seven places it prints the name in full. Christians hear the name reach its fullest meaning in Jesus, who gives a peace the world cannot give.

Gideon in the winepress

Judges 6 opens in a dark time. Israel has again turned from the Lord, and for seven years the Midianites and their allies have swept in at harvest and stripped the land. The people hide in caves. Gideon, of the clan of Abiezer, is threshing wheat inside a winepress, out of sight, when a visitor sits down under the oak nearby:

And the angel of Jehovah appeared unto him, and said unto him, Jehovah is with thee, thou mighty man of valor.

— Judges 6:12 (ASV)

The greeting sounds almost like irony. Gideon is hiding, and he answers with a complaint: if Jehovah is with us, why has all this happened? The Lord does not argue. He sends him: “Go in this thy might, and save Israel.” Gideon protests that his clan is the weakest in Manasseh and he the least in his family. He asks for a sign, and brings an offering of meat and bread. The angel touches it with his staff, fire consumes it, and the angel vanishes.

Afraid he would die

Only then does Gideon understand whom he has been talking to:

And Gideon saw that he was the angel of Jehovah; and Gideon said, Alas, O Lord Jehovah! forasmuch as I have seen the angel of Jehovah face to face.

— Judges 6:22 (ASV)

His fear rests on a real biblical conviction: sinful people cannot see God and live. The answer comes as a word of grace:

And Jehovah said unto him, Peace be unto thee; fear not: thou shalt not die.

— Judges 6:23 (ASV)

Gideon responds by building an altar and giving it a name that turns the word he has just heard into praise:

Then Gideon built an altar there unto the Lord, and called it Jehovah–shalom: unto this day it is yet in Ophrah of the Abi–ezrites.

— Judges 6:24 (KJV)

Notice the order. Peace is given before Gideon has done anything brave. The same night he is told to pull down his father’s altar to Baal, and the battles come later. Peace with God is the ground of his calling, not its reward.

What shalom means

Brown, Driver and Briggs define shalom as completeness, soundness and welfare, and then peace in the sense of friendship and quiet. When Joseph asks his brothers whether their father is well, the Hebrew asks after his shalom. When Israelites greeted one another, they wished one another shalom, as many still do. The word describes life as God intends it: nothing missing, nothing broken, nothing at enmity.

That is why the priestly blessing, which God himself gave Aaron to speak over Israel, ends with this word:

Jehovah bless thee, and keep thee: Jehovah make his face to shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: Jehovah lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.

— Numbers 6:24-26 (ASV)

The blessing climbs through keeping, grace and the favour of God’s face, and arrives at peace as its summit. For the prophets, the coming king would be the Prince of Peace, and his reign would bring shalom without end.

The peace Christ gives

On the night before his death Jesus spoke to frightened disciples in words that echo the scene at Ophrah:

Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled; do not be afraid.

— John 14:27 (BSB)

After his resurrection, his first word to them was “Peace be with you.” Paul explains how this peace is secured:

Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

— Romans 5:1 (BSB)

Gideon feared death because he had seen the Lord. The gospel answers that fear at its root: through Christ, sinners may come near to God and not die. Paul can also say of Christ, “He Himself is our peace”, because he reconciles people to God and to one another.

Seeking peace in practice

The name offers a way of living, not only a doctrine.

First, peace with God comes before the peace of God. The quiet heart the New Testament describes grows from reconciliation, not from technique. Paul’s instruction to bring every anxiety to God in prayer with thanksgiving rests on that foundation.

Second, peace and obedience travel together. Gideon’s first act after naming the altar was costly obedience at home. Peace is not the avoidance of every hard duty.

Third, peace is often given through other people. The church is meant to be a community where shalom is practised: wrongs forgiven, needs met, strangers welcomed. If anxiety or distress becomes persistent or overwhelming, it is wise to speak to a doctor as well as to a pastor; seeking help is not a lack of faith. For the Lord who heals, see Jehovah-Rapha.

Where Christians differ

Christians agree that peace is God’s gift and that it comes to its fullness in Christ. They differ over the identity of the angel of Jehovah. Many early church writers and many Reformed interpreters see in these appearances the Son of God before his incarnation, since the angel speaks as Jehovah and receives worship. Others hold that he is a created angel who speaks with God’s authority. Christians also weigh differently the personal and the social sides of shalom. This site holds both: peace with God first, and then peace worked out among neighbours.

For reflection

Read Judges 6 and John 14 together. If you are hiding, like Gideon in the winepress, bring your fear honestly to God in prayer. Speak the words of Numbers 6 over someone you love. Then read Jehovah-Nissi and the seven places the KJV prints JEHOVAH, and find a congregation where the peace of Christ is both preached and shared.

References

Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), entry shalom.
Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: Joshua, Judges, Ruth (English translation, 1865).
Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710), on Judges 6.
The Heidelberg Catechism (1563).
The Preface to the American Standard Version (1901).