Nervous fugitive

After Gideon heard the angel speak "the LORD is with you..." he was probably thinking "WHAT?!...Here in this winepress secretely reaping this harvest so that His people won't starve and hiding in fear of the Midianites?"

'Mighty Warrior' (Gibbor hayil) was a term used to describe a group of noblemen famed for their abilities in battle. Hardly a greeting for a guy hiding in a winepress in fear for his life!

Mighty warriors / Mighty men _ was the term used for the heroic companions of David [a little after Gideon, but you'll get the idea!]. There was Jashobeam a Hacmonite who killed 300 men (with a spear!) in one fight; Eleazar son of Dodai who was with David in the stand of Pas Dammin (sounds impressive!); Abishai the brother of Joab who also killed 300 men in one go; Benaiah son of Jehoiada who went down into a pit on a snowy day and killed a lion!

Gideon wasn't known for his achievements on the battlefield or his abilities in politics.

He was a nervous fugitive.

The rabbis didn't teach that Gideon was a brave man.

Love you x