What does Judges 6:23 mean?

The Angel of the Lord has visited Gideon (Judges 6:11–12). The text strongly implies this is the Lord Himself in human form, manifesting in the appearance of a man, while not being a fully mortal person. Such an encounter is referred to as a Christophany, meaning an appearance of God the Son prior to His full incarnation as Jesus Christ.

Gideon was apparently not convinced that the stranger who commanded Him to save Israel from the Midianites (Judges 6:13–16) was truly God, or even from God. That changed when he saw the Man consume an entire meal with fire by touching it with His staff and then vanishing from view (Judges 6:17–22).

Rather than being encouraged to know God was on his side, Gideon immediately panicked. He had—or so he thought—seen the literal face of God Himself. According to Old Testament understanding, this was something no human could survive (Exodus 33:18–23). He assumes he is about to die. Instead, he hears the Lord's voice speaking encouragement. The Lord tells Gideon to set aside his anxiety: to see the face of a human form constructed by the Lord or His angel is different from viewing God's face in its unrestricted glory.