1JephThah, the Gileadite, was a mighty man, who was the son of Gilead by a whore. 2However, Gilead’s wife had also given birth to sons, and when they grew up, they drove JephThah out of the house, saying, ‘You aren’t going to receive an inheritance in the house of our father, because you’re the son of [his] mistress.’ 3So JephThah left his brothers and went to live in the land of Tob. And there a lot of worthless men started following JephThah and traveling with him. 4Well, when the children of AmMon prepared to fight against Israel, 5the elders at Gilead sent [messengers] to call JephThah from the land of Tob, 6saying, ‘Come and lead us in our fight against the sons of AmMon.’ 7But JephThah replied, ‘Aren’t you the ones who disliked me, drove me out of my father’s house, and banished me? So, how have you [the nerve] to call for me now?’ 8And the elders of Gilead said, ‘Well, we’ve now turned to you, and we’re asking you to lead us in battle against the sons of AmMon. Then you can be the head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.’ 9So JephThah told the elders of Gilead. ‘Okay, if you bring me back to fight against the children of AmMon and Jehovah hands them over to me; then I must be your leader.’ 10And the elders of Gilead replied, ‘Jehovah is our witness that we will do just as you said.’ 11So JephThah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him the head [of their army and their] ruler. Then JephThah prayed to Jehovah about this at MasSepha. 12And thereafter, he sent messengers to the king of the children of AmMon to ask, ‘What have I done to you, that you’ve come to fight against me and my land? 13And the king of the AmMonites told JephThah’s messengers, ‘Because Israel took away all our land from Arnon, to Jaboc, to the Jordan, when they came from Egypt. Now, return it peacefully and we’ll leave.’ 14Then JephThah sent messengers to the king of AmMon again, 15to tell him: ‘JephThah says that Israel didn’t just take the land of Moab or the land of the children of AmMon. 16For when we left Egypt, Israel traveled through the desert along the Red Sea until we got to Cades. 17And there Israel sent messengers to the king of Edom and asked if we could pass through their land, but the king of Edom wouldn’t allow us to do that… and Israel asked the same thing of the king of Moab, and he wouldn’t allow us [to cross his land]; so we stayed in Cades. 18And thereafter, we traveled through the desert and went around the lands of Edom and Moab. And when we got to the east side of Moab, we camped in the country on the other side of Arnon, and never crossed the borders of Moab (for Arnon is their border). 19‘Then Israel sent messengers to Seon (the king of the Amorites and the king of Esbon) to say: Please allow us cross your land to get to our land. 20But Seon didn’t trust Israel to pass through his land, so he gathered all his people to the camp at Jasa and set up battle lines against Israel. 21However, Jehovah the God of Israel gave Seon and all his people into the hands of Israel, and they them cut him down and inherited all the land of the Amorites who lived there, 22from Arnon to Jaboc, and from the desert to the Jordan.’ 23‘So, now that Jehovah the God of Israel has removed the Amorites [and given their land to] His people Israel, are you going to take it back? 24Why not accept the land that your god Chamosh has given you as your inheritance, and allow us to inherit all the land that our God Jehovah has taken from you? 25‘Are you any better than Balac (the son of SepPhor), the king of Moab? For, didn’t he fight with Israel and make war 26when Israel lived in and around EshEbone, and in the land of AroEr, and in all the cities around the Jordan for three hundred years? And just what [land] did you recover then? 27So now, I haven’t sinned against you, but you’re doing me wrong by preparing to war against me. May Jehovah our Judge serve as the judge between the children of Israel and the children of AmMon today!’ 28However, the king of the children of AmMon refused to listen to the words that JephThah sent to him. 29And Jehovah’s Breath settled upon JephThah, so he went up to Gilead (in ManasSeh), passed by its watchtower (as well as the children of AmMon), and went to the other side of the city. 30Then JephThah made a vow to Jehovah. He said, ‘If you’ll give the children of AmMon into my hands, 31then whoever is the first to come out of the door of my house to meet me when I return in peace after [conquering] the children of AmMon, must be Jehovah’s… I will offer him as a whole burnt offering.’ 32Then JephThah advanced to meet the sons of AmMon in battle, and Jehovah gave them into his hands. 33He cut them down all the way from AroEr to Arnon… twenty of their cities as far as Ebel Charmim. It was a huge destruction and the children of AmMon were conquered before the children of Israel. 34Then, when JephThah returned to his home in MasSepha, he saw his daughter coming out to meet him, dancing and shaking a tambourine. Well, she was his only child… for he didn’t have any other sons or daughters. 35And when he saw her, he ripped his clothes and shouted, ‘Oh no, my daughter! You’ve ruined me! Oh, I’m so sad, because I made a promise about you to Jehovah, and now I can’t change it.’ 36And she said: ‘Father, do to me whatever you’ve promised to Jehovah, for He has given you vengeance on our enemies, the children of AmMon.’ 37Then she said, ‘Father, I know that you must do this thing, but let me have two months as my friends and I travel through the mountains to wail over my virginity.’ 38And he said, ‘Then go.’ So he allowed her to leave for two months as she and her friends went into the mountains and cried over the fact that she was to remain a virgin. 39Well after two months, she returned to her father and he kept his vow concerning her, and she never [had sex with] a man. 40And it became a rule that the daughters of Israel were to go and cry over the daughter of JephThah (the Gileadite) for four days each year.
Jamieson Fausset Brown Bible Commentary 1 JEPHTHAH. (
Judg 11:1-
Judg 11:3)
Jephthah--"opener."
son of an harlot--a concubine, or foreigner; implying an inferior sort of marriage prevalent in Eastern countries. Whatever dishonor might attach to his birth, his own high and energetic character rendered him early a person of note.
Gilead begat Jephthah--His father seems to have belonged to the tribe of Manasseh (
1Chr 7:14,
1Chr 7:17).
2 Thou shalt not inherit in our father's house--As there were children by the legitimate wife, the son of the secondary one was not entitled to any share of the patrimony, and the prior claim of the others was indisputable. Hence, as the brothers of Jephthah seem to have resorted to rude and violent treatment, they must have been influenced by some secret ill-will.
3 Jephthah . . . dwelt in the land of Tob--on the north of Gilead, beyond the frontier of the Hebrew territories (
2Sam 10:6,
2Sam 10:8).
there were gathered vain men to Jephthah--idle, daring, or desperate.
and went out with him--followed him as a military chief. They led a freebooting life, sustaining themselves by frequent incursions on the Ammonites and other neighboring people, in the style of Robin Hood. The same kind of life is led by many an Arab or Tartar still, who as the leader of a band, acquires fame by his stirring or gallant adventures. It is not deemed dishonorable when the expeditions are directed against those out of his own tribe or nation. Jephthah's mode of life was similar to that of David when driven from the court of Saul.
4 THE GILEADITES COVENANT WITH JEPHTHAH. (
Judg 11:4-
Judg 11:11)
in process of time--on the return of the season.
the children of Ammon made war against Israel--Having prepared the way by the introduction of Jephthah, the sacred historian here resumes the thread of his narrative from
Judg 10:17. The Ammonites seem to have invaded the country, and active hostilities were inevitable.
5 the elders of Gilead went to fetch Jephthah--All eyes were directed towards him as the only person possessed of the qualities requisite for the preservation of the country in this time of imminent danger; and a deputation of the chief men was despatched from the Hebrew camp at Mizpeh to solicit his services.
7 Jephthah said, Did not ye hate me?--He gave them at first a haughty and cold reception. It is probable that he saw some of his brothers among the deputies. Jephthah was now in circumstances to make his own terms. With his former experience, he would have shown little wisdom or prudence without binding them to a clear and specific engagement to invest him with unlimited authority, the more especially as he was about to imperil his life in their cause. Although ambition might, to a certain degree, have stimulated his ready compliance, it is impossible to overlook the piety of his language, which creates a favorable impression that his roving life, in a state of social manners so different from ours, was not incompatible with habits of personal religion.
10 the elders of Israel said unto Jephthah, The Lord be witness between us--Their offer being accompanied by the most solemn oath, Jephthah intimated his acceptance of the mission, and his willingness to accompany them. But to make "assurance doubly sure," he took care that the pledge given by the deputies in Tob should be ratified in a general assembly of the people at Mizpeh; and the language of the historian, "Jephthah uttered all his words before the Lord," seems to imply that his inauguration with the character and extraordinary office of judge was solemnized by prayer for the divine blessing, or some religious ceremonial.
12 HIS EMBASSY TO THE KING OF AMMON. (Jdg. 11:12-28)
Jephthah sent messengers unto the king of the children of Ammon--This first act in his judicial capacity reflects the highest credit on his character for prudence and moderation, justice and humanity. The bravest officers have always been averse to war; so Jephthah, whose courage was indisputable, resolved not only to make it clearly appear that hostilities were forced upon him, but to try measures for avoiding, if possible, an appeal to arms: and in pursuing such a course he was acting as became a leader in Israel (
Deut 20:10-
Deut 20:18).
13 the king of Ammon . . ., Because Israel took away my land--(See on
Deut 2:19). The subject of quarrel was a claim of right advanced by the Ammonite monarch to the lands which the Israelites were occupying. Jephthah's reply was clear, decisive, and unanswerable;--first, those lands were not in the possession of the Ammonites when his countrymen got them, and that they had been acquired by right of conquest from the Amorites [
Judg 11:21]; secondly, the Israelites had now, by a lapse of three hundred years of undisputed possession, established a prescriptive right to the occupation [
Judg 11:22-
Judg 11:23]; and thirdly, having received a grant of them from the Lord, his people were entitled to maintain their right on the same principle that guided the Ammonites in receiving, from their god Chemosh, the territory they now occupied [
Judg 11:24]. This diplomatic statement, so admirable for the clearness and force of its arguments, concluded with a solemn appeal to God to maintain, by the issue of events, the cause of right and justice [
Judg 11:27].
28 Howbeit the king of the children of Ammon hearkened not unto the words of Jephthah--His remonstrances to the aggressor were disregarded, and war being inevitable, preparations were made for a determined resistance.
29 HIS VOW. (
Judg 11:29-
Judg 11:31)
Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah--The calm wisdom, sagacious forethought, and indomitable energy which he was enabled to display, were a pledge to himself and a convincing evidence to his countrymen, that he was qualified by higher resources than his own for the momentous duties of his office.
he passed over Gilead, and Manasseh--the provinces most exposed and in danger, for the purpose of levying troops, and exciting by his presence a widespread interest in the national cause. Returning to the camp at Mizpeh, he then began his march against the enemy. There he made his celebrated vow, in accordance with an ancient custom for generals at the outbreak of a war, or on the eve of a battle, to promise the god of their worship a costly oblation, or dedication of some valuable booty, in the event of victory. Vows were in common practice also among the Israelites. They were encouraged by the divine approval as emanating from a spirit of piety and gratitude; and rules were laid down in the law for regulating the performance. But it is difficult to bring Jephthah's vow within the legitimate range (see on
Lev 27:28).
31 whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me--This evidently points not to an animal, for that might have been a dog; which, being unclean, was unfit to be offered; but to a person, and it looks extremely as if he, from the first, contemplated a human sacrifice. Bred up as he had been, beyond the Jordan, where the Israelitish tribes, far from the tabernacle, were looser in their religious sentiments, and living latterly on the borders of a heathen country where such sacrifices were common, it is not improbable that he may have been so ignorant as to imagine that a similar immolation would be acceptable to God. His mind, engrossed with the prospect of a contest, on the issue of which the fate of his country depended, might, through the influence of superstition, consider the dedication of the object dearest to him the most likely to ensure success.
shall surely be the Lord's; and [or] I will offer it up for a burnt offering--The adoption of the latter particle, which many interpreters suggest, introduces the important alternative, that if it were a person, the dedication would be made to the service of the sanctuary; if a proper animal or thing, it would be offered on the altar.
32 HE OVERCOMES THE AMMONITES. (
Judg 11:32-
Judg 11:33)
Jephthah passed over unto the children of Ammon . . . and the Lord delivered them into his hands--He met and engaged them at Aroer, a town in the tribe of Gad, upon the Arnon. A decisive victory crowned the arms of Israel, and the pursuit was continued to Abel (plain of the vineyards), from south to north, over an extent of about sixty miles.
34 Jephthah came to Mizpeh unto his house, and, behold, his daughter came out to meet him with timbrels and with dances--The return of the victors was hailed, as usual, by the joyous acclaim of a female band (
1Sam 18:6), the leader of whom was Jephthah's daughter. The vow was full in his mind, and it is evident that it had not been communicated to anyone, otherwise precautions would doubtless have been taken to place another object at his door. The shriek, and other accompaniments of irrepressible grief, seem to indicate that her life was to be forfeited as a sacrifice; the nature of the sacrifice (which was abhorrent to the character of God) and distance from the tabernacle does not suffice to overturn this view, which the language and whole strain of the narrative plainly support; and although the lapse of two months might be supposed to have afforded time for reflection, and a better sense of his duty, there is but too much reason to conclude that he was impelled to the fulfilment by the dictates of a pious but unenlightened conscience.