1And Jephthah the Gileadite hath been a mighty man of valour, and he is son of a woman, a harlot; and Gilead begetteth Jephthah, 2and the wife of Gilead beareth to him sons, and the wife's sons grow up and cast out Jephthah, and say to him, "Thou dost not inherit in the house of our father; for son of another woman art thou." 3And Jephthah fleeth from the face of his brethren, and dwelleth in the land of Tob; and vain men gather themselves together unto Jephthah, and they go out with him. 4And it cometh to pass, after a time, that the Bene-Ammon fight with Israel, 5and it cometh to pass, when the Bene-Ammon have fought with Israel, that the elders of Gilead go to take Jephthah from the land of Tob; 6and they say unto Jephthah, "Come, and thou hast been to us for captain, and we fight against the Bene-Ammon." 7And Jephthah saith to the elders of Gilead, "Have not ye hated me? and ye cast me out from the house of my father, and wherefore have ye come unto me now when ye are in distress?" 8and the elders of Gilead say unto Jephthah, "Therefore, now, we have turned back unto thee; and thou hast gone with us, and fought against the Bene-Ammon, and thou hast been to us for head -- to all the inhabitants of Gilead." 9And Jephthah saith unto the elders of Gilead, "If ye are taking me back to fight against the Bene-Ammon, and Jehovah hath given them before me -- I, am I to you for a head?" 10And the elders of Gilead say unto Jephthah, "Jehovah is hearkening between us -- if according to thy word we do not so." 11And Jephthah goeth with the elders of Gilead, and the people set him over them for head and for captain, and Jephthah speaketh all his words before Jehovah in Mizpeh. 12And Jephthah sendeth messengers unto the king of the Bene-Ammon, saying, "What -- to me and to thee, that thou hast come in unto me, to fight in my land." 13And the king of the Bene-Ammon saith unto the messengers of Jephthah, "Because Israel took my land in his coming up out of Egypt, from Arnon, and unto the Jabbok, and unto the Jordan; and now, restore them in peace." 14And Jephthah addeth yet and sendeth messengers unto the king of the Bene-Ammon, 15and saith to him, "Thus said Jephthah, Israel took not the land of Moab, and the land of the Bene-Ammon, 16for in their coming up out of Egypt, Israel goeth in the wilderness unto the Red Sea, and cometh in to Kadesh, 17and Israel sendeth messengers unto the king of Edom, saying, Let me pass over, I pray thee, through thy land, and the king of Edom hearkened not; and also unto the king of Moab hath Israel sent, and he hath not been willing; and Israel abideth in Kadesh, 18and he goeth through the wilderness, and compasseth the land of Edom and the land of Moab, and cometh in at the rising of the sun of the land of Moab, and they encamp beyond Arnon, and have not come into the border of Moab, for Arnon is the border of Moab. 19"And Israel sendeth messengers unto Sihon, king of the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and Israel saith to him, Let us pass over, we pray thee, through thy land, unto my place, 20and Sihon hath not trusted Israel to pass over through his border, and Sihon gathereth all his people, and they encamp in Jahaz, and fight with Israel; 21and Jehovah, God of Israel, giveth Sihon and all his people into the hand of Israel, and they smite them, and Israel possesseth all the land of the Amorite, the inhabitant of that land, 22and they possess all the border of the Amorite from Arnon, and unto the Jabbok, and from the wilderness, and unto the Jordan. 23"And now, Jehovah, God of Israel, hath dispossessed the Amorite from the presence of His people Israel, and thou wouldest possess it! 24That which Chemosh thy god causeth thee to possess -- dost thou not possess it? and all that which Jehovah our God hath dispossessed from our presence, -- it we do possess. 25"And now, art thou at all better than Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab? did he at all strive with Israel? did he at all fight against them? 26In Israel's dwelling in Heshbon and in its towns, and in Aroer and in its towns, and in all the cities which are by the sides of Arnon three hundred years -- and wherefore have ye not delivered them in that time? 27And I -- I have not sinned against thee, and thou art doing with me evil -- to fight against me. Jehovah, the Judge, doth judge to-day between the sons of Israel and the sons of Ammon." 28And the king of the Bene-Ammon hath not hearkened unto the words of Jephthah which he sent unto him, 29and the Spirit of Jehovah is on Jephthah, and he passeth over Gilead and Manasseh, and passeth over Mizpeh of Gilead, and from Mizpeh of Gilead he hath passed over to the Bene-Ammon. 30And Jephthah voweth a vow to Jehovah, and saith, "If Thou dost at all give the Bene-Ammon into my hand -- 31then it hath been, that which at all cometh out from the doors of my house to meet me in my turning back in peace from the Bene-Ammon -- it hath been to Jehovah, or I have offered up for it -- a burnt-offering." 32And Jephthah passeth over unto the Bene-Ammon to fight against them, and Jehovah giveth them into his hand, 33and he smiteth them from Aroer, and unto thy going in to Minnith, twenty cities, and unto the meadow of the vineyards -- a very great smiting; and the Bene-Ammon are humbled at the presence of the sons of Israel. 34And Jephthah cometh into Mizpeh, unto his house, and lo, his daughter is coming out to meet him with timbrels, and with choruses, and save her alone, he hath none, son or daughter. 35And it cometh to pass, when he seeth her, that he rendeth his garments, and saith, "Alas, my daughter, thou hast caused me greatly to bend, and thou hast been among those troubling me; and I -- I have opened my mouth unto Jehovah, and I am not able to turn back." 36And she saith unto him, "My father -- thou hast opened thy mouth unto Jehovah, do to me as it hath gone out from thy mouth, after that Jehovah hath done for thee vengeance on thine enemies, on the Bene-Ammon." 37And she saith unto her father, "Let this thing be done to me; desist from me two months, and I go on, and have gone down on the hills, and I weep for my virginity -- I and my friends." 38And he saith, "Go;" and he sendeth her away two months, and she goeth, she and her friends, and she weepeth for her virginity on the hills; 39and it cometh to pass at the end of two months that she turneth back unto her father, and he doth to her his vow which he hath vowed, and she knew not a man; and it is a statute in Israel: 40from time to time the daughters of Israel go to talk to the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite, four days in a 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.
