1and Jephthah the Gileadite was a man of strength, and he the son of a woman, a harlot And Gilead will beget Jephthah. 2And Gilead's wife will bring forth sons to him, and his wife's sons will grow, and they will drive out Jephthah, and they will say to him, Thou shalt not inherit in our father's house, for thou the son of another woman. 3And Jephthah will flee from the face of his brethren and will dwell in the land of Tob: and empty men will gather together to Jephthah and will go forth with him. 4And it will be from days and the sons of Ammon will war with Israel. 5And it will be when the sons of Ammon warred with Israel, and the old men of Israel will go to take Jephthah out of the land of Tob. 6And they will say to Jephthah, Come and be to us for leader, and we will war against the sons of Ammon. 7And Jephthah will say to the old men of Gilead, Did ye not hate me, and ye will drive me out from my father's house? and why came ye to me now when there is distress to you? 8And the old men of Gilead will say to Jephthah, Therefore now we turned back to thee, and come thou with us and we will war against the sons of Ammon, and be to us for head to all dwelling in Gilead. 9And Jephthah will say to the old men of Gilead, If ye turn me back to war against the sons of Ammon, and Jehovah gave them before me, shall I be to you for head? 10And the old men of Gilead will say to Jephthah, Jehovah shall be hearing between us, if we did not thus to thee according to thy word. 11And Jephthah will go with the old men of Gilead, and the people will set him over them for head and for chief: and Jephthah will speak all his words before Jehovah in Mizpeh. 12And Jephthah will send messengers to the king of the sons of Ammon, saying, What to me and to thee that thou camest to me to war in my land 13And the king of the sons of Ammon will say to the messengers of Jephthah, Because Israel took my land in his coming up out of Egypt, from Arnon even to Jabbok, and even to Jordan: and now turn them back in peace. 14And Jephthah will add yet and will send messengers to the king of the sons of Ammon: 15And he will say to him, Thus said Jephthah, Israel took not the land of Moab and the land of the sons of Ammon: 16When in their coming up out of Egypt, and Israel went in the desert, even to the sea of sedge, and he will come to Kadesh; 17And Israel will send messengers to the king of Edom, saying, I will pass through now in thy land: and the king of Edom heard not And also to the king of Moab he sent; and he was not willing. And Israel dwelt in Kadesh. 18And he will go into the wilderness, and he will encompass the land of Edom, and the land of Moab, and he will come from the rising of the sun to the land of Moab, and they will encamp beyond Arnon; and they went not in to the bound of Moab, for Arnon is the bound of Moah 19And Israel will send messengers to Sihon, king of the Amorites, king of Heshbon; and Israel will say to him, We will pass now through in thy land, even to my place. 20And Sihon trusted not Israel to pass through in his bound; and Sihon will gather together all his people and will encamp in Jahaz, and he will war with Israel. 21And Jehovah the God of Israel will give Sihon and all his people into the hand of Israel, and they will smite them: and Israel will inherit all the land of the Amorites, the inhabitants of that land. 22And they will inherit all the bound of the Amorites from Arnon and even to Jabbok, and from the desert and even to Jordan. 23And now Jehovah the God of Israel drove out the Amorites from the face of his people Israel, and shalt thou inherit it? 24Shalt thou not inherit what Chemosh thy god will give thee to inherit? and all which Jehovah our God drove out from our face, we will inherit it. 25And now being good, art thou good above Balak, son of Zippor, king of Moab? striving, did he contend with Israel, or warring, did he war against them. 26In Israel's dwelling in Heshbon and her daughters and in Aroer and her daughters, and in all the cities which are upon the hands of Arnon, three hundred years? and why took ye not them away in that time? 27And I sinned not against thee, and thou didst me evil to war against me: Jehovah the Judge will judge this day between the sons of Israel and between the sons of Ammon. 28And the king of the sons of Ammon heard not to the words of Jephthah which he sent to him. 29And the spirit of Jehovah will be upon Jephthah, and he will pass through Gilead and Manasseh, and he will pass through Mizpeh of Gilead, and from Mizpeh of Gilead he passed over to the sons of Ammon. 30And Jephthah will vow a vow to Jehovah, and he will say, If giving, thou wilt give the sons of Ammon into my hand, 31And it was, that coming forth which shall come forth from the doors of my house to my meeting in my turning back in peace from the sons of Ammon, and it was to Jehovah; and I brought it up a burnt-offering. 32And Jephthah will pass over to the sons of Ammon to war against them: and Jehovah will give them into his hand. 33And he will strike them from Aroer even to thy going to Minnith, twenty cities, and even to the meadow of the vineyards, with a very great smiting. And the sons of Ammon will be subdued from the face of the sons of Israel. 34And Jephthah will come to Mizpeh to his house, and behold, his daughter will come forth to his meeting with drums and with lutes: and she the only begotten; not to him beside her, son nor daughter. 35And it will be when he saw her, and he will tear his garments, and will say, Alas, my daughter bowing down, thou didst bow me down, and thou art in my trouble: and I opened my mouth to Jehovah, and I shall not be able to turn back. 36And she will say to him, My father, opening thy mouth to Jehovah, do to me acording to what came forth from thy mouth, after that Jehovah did for thee vengeance of thine enemies, of the sons of Ammon. 37And she will say to her father, This word shall be done to me: desist from me two months, and I will go, and go down upon the mountains, and I will lament over my virginity, I and my friends. 38And he will say, Go. And he will send her away two months: and she will go and her friends, and she will lament over her virginity upon the mountains. 39And it will be from the end of two months, and she will turn back to her father and he will do to her his vow which he vowed: and she knew not man. And it will be a law in Israel, 40From days of days the daughters of Israel will go to celebrate to the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite, four days in the 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.