Judges11
New King James Version
1Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valor, but he was the son of a harlot; and Gilead begot Jephthah.
2Gilead’s wife bore sons; and when his wife’s sons grew up, they drove Jephthah out, and said to him, “You shall have no inheritance in our father’s house, for you are the son of another woman.”
3Then Jephthah fled from his brothers and dwelt in the land of Tob; and worthless men banded together with Jephthah and went out raiding with him.
4It came to pass after a time that the people of Ammon made war against Israel.
5And so it was, when the people of Ammon made war against Israel, that the elders of Gilead went to get Jephthah from the land of Tob.
6Then they said to Jephthah, “Come and be our commander, that we may fight against the people of Ammon.”
7So Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, “Did you not hate me, and expel me from my father’s house? Why have you come to me now when you are in distress?”
8And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “That is why we have turned again to you now, that you may go with us and fight against the people of Ammon, and be our head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.”
9So Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, “If you take me back home to fight against the people of Ammon, and the Lord delivers them to me, shall I be your head?”
10And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “The Lord will be a witness between us, if we do not do according to your words.”
11Then Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and commander over them; and Jephthah spoke all his words before the Lord in Mizpah.
12Now Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the people of Ammon, saying, “What do you have against me, that you have come to fight against me in my land?”
13And the king of the people of Ammon answered the messengers of Jephthah, “Because Israel took away my land when they came up out of Egypt, from the Arnon as far as the Jabbok, and to the Jordan. Now therefore, restore those lands peaceably.”
14So Jephthah again sent messengers to the king of the people of Ammon,
15and said to him, “Thus says Jephthah: ‘Israel did not take away the land of Moab, nor the land of the people of Ammon;
16for when Israel came up from Egypt, they walked through the wilderness as far as the Red Sea and came to Kadesh.
17Then Israel sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, “Please let me pass through your land.” But the king of Edom would not heed. And in like manner they sent to the king of Moab, but he would not consent. So Israel remained in Kadesh.
18And they went along through the wilderness and bypassed the land of Edom and the land of Moab, came to the east side of the land of Moab, and encamped on the other side of the Arnon. But they did not enter the border of Moab, for the Arnon was the border of Moab.
19Then Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, king of Heshbon; and Israel said to him, “Please let us pass through your land into our place.”
20But Sihon did not trust Israel to pass through his territory. So Sihon gathered all his people together, encamped in Jahaz, and fought against Israel.
21And the Lord God of Israel delivered Sihon and all his people into the hand of Israel, and they defeated them. Thus Israel gained possession of all the land of the Amorites, who inhabited that country.
22They took possession of all the territory of the Amorites, from the Arnon to the Jabbok and from the wilderness to the Jordan.
23‘And now the Lord God of Israel has dispossessed the Amorites from before His people Israel; should you then possess it?
24Will you not possess whatever Chemosh your god gives you to possess? So whatever the Lord our God takes possession of before us, we will possess.
25And now, are you any better than Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever strive against Israel? Did he ever fight against them?
26While Israel dwelt in Heshbon and its villages, in Aroer and its villages, and in all the cities along the banks of the Arnon, for three hundred years, why did you not recover them within that time?
27Therefore I have not sinned against you, but you wronged me by fighting against me. May the Lord, the Judge, render judgment this day between the children of Israel and the people of Ammon.’ ”
28However, the king of the people of Ammon did not heed the words which Jephthah sent him.
29Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah, and he passed through Gilead and Manasseh, and passed through Mizpah of Gilead; and from Mizpah of Gilead he advanced toward the people of Ammon.
30And Jephthah made a vow to the Lord, and said, “If You will indeed deliver the people of Ammon into my hands,
31then it will be that whatever comes out of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the people of Ammon, shall surely be the Lord’s, and I will offer it up as a burnt offering.”
32So Jephthah advanced toward the people of Ammon to fight against them, and the Lord delivered them into his hands.
33And he defeated them from Aroer as far as Minnith—twenty cities—and to Abel Keramim, with a very great slaughter. Thus the people of Ammon were subdued before the children of Israel.
34When Jephthah came to his house at Mizpah, there was his daughter, coming out to meet him with timbrels and dancing; and she was his only child. Besides her he had neither son nor daughter.
35And it came to pass, when he saw her, that he tore his clothes, and said, “Alas, my daughter! You have brought me very low! You are among those who trouble me! For I have given my word to the Lord, and I cannot go back on it.”
36So she said to him, “My father, if you have given your word to the Lord, do to me according to what has gone out of your mouth, because the Lord has avenged you of your enemies, the people of Ammon.”
37Then she said to her father, “Let this thing be done for me: let me alone for two months, that I may go and wander on the mountains and bewail my virginity, my friends and I.”
38So he said, “Go.” And he sent her away for two months; and she went with her friends, and bewailed her virginity on the mountains.
39And it was so at the end of two months that she returned to her father, and he carried out his vow with her which he had vowed. She knew no man. And it became a custom in Israel
40that the daughters of Israel went four days each year to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite.
Study Guide
Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for Judges 11.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter: Jephtah and the Gileadites. (1–11). He attempts to make peace. (12–28). Jephthah's vow. He vanquishes the Ammonites. (29–40).
vv1-11
Men ought not to be blamed for their parentage, so long as they by their personal merits roll away any reproach. God had forgiven Israel, therefore Jephthah will forgive. He speaks not with confidence of his success, knowing how justly God might suffer the Ammonites to prevail for the further punishment of Israel. Nor does he speak with any confidence at all in himself. If he succeed, it is the Lord delivers them into his hand; he thereby reminds his countrymen to look up to God as the Giver of victory. The same question as here, in fact, is put to those who desire salvation by Christ. If he save you, will ye be willing that he shall rule you? On no other terms will he save you. If he make you happy, shall he make you holy? If he be your helper, shall he be your Head? Jephthah, to obtain a little worldly honour, was willing to expose his life: shall we be discouraged in our Christian warfare by the difficulties we may meet with, when Christ has promised a crown of life to him that overcometh?
vv12-28
One instance of the honour and respect we owe to God, as our God, is, rightly to employ what he gives us to possess. Receive it from him, use it for him, and part with it when he calls for it. The whole of this message shows that Jephthah was well acquainted with the books of Moses. His argument was clear, and his demand reasonable. Those who possess the most courageous faith, will be the most disposed for peace, and the readiest to make advances to obtain; but rapacity and ambition often cloak their designs under a plea of equity, and render peaceful endeavours of no avail.
vv29-40
Several important lessons are to be learned from Jephthah's vow. 1. There may be remainders of distrust and doubting, even in the hearts of true and great believers. 2. Our vows to God should not be as a purchase of the favour we desire, but to express gratitude to him. 3. We need to be very well-advised in making vows, lest we entangle ourselves. 4. What we have solemnly vowed to God, we must perform, if it be possible and lawful, though it be difficult and grievous to us. 5. It well becomes children, obediently and cheerfully to submit to their parents in the Lord. It is hard to say what Jephthah did in performance of his vow; but it is thought that he did not offer his daughter as a burnt-offering. Such a sacrifice would have been an abomination to the Lord; it is supposed she was obliged to remain unmarried, and apart from her family. Concerning this and some other such passages in the sacred history, about which learned men are divided and in doubt, we need not perplex ourselves; what is necessary to our salvation, thanks be to God, is plain enough. If the reader recollects the promise of Christ concerning the teaching of the Holy Spirit, and places himself under this heavenly Teacher, the Holy Ghost will guide to all truth in every passage, so far as it is needful to be understood.
Key Words
יִפְתָּח: Jiphtach, an Israelite; also a place in Palestine
גִּלְעָדִי: a Giladite or descendant of Gilad
גִּבּוֹר: powerful; by implication, warrior, tyrant
חַיִל: probably a force, whether of men, means or other resources; an army, wealth, virtue, valor, strength
בֵּן: a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition, etc., (like father or brother), etc.)
גִּלְעָד: Gilad, a region East of the Jordan; also the name of three Israelites
יָלַד: to bear young; causatively, to beget; medically, to act as midwife; specifically, to show lineage
אִשָּׁה: a woman
גָּדַל: to be (causatively make) large (in various senses, as in body, mind, estate or honor, also in pride)
גָּרַשׁ: to drive out from a possession; especially to expatriate or divorce
Cross References
Judges 11Explicitly names Jephthah among the heroes of faith who conquered kingdoms through faith.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Detailed historical record of Israel taking the disputed land from Sihon the Amorite, not Ammon.
Supported by JFB
An ancient poetic reference associating Chemosh with the people of Moab and their territorial losses.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Israel's peaceful embassy from Kadesh to Edom, reflecting Jephthah's diplomatic and peaceful approach.
Supported by JFB
God's command not to distress Ammon, proving Israel's historical respect for their borders.
Supported by JFB
God's explicit command to Israel not to distress Moab or contend with them for land.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Sihon refused passage, gathered his forces at Jahaz, and initiated the war with Israel.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Hannah's solemn vow, offering her child to the Lord, comparable to Jephthah's dedication.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Law concerning those of illegitimate birth, illustrating the social and legal hurdles Jephthah faced.
Supported by Matthew Poole
David similarly gathering distressed and discontented men, reflecting Jephthah's period of exile.
Supported by JFB
History of Balak of Moab, who, despite hiring Balaam, never actually fought Israel.
Supported by JFB
Confirms Aroer and Arnon territory was captured from Sihon, not the Ammonites.
Supported by JFB
The absolute moral requirement in the Law to perform what is voluntarily vowed to God.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Commandment that a man must not break his word when he vows to the Lord.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Identifies the land of Tob on the frontier, where Jephthah fled from his brothers.
Supported by JFB
The Mosaic law requiring peace offers to be proclaimed to a city before attacking.
Supported by JFB
Jacob's voluntary vow of dedication to God in exchange for safety and peace.
Supported by Matthew Henry
God's absolute prohibition of human sacrifice, showing why literal sacrifice of his daughter is disputed.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Echoes Jephthah's appeal to 'the Lord the Judge' as the ultimate judge of the earth.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Law of devoted things (herem) which cannot be redeemed, central to the vow debate.
Supported by Matthew Poole