CHAPTER 11 JEPHTHAH THE GILEADITE. This chapter gives an account of a further judge of Israel, Jephthah, of his descent and character, of the call the elders of Gilead gave him to be their general and lead out their forces against the Ammonites, and the agreement he made with them. It tells of the... [ Continue Reading ]
CHAPTER 11 JEPHTHAH THE GILEADITE. This chapter gives an account of a further judge of Israel, Jephthah, of his descent and character, of the call the elders of Gilead gave him to be their general and lead out their forces against the Ammonites, and the agreement he made with them. It tells of the... [ Continue Reading ]
‘ And Gilead's wife bore him sons, and when his wife's sons grew up they drove Jephthah out, and said to him, “You shall not inherit in our father's house. For you are the son of another woman.' It would seem that Jephthah was Gilead's first child, whom he took into his house. But then his own wife... [ Continue Reading ]
‘ Then Jephthah fled from his brothers, and dwelt in the land of Tob, and there were gathered adventurers to Jephthah, and went out with him.' So Jephthah had to leave his home and make his living as best he could in an unfriendly world. He had every disadvantage. He went to live in the region of T... [ Continue Reading ]
‘ And it happened that, after a while, the children of Ammon made war against Israel.' This is the continuation of Judges 10:17. Having encamped and waited for an approach from the elders of Gilead with the tribute due, the Ammonites now began to move into a war position and made a few sorties in p... [ Continue Reading ]
‘ And it was so, that when the children of Ammon made war against Israel, the elders of Gilead went to fetch Jephthah from the land of Tob.' Recognising the imminence of the coming main attack the elders swallowed their pride, and some went personally themselves to see Jephthah to plead with him to... [ Continue Reading ]
‘ And they said to Jephthah, “Come and be our general, that we may fight with the children of Ammon.” ' Their aim was that he should be general of their fighting men and bring his men with him. Victory would provide them with booty sufficient to satisfy them. They were admitting that without him th... [ Continue Reading ]
‘ And Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, “Did you not hate me, and drive me from my father's house? And why are you now come to me, when you are in distress?” ' Jephthah's reply demonstrates that in his time of need he had found no help from the elders. They had sided with Gilead's true born so... [ Continue Reading ]
‘ And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “This is the reason that we are now turned again to you, that you may go with us and fight against the children of Ammon. And you shall be our head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.” ' The elders frankly and humbly replied that the reason they had come... [ Continue Reading ]
‘ And Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, “If you bring me home again to fight with the children of Ammon, and Yahweh deliver them before me, shall I be your head?” Jephthah wanted to be quite clear about what they were offering. He had had no reason to trust them in the past. Why should he trus... [ Continue Reading ]
‘ And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “Yahweh shall be witness between us. Surely according to your word, so will we do.” ' The elders gave their solemn oath before Yahweh that they would do exactly as he requested.... [ Continue Reading ]
‘ Then Jephthah went with the elders of Israel, and the people made him head and commander-in-chief over them, and Jephthah spoke all his words before Yahweh in Mizpah.' Satisfied with their oath Jephthah went with them, and no doubt took his men with him, promising them due reward. They would form... [ Continue Reading ]
‘ And Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the children of Ammon, saying, “What have you to do with me that you are come to me to fight against my land.” ' Jephthah's fighting experience was immediately revealed. He knew that nothing was more important than to try to put fear in the hearts of th... [ Continue Reading ]
‘ And the king of the children of Ammon replied to the messengers of Jephthah, “Because Israel took away my land when they came up out of Egypt, from Arnon even to Jabbok, and to Jordan. Now therefore restore those lands again peaceably.” ' The reply came back just as haughtily. The king demanded th... [ Continue Reading ]
‘ And Jephthah sent messengers again to the king of the children of Ammon.' Jephthah did not expect for one moment that the king of Ammon would give way. Nor was he arguing a legal case. And he no doubt had the message read out to his own army before sending it. It was written as much for them as f... [ Continue Reading ]
‘ And said to him, “Thus says Jephthah, Israel did not take away the land of Moab, nor the land of the children of Ammon. But when they came from Egypt, and Israel walked through the wilderness to the Sea of Reeds (to Ezion Geber - Numbers 33:35), and came to Kadesh, then Israel sent messages to the... [ Continue Reading ]
“ Then they walked through the wilderness, and compassed the land of Edom, and the land of Moab, and came by the east side of the land of Moab, and they pitched on the other side of Arnon. But they did not come within the border of Moab, for Arnon was the border of Moab.” Israel, he pointed out, ha... [ Continue Reading ]
“ And Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, the king of Heshbon, and Israel said to him, ‘Let us pass, we pray you, through your land to my place.” Israel had not only been generous to Moab they had also dealt in a friendly way with Sihon and the Amorites, with their capital city at... [ Continue Reading ]
“ But Sihon did not trust Israel to pass through his border. But Sihon gathered all his people together, and pitched in Jahaz, and fought against Israel. And Yahweh, the God of Israel, delivered Sihon and all his people into the hand of Israel, and they smote them. So Israel possessed all the land o... [ Continue Reading ]
“And they possessed all the border of the Amorites, from Arnon even to Jabbok, and from the wilderness even to Jordan. So now Yahweh, the God of Israel, has dispossessed the Amorites from before his people Israel, and should you possess them?” So Jephthah emphasised that their right to possession o... [ Continue Reading ]
“ Will you not possess that which Chemosh your god gives you to possess? So whoever Yahweh our God has dispossessed from before us, them we will possess.” Chemosh was in fact the god of Moab, not the god of Ammon. Their god was Melek (Molech, Milcom). Thus many have claimed that Jephthah here made... [ Continue Reading ]
“ And now are you anything better than Balak, the son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever strive against Israel? Or did he ever fight against them?” Now Jephthah sought to stress the superiority of Israel and of Yahweh their God. Even the famous Balak of Moab had not dared to claim back the land I... [ Continue Reading ]
“ While Israel dwelt in Heshbon and her towns, and in Aroer and her towns, and in all the cities that are along by the side of Arnon for three hundred years, why did you not recover them within that time?” Indeed since then Israel had occupied the cities of the area, even those on the very borders... [ Continue Reading ]
“ I therefore have not sinned against you, but you do me wrong to war against me. Yahweh, the Judge, be judge this day between the children of Israel and the children of Ammon.” Jephthah then finished on a note of injured hurt. He, representing Israel, had done nothing wrong to Ammon. It was Ammon... [ Continue Reading ]
‘ However, the king of the children of Ammon did not listen to the words of Jephthah which he sent him.' That is, the king did not admit that he was in the wrong and return to Ammon. No one would have been more surprised than Jephthah if he had. It was not likely that he would easily relinquish the... [ Continue Reading ]
‘ Then the Spirit of Yahweh came on Jephthah, and he passed over Gilead and Manasseh, and passed over Mizpeh of Gilead, and from Mizpeh of Gilead he passed over to the children of Ammon.' Jephthah was now taken possession of by Yahweh, and he went through Gilead and Manasseh (not necessarily in per... [ Continue Reading ]
‘ And Jephthah vowed a vow to Yahweh, and said, “If you will indeed deliver the children of Ammon into my hand, then it shall be, that whoever comes forth from the doors of my house to meet me when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, they shall be Yahweh's, and I will offer them up for a w... [ Continue Reading ]
Judges 11:32 a ‘So Jephthah passed over to the children of Ammon, to fight against them, and Yahweh delivered them into his hand, And he smote them from Aroer until you come to Minnith, even twenty cities, and to Abel-cheramim, with a very great slaughter. So the children of Ammon were subdued befo... [ Continue Reading ]
‘ And Jephthah came to Mizpah to his house, and, behold, his daughter came out to meet him with timbrels, and with dances, and she was his only child, besides her he had neither son nor daughter.' Yahweh had heard his prayer and had given him victory. Now He took him at his word. For when Jephthah... [ Continue Reading ]
‘ And so it was that, when he saw her, he tore his clothes and said, “Alas my daughter, you have brought me very low, and you are as one of those who trouble me, for I have opened my mouth to Yahweh and I cannot go back.” ' When he saw who first came from his house he was devastated. He ‘tore his c... [ Continue Reading ]
‘ And she said to him, “My father, you have opened your mouth to Yahweh. Do to me in accordance with what has proceeded from your mouth, forasmuch as Yahweh has taken vengeance for you of your enemies, even of the children of Ammon.” ' His daughter comforted him as best she could. Yahweh had fulfil... [ Continue Reading ]
‘ And she said to her father, “Let this thing be done for me, let me alone two months that I may depart and go down on the mountains and bewail my virginity, I and my companions.' From now on she was to be a perpetual virgin. Like Samuel after her she was sanctified to Yahweh by her parent's oath ‘... [ Continue Reading ]
‘ And he said, “Go.” And he sent her away for two moon periods. And she departed, she and her companions, and she bewailed her virginity on the mountains.' Jephthah granted her request immediately. And she left him and prepared herself for what was to come, on the mountains, and faced up to her com... [ Continue Reading ]
Judges 11:39 a ‘And so it was that at the end of two months she returned to her father, who did with her according to his vow which he had vowed. And she had not known man.' Obedient to her calling and to her father's vow, she returned, and he took her to the central sanctuary and there she served... [ Continue Reading ]