1Jephthah, the son of Gilead by a strange woman, is thrust out from home by his brethren. 4At the breaking out of the war the elders of Gilead appeal to him to command them, and covenant to make him their head. 12His embassy to the king of Ammon, which proveth fruitless. 29His vow. 32He overcometh the Ammonites. 34His daughter cometh to meet him, with whom he doeth according to his vow.
1NOW Jephthaha the 1Gileadite was a mighty man of valour, and he was the son of an 2harlot: and 3Gilead begat Jephthah.
a Heb. 11:32.
1 See Judges 10 on verse 3.
2 Hebr. was a son of a woman, an harlot. See Deut. 23 on verse 2. Other, the son of an hostess.
3 To distinguish him from Gilead, the son of Machir, Joshua 17:1, 3, being nevertheless of his posterity, and of the same name.
2And Gilead's wife bare him sons; and 4his wife’s sons grew up, and they thrust out Jephthah, and said unto him, Thou shalt not inherit in our father's house; for thou art the son of a 5strange woman.
4 Namely, of his lawful wife.
5 That is, of another woman, who was not a lawful wife of our father.
3Then Jephthah fled from his brethren, and dwelt in the land of 6Tob: and there were gathered 7vain men to Jephthah, and 8went out with him.
6 A country situated along the mountain of Gilead, at the entering of Arabia Desert, on the borders of the Ammonites. See also 2 Sam. 10:6, 8.
7 Or, idle, necessitous, had no means, or took no course for a livelihood.
8 To fetch or take prey, perhaps from the Ammonites; which the more might have moved the Israelites to make use of him in their war against the Ammonites.
4 ¶ 9And it came to pass 10in process of time, that the children of Ammon made war against Israel.
9 The history is here now continued, which was begun in the end of the previous chapter, after there was inserted the previous account concerning Jephthah.
10 After the declaration made by the rulers or governors of the Gileadites, Judges 10:18, or after the time expressed in Judges 10:8.
5And it was so, that when the children of Ammon made war against Israel, the 11elders of Gilead went to fetch Jephthah out of the land of 12Tob:
11 Either by the Lord’s command, of Whom they peradventure might have asked counsel, or at least by His special inspiration and government.
12 See on verse 3.
6And they said unto Jephthah, Come, and be our 13captain, that we may fight with the children of Ammon.
13 Or, duke, general, captain, but no king, as the Shechemites had made Abimelech.
7And Jephthah said unto the elders of Gilead, Did not ye hate me, and expel me out of my father's house? and why are ye come unto me 14now when ye are in distress?
14 Hebr. while anguish or distress is to you.
8And the elders of Gilead said unto Jephthah, Therefore we turn again to thee now, that thou mayest go with us, and fight against the children of Ammon, and be our head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.
9And Jephthah said unto the elders of Gilead, If ye bring me home again to fight against the children of Ammon, and the LORD deliver them before me, shall I be your head?
10And the elders of Gilead said unto Jephthah, The LORD be 15witness between us, if we do not so according to thy words.
15 For to be Witness, or as Judge between us both, to punish us, if we deal otherwise with you. Compare Deut. 1:16; 1 Kings 3:11; Lam. 3:61, 62; Mal. 2:14.
11Then Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and captain over them: and Jephthah uttered all his 16words 17before the LORD in Mizpeh.
16 Which he had spoken previously to the ambassadors of the people.
17 Not by or before the ark of the covenant (as this is often so taken) but in the general assembly of the people made he this speech or declaration (as a hero of faith. Heb. 11:32) with religious attention, as in the presence of God, or with calling upon His holy Name, and mutual oath. The ark of the covenant was brought unto Shiloh in Joshua’s time, Joshua 18:1, and was yet there in Eli’s time, 1 Sam. 1:3.
12¶And Jephthah sent messengers unto the king of the children of Ammon, 18saying, 19What hast thou to do with me, that thou art come against me to fight 20in my land?
18 Understand, by the messengers. Also verse 17, and in the following.
19 Hebr. what is it to me and thee? Or, what have I and thou? See this phrase also, 2 Sam. 16 on verse 10; John 2:4, etc.
20 Jephthah speaks here in the name of the people, whose champion he was.
13And the king of the children of Ammon answered unto the messengers of Jephthah, Because Israel took away my land, when they came up out of Egypt, from 21Arnon even unto Jabbok, and 22unto Jordan: now therefore restore those lands again peaceably.
21 See of Arnon, Num. 21:13, 14, 15, of Jabbok, Gen. 32:22, etc.
22 From the mountain of Gilead eastward, unto Jordan westward.
14And Jephthah 23sent messengers again unto the king of the children of Ammon:
23 This is a very discreet and remarkable act of Jephthah, that he, considering God’s command in Deut. 2:19, desires first to know the causes which might have moved the Ammonites unto this war, and thereunto seeks to convince their king with many very strong and impregnable arguments, and to draw him to desist all this tending to the quitting and quieting of his conscience, as also to the confirming and strengthening of Israel.
15And 24said unto him, Thus saith Jephthah, Israelb took not away the land of 25Moab, nor the land of the children of Ammon:
24 By the messengers or ambassadors; or sent this message to him.
b Num. 21:13; Deut. 2:9, 19.
25 For God had given command to the contrary concerning both, because they were Lot’s offspring, or posterity. See Deut. 2:9, 19.
16But when Israel came up from Egypt, and walked through the wilderness unto the Red sea, and came to 26Kadesh;
26 Otherwise called: Zin, distinct or different from Kadesh-barnea. See Gen. 14 on verse 7; Num. 13 on verse 26; Num. 20:14; 33:36.
17Then Israel sent messengers unto the king of Edom, saying, Letc me, I pray thee, pass through thy land: but the king of Edom would not hearken thereto. And in like manner they sent unto the king of 27Moab: but he would not consent: and Israel abode in Kadesh.
c Num. 20:17.
27 This may also be gathered from Deut. 2:29.
18Then 28they went along 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 29pitched on the other side of 30Arnon, but came not within the border of Moab: for Arnon was the border of Moab.
28 Namely, Israel.
29 The people of Israel.
30 See on verse 13.
19Andd Israel sent messengers unto Sihon king of the Amorites, the king of Heshbon; and Israel 31said unto him, Lete us pass, we pray thee, through thy land into 32my place.
d Deut. 2:26.
31 See on verse 12.
e Num. 21:22.
32 That is, our, namely, of Israel; our, that is, which is given us of God, namely, the land of Canaan.
20But Sihon trusted not Israel to pass through his 33coast: but Sihon gathered all his people together, and pitched in Jahaz, and fought against Israel.
33 That is, through his land; also verse 22.
21And the LORD God of Israel delivered Sihon and all his people into the hand of Israel, and they smote them: so Israel possessed all the land of the Amorites, the inhabitants of that country.
22And they possessed all the 34coasts of the Amorites, fromf Arnon even unto Jabbok, and from the wilderness even unto Jordan.
34 That is, all the land of Sihon, included between these borders: Arnon in the south, Jabbok in the north, the wilderness, or Arabia Desert in the east, and Jordan in the west.
f Deut. 2:36.
23So now the LORD God of Israel hath dispossessed the Amorites from before his people Israel, and shouldest 35thou possess it?
35 Hebr. shouldest thou inherit him? Him, namely, the Amorite; that is, the land of the Amorites; thus also in the following verse, Deut. 9:1 and elsewhere often. As if Jephthah would say: This is against right and equity.
24Wilt not thou possess that which 36Chemosh thy god giveth thee to possess? So whomsoever the LORD our God shall drive out from before us, them will 37we possess.
36 An idol of the Moabites, and (as here appears) of the Ammonites. See Num. 21:29; 1 Kings 11:7; Jer. 48:7, 13, 46.
37 Justly; forasmuch as our God is the only true God, to Whom belongs and appertains all.
25And nowgart thou 38any thing better than Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab? did he ever 39strive against Israel, or did he ever fight against them,
g Num. 22:2, etc.
38 Hebr. better better. The meaning is: Have you so much more or greater right than Balak, who has never harassed Israel about it? See concerning Balak, Numbers 22; 23; 24.
39 Hebr. contending contend, and also: fighting fight, or warring war.
26While Israel dwelt in Heshbon and her towns, and in Aroer and her towns, and in all the cities that be along by the coasts of Arnon, 40three hundred years? why therefore did ye not 41recover them within that time?
40 Here (as also elsewhere in the Holy Scripture) is set down a full complete number; although according to the computation of some, some few years would be over and above, when we count the years from the departure of the children of Israel out of Egypt, whereof Jephthah has begun this narrative, and there are more years among the three hundred when we would account from the victory of Israel obtained against Sihon. See concerning this use or custom of the Holy Scripture, Gen. 15 on verse 13; Judges 20:46; 2 Sam. 5:5.
41 Which the Ammonites in so long a time without doubt would have attempted to do, if they had had such right thereunto, as they pretended to have.
27Wherefore 42I have not sinned against thee, but thou 43doest me wrong to war against me: the LORD the Judge be judge this day between the children of Israel and the children of Ammon.
42 As if Jephthah would say, that Israel had given the Ammonites no cause to make war against them.
43 Hebr. thou dost ill with me.
28Howbeit the king of the children of Ammon hearkened not unto the words of Jephthah which he 44sent him.
44 That is, had caused to be told him by the ambassadors.
29¶Then the Spirit of the LORD 45came upon Jephthah, and he passed over 46Gilead, and Manasseh, and passed over Mizpeh 47of Gilead, and from Mizpeh of Gilead he passed over unto the children of Ammon.
45 Hebr. was, became, that is, endued him, as Judges 3:10; 6:34.
46 That is, through that part of the land of Gilead, which the half tribe of Manasseh inhabited beyond the Jordan.
47 Distinct from other places, bearing the same name. See Judges 10 on verse 17.
30And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the LORD, and said, If thou shalt 48without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands,
48 Or, certainly. Hebr. delivering shalt deliver up.
31Then it shall be, that whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, shall surely be 49the LORD’S, 50and I will 51offer it up for a burnt offering.
49 Or, unto the LORD, namely, be hallowed or be consecrated.
50 Other, or, as if he would say: If it may be offered, I will offer it; if not, it shall notwithstanding be hallowed or consecrated unto the LORD.
51 He means, if it be such a thing, which, according to the law of God, it is lawful to offer; now it was not only forbidden to sacrifice men, or any of mankind, but also unclean beasts. See Lev. 27:11, 12, 13.
32¶So Jephthah passed over unto the children of Ammon to fight against them; and the LORD delivered them into his hands.
33And he smote them from 52Aroer, even till thou come to 53Minnith, even twenty cities, and unto 54the plain of the vineyards, with a very great slaughter. Thus the children of Ammon were subdued before the children of Israel.
52 Situated at the brook Arnon, Deut. 3:12. Not where this brook runs down from that mountain of Gilead westward into the Jordan, but which, out from the south-end of this mountain, runs along southward, and at length empties into the salt sea.
53 Situated in the east beyond the brook Arnon.
54 Or, Abel-keramim. Or, Abel of the vineyards.
34¶And Jephthah came to Mizpeh unto his house, and, behold, his daughter came out to meet him with timbrels and with dances: and she was his only child; 55beside her he had neither son nor daughter.
55 That is, which came or sprung from him.
35And it came to pass, when he saw her, that he rent his clothes, and said, Alas, my daughter! thou hast 56brought me very low, and thou art 57one of them that trouble me: for I have opened my mouth unto the LORD, and I cannot 58go back.
56 Hebr. bowing down, thou hast bowed me down. Thus is Jephthah troubled, because his only child was to continue a virgin, and no offspring or posterity was to be born unto him of her.
57 That is, thou troublest me in this thing, as others have troubled me in other things. Compare Psalm 54 on verse 4.
58 That is, I shall not be able to depart from my vow, I must perform it, not thinking that he could have redeemed it with thirty shekels of silver, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, according to the law of God, Lev. 27:4, 5. Or, he perceived that he had made his vow so high and strong, that the redemption had no place or was excluded by himself.
36And she said unto him, My father, if thou hast opened thy mouth unto the LORD, 59do to me according to that which hath proceeded out of thy mouth; forasmuch as the LORD hath taken 60vengeance for thee of thine enemies, even of the children of Ammon.
59 The daughter submits herself to the vow of her father, under whose power she as yet stood, and with whose consent she might make a vow besides. See Num. 30:4, 5. Compare also Luke 2:37; 1 Cor. 7:25, 26, 27, 28.
60 Hebr. hath done vengeance.
37And she said unto her father, Let this thing be done for me: 61let me alone two months, that I may go up and down 62upon the mountains, and 63bewail my virginity, I and my fellows.
61 That is, grant me two months’ time.
62 Some gather from this, that Jephthah’s house was situated upon an high mountain, as the places, called Mizpeh, did commonly (as watch-places do) lie upon high mountains, see Judges 10 on verse 17.
63 Because the bringing forth of children was at that time highly esteemed, and the contrary was held ignominious and contemptible. See Gen. 30 on verse 23. Observe here, and in what follows, that she will not go weep because she was to be sacrificed and slain and be offered up for a burnt-offering; but she speaks only of her virginity, agreeing with that which is related in the following verses.
38And he said, Go. And he sent her away for two months: and she went with her companions, and bewailed her virginity upon the mountains.
39And it came to pass at the end of two months, that she returned unto her father, who 64did with her according to his vow which he had vowed: and she 65knew no man. And it was a 66custom in Israel,
64 Causing her to abide (as is mentioned in what follows) in her maiden state and condition, and consecrating her apart for the Lord, according to his vow, verse 31. Compare 1 Sam. 1:22; Luke 2:37; 1 Cor. 7:32.
65 See Gen. 4 on verse 1; Gen. 19 on verse 8. These words are a plain and bare exposition of what Jephthah did unto his daughter, according to the sense and meaning of his vow.
66 Hebr. statute, ordinance.
40That the daughters of Israel went 67yearly to 68lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in a year.
67 Hebr. from days to days, that is, from year to year, or yearly; as four days in a year in the last part of this verse declare. See also Lev. 25 on verse 29.
68 Or, talk together, discourse; namely, to accompany her, and to comfort and cherish her in her maiden condition. The Hebrew word is also found in Judges 5:11, where it has the same signification, which is here followed in the text.