Judges 11

Jud 11:1-3.

JEPHTHAH.

1. 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

(1Ch 7:14, 17).

2. Thou shalt not inherit in our father's house--As there were children

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

(2Sa 10:6, 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.

Jud 11:4-11.

THE

GILEADITES

COVENANT WITH

JEPHTHAH.

4. 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

Jud 10:17.

The Ammonites seem to have invaded the country, and active hostilities

were inevitable.

5, 6. 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.

7-9. 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, 11. 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.

Jud 11:12-28.

HIS

EMBASSY TO THE

KING OF

AMMON.

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

(De 20:10-18).

13. the king of Ammon . . ., Because Israel took away my

land--(See on

De 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

[Jud 11:21];

secondly, the Israelites had now, by a lapse of three hundred years of

undisputed possession, established a prescriptive right to the

occupation

[Jud 11:22, 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

[Jud 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

[Jud 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.

Jud 11:29-31.

HIS

VOW.

29, 30. 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

Le 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.

Jud 11:32, 33.

HE

OVERCOMES THE

AMMONITES.

32. 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.

34-40. 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

(1Sa 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.