The Book of Judges
Judges 11
Chapter XI · Vol. II, pp. 605–606
1 The covenant between Jephthah and the Gileadites, that he should be their head. 12 His embassy to the king of Ammon, which proveth fruitless. 29 Jephthah's vow. 32 His conquest of the Ammonites. 34 He performeth his vow on his daughter.
1 Now Jephthaha the Gileadite was a mighty man of valour, and he was the son of an harlot:1 and Gilead begat Jephthah.
2 And Gilead's wife bare him sons: and his wife's sons grew up, and they bthrust out Jephthah, and said unto him, Thou shalt not inherit in our father's house; for thou art the son of a cstrange woman.
3 Then Jephthah fled from2 his brethren, and dwelt in the dland of Tob:3 and there were gathered evain men4 to Jephthah, and went out with him.
2 Heb. from the face.
d 2 Sa.10.6.
3 A petty kingdom of Syria, on the east of the Hauran, having Zoba on the north and the Ammonites on the south. It was a populous district, as it furnished 12,000 men to the confederacy against David, 2 Sa.10.6.—C.
e ch.9.4. 1 Sa.22.2.
4 Being driven from his family, Jephthah was compelled to seek a subsistence where he could find it; and, accordingly, in those rude and turbulent times, became a leader of a band composed of necessitous men like himself, who followed him in his incursions upon the surrounding territories.—C.
4 And it came to pass fin process of time, that the children of Ammon made war against Israel.5
f Heb. after days, ch.10.8.
5 The Ammonites had begun to make incursions, ch. 10. 9; encouraged by success, they proceeded to a regular invasion, ver.17, with a view to the complete subjugation of Israel.—C.
5 And it was so, gthat, when the children of Ammon made war against Israel, the elders of Gilead went to fetch Jephthah out of the land of Tob:
g ch.10.9-14. Pr.24.10.
6 And they said unto Jephthah, Come and be our captain, that we may fight with the children of Ammon.
7 And Jephthah said unto the elders of Gilead, hDid not ye hate me, and expel me out of my father's house? and why are ye come unto me now when ye are in distress?
8 And the elders of Gilead said unto Jephthah, Therefore we iturn 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.
9 And Jephthah said unto the elders of Gilead, kIf ye bring me home again to fight against the children of Ammon, and the LORD deliver them before me, shall I be your head?
k Nu.32.20-22. Ge.24.5.
10 And the elders of Gilead said unto Jephthah, The LORD lbe witness between us, if we do not so according to thy words.
l Heb. be the hearer between us, De.1.16. 1 Ki.3.11. Ge.16.5; 31.53. 1 Sa.24.12.
11 Then Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and captain over them: and Jephthah uttered all hism words before the LORD in Mizpeh.6
m ver.7,9; ch.10.17. 1 Sa.11.14,15.
6 This Mizpeh was situated to the east of Jordan, in Gilead, Ge.31.49. There was another to the west, in Judah, Jos.15.38. The uttering all his words 'before the Lord,' indicates that Jephthah had retained his religion, though in exile and amongst an idolatrous people—a pious decision of character, that, amongst all his difficulties, pointed out the man who had faithfully served his God, as best fitted now to serve his country. C.——Mizpeh of Gilead was the great gathering-place and sanctuary of the transjordanic tribes. What Mizpeh of Benjamin was on the west the other was on the east. It is called Ramoth-Mizpeh in Jos.13.26, but it is distinct from the Mizpah where Jacob and Laban met. About three miles north-west of Salt (Ramoth-Gilead) is the highest peak east of the Jordan. Its summit is broad and flat, and would form a fine gathering-place for a nation of warriors. This is doubtless the site of Mizpeh.—P.
12 And Jephthah nsent messengers unto the king of the children of Ammon, saying, What hast thou to do with me, that thou art come against me to fight in my land?
n Pr.25.8,9. Nu.21.21; 20.14. De.20.10,11.
13 And the king of the children of Ammon answered unto the messengers of Jephthah, oBecause Israel took away my land,7 when they came up out of Egypt, from Arnon even unto Jabbok, and unto Jordan: now therefore restore those lands again peaceably.
A.M. 2858 B.C. 1146
o Ps.27.12. Pr.19.5,9. Nu.21.26-30.
7 The land was not taken from the Ammonites, but from the Amorites, ver.22; but an ancient claim was here revived to give a colour to the invasions.—C.
15 And said unto him, Thus saith Jephthah, qIsrael took not away the land of Moab, nor the land of the children of Ammon:
16 But when Israel rcame up from Egypt, and walked9 through the wilderness unto the Red sea, and came to Kadesh;
r Ex.xii.-xix. Nu.x.-xx.; 33.3-36.
9 There were a very few draught oxen and waggons, presented by the princes for the service of the tabernacle, Nu. 7. 7, 8, but the mass of the people were on foot, Ps. 66. 6, a circumstance worthy of note, as it will go far to account for the slowness of some of their marches, in which children and infirm persons must have been carried on the backs of parents and relatives.—C.
17 Then sIsrael sent messengers unto the king of Edom, saying, Let 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 Moab; but he would not consent: and tIsrael abode in Kadesh.
t Nu.20.1,16.
18 Then uthey 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 pitched on the other side1 of Arnon, xbut came not within the border of Moab; for Arnon was the border of Moab.
u Nu.20.22; 21.10,12,13; 33.37-44.
1 That is, not the west, as opposed to the east; but on the north, opposite Moab, of which kingdom the Arnon was the northern boundary.—C.
19 And yIsrael sent messengers unto Sihon king of the Amorites, the king of Heshbon; and Israel said unto him, Let us pass, we pray thee, through thy land unto my place.
20 But Sihon trusted not Israel to pass through his coast: but Sihon gathered all his people together, and pitched in Jahaz, and fought against Israel.
21 And 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.
22 And they possessed zall the coasts of the Amorites, from Arnon even unto Jabbok,2 and from the wilderness even unto Jordan.
z De.2.36,37; 3.1-17. Nu.32.33-41. Jos.13.8-32. Ge.32.22.
2 From Arnon on the south to Jabbok on the north, and from the Arabian desert on the east to Jordan on the west.
23 So now the LORD God of Israel hath dispossessed the Amorites from before his people Israel, and shouldest thou possess it?
24 Wilt not thou possess that which aChemosh thy god giveth thee to possess?3 so whomsoever the LORD our God shall drive out from before us, them will we possess.
a Nu.21.29. 1 Ki.11.7. 2 Ki.23.13. Je.48.13.
3 This was no acknowledgment of the deity of Chemosh, but merely an appeal to the Ammonites on their own principles. Indeed, it was a virtual, implied, and understood denial that Chemosh was a god, for Jephthah asserts an indefeasible right to the disputed territory, by virtue of a grant from Jehovah.—C.
25 Andc now, art thou any thing better than Balak the son of Zippor king of Moab? did he ever strive against Israel, or did he ever fight against them,4
26 While 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, threed hundred years? why therefore did ye not recover them within that time?
27 Wherefore I have not sinned against thee, but thou doest me wrong to war against me: thee LORD the Judge be judge this day between the children of Israel and the children of Ammon.
e Ge.16.5; 18.25; 31.53. Ps.50.6. 1 Sa.24.12.
28 Howbeitf the king of the children of Ammon hearkened not unto the words of Jephthah which he sent him.
29 Then gthe Spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah,5 and he passed over Gilead, and Manasseh, and passed over hMizpeh of Gilead, and from Mizpeh of Gilead he passed over unto the children of Ammon.
g ch.3.10; 6.34. 1 Ch.12.18. He.11.32.
5 All valuable endowments are, in Scripture, attributed to the 'Spirit of the Lord,' from those of the accomplished artist, Ex.31.2, to those of the sanctified Christian, 1 Co.6.11; and accordingly the undertaking of Jephthah is attributed to the Spirit coming upon him. But this coming of the Spirit is not to be considered as any mere enthusiastic impulse upon mind or body; but as light in the understanding to discover duty, faith to trust in God, zeal for his glory, love for his church, then grievously persecuted,—all which united produce that devotedness and courage that fit men for great and dangerous undertakings, and to which, under Providence, success is ordinarily to be traced.—C.
h ch.10.17.
30 And Jephthah ivowed a vow unto the LORD, and said, If thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands,
31 Then it shall be, that whatsoever cometh forth6 of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, shall surely be the LORD's, kand I will offer it up for a burnt-offering.7
6 Heb. that which cometh forth, which shall come forth.
7 The whole difficulty of this perplexing narrative originates in this verse, and depends upon the translation of a single Hebrew letter, and which is sometimes rendered and, and sometimes or, according to the current of the passage. Thus, the words of the tenth commandment might be literally rendered, 'Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, and his man-servant, and his maid-servant,' &c.; but the sense obviously requires that it be rendered or, and not and. Now, if for and we substitute or, as is done in the tenth commandment, Jephthah will stand relieved from any vow to sacrifice his daughter, and merely to devote her to the Lord, as the law provided in the case of Nazarites or vows.—C.
k It might be rendered, or I will offer it, &c., Le.27.11. Is.66.3. De.23.18.
32 So Jephthah passed over unto the children of Ammon to fight against them; and the LORD delivered them into his hands.
33 And he smote them from lAroer, even till thou come to Minnith, even twenty cities, and unto the plain8 of the vineyards, with a very great slaughter. Thus the children of Ammon were subdued before the children of Israel.
34 And Jephthah came to Mizpeh unto his house, and, behold, mhis daughter came out to meet him with timbrels and with dances; and she was his only child:9 besides her he had neither son nor daughter.
35 And it came to pass, when he saw her, that he rent nhis clothes, and said, Alas, my daughter! thou hast brought me very low, and thou art one of them that trouble me: ofor I have opened my mouth unto the LORD, and I cannot go back.
n Ge.37.29,34; 44.13. Nu.14.6. 2 Sa.13.36. 1 Ki.21.27. 2 Ki.19.1. Es.4.1. Ac.14.14. Job 1.20. Ezr.9.5.
o Le.27.28,29. Ps.15.4; 119.106. Nu.30.4,5. Ec.5.2.
36 And she said unto him, My father, if thou hast opened thy mouth unto the LORD, do to me according to that which hath proceeded out of thy mouth; forasmuch as the LORD hath taken vengeance for thee of thine enemies, even of the children of Ammon.
37 And she said unto her father, Let this thing be done for me: let me alone two months, that I may go up and down upon the mountains, and pbewail my virginity,1 I and my fellows.
p 1 Sa.1.6. Lu.1.25. It was a reproach in Israel for a woman to die childless.
1 Those interpreters, and with whom we concur, who believe that Jephthah's daughter was devoted to celibacy, not to sacrifice, rest somewhat upon this verse; and though the Scriptures make no mention of any such institution of celibacy in Israel, yet as there was nothing in the law that absolutely forbade it, and as it is reiterated in the end of ver. 39, it seems to cast considerable weight into the scale of the most mild and merciful interpreters. It is but justice, however, to add, that the weight of authority, both Jewish and Christian, lies on the side of the actual sacrifice.—C.
38 And he said, Go. And he sent her away for two months: and she went with her companions, and bewailed her virginity upon the mountains.
39 And it came to pass at the end of two months, that she returned unto her father, who qdid with her according to his vow which he had vowed: and she knew no man. And it was a custom2 in Israel,
q ver.31. Le.27.28,29. Is.66.3. There is too much reason to believe that he really offered her in sacrifice.
2 Or, ordinance.
Notes
[Ver. 1. Son of an harlot. Some high authorities propose to translate the word 'hostess,' 'a tavern-keeper; such persons however in the eastern countries around Canaan are, in modern times, totally unknown; nor do we see any indications in the Scriptures that would lead to the belief of their existence in ancient times. Taking the word as it stands in our version—and we believe it must be so taken—it indicates an important fact, that an unworthy parent may have a worthy child. See Eze. 18. 2, &c. C.]
Ver. 5. [The elders of Gilead went to fetch Jephthah. It is of no little importance for the encouragement of the young, to see that in all cases a distinguished man finds distinguishing employment. Talents, industry, and acquirements may for a time remain in obscurity, but some event will still occur to call them into exercise, and assign them due reward.—Note, Let not this fact encourage either pride or vain expectations; humility of expectation is one of the most essential handmaidens of success. C.]
Ver. 35. [I have opened my mouth unto the Lord. However imperfect the character of Jephthah may be, piety to the Lord was his predominant feeling, and his acquaintance with Scripture familiar, as is obvious from ver. 9, 11, 15-17, as well as from this verse. Therefore, nothing can, a priori, appear more unlikely, than that a man, familiar with Scripture, and piously disposed, should vow a sacrifice most solemnly denounced in Scripture, Le. 20. 2; nor can it be readily supposed, that a believer who would not dare to profane the altar by 'the price of a dog,' Ex. 23. 18, would profane it still more by a sacrifice, not only illegal, but most cruel and unnatural. C.]
Ver. 40. [Went yearly to lament the daughter of Jephthah. The word translated 'to lament,' signifies also 'to praise, celebrate, or talk with.' An attention very natural in her young companions, and consolatory to the unhappy recluse, debarred from the hope of every Israelitess, that of being 'a mother in Israel,' and probably the mother of Messiah. In conclusion, Jephthah is celebrated by Paul as an example of faith, He. 11. 32, which we judge impossible had he been guilty of an act, whatever might be the motive, still worse than that of Cain, and which would have identified his religion with the worst feature of the idolatry of Canaan. C.——The record of Jephthah's vow in ver. 31 may be thus translated, 'That which (or, he who) cometh to meet me out of the doors of my house, when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, shall belong to the Lord, or (or, and) I will offer it for a burnt-offering (or, a whole-offering).' The Hebrew word translated 'and' may mean 'or;' and the context alone can decide. If rendered 'or' the difficulty is at once removed. But even admitting that it means 'and,' the passage may be satisfactorily explained. The word rendered 'burnt-offering' does not necessarily involve the idea of burning, but simply of going up upon the altar, or of complete surrender and dedication to the Lord. When a virgin is said to be so offered, she was set apart as a spiritual whole-offering, belonging henceforth entirely to the Lord.—The terms in which the sacred writer records the fulfilment of the vow, leads to the conclusion that Jephthah's daughter was not sacrificed. Her entreaty that he would give her two months to lament her virginity, is surely out of all keeping with the supposition that she was to be put to death. To mourn her virginity does not mean to mourn because she was to die on the altar, but because she was to live a virgin. Then observe the statement made by the historian after he relates that Jephthah 'did with her according to the vow which he had vowed:' 'And she knew no man.' Is this in harmony with the supposition of a sacrificial death? P.]
Reflections.—The indulgers of lawless lust ordinarily entail both misery and shame upon the unhappy fruit of their guilty amours. But it is unreasonable for us to reproach a man with the unhappiness of his birth, when his practice deserves a more honourable relation. God often first debases those whom he intends to exalt, and marks men's sins, not only in their distress, but also in the means of their deliverance. Whorish Israel must now be delivered and governed by the bastard son of a harlot, lately an exile: but no man ought to be trampled on or despised; we may need his help ere we die. And if we have injured any, it is proper to entreat their pardon as quickly as possible. No injuries should render us implacable. Agreements ought to be very explicit and distinct; and, if important, ought to be ratified with solemn prayer. Before entrance on war the most solemn acknowledgments should be made to God, and repeated endeavours peaceably to compose every difference; that so, if war cannot be avoided, we may prosecute it with a good conscience, and depend on God for success in it. For it is reasonable that such as delight in war should be ruined by it. Unjust men are ready to insist upon the most antiquated claims; and however many practise injustice, few choose to be reckoned unjust. But when the Lord hath given us anything by special grant, we may insist upon the possession of it. To receive it from him, use it to his glory, keep it for his sake, and return it to him when he calls for it, is part of the duty which we owe to him. What care ought to be taken in contracting a solemn vow, that it may never prove a snare to our soul! And having engaged to anything lawful we must in no wise go back. But it is mournful when parents, by their rashness, involve their obedient children in sin, in misery, or in death; and kind and comforting to make the joys and griefs of our neighbours our own. In this world how is our wine mixed with water; our triumphs with distress; our joys with grief! Let these things make me long for the better country above.