This chapter gives an account of another judge of Israel, Jephthah, of his descent and character, Jude 1–3 of the call the elders of Gilead gave him to be their captain general, and lead out their forces against the Ammonites, and the agreement he made with them, Jude 4–11 of the message he sent to…

Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valour, &c.] Jephthah had his name of Gileadite either from his father, whose name was Gilead, or from the city and country in which he was born, which is most likely, and so was of the same country with the preceding judge; and he was a man of great…

And Gilead’s wife bare him sons It seems that, after the birth of Jephthah, Gilead took him a lawful wife, who bore him sons: and his wife’s sons grew up; to the estate of men: and they thrust out Jephthah: out of his father’s house, his father in all likelihood being dead, or he would not have…

Then Jephthah fled from his brethren Being ill used by them, and a man of spirit and courage, and could not bear to be treated with contempt, nor to live in a dependence on others, and therefore sought to make himself another way: and dwelt in the land of Tob; which Kimchi and Ben Gersom think was…

And it came to pass in process of time Some time after Jephthah had been expelled from his father’s house, and he was become famous for his martial genius, and military exploits; or at the close of the eighteen years’ oppression of the children of Israel by the Ammonites, or some few days after the…

And it was so, that when the children of Ammon made war against Israel Were preparing for it, and had assembled their forces near them, and had began to make some efforts against them: the elders of Gilead went to fetch Jephthah out of the land of Tob; they did not send messengers to him, but went…

And they said unto Jephthah, come and be our captain The general of their army, to conduct and lead on their forces; they did not propose him to be their king, being convinced by Abimelech’s conduct that such a step would be wrong; nor did they say anything of his being their judge, having no other…

And Jephthah said unto the elders of Gilead In answer to their request; who though not backward to engage in the war with them, yet thought it proper to take this opportunity to upbraid them with their former unkindness to him: did not ye hate me, and expel me out of my father’s house? for it seems…

And the elders of Gilead said unto Jephthah In reply to his objection: therefore we turn again unto thee now; being sensible of the injury they had done him, and repenting of it, of which their return to him was an evidence; it being with this view to remove the disgrace and dishonour that had been…

And Jephthah said unto the elders of Gilead Considering the former usage he had met with from them, and the character which he himself bore, and the fickleness of men, when their turn is served, was willing to make a sure bargain with them: if ye bring me home again to fight against the children of…

And the elders of Gilead said unto Jephthah Assenting to his proposal, and not only giving their word for it, but their oath: the Lord be witness between us, if we do not so according to thy words; that is, make him head over them; they appealed to the omniscient God, and called on him to be a…

Then Jephthah went with the elders of Israel From the land of Tob into the land of Gilead, his native country: and the people made him head and captain over them; ratified and confirmed what the elders had promised, and by a general unanimous vote appointed him both to be the captain of their…

And Jephthah sent messengers unto the king of the children of Ammon Being now declared chief and sole governor of the tribes on the other side Jordan, he acted in character, and as such sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites, to know the reason of his invading the land that belonged to…

And the king of the children of Ammon answered unto the messengers of Jephthah Who this king of Ammon was is not said, however he returned an answer to Jephthah’s messengers, which they brought to him, and it was to this purpose; that the reason of his invading the land, and bringing war into it,…

And Jephthah sent messengers again unto the king of the children of Ammon. ] Being willing to give him all the satisfaction he could, and if possible live peaceably with him, and prevent the effusion of blood.

And said unto him By his messengers: thus saith Jephthah; in a majestic style, as governor of Israel: Israel took not away the land of Moab, nor the land of the children of Ammon; they were charged not to take any, nor did they take any that belonged to any of these countries, or that was then in…

But when Israel came up from Egypt In order to go to the land of Canaan, which was higher than the land of Egypt, which lay low [[9]]: and walked through the wilderness unto the Red sea; which is to be understood not of their walking to it; when they first came out of Egypt, they indeed then came…

Then Israel sent messengers unto the king of Edom The history of which may be read in saying, let me, I pray thee, pass through thy land; the land of Edom, from the south to the north of it, according to Jarchi, which was the nearest and shortest way to the land of Canaan; so far were the…

Then they went along the wilderness The wilderness of Paran, which lay along the borders of Edom; they went, according to Jarchi, from the west to the east on the south border of Edom and Moab: and compassed the land of Edom, and the land of Moab; all the south of the land of Edom, and all the…

And Israel sent messengers unto Sihon king of the Amorites, the king of Heshbon Which was his royal city, where he had his palace, and kept his court, and is therefore particularly mentioned; and the rather, because he had taken it from the Moabites, and was part of that land now in dispute; and…

But Sihon trusted not Israel to pass through, his coast For fear they should seize upon his dominions, and retain them; and the more fearful he might be, as he knew that his people were one of the seven nations of the Canaanites, whose land they were going to possess, and whom they were to destroy:…

And the Lord God of Israel delivered Sihon and all his people into the hand of Israel So that as Sihon, his people, and his country, fell into the hands of Israel through the victory the Lord gave them over him, they had a divine right to the land now in dispute: and they smote them: destroyed him…

And they possessed all the coasts of the Amorites Peaceably and quietly, nor did any pretend to call their right in question, or dispute their title, or give them any disturbance: from Arnon unto Jabbok: which was the length of the country, and the direction was from south to north, and reached…

So now the Lord God of Israel hath dispossessed the Amorites from before his people Israel It is his doing, and not the work of the Israelites; it is he that dispossessed the Amorites, and put the Israelites into the possession of their land, and therefore they enjoy it by a good tenure: and…

Wilt not thou possess that which Chemosh thy god giveth thee to possess? &c.] Chemosh was the idol of the Moabites, see , which has led some to think, that the present king of Ammon was also king of Moab, and who insisted on that part of the country, which formerly belonged to Moab, to be delivered…

And now art thou anything better than Balak the son of Zippor king of Moab? &c.] This argument seems to strengthen the conjecture, that this king was king of Moab at this time, and so Balak was one of his predecessors.

While Israel dwelt in Heshbon and her towns This was the principal city, which formerly belonged to the Moabites, and was taken from them by Sihon; who being conquered by Israel, it fell into their hands, and they inhabited it, and the towns adjacent to it, from that time to the present; see and in…

Wherefore I have not sinned against thee Had done him no injury, not wronged him of anything, nor had taken away any part of his country from him; this Jephthah said in the name of all Israel, of whom he was governor: but thou doest me wrong to war against me; meaning that he had no just cause to…

Howbeit, the king of the children of Ammon hearkened not unto the words of Jephthah which he sent him. ] He attended not to the arguments Jephthah made use of, and did not choose to seem at least to be convinced by them, nor to regard the awful appeal he had made to the great Jehovah.

Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah The spirit of strength, as the Targum; of fortitude of mind, of uncommon valour and courage, and of zeal for God and Israel, and against their enemies; such a spirit as used to be given to men, when they were in an extraordinary manner raised up by the…

And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the Lord Before he set out for the land of the children of Ammon, and to fight with them; hoping that such a religious disposition of mind would be regarded by the Lord, and be acceptable to him, and he should be blessed with success in his enterprise: and said, if…

Then it shall be, that whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me If this phrase, “to meet me”, is meant intentionally, then no other than an human creature can be meant; a child, or servant, or any other of mankind; for none else could come forth with a design to meet him: but if…

So Jephthah passed over unto the children of Ammon, to fight against them As in , after he had made the above vow: and the Lord delivered them into his hands; when both armies met and engaged, victory was on the side of Jephthah; the Lord being with him, and giving him success, to where all is…

And he smote them from Aroer A city which lay near the river Arnon, on the borders of Moab, even till thou come to Minnith; which seems to have been a place famous for wheat, so David de Pomis [[0]] says it was a place where the best wheat grew.

And Jephthah came to Mizpeh unto his house Where he had uttered his words before the Lord, which had passed between him and the elders of Gilead, and from whence he set out to fight the children of Ammon, and whither he returned after he had got the victory over them, (Judg. 11:11, Judg.

And it came to pass, when he saw her She being the first person that presented to his view, as she was at the head of the virgins with their timbrels and dances: that he rent his clothes; as was the usual manner, when anything calamitous and distressing happened; see and said, alas, my daughter,…

And she said unto him, my father, if thou hast opened thy mouth unto the Lord The conditional word “if” may be left out, as it is not in the original text; for her father had told her that he had opened his mouth, or made a vow to the Lord, and had no doubt explained it to her what it was, though…

And she said unto her father, let this thing be done for me, &c.] She had but one favour to ask of him, which she thought might be granted, without any breach of the vow: let me alone two months she desired such a space of time might be allowed her before the vow took place; and the rather she…

And he said, go He granted her request at once: and he sent her away for two months; as she desired: and she went with her companions, and bewailed her virginity upon the mountains; for the space of two months: the Jewish commentators make mention of an allegorical exposition of a writer [[8]] of…

And it came to pass at the end of two months she returned to her father For the request she made was not a pretence to make her escape out of his hands; but having done what she proposed to do, and the time fixed for it being come, she returned to her father’s house, and delivered herself to him:…

That the daughters of Israel went yearly to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite Either the death of her, as some, or her virginity, as others; though the word [[14]] used may signify to talk and discourse with her, to hold a confabulation with her, and comfort her, as Kimchi and Ben…