Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valour, and he was the son of an harlot: and Gilead begat Jephthah.
And Gilead's wife bare him sons; and his 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 strange woman.
Then Jephthah fled from his brethren, and dwelt in the land of Tob: and there were gathered vain men to Jephthah, and went out with him.
from his brethren. Heb. from the face of. Tob. probably the same as Ish-Tob; and appears to have been a part of Syria, near Zobah, Rheob, and Maachah, east of Jordan, and in the most northern part of the portion of Manasseh. If so, it could not be far from Gilead, the country of Jephthah. This country is called Tobie or Tubin,
Judges 5:13 Then he made him that remains have dominion over the nobles among …
2 Samuel 10:6 And when the children of Ammon saw that they stank before David…
vain men
Judges 9:4 And they gave him three score and ten pieces of silver out of the …
1 Samuel 22:2 And every one that was in distress, and every one that was in debt, …
1 Samuel 27:2 And David arose, and he passed over with the six hundred men that …
1 Samuel 30:22-24 Then answered all the wicked men and men of Belial, of those that …
Job 30:1-10 But now they that are younger than I have me in derision, whose fathers …
Acts 17:5 But the Jews which believed not, moved with envy, took to them certain …
And it came to pass in process of time, that the children of Ammon made war against Israel.
And it was so, that when the children of Ammon made war against Israel, the elders of Gilead went to fetch Jephthah out of the land of Tob:
And they said unto Jephthah, Come, and be our captain, that we may fight with the children of Ammon.
And 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 now when ye are in distress?
Did not ye hate
Genesis 26:27 And Isaac said to them, Why come you to me, seeing you hate me, and …
Genesis 37:27 Come, and let us sell him to the Ishmeelites, and let not our hand …
Genesis 45:4,5 And Joseph said to his brothers, Come near to me, I pray you. And …
Proverbs 17:17 A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.
Isaiah 60:14 The sons also of them that afflicted you shall come bending to you…
Acts 7:9-14 And the patriarchs, moved with envy, sold Joseph into Egypt: but …
Revelation 3:9 Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they …
And 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.
the elders
Exodus 8:8,28 Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron, and said, Entreat the LORD, …
Exodus 9:28 Entreat the LORD (for it is enough) that there be no more mighty …
Exodus 10:17 Now therefore forgive, I pray you, my sin only this once, and entreat …
1 Kings 13:6 And the king answered and said to the man of God, Entreat now the …
Luke 17:3,4 Take heed to yourselves: If your brother trespass against you, rebuke …
we turn
Judges 10:18 And the people and princes of Gilead said one to another, What man …
And 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?
And the elders of Gilead said unto Jephthah, The LORD be witness between us, if we do not so according to thy words.
The Lord
Genesis 21:23 Now therefore swear to me here by God that you will not deal falsely …
Genesis 31:50 If you shall afflict my daughters, or if you shall take other wives …
1 Samuel 12:5 And he said to them, The LORD is witness against you, and his anointed …
Jeremiah 29:23 Because they have committed villainy in Israel, and have committed …
Jeremiah 42:5 Then they said to Jeremiah, The LORD be a true and faithful witness …
Romans 1:9 For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son…
2 Corinthians 11:31 The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which is blessed for …
be witness. be the hearer
Genesis 16:5 And Sarai said to Abram, My wrong be on you: I have given my maid …
Genesis 31:53 The God of Abraham, and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, …
Deuteronomy 1:16 And I charged your judges at that time, saying, Hear the causes between …
1 Samuel 24:12 The LORD judge between me and you, and the LORD avenge me of you: …
if we do
Exodus 20:7 You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain; for the …
Zechariah 5:4 I will bring it forth, said the LORD of hosts, and it shall enter …
Malachi 3:5 And I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness …
Then Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and captain over them: and Jephthah uttered all his words before the LORD in Mizpeh.
head
Judges 11:8 And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, Therefore we turn again …
uttered
1 Samuel 23:9-12 And David knew that Saul secretly practiced mischief against him; …
1 Kings 3:7-9 And now, O LORD my God, you have made your servant king instead of …
2 Corinthians 3:5 Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of …
James 1:5,17 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that gives to all …
Jephthah uttered. That is, upon his elevation, he immediately retired to his devotion, and in prayer spread the whole matter before God, both his choice to the office, and his execution of the office, as one that had his eye ever toward the Lord, and would do nothing without him; that leaned not to his own understanding or courage, but depended on the Almighty God, and his favour. This is an example worthy of universal imitation; in All Our Ways, whether great or apparently subordinate, let us acknowledge God and seek his direction. So shall we make our way prosperous, and obtain that peace which passeth all understanding. Jephthah opened his campaign with prayer.
before
Judges 10:17 Then the children of Ammon were gathered together, and encamped in …
Judges 20:1 Then all the children of Israel went out, and the congregation was …
1 Samuel 10:17 And Samuel called the people together to the LORD to Mizpeh;
1 Samuel 11:15 And all the people went to Gilgal; and there they made Saul king …
Mizpeh. This Mizpeh was east of Jordan in the mountains of Gilead.
Genesis 31:49 And Mizpah; for he said, The LORD watch between me and you, when …
and hence called Mizpeh
Judges 11:29 Then the Spirit of the LORD came on Jephthah, and he passed over …
to distinguish it from another place of the same name, west of Jordan, in the tribe of Judah
Joshua 15:38 And Dilean, and Mizpeh, and Joktheel,
And Jephthah sent 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?
sent messengers. In this Jephthah acted in accordance with the law of Moses; and hence the justice of his cause would appear more forcibly to the people.
Numbers 20:14 And Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom, Thus said …
Numbers 21:21 And Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, saying,
Deuteronomy 2:26 And I sent messengers out of the wilderness of Kedemoth to Sihon …
Deuteronomy 20:10,11 When you come near to a city to fight against it, then proclaim peace to it…
Proverbs 25:8,9 Go not forth hastily to strive, lest you know not what to do in the …
Matthew 18:15,16 Moreover if your brother shall trespass against you, go and tell …
what hast
2 Kings 14:8-12 Then Amaziah sent messengers to Jehoash, the son of Jehoahaz son …
And 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 Arnon even unto Jabbok, and unto Jordan: now therefore restore those lands again peaceably.
And Jephthah sent messengers again unto the king of the children of Ammon:
And said unto him, Thus saith Jephthah, Israel took not away the land of Moab, nor the land of the children of Ammon:
Israel took
Numbers 21:13-15,27-30 From there they removed, and pitched on the other side of Arnon…
Deuteronomy 2:9,19 And the LORD said to me, Distress not the Moabites, neither contend …
2 Chronicles 20:10 And now, behold, the children of Ammon and Moab and mount Seir, whom …
Acts 24:12,13 And they neither found me in the temple disputing with any man, neither …
But when Israel came up from Egypt, and walked through the wilderness unto the Red sea, and came to Kadesh;
But when. The whole of these messages shew, Jephthah had well studied the book of Moses. His arguments also are very clear and cogent, and his demands reasonable; for he only required that the Ammonites should cease to harass a people who had neither injured them, nor intended to do so.
walked
Numbers 14:25 (Now the Amalekites and the Canaanites dwelled in the valley.) Tomorrow …
Deuteronomy 1:40 But as for you, turn you, and take your journey into the wilderness …
Joshua 5:6 For the children of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness, …
came
Genesis 14:7 And they returned, and came to Enmishpat, which is Kadesh, and smote …
Numbers 13:26 And they went and came to Moses, and to Aaron, and to all the congregation …
Numbers 20:1 Then came the children of Israel, even the whole congregation, into …
Deuteronomy 1:46 So you stayed in Kadesh many days, according to the days that you stayed there.
Then Israel 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 Israel abode in Kadesh.
Then they 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 side of Arnon, but came not within the border of Moab: for Arnon was the border of Moab.
went
Numbers 20:22 And the children of Israel, even the whole congregation, journeyed …
Numbers 21:10-13 And the children of Israel set forward, and pitched in Oboth…
Numbers 33:37-44 And they removed from Kadesh, and pitched in mount Hor, in the edge …
Deuteronomy 2:1-8 Then we turned, and took our journey into the wilderness by the way …
compassed
Numbers 21:4 And they journeyed from mount Hor by the way of the Red sea, to compass …
came by
Numbers 21:11 And they journeyed from Oboth, and pitched at Ijeabarim, in the wilderness …
pitched
Numbers 21:13 From there they removed, and pitched on the other side of Arnon…
Numbers 22:36 And when Balak heard that Balaam was come, he went out to meet him …
And Israel 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 into my place.
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.
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.
And they possessed all the coasts of the Amorites, from Arnon even unto Jabbok, and from the wilderness even unto Jordan.
So now the LORD God of Israel hath dispossessed the Amorites from before his people Israel, and shouldest thou possess it?
Jephthah shows that the Israelites did not take the land of the Moabites or Ammonites, but that of the Amorites, which they had conquered from Sihon their king; and although the Amorites had taken the lands in question from the Ammonites, yet the title by which Israel held them was good, because they took them, not from the Ammonites, but from the Amorites.
Wilt not thou possess that which Chemosh thy god giveth thee to possess? So whomsoever the LORD our God shall drive out from before us, them will we possess.
Wilt not thou possess. This is simply an argumentum ad hominem; in which Jephthah argues on this principles recognized by the king of Ammon. As if he had said, `You suppose that the land which you possess was given you by your god Chemosh; and therefore will not relinquish what you believe you hold by a divine right. Now we know that Jehovah, our God, has given us this land of the Israelites; and therefore we will not give it up.' Chemosh
Numbers 21:29 Woe to you, Moab! you are undone, O people of Chemosh: he has given …
1 Kings 11:7 Then did Solomon build an high place for Chemosh, the abomination …
Jeremiah 48:7,46 For because you have trusted in your works and in your treasures, …
whomsoever
Deuteronomy 9:4,5 Speak not you in your heart, after that the LORD your God has cast …
Deuteronomy 18:12 For all that do these things are an abomination to the LORD…
Joshua 3:10 And Joshua said, Hereby you shall know that the living God is among you…
Psalm 44:2 How you did drive out the heathen with your hand, and planted them; …
Psalm 78:55 He cast out the heathen also before them, and divided them an inheritance …
Micah 4:5 For all people will walk every one in the name of his god, and we …
And 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,
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, three hundred years? why therefore did ye not recover them within that time?
Heshbon
Numbers 21:25-30 And Israel took all these cities: and Israel dwelled in all the cities …
Deuteronomy 2:24 Rise you up, take your journey, and pass over the river Arnon: behold, …
Deuteronomy 3:2,6 And the LORD said to me, Fear him not: for I will deliver him, and …
Joshua 12:2,5 Sihon king of the Amorites, who dwelled in Heshbon, and ruled from …
Joshua 13:10 And all the cities of Sihon king of the Amorites, which reigned in …
Aroer
Deuteronomy 2:36 From Aroer, which is by the brink of the river of Arnon, and from …
three hundred
Judges 3:11,30 And the land had rest forty years. And Othniel the son of Kenaz died…
Judges 5:31 So let all your enemies perish, O LORD: but let them that love him …
Judges 8:28 Thus was Midian subdued before the children of Israel, so that they …
Judges 9:22 When Abimelech had reigned three years over Israel,
Judges 10:2,3,8 And he judged Israel twenty and three years, and died, and was buried …
Joshua 11:18 Joshua made war a long time with all those kings.
Joshua 23:1 And it came to pass a long time after that the LORD had given rest …
Wherefore I have not sinned against thee, but thou doest me wrong to war against me: the LORD the Judge be judge this day between the children of Israel and the children of Ammon.
the judge
Genesis 18:25 That be far from you to do after this manner, to slay the righteous …
1 Samuel 2:10 The adversaries of the LORD shall be broken to pieces; out of heaven …
Job 9:15 Whom, though I were righteous, yet would I not answer, but I would …
Job 23:7 There the righteous might dispute with him; so should I be delivered …
Psalm 7:11 God judges the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day.
Psalm 50:6 And the heavens shall declare his righteousness: for God is judge …
Psalm 75:7 But God is the judge: he puts down one, and sets up another.
Psalm 82:8 Arise, O God, judge the earth: for you shall inherit all nations.
Psalm 94:2 Lift up yourself, you judge of the earth: render a reward to the proud.
Psalm 98:9 Before the LORD; for he comes to judge the earth: with righteousness …
Ecclesiastes 11:9 Rejoice, O young man, in your youth; and let your heart cheer you …
Ecclesiastes 12:14 For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, …
John 5:22,23 For the Father judges no man, but has committed all judgment to the Son…
Romans 14:10-12 But why do you judge your brother? or why do you set at nothing your brother…
2 Corinthians 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every …
2 Timothy 4:8 From now on there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which …
be judge
Genesis 16:5 And Sarai said to Abram, My wrong be on you: I have given my maid …
Genesis 31:53 The God of Abraham, and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, …
1 Samuel 24:12,15 The LORD judge between me and you, and the LORD avenge me of you: …
Psalm 7:8,9 The LORD shall judge the people: judge me, O LORD, according to my …
2 Corinthians 11:11 Why? because I love you not? God knows.
Howbeit the king of the children of Ammon hearkened not unto the words of Jephthah which he sent him.
Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah, and he passed over Gilead, and Manasseh, and passed over Mizpeh of Gilead, and from Mizpeh of Gilead he passed over unto the children of Ammon.
the spirit
Judges 3:10 And the Spirit of the LORD came on him, and he judged Israel, and …
Judges 6:34 But the Spirit of the LORD came on Gideon, and he blew a trumpet; …
Judges 13:25 And the Spirit of the LORD began to move him at times in the camp …
Numbers 11:25 And the LORD came down in a cloud, and spoke to him, and took of …
1 Samuel 10:10 And when they came thither to the hill, behold, a company of prophets …
1 Samuel 16:13-15 Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the middle …
1 Chronicles 12:18 Then the spirit came on Amasai, who was chief of the captains, and …
Jephthah, `Jephthah seems to have been judge only of north-east Israel.' over Mizpeh
Judges 10:17 Then the children of Ammon were gathered together, and encamped in …
And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the LORD, and said, If thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands,
Genesis 28:20 And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep …
Numbers 30:2 If a man vow a vow to the LORD, or swear an oath to bind his soul …
1 Samuel 1:11 And she vowed a vow, and said, O LORD of hosts, if you will indeed …
Ecclesiastes 5:1,2,4,5 Keep your foot when you go to the house of God, and be more ready …
Then 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 the LORD'S, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering.
whatsoever. that which cometh forth, which shall come forth. shall surely.
Leviticus 27:2,3,28,29 Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them, When a man shall …
1 Samuel 1:11,28 And she vowed a vow, and said, O LORD of hosts, if you will indeed …
1 Samuel 2:18 But Samuel ministered before the LORD, being a child, girded with a linen ephod.
1 Samuel 14:24,44 And the men of Israel were distressed that day: for Saul had adjured …
Psalm 66:13,14 I will go into your house with burnt offerings: I will pay you my vows…
and I will. or I will. Wehaaleetheehoo slah, rather, as Dr. Randolph and others contend, ` and I will offer Him a burnt offering;' for hoo may with much more propriety be referred to the person to whom the sacrifice was to be made, than to the thing to be sacrificed. Unless understood in this way, or as the marginal reading, it must have been the vow of a heathen or a madman. If a dog, or other uncleaned animal had met him, he could not have made it a burnt offering; or if his neighbour's wife, sons, etc., his vow gave him no right over them
Leviticus 27:11,12 And if it be any unclean beast, of which they do not offer a sacrifice …
Deuteronomy 23:18 You shall not bring the hire of a whore, or the price of a dog, into …
Psalm 66:13 I will go into your house with burnt offerings: I will pay you my vows,
Isaiah 66:3 He that kills an ox is as if he slew a man; he that sacrifices a …
So Jephthah passed over unto the children of Ammon to fight against them; and the LORD delivered them into his hands.
And he smote them from Aroer, even till thou come to Minnith, even twenty cities, and unto the plain of the vineyards, with a very great slaughter. Thus the children of Ammon were subdued before the children of Israel.
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; beside her he had neither son nor daughter.
Mizpeh
Judges 11:11 Then Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made …
Judges 10:17 Then the children of Ammon were gathered together, and encamped in …
his daughter
Judges 5:1 Then sang Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam on that day, saying,
Exodus 15:20 And Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a tambourine in her hand…
1 Samuel 18:6,7 And it came to pass as they came, when David was returned from the …
Psalm 68:25 The singers went before, the players on instruments followed after; …
Psalm 148:11,12 Kings of the earth, and all people; princes, and all judges of the earth…
Psalm 150:4 Praise him with the tambourine and dance: praise him with stringed …
Jeremiah 31:4,13 Again I will build you, and you shall be built, O virgin of Israel: …
beside her, or he had not of his own either son or daughter. of himself. neither
Zechariah 12:10 And I will pour on the house of David, and on the inhabitants of …
Luke 7:12 Now when he came near to the gate of the city, behold, there was …
Luke 8:42 For he had one only daughter, about twelve years of age, and she …
Luke 9:38 And, behold, a man of the company cried out, saying, Master, I beseech …
And it came to pass, when he saw her, that he rent his clothes, and said, Alas, my daughter! thou hast brought me very low, and thou art one of them that trouble me: for I have opened my mouth unto the LORD, and I cannot go back.
rent his clothes
Genesis 37:29,30,34,35 And Reuben returned to the pit; and, behold, Joseph was not in the …
Genesis 42:36-38 And Jacob their father said to them, Me have you bereaved of my children: …
2 Samuel 13:30,31 And it came to pass, while they were in the way, that tidings came …
2 Samuel 18:33 And the king was much moved, and went up to the chamber over the …
Job 1:20 Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell …
have opened
Leviticus 27:28,29 Notwithstanding no devoted thing, that a man shall devote to the …
Numbers 30:2-5 If a man vow a vow to the LORD, or swear an oath to bind his soul …
Psalm 15:4 In whose eyes a vile person is contemned; but he honors them that …
Ecclesiastes 5:2-6 Be not rash with your mouth, and let not your heart be hasty to utter …
I cannot
Judges 21:1-7 Now the men of Israel had sworn in Mizpeh, saying, There shall not …
1 Samuel 14:44,45 And Saul answered, God do so and more also: for you shall surely …
Matthew 14:7-9 Whereupon he promised with an oath to give her whatever she would ask…
Acts 23:14 And they came to the chief priests and elders, and said, We have …
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.
forasmuch
Judges 16:28-30 And Samson called to the LORD, and said, O Lord God, remember me, …
2 Samuel 18:19,31 Then said Ahimaaz the son of Zadok, Let me now run, and bear the …
2 Samuel 19:30 And Mephibosheth said to the king, Yes, let him take all, for as …
Acts 20:24 But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear to …
Acts 21:13 Then Paul answered, What mean you to weep and to break my heart? …
Romans 16:4 Who have for my life laid down their own necks: to whom not only …
Philippians 2:30 Because for the work of Christ he was near to death, not regarding …
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 bewail my virginity, I and my fellows.
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.
And it came to pass at the end of two months, that she returned unto her father, who did with her according to his vow which he had vowed: and she knew no man. And it was a custom in Israel,
did with. That Jephthah did not sacrifice his daughter, but consecrated her to the service of God in the tabernacle, in a state of celibacy, will we imagine be evident from the following consideration;1.Human sacrifices were ever an abomination to Jehovah, of which Jephthah could not be ignored; and consequently he would neither have made such a vow, nor carried it into execution.
Leviticus 27:4 And if it be a female, then your estimation shall be thirty shekels.
and surely his own child must have been of more value than thirty shekles
Judges 11:31 Then it shall be, that whatever comes forth of the doors of my house …
Leviticus 27:28,29 Notwithstanding no devoted thing, that a man shall devote to the …
Deuteronomy 12:31 You shall not do so to the LORD your God: for every abomination to …
Isaiah 66:3 He that kills an ox is as if he slew a man; he that sacrifices a …
custom, or ordinance.
That the daughters of Israel went yearly to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in a year.
