Judges 11:24

24 Wilt thou not inherit those possessions which Chamos thy god shall cause thee to inherit; and shall not we inherit the all those whom the Lord our God has removed from before you?

Judges 11:24 Meaning and Commentary

Judges 11:24

Wilt not thou possess that which Chemosh thy god giveth thee
to possess?
&c.] Chemosh was the idol of the Moabites, see ( Numbers 21:29 ) , 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 to him, as well as that which had belonged to Ammon. Now since the land, which they now inhabited, as well as what they had lost, they had taken away from others, ( Deuteronomy 2:10 Deuteronomy 2:11 Deuteronomy 2:20 Deuteronomy 2:21 ) , having conquered them, and which they ascribed to the help and assistance they had from their idol, and possessed as his gift; Jephthah argues with them "ad hominem", from the less to the greater:

so whomsoever the Lord our God shall drive out from before us, them
will we possess;
we have surely as good a claim to what the Lord our God gives to us in a way of conquest, as you have, or can think you have, to what your idol, as you suppose, has given you: however, what we have got, or get this way, we are determined to possess, and keep possession of.

Judges 11:24 In-Context

22 from Arnon and to Jaboc, and from the wilderness to Jordan.

23 And now the Lord God of Israel has removed the Amorite from before his people Israel, and shalt thou inherit his ?

24 Wilt thou not inherit those possessions which Chamos thy god shall cause thee to inherit; and shall not we inherit the all those whom the Lord our God has removed from before you?

25 And now art thou any better than Balac son of Sepphor, king of Moab? did he indeed fight with Israel, or indeed make war with him,

26 when dwelt in Esebon and in its coasts, and in the land of Aroer and in its coasts, and in all the cities by Jordan, three hundred years? and wherefore didst thou not recover them in that time?

Footnotes

• [a]. is undoubtedly the true reading.