Judges 11:22-32

22 And they took possession of all the territory of the Amorites from the Arnon to the Jabbok and from the wilderness to the Jordan.

23 So then the Lord, the God of Israel, dispossessed the Amorites from before his people Israel; and are you to take possession of them?

24 Will you not possess what ¹Chemosh your god gives you to possess? ²And all that the Lord our God has dispossessed before us, we will possess.

25 Now are you any better than ³Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever contend against Israel, or did he ever go to war with them?

26 While Israel lived ⁴in Heshbon and its villages, and ⁵in Aroer and its villages, and in all the cities that are on the banks of the Arnon, 300 years, why did you not deliver them within that time?

27 I therefore have not sinned against you, and you do me wrong by making war on me. ⁶The Lord, the Judge, decide this day between the people of Israel and the people of Ammon. ”

28 But the king of the Ammonites did not listen to the words of Jephthah that he sent to him.

Jephthah’s Tragic Vow

29 ⁷Then the Spirit of the Lord was upon Jephthah, and he passed through Gilead and Manasseh and passed on to Mizpah of Gilead, and from Mizpah of Gilead he passed on to the Ammonites.

30 And Jephthah ⁸made a vow to the Lord and said, “If you will give the Ammonites into my hand,

31 then whatever^[a] comes out from the doors of my house to meet me when I return in peace from the Ammonites ⁹shall be the Lord’s, and ¹⁰I will offer it^[b] up for a burnt offering. ”

32 So Jephthah crossed over to the Ammonites to fight against them, and the Lord gave them into his hand.

Judges 11:22-32 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO JUDGES 11

This chapter gives an account of another judge of Israel, Jephthah, of his descent and character, Jud 11:1-3 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, Jud 11:4-11 of the message he sent to the children of Ammon, which brought on a dispute between him and them about the land Israel possessed on that side Jordan the Ammonites claimed; Israel's right to which Jephthah defended, and made it clearly to appear, hoping thereby to put an end to the quarrel without shedding of blood, Jud 11:12-27 but the children of Ammon not attending to what he said, he prepared to give them battle, and previous to it he made a vow, and then set forward and fought them, and got the victory over them, Jud 11:28-33 and the chapter concludes with the difficulties Jephthah was embarrassed with upon his return home, on account of his vow, and the performance of it, Jud 11:34-40.

Cross References

• 1. 11:24 Num. 21:29; 1 Kgs. 11:7
• 2. 11:24 Deut. 9:5; 18:12; Josh. 3:10
• 3. 11:25 Num. 22:2; Josh. 24:9; Mic. 6:5
• 4. 11:26 Num. 21:25
• 5. 11:26 Deut. 2:36
• 6. 11:27 Gen. 16:5; 18:25; 31:53; 1 Sam. 24:12, 15
• 7. 11:29 See ch. 3:10
• 8. 11:30 Gen. 28:20; 1 Sam. 1:11
• 9. 11:31 [Lev. 27:2; 1 Sam. 1:28]
• 10. 11:31 Ps. 66:13

Footnotes

• [a] 11:31 Or 'whoever'
• [b] 11:31 Or 'him'