Judges 11:15

15 and he said to him, "Thus says Jephthah, 'Israel did not take the land of Moab or the land of the {Ammonites},

Judges 11:15 Meaning and Commentary

Judges 11:15

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 the possession of either of them, ( Deuteronomy 2:9 Deuteronomy 2:19 ) what they did take was in the hands of Sihon and Og, and they had obtained it by conquest, and so no more belonging to either of these.

Judges 11:15 In-Context

13 And the king of the {Ammonites} said to Jephthah's messengers, "Because Israel took my land from [the] Arnon up to the Jabbok and the Jordan when they came up from Egypt; so then, restore it peacefully."

14 Once again Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the {Ammonites},

15 and he said to him, "Thus says Jephthah, 'Israel did not take the land of Moab or the land of the {Ammonites},

16 because when they came up from Egypt, Israel went through the wilderness to the {Red Sea} and went to Kadesh.

17 Israel sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, "Please let us cross through your land," but the king of Edom would not listen. And they also sent [messengers] to the king of Moab, but he was not willing. So Israel stayed in Kadesh.

Footnotes

• [a]. Literally "sons/children of Ammon"