Judges 11:2

2 and the wife of Gilead beareth to him sons, and the wife's sons grow up and cast out Jephthah, and say to him, `Thou dost not inherit in the house of our father; for son of another woman [art] thou.'

Judges 11:2 Meaning and Commentary

Judges 11:2

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 suffered it, and what follows confirms it that he was dead:

and said unto him, thou shalt not inherit in our father's house:
as he might not, if the son of an harlot, or of a woman of another tribe, or of a concubine; though as Kimchi, from their Rabbins, observes, the son of such an one might, provided his mother was not an handmaid nor a stranger. And it looks as if this was not rightly done, but that Jephthah was injuriously dealt with by his brethren, of which he complains:

for thou art the son of a strange woman:
or of another "woman" ^F5, that was not their father's lawful wife; or of a woman of another tribe, as the Targum; or of another nation, as others, prostitutes being used to go into foreign countries to get a livelihood, and hide the shame of their families; hence a strange woman, and a harlot, signified the same ^F6, see ( Judges 11:1 ) .

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FOOTNOTES:

F5 (trxa hva) "mulieris alterius", Pagninus, Montanus; "exterae", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator; so Tigurine version.
F6 "Pro uxore hanc peregrinam", Terent. Audria, act 1, scen. 1. l. 118.

Judges 11:2 In-Context

1 And Jephthah the Gileadite hath been a mighty man of valour, and he [is] son of a woman, a harlot; and Gilead begetteth Jephthah,

2 and the wife of Gilead beareth to him sons, and the wife's sons grow up and cast out Jephthah, and say to him, `Thou dost not inherit in the house of our father; for son of another woman [art] thou.'

3 And Jephthah fleeth from the face of his brethren, and dwelleth in the land of Tob; and vain men gather themselves together unto Jephthah, and they go out with him.

4 And it cometh to pass, after a time, that the Bene-Ammon fight with Israel,

5 and it cometh to pass, when the Bene-Ammon have fought with Israel, that the elders of Gilead go to take Jephthah from the land of Tob;