Judges 11 - Printer Friendly

What does Judges 11 mean?

Chapter Commentary:

Judges 11 begins the story Jephthah, one of the most complex of Israel's Judges (Judges 2:16). Depending on how one interprets his character, he could be considered a powerful warrior or a leader of gangsters. He seems to have trusted in the Lord, but also made senseless vows. He rescued Israel from oppression, but also engaged in civil war against other Israelites.

Jephthah is the oldest son of a prostitute and a man named Gilead. His father bears the same name as the region in which they live. Gilead's sons by his legitimate wife drive Jephthah away from their home when they are grown. Their goal is to keep him from sharing in their father's inheritance. Jephthah flees from Gilead to a land called Tob, where he gains his reputation as a warrior. This comes as the leader of what appears to be a group of bandits (Judges 11:1–3).

Meanwhile, the Ammonites have been oppressing Israel for many years (Judges 10:7–8). They now stage another offensive against the region of Gilead (Judges 10:17–18), on the east side of the Jordan River. The Israelites in Gilead want to fight back against the Ammonites. To do so effectively, they need an experienced leader. The elders of Gilead travel to the land of Tob to offer Jephthah the job of commander of the army (Judges 11:4–6).

Jephthah objects, blaming the leaders of Gilead for being complacent while his brothers drove him away. They insist they want him back to help in the fight against the Ammonites. The elders agree to make Jephthah head over all the people of Gilead, including themselves, if he will lead them. Jephthah agrees and returns with the elders to Mizpah, where he takes the oath and becomes the functional leader of the region (Judges 11:7–11).

The Ammonites are massed not far away from Mizpah. Before engaging in battle, Jephthah attempts to negotiate with them. He asks the Ammonite king why he is attacking their land. The king replies that the Israelites wrongly took the land of Gilead from his ancestors during the time of Moses. Jephthah responds with a long message of his own. In it, he clearly shows that the Ammonite king's claim is false. Gilead never belonged to the Ammonites. The Amorites lost it when they attacked Israel for attempting to pass through peaceably. Gilead was given to Israel by God Himself, and for three hundred years, Ammon has made no claims to it (Judges 11:12–26).

Jephthah's message concludes by insisting that Israel has never harmed the Ammonites. He firmly asks the king of Ammon not to sin against Israel by making unjust war. The king refuses to listen to these arguments. Most likely, his earlier excuse was just that: a casual lie meant to justify his aggression (Judges 11:27–28).

For the first time in this passage, the Lord's Spirit comes on Jephthah. He successfully recruits fighters from Gilead and the larger territory of the tribe of Manasseh. He then prepares to attack the Ammonites from Israel's base at Mizpah. Before the battle, however, Jephthah makes a tragically misguided vow. He promises God to offer "as a burnt offering" whatever or whomever comes to meet him if he returns in victory. The wording of this vow and Jephthah's intent are among the most debated words in the entire Bible. Jephthah attacks and utterly defeats the Ammonites, completely turning back Israel's enemy from being any further immediate threat (Judges 11:29–33).

Jephthah arrives home safely to Mizpah following this victory over Ammon. His daughter—his one and only child—comes out of his house to greet him with tambourines and dancing. Jephthah remembers his vow. He tears his clothes in grief, telling his daughter about what he has promised the Lord. Depending on what his intentions were, he was either obligated to offer her as a human sacrifice (Deuteronomy 12:31; 18:10) or devote the rest of her life to service to God. For her part, the daughter agrees that the vow must be kept. She says Jephthah must do to her as He vowed since the Lord gave victory (Judges 11:34–36).

What the daughter requests from Jephthah is among the reasons some interpreters believe she became a religious devotee, rather than a sacrifice. Her primary regret is that she will never have children, not that she will die. Rather than act immediately, Jephthah agrees to his daughter's request: two months of freedom to travel in the mountains with her friends and grieve that she will never marry or have children. Jephthah then carries out the vow—in whatever fashion that implies. For years afterward, the women of Israel would grieve for the daughter of Jephthah, for four days every year (Judges 11:37–39)

Judges 11:1–11 introduces Jephthah as the unlikely answer to the dilemma of the previous chapter (Judges 10:17–18). Jephthah is a warrior called to lead Gilead against the Ammonites. Though he had been driven from Gilead by his people, he agrees to return if the elders will make him their leader.

Judges 11:12–28 is Jephthah's attempt to negotiate with the Ammonites. He exchanges messages with the king of Ammon, asking the reason for this war on their land. Jephthah corrects the king's response that Israel wrongly took the land from them during the time of Moses. He offers several forms of rebuttal. Jephthah notes that Ammon was never in control of Gilead. Instead, the Amorites attacked Israel and God have his people victory. Greater kings have not attempted to take the region away; it had not been disputed for centuries. However, the Ammonite king will not listen.

Judges 11:29–40 begins with God's Spirit coming on Jephthah and empowering him to raise an army from Gilead and Manasseh. Before attacking the Ammonites, Jephthah makes a vow regarding victory in the war. When Israel wins the victory, Jephthah's vow surprisingly binds him to offer his daughter, his only child, as an offering to the Lord. She agrees that her father must follow through on this sacred promise, but she first spends two months grieving that she will not marry or have children. Jephthah fulfills his vow, though scholars have long debated how, exactly, he did so.

Chapter Summary:

A man named Jephthah is driven away from his home in Gilead by jealous brothers. He settles in Tob, where he becomes warrior chief of a criminal band. Gilead's elders later recruit Jephthah to lead the fight against their Ammonite oppressors. After a failed negotiation attempt, Jephthah vows to make a burnt offering to the Lord of whatever comes to meet him if God gives him victory over the Ammonites. Israel thoroughly defeats Ammon, and Jephthah's daughter, his only child, greets him. Jephthah carries out his vow after his daughter grieves never marrying or having children.

Chapter Context:

Judges 11 answers the question raised at the end of the previous chapter: who could lead Gilead's fight against the Ammonites? The elders recruit Jephthah, a warrior driven away by his family in Gilead. Jephthah agrees to return and is appointed leader of Gilead. Jephthah raises an army and makes a foolish vow to the Lord in exchange for victory. Israel defeats Ammon, but Jephthah's vow costs him his only child, his daughter. His victory also creates civil strife in Israel, leading to a minor civil war.

The Book of Judges describes Israel's history from the death of Joshua to shortly before Israel's first king, Saul. Israel fails to complete God's command to purge the wicked Canaanites from the land (Deuteronomy 7:1–5; 9:4). This results in a centuries-long cycle where Israel falls into sin and is oppressed by local enemies. After each oppression, God sends a civil-military leader, labeled using a Hebrew word loosely translated into English as "judge." These appointed rescuers would free Israel from enemy control and govern for a certain time. After each judge's death, the cycle of sin and oppression begins again. This continues until the people of Israel choose a king, during the ministry of the prophet-and-judge Samuel (1 Samuel 1—7).

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