Judges 11:22 - Printer Friendly

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

NIV: capturing all of it from the Arnon to the Jabbok and from the desert to the Jordan.

NASB: So they possessed all the territory of the Amorites, from the Arnon as far as the Jabbok, and from the wilderness as far as the Jordan.

CSB: They took possession of all the territory of the Amorites from the Arnon to the Jabbok and from the wilderness to the Jordan.

NLT: from the Arnon River to the Jabbok River, and from the eastern wilderness to the Jordan.

KJV: And they possessed all the coasts of the Amorites, from Arnon even unto Jabbok, and from the wilderness even unto Jordan.

NKJV: They took possession of all the territory of the Amorites, from the Arnon to the Jabbok and from the wilderness to the Jordan.

This lays out the borders of the disputed territory of Gilead. This is the region which the Ammonite army is preparing to attack. Their intent is to take this land from Israel (Judges 10:17–18; 11:4). Gilead prepared by making Jephthah their leader (Judges 11:4–11). When he confronted the king of Ammon about the impending invasion, he was given a curious response. The enemy king claimed Israel took the territory from them centuries earlier, during the time of Moses (Judges 11:12–13).

In response, Jephthah has sent a history lesson to the king (Judges 11:14–21). He has noted that the original inhabitants of the land were Amorites, not Ammonites. Further, these Amorites had attacked Israel without provocation. Since it was the Lord who gave Israel victory over the Amorites, at that time, it was God who gave the land to Israel. He also notes, later (Judges 11:26), that since the area was conquered its ownership has not been in dispute.

Jephthah defines the borders of Gilead since Moses' era as stretching from the Arnon River in the south to the Jabbok River in the north. It runs from the Jordan River east to the beginning of the region known simply as "the wilderness." The Ammonites possessed a territory of land in the wilderness, but they wanted to take from Israel all the land up to the Jordan River and some distance beyond.

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.

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.

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).