Judges 11:7 - Printer Friendly

ESV: But Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, "Did you not hate me and drive me out of my father 's house? Why have you come to me now when you are in distress?"

NIV: Jephthah said to them, "Didn’t you hate me and drive me from my father’s house? Why do you come to me now, when you’re in trouble?"

NASB: But Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, 'Did you not hate me and drive me from my father’s house? So why have you come to me now when you are in trouble?'

CSB: Jephthah replied to the elders of Gilead, "Didn’t you hate me and drive me out of my father’s family? Why then have you come to me now when you’re in trouble?"

NLT: But Jephthah said to them, 'Aren’t you the ones who hated me and drove me from my father’s house? Why do you come to me now when you’re in trouble?'

KJV: And Jephthah said unto the elders of Gilead, Did not ye hate me, and expel me out of my father's house? and why are ye come unto me now when ye are in distress?

NKJV: So Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, “Did you not hate me, and expel me from my father’s house? Why have you come to me now when you are in distress?”

Jephthah raises an obvious question. The leaders of Gilead have come to him to ask for help. They want him to lead their people in battle against the invading, oppressive Ammonites (Judges 10:17–18, 11:4). Gilead is so desperate for a qualified military leader that they're willing to offer the job to an exile and the leader of a band of criminals (Judges 11:1–3).

As one might expect from an outcast and leader of rough men (Judges 9:4), Jephthah wants to know two things: why and what's in it for him. He asks bluntly if these men forgot that they—likely meaning the leaders of Gilead, in general—hated him and helped drive him out of his father's house. Earlier verses described Jephthah's half-brothers, the sons of his father's wife, running him off to keep the inheritance for themselves. In some way, the elders of Gilead were also involved in Jephthah's removal from his family home. That might have been as simple as doing nothing to stop that injustice from happening; it might have meant they agreed and actively worked to have Jephthah exiled.

Most likely, Jephthah doesn't only want to know why they have tracked him down. It's all but certain he knows what's happening with the Ammonites. Most likely, a question like this has a dual purpose. Stating prior history is a way of starting negotiations with the leaders of Gilead. If they need him so badly, and there's something he can gain by it, he wants to be sure it's worth his while.

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.

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).