Judges 11:4 - Printer Friendly

ESV: After a time the Ammonites made war against Israel.

NIV: Some time later, when the Ammonites were fighting against Israel,

NASB: Now it came about, after a while, that the sons of Ammon fought against Israel.

CSB: Some time later, the Ammonites fought against Israel.

NLT: At about this time, the Ammonites began their war against Israel.

KJV: And it came to pass in process of time, that the children of Ammon made war against Israel.

NKJV: It came to pass after a time that the people of Ammon made war against Israel.

The previous chapter described how God subjected Israel under the Ammonites and Philistines. Israel had been crushed under the oppression of these two nations for the past 18 years (Judges 10:7–8). The Ammonites struck Israel from the east, especially the people of Gilead on the east side of the Jordan River. Now they were back making war against Israel once more.

In this case, Israel had made an important change. God's people had repented for their sin of serving the false gods of Canaan. They had cried out to the Lord to deliver them from their oppressors (Judges 10:10–16). God's willingness to let Israel suffer was reaching its limit. The people of Gilead had fashioned an army of sorts to stand against the Ammonites. The problem was they had nobody to lead them into battle. That's where Jephthah (Judges 11:1–3), an exiled hooligan, will soon come into the picture.

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).

Accessed 5/5/2024 12:39:51 AM