Judges 11:6 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And they said to Jephthah, “Come and be our leader, that we may fight against the Ammonites.”

NIV: Come,' they said, 'be our commander, so we can fight the Ammonites.'

NASB: and they said to Jephthah, 'Come and be our leader, that we may fight against the sons of Ammon.'

CSB: They said to him, "Come, be our commander, and let's fight the Ammonites."

NLT: The elders said, 'Come and be our commander! Help us fight the Ammonites!'

KJV: And they said unto Jephthah, Come, and be our captain, that we may fight with the children of Ammon.

NKJV: Then they said to Jephthah, “Come and be our commander, that we may fight against the people of Ammon.”

The leaders of Gilead have left their territory on a recruiting mission. They need an experienced military leader to direct their people in the fight against invading Ammonites. They've come to the region of Tob, perhaps not far from Gilead, to ask an unlikely candidate to take that role. Both the trip and their intended target are signs of desperation. With the Ammonites beginning to attack (Judges 11:4), they seem to have no choice but to beg an exiled bandit leader for help.

Jephthah's experience is as the leader of a band of "worthless" men who likely rob and pillage for a living (Judges 9:4; 11:3). Further, the leaders of Gilead were complicit in chasing Jephthah out of Gilead in the first place, along with his own brothers (Judges 11:1–2). Jephthah's initial response will show he has not forgotten this fact (Judges 11:7).

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 5/6/2024 8:03:03 PM