Judges 11:2

11:2 Gilead’s wife also gave ¹  him sons. When his wife’s sons grew up, they made Jephthah leave and said to him, “You are not going to inherit any of our father’s wealth, ²  because you are another woman’s son.”

Judges 11:8-9

11:8 The leaders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “That may be true, ³  but now we pledge to you our loyalty. ⁴  Come with us and fight with the Ammonites. Then you will become the leader ⁵  of all who live in Gilead.” ⁶  11:9 Jephthah said to the leaders of Gilead, “All right! ⁷  If you take me back to fight with the Ammonites and the Lord gives them to me, ⁸  I will be your leader.” ⁹ 

Judges 11:13

11:13 The Ammonite king said to Jephthah’s messengers, “Because Israel stole ¹⁰  my land when they ¹¹  came up from Egypt – from the Arnon River in the south to the Jabbok River in the north, and as far west as the Jordan. ¹²  Now return it ¹³  peaceably!”

Judges 11:29

A Foolish Vow Spells Death for a Daughter

11:29 The Lord’s spirit empowered ¹⁴  Jephthah. He passed through Gilead and Manasseh and went ¹⁵  to Mizpah in Gilead. From there he approached the Ammonites. ¹⁶ 

Judges 11:34

11:34 When Jephthah came home to Mizpah, there was his daughter hurrying out ¹⁷  to meet him, dancing to the rhythm of tambourines. ¹⁸  She was his only child; except for her he had no son or daughter.

Judges 12:1

Civil Strife Mars the Victory

12:1 The Ephraimites assembled ¹⁹  and crossed over to Zaphon. They said to Jephthah, “Why did you go and fight ²⁰  with the Ammonites without asking ²¹  us to go with you? We will burn your house down right over you!” ²² 

Judges 12:4

12:4 Jephthah assembled all the men of Gilead and they fought with Ephraim. The men of Gilead defeated Ephraim, because the Ephraimites insulted them, saying, ²³  “You Gileadites are refugees in Ephraim, living within Ephraim’s and Manasseh’s territory.” ²⁴ 

[11:2]  ¹ tn Heb “bore.”

[11:2]  ² tn Heb “in the house of our father.”

[11:8]  ³ tn Heb “therefore”; “even so.” For MT לָכֵן (lakhen, “therefore”) the LXX has an opposite reading, “not so,” which seems to be based on the Hebrew words לֹא כֵן (lo’ khen).

[11:8]  ⁴ tn Heb “we have returned to you.” For another example of שׁוּב אֶל (shuv ’el) in the sense of “give allegiance to,” see 1 Kgs 12:27b.

[11:8]  ⁵ sn Then you will become the leader. The leaders of Gilead now use the word רֹאשׁ (ro’sh, “head, leader”), the same term that appeared in their original, general offer (see 10:18). In their initial offer to Jephthah they had simply invited him to be their קָצִין (qatsin, “commander”; v. 6). When he resists they must offer him a more attractive reward – rulership over the region. See R. G. Boling, Judges (AB), 198.

[11:8]  ⁶ tn Heb “leader of us and all who live in Gilead.”

[11:9]  ⁵ tn “All right” is supplied in the translation for clarification.

[11:9]  ⁶ tn Heb “places them before me.”

[11:9]  ⁷ tn Some translate the final statement as a question, “will I really be your leader?” An affirmative sentence is preferable. Jephthah is repeating the terms of the agreement in an official manner. In v. 10 the leaders legally agree to these terms.

[11:13]  ⁷ tn Or “took”; or “seized.”

[11:13]  ⁸ tn Heb “he” (a collective singular).

[11:13]  ⁹ tn Heb “from the Arnon to the Jabbok and to the Jordan.” The word “River” has been supplied in the translation with “Arnon” and “Jabbok,” because these are less familiar to modern readers than the Jordan.

[11:13]  ¹⁰ tc The translation assumes a singular suffix (“[return] it”); the Hebrew text has a plural suffix (“[return] them”), which, if retained, might refer to the cities of the land.

[11:29]  ⁹ tn Heb “was on.”

[11:29]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “passed through.”

[11:29]  ¹¹ tn Heb “From Mizpah in Gilead he passed through [to] the Ammonites.”

[11:34]  ¹¹ tn Heb “Look! His daughter was coming out.”

[11:34]  ¹² tn Heb “with tambourines and dancing.”

[12:1]  ¹³ tn Heb “the men of Ephraim were summoned [or “were mustered”].”

[12:1]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “cross over to fight.”

[12:1]  ¹⁵ tn Or “calling”; or “summoning.”

[12:1]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “Your house we will burn over you with fire.”

[12:4]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “because they said.”

[12:4]  ¹⁶ tc Heb “Refugees of Ephraim are you, O Gilead, in the midst of Ephraim and in the midst of Manasseh.” The LXX omits the entire second half of the verse (beginning with “because”). The words כִּי אָמְרוּ פְּלִיטֵי אֶפְרַיִם (ki ’amru pÿlitey ’efrayim, “because they said, ‘Refugees of Ephraim’”) may have been accidentally copied from the next verse (cf. כִּי יֹאמְרוּ פְּלִיטֵי אֶפְרַיִם, ki yo’mÿru pelitey ’efrayim) and the following words (“you, O Gilead…Manasseh”) then added in an attempt to make sense of the verse. See G. F. Moore, Judges (ICC), 307-8, and C. F. Burney, Judges, 327. If the Hebrew text is retained, then the Ephraimites appear to be insulting the Gileadites by describing them as refugees who are squatting on Ephraim’s and Manasseh’s land. The present translation assumes that “Ephraim” is a genitive of location after “refugees.”