Judges 8:14

8:14 He captured a young man from Succoth ¹  and interrogated him. The young man wrote down for him the names of Succoth’s officials and city leaders – seventy-seven men in all. ² 

Judges 10:18

10:18 The leaders ³  of Gilead said to one another, “Who is willing to lead the charge ⁴  against the Ammonites? He will become the leader of all who live in Gilead!”

Judges 11:9

11:9 Jephthah said to the leaders of Gilead, “All right! ⁵  If you take me back to fight with the Ammonites and the Lord gives them to me, ⁶  I will be your leader.” ⁷ 

Judges 11:11

11:11 So Jephthah went with the leaders of Gilead. The people made him their leader and commander. Jephthah repeated the terms of the agreement ⁸  before the Lord in Mizpah.

[8:14]  ¹ tn Heb “from the men of Succoth.”

[8:14]  ² tn Heb “wrote down for him the officials of Succoth and its elders, seventy-seven men.”

[10:18]  ³ tn Heb “the people, the officers.”

[10:18]  ⁴ tn Heb “Who is the man who will begin fighting.”

[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.

[11:11]  ⁷ tn Heb “spoke all his words.” This probably refers to the “words” recorded in v. 9. Jephthah repeats the terms of the agreement at the Lord’s sanctuary, perhaps to ratify the contract or to emphasize the Gileadites’ obligation to keep their part of the bargain. Another option is to translate, “Jephthah conducted business before the Lord in Mizpah.” In this case, the statement is a general reference to the way Jephthah ruled. He recognized the Lord’s authority and made his decisions before the Lord.