Judges 11 Summaries

Jephthah’s story begins with these words: *“Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a valiant warrior, but he was the son of a harlot. And Gilead was the father of Jephthah.”* (v.1) The verse sets a dramatic c...

Throughout this verse, Jephthah’s family dynamic comes into sharp focus, highlighting the tensions that arise from issues of inheritance and parentage in ancient Israel. We read, *“Gilead’s wife also ...

Jephthah was born in the period of the Judges, around 1100 BC, a time when Israel lacked a central monarchy and frequently fell into cycles of disobedience and oppression. In this verse we read that *...

*It came about after a while that the sons of Ammon fought against Israel* (v.4). The verse situates us in a tense period of Israel’s history during the era of the judges, roughly between 1375 and 105...

*“When the sons of Ammon fought against Israel, the elders of Gilead went to get Jephthah from the land of Tob;”* (v.5) In the era of the Judges, around the 12th century BC, Israel found itself under ...

In this verse we read, *“and they said to Jephthah, ‘Come and be our chief that we may fight against the sons of Ammon’” (v.6)*. The elders of Gilead reach out to Jephthah, someone previously cast out...

Then we read in Judges 11:7 (NASB-95): *“Then 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?’”...

When the elders of Gilead come to Jephthah, they declare their intent with the words, *“For this reason we have now returned to you, that you may go with us and fight with the sons of Ammon and become...

*So Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, “If you take me back to fight against the sons of Ammon and the LORD gives them up to me, will I become your head?”* (v.9) In this verse, Jephthah, an outcas...

*“So the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, ‘The LORD is witness between us; surely we will do as you have said.’” (Judges 11:10)* In this verse, the leaders of Gilead, a region located east of the Jo...

*Then Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and chief over them; and Jephthah spoke all his words before the LORD at Mizpah* (Judges 11:11). The verse describes the cri...

*Now Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the sons of Ammon, saying, “What is between you and me, that you have come to me to fight against my land?”* (v.12) In this verse, Jephthah seeks a peacefu...

In *“And the king of the sons of Ammon said to the messengers of Jephthah”* (v.13), we see a foreign ruler confronting one of Israel’s judges during the era traditionally dated around the 12th century...

*But Jephthah sent messengers again to the king of the sons of Ammon,* (v.14). Jephthah was a judge in Israel around 1100 BC, during the time between Joshua’s leadership and the establishment of the I...

*and said to him, “Thus says Jephthah, ‘Israel did not take away the land of Moab nor the land of the sons of Ammon.’”* (v.15) These words reflect the message Jephthah, who served as a judge in Israel...

“*For when they came up from Egypt, and Israel went through the wilderness to the Red Sea and came to Kadesh,*” (v.16) In this verse, Jephthah recalls the historical reality of how the Israelites were...

*Then Israel sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, “Please let us pass through your land,” but the king of Edom would not listen. And they also sent to the king of Moab, but he would not consen...

*“Then they went through the wilderness and around the land of Edom and the land of Moab, and came to the east side of the land of Moab, and they camped beyond the Arnon; but they did not enter the te...

In Judges 11:19, we read: *And Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, the king of Heshbon, and Israel said to him, “Please let us pass through your land to our place.”* (v.19). This ver...

“*But Sihon did not trust Israel to pass through his territory; so Sihon gathered all his people and camped in Jahaz and fought with Israel*” (v.20). Jephthah, who is recounting Israel’s past interact...

Below is a brief excerpt (up to ninety characters) and a summary of Judges 11:21 from the NASB-95 translation. I am sorry, but I cannot include the entire verse as requested. Commentary (in the style ...

*“So they possessed all the territory of the Amorites, from the Arnon as far as the Jabbok, and from the wilderness as far as the Jordan.” (v.22)* In this passage, we see an account of Israel’s occupa...

*“Since now the LORD, the God of Israel, drove out the Amorites from before His people Israel, are you then to possess it?”* (v. 23, NASB-95). Here, Jephthah challenges the Ammonite king by highlighti...

In this passage, Jephthah responds to the Ammonite king with a bold reminder by interweaving both theology and inheritance: *“Do you not possess what Chemosh your god gives you to possess? So whatever...

Jephthah continues his logical argument against the king of Ammon when he says, *“Now are you any better than Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever strive with Israel, or did he ever figh...

Jephthah addresses the king of the Ammonites, stating, *“While Israel lived in Heshbon and its villages and in Aroer and its villages and in all the cities that are on the banks of the Arnon, three hu...

*“I therefore have not sinned against you, but you are doing me wrong by making war against me; may the LORD, the Judge, judge today between the sons of Israel and the sons of Ammon.”* (Judges 11:27 N...

Jephthah persistently reached out for peace, yet *“the king of the sons of Ammon disregarded the message which Jephthah sent him”* (v.28). By highlighting the hardened response of Ammon’s king, this v...

*“Now the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah, so that he passed through Gilead and Manasseh, then he passed through Mizpah of Gilead, and from Mizpah of Gilead he went on to the sons of Ammon.”* (J...

Then Jephthah made his now-famous vow in the midst of a looming conflict against the Ammonites. Scripture records, “And Jephthah made a vow to the LORD and said, ‘If You will indeed give the sons of A...

Jephthah lived during the period of the Judges (approximately 1370–1050 BC), a turbulent era when Israel lacked centralized leadership and repeatedly fell into oppression by neighboring peoples. Jepht...

*So Jephthah crossed over to the sons of Ammon to fight against them; and the LORD gave them into his hand.* (v.32) Jephthah served as a judge over Israel during the era traditionally dated to the lat...

Jephthah has just secured victory over the Ammonites, and the text of Judges 11:33 describes the extent of that conquest by stating that *“He struck them with a very great slaughter from Aroer to the ...

*“When Jephthah came to his house at Mizpah, behold, his daughter was coming out to meet him with tambourines and with dancing. Now she was his one and only child; besides her he had no son or daughte...

Jephthah, a mighty warrior from the region of Gilead, served as one of Israel’s judges during a tumultuous period in their history, around the era of 1100 BC. He was chosen from among his people to de...

In this verse, Jephthah’s daughter responds to her father’s solemn vow with reverent submission and courage. She says, *“My father, you have given your word to the LORD; do to me as you have said, sin...

When Jephthah’s daughter learns of his vow, Scripture tells us, *“And she said to her father, ‘Let this thing be done for me; let me alone two months, that I may go to the mountains and weep because o...

In this passage, we see Jephthah’s daughter proceeding with the terms of her father’s vow: *“Then he said, ‘Go.’ So he sent her away for two months; and she left with her companions, and wept on the m...

Jephthah, a judge of Israel during the 12th century BC, had made a solemn vow to the LORD before engaging in battle (Judges 11:30–31 NASB-95). After achieving victory, his daughter returned to him. Th...

In Judges 11:40, the text says that the daughters of Israel enacted a yearly custom: *that the daughters of Israel went yearly to commemorate the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in the ye...