Bible Commentaries
Judges 11

Verse 1

Jephthah = He will deliver. Note the Fig, Epanadiplosis ( App-6 ), to call attention to the facts of this verse, introducing Jephthah. All was irregular: no king, no judge, no priest.

Gileadite = son of the man Gilead.

man. Hebrew. gibbor. App-14 .

Verse 2

strange = foreign.

Verse 3

from. Hebrew "from the face of". Figure of speech Pleonasm. App-6 .

Tob = fruitful land. East of Syria.

vain = unemployed, or bankrupt.

Verse 4

children = sons.

Verse 9

the LORD. Hebrew. Jehovah. App-4 .

Verse 10

be witness = be a hearer.

Verse 11

with. Some codices, with three early printed editions, read "unto".

before the LORD = in the presence of Jehovah.

in Mizpeh. Compare Judges 10:17 .

Verse 15

And said. A special reading ( Sevir , App-34 ) and some codices read "and they said". Hebrew text = he.

Verse 17

me. Most codices, with Syriac, read "us" as in Judges 11:19 . Compare Numbers 20:14 .

Verse 18

Went along = went on.

but came not. Compare Numbers 21:13 , Numbers 21:24 .

Verse 19

Israel sent. Compare Deuteronomy 2:26 .

us. Compare Judges 11:17 and Deuteronomy 2:27 .

Verse 20

trusted = stayed or rested on. See App-69 .

coast = border.

Verse 23

shouldest thou . . . ? Figure of speech Erotesis.

it = him: i.e. Israel. Being masculine (in Hebrew), cannot refer to the land of Judges 11:21 ; and singular, so that it cannot refer to coasts of Judges 11:22 .

Verse 24

Wilt not thou . . . ? Figure of speech Erotesis . Jephthah does not recognize Chemosh as a god. The emphasis is on "thy" and "our", and is the argument a fortiori : and, taking them on their own ground, it is the argumentum ad hominem.

Verse 25

art thou. ? Figure of speech Erotesis. Compare Numbers 22:2 .Deuteronomy 23:4 .Joshua 24:9 .

Verse 26

three hundred years. Not a "round number". See App-50 .

Verse 29

the Spirit. Hebrew. ruach (feminine.) See App-9 .

unto. This word is read in the text of some codices with Aramaean, Syriac, and Vulgate.

Verse 30

vowed a vow. Figure of speech Polyptoton ( App-6 ) = made a solemn vow. See notes on Leviticus 27:1-8 .

Verse 31

whatsoever. This is masculine. But the issuer from his house was feminine. Thus his rash vow was impossible of fulfillment, and was to be repented of.

and = or. The Hebrew ( Vav ) is a connective Particle, and is rendered in many different ways. It is also used as a disjunctive, and is often rendered "or" (or, with a negative, "nor"). See Genesis 41:44 .Exodus 20:4 ; Exodus 21:15 , Exodus 21:17 , Exodus 21:18 . Numbers 16:14 ; Numbers 22:26 (Revised Version "nor"); Deuteronomy 3:24 . 2 Samuel 3:29 . 1Ki 18:10 , 1 Kings 18:27 . With a negative = "nor", "neither". Exodus 20:17 . Deu 7:25 . 2 Samuel 1:21 .Psalms 26:9 . Proverbs 6:4 ; Proverbs 30:3 , &c. See note on "but", 1 Kings 2:9 . Here, Jephthah's vow consisted of two parts: (1) He would either dedicate it to Jehovah (according to Leviticus 27:0 ); or (2) if unsuitable for this, he would offer it as a burnt offering. He performed his vow, and dedicated his daughter to Jehovah by a perpetual virginity (verses: Judges 11:36 , Judges 11:39 , Judges 11:40 ); but he did not offer her as a burnt offering, because it was forbidden by Jehovah, and could not be accepted by Him (Judges 18:21 ; Judges 20:2-5 ).

Verse 34

timbrels = drums. See note on Exodus 15:20 .

beside her. Figure of speech Pleonasm. App-6 . The fact is stated in two ways, in order to emphasize it.

Verse 35

opened my mouth. Hebraism for making a formal, prepared, and solemn statement.

Verse 37

go up and down = wander about.

Verse 39

did with her according to his vow which he had vowed = He did not offer her as a burnt offering; for Jehovah could not accept th a t . Therefore Jephthah must have dedicated her to the LORD by a perpetual virginity. Such a vow was provided for in Leviticus 27:0 . See note on Judges 11:31 .

and she knew no man. This is conclusive. It has nothing to do with a sacrificial death, but it has to do with a dedicated life to Jehovah. Thus was Jephthah's vow fulfilled.

And it was = and it became.

Verse 40

to lament = to rehearse with, as in Judges 5:11 ; to celebrate [her dedication] in praises.

four days in a year. Thus annually her friends "went", evidently to Jephthah's daughter, to rehearse with her this great event of her life: not of her death.