Judges 10:18
in Judges 10And the rulers of Gilead said to one another, “Whoever will launch the attack against the Ammonites will be the head of all who live in Gilead.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the people, the princes of Gilead, said one to another, What man is he that will begin to fight against the children of Ammon? he shall be head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.
KJV
And the people and princes of Gilead said one to another, What man is he that will begin to fight against the children of Ammon? he shall be head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.
⋯
This verse in Judges 10
Commentary
7 notes on this verseWhat man is he that will begin to fight - It appears that, although the spirit of patriotism had excited the people at large to come forward against their enemies, yet they had no general, none to lead them forth to battle. God, however, who had accepted their sincere repentance, raised them up an able captain in the person of Jephthah; and in him the suffrages of the people were concentrated, as we shall see in the following chapter.
This site's exposition
the Israelites assembled and camped at Mizpah
on Judges 10:17-18
The muster is at Mizpah in Gilead, the Mizpah of Genesis 31:49 where Jacob and Laban raised their heap, a different town from the Mizpah of Benjamin in chapter 20. No verse here says the LORD raised up a deliverer, as 2:16 and 3:9 do. The rulers offer headship to "Whoever will launch the attack against the Ammonites," and Jephthah answers by setting his terms at 11:9-11.
This site's exposition
Whoever will launch the attack
Adam Clarke reads the offer as the cry of an army with no general, and holds that God, having accepted the repentance of verse 16, raised up Jephthah to lead it. The rulers make the offer among themselves.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
And the people and princes of Gilead said one to another,....
God had said, "I will deliver you no more;" but now they are not what they were, they are other men, they are new men, and now he will deliver them. That threatening was denounced to convince and humble them, and, now that it had taken its desired effect, it is revoked in order to their deliverance.
5 And Jair died, and was buried in Camon. Quiet and peaceable reigns, though the best to live in, are the worst to write of, as yielding least variety of matter for the historian to entertain his reader with; such were the reigns of these two judges, Tola and Jair, who make but a small figure and take up but a very little room in this history.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
And the people and princes ... - The inhabitants of Gilead appear as a separate and independent community, electing their own chief, without any reference to the West-Jordanic tribes.
The words behind it
19 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּאמְר֨וּ | vaiyomeru | and they said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| הָעָ֜ם | haam | the people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| שָׂרֵ֤י | sarei | [the] leaders of | H8269 → | 421 times |
| גִלְעָד֙ | gilad | Gilead | H1568 → | 134 times |
| אִ֣ישׁ | ʾish | each | H376 → | 1663 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| רֵעֵ֔הוּ | reehu | neighbor his | H7453 → | 188 times |
| מִ֣י | mi | who? | H4310 → | 423 times |
| הָאִ֔ישׁ | haish | [is] the man | H376 → | 1663 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֣ר | ʾasher | who | H834 → | 5497 times |
| יָחֵ֔ל | yachel | he will begin | H2490 → | 143 times |
| לְהִלָּחֵ֖ם | lehilachem | to fight | H3898 → | 177 times |
| בִּבְנֵ֣י | bivnei | against [the] people of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| עַמּ֑וֹן | amon | Ammon | H5983 → | 106 times |
| יִֽהְיֶ֣ה | yihyeh | he will become | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| לְרֹ֔אשׁ | lerosh | <into> chief | H7218 → | 599 times |
| לְכֹ֖ל | lekhol | of all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| יֹשְׁבֵ֥י | yoshevei | [the] inhabitants of | H3427 → | 1079 times |
| גִלְעָֽד׃ פ | gilad | Gilead | H1568 → | 134 times |
וַיֹּאמְר֨וּand they said
vaiyomeruH559 →5305 times
הָעָ֜םthe people
haamH5971 →1873 times
שָׂרֵ֤י[the] leaders of
sareiH8269 →421 times
גִלְעָד֙Gilead
giladH1568 →134 times
אִ֣ישׁeach
ʾishH376 →1663 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
רֵעֵ֔הוּneighbor his
reehuH7453 →188 times
מִ֣יwho?
miH4310 →423 times
הָאִ֔ישׁ[is] the man
haishH376 →1663 times
אֲשֶׁ֣רwho
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
יָחֵ֔לhe will begin
yachelH2490 →143 times
לְהִלָּחֵ֖םto fight
lehilachemH3898 →177 times
בִּבְנֵ֣יagainst [the] people of
bivneiH1121 →4930 times
עַמּ֑וֹןAmmon
amonH5983 →106 times
יִֽהְיֶ֣הhe will become
yihyehH1961 →3559 times
לְרֹ֔אשׁ<into> chief
leroshH7218 →599 times
לְכֹ֖לof all
lekholH3605 →5413 times
יֹשְׁבֵ֥י[the] inhabitants of
yosheveiH3427 →1079 times
גִלְעָֽד׃ פGilead
giladH1568 →134 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Judges 11:11So Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him their leader and commander. And Jephthah repeated all his terms in the presence of the LORD at Mizpah.
it leads to
- Judges 20:1
Then all the Israelites from Dan to Beersheba and from the land of Gilead came out, and the congregation assembled as one man before the LORD at Mizpah.
- 1 Samuel 10:17
After this, Samuel summoned the people to the LORD at Mizpah
- James 1:5
Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.
- Judges 10:17
Then the Ammonites were called to arms and camped in Gilead, and the Israelites assembled and camped at Mizpah.
- 1 Samuel 11:15
So all the people went to Gilgal and confirmed Saul as king in the presence of the LORD. There they sacrificed peace offerings before the LORD, and Saul and all the Israelites rejoiced greatly.
- Judges 20:1
Through
Isaiah 34:12No nobles will be left to proclaim a king, and all her princes will come to nothing.
it leads to
- Isaiah 3:6–8
A man will seize his brother within his father’s house: “You have a cloak—you be our leader! Take charge of this heap of rubble.”
- Jeremiah 27:20
which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon did not take when he carried Jeconiah son of Jehoiakim king of Judah into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon, along with all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem.
- 2 Corinthians 12:11
I have become a fool, but you drove me to it. In fact, you should have commended me, since I am in no way inferior to those “super-apostles,” even though I am nothing.
- Isaiah 3:6–8
About Judges
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: Joshua, Judges, Ruth and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.