Judges 11:10
in Judges 11And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “The LORD is our witness if we do not do as you say.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the elders of Gilead said unto Jephthah, Jehovah shall be witness between us; surely according to thy word so will we do.
KJV
And the elders of Gilead said unto Jephthah, The Lord be witness between us, if we do not so according to thy words.
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This verse in Judges 11
Commentary
4 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
will I really be your leader
on Judges 11:9-11
Jephthah makes the elders swear, "The LORD is our witness if we do not do as you say". Mizpah took its name at Genesis 31:49 from the same appeal, "May the LORD keep watch between you and me". He then "repeated all his terms in the presence of the LORD," so a bargain with men becomes a matter with God, the shape of the vow at verse 30.
This site's exposition
The LORD is our witness
Matthew Henry notes that the Hebrew reads the LORD be a hearer, so the oath places God as the one listening to every term. With that oath, Henry writes, the contract between Jephthah and Gilead was ratified. Henry holds that all Israel later agreed to it.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
The Lord be a hearer, so the word is. Whatever we speak, it concerns us to remember that God is a hearer, and to speak accordingly. Thus was the original contract ratified between Jephthah and the Gileadites, which all Israel, it should seem, agreed to afterwards, for it is said ( ch. xii.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
And the elders of Gilead said unto Jephthah,....
The words behind it
14 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּאמְר֥וּ | vaiyomeru | and they said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| זִקְנֵֽי־ | ziknei- | [the] elders of | H2205 → | 178 times |
| גִלְעָ֖ד | gilad | Gilead | H1568 → | 134 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| יִפְתָּ֑ח | yiftach | Jephthah | H3316 → | 30 times |
| יְהוָ֗ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| יִהְיֶ֤ה | yihyeh | he will be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| שֹׁמֵ֙עַ֙ | shomea' | hearing | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| בֵּֽינוֹתֵ֔ינוּ | beinoteinu | between us | H996 → | 407 times |
| אִם־ | ʾim- | if | H518 → | 1069 times |
| לֹ֥א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| כִדְבָרְךָ֖ | khidvarekha | according to word your | H1697 → | 1440 times |
| כֵּ֥ן | ken | so | H3651 → | 771 times |
| נַעֲשֶֽׂה׃ | naaseh | we will do | H6213 → | 2628 times |
וַיֹּאמְר֥וּand they said
vaiyomeruH559 →5305 times
זִקְנֵֽי־[the] elders of
ziknei-H2205 →178 times
גִלְעָ֖דGilead
giladH1568 →134 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
יִפְתָּ֑חJephthah
yiftachH3316 →30 times
יְהוָ֗הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
יִהְיֶ֤הhe will be
yihyehH1961 →3559 times
שֹׁמֵ֙עַ֙hearing
shomea'H8085 →1159 times
בֵּֽינוֹתֵ֔ינוּbetween us
beinoteinuH996 →407 times
אִם־if
ʾim-H518 →1069 times
לֹ֥אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
כִדְבָרְךָ֖according to word your
khidvarekhaH1697 →1440 times
כֵּ֥ןso
kenH3651 →771 times
נַעֲשֶֽׂה׃we will do
naasehH6213 →2628 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
Exodus 20:7You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not leave anyone unpunished who takes His name in vain.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 5:11
You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not leave anyone unpunished who takes His name in vain.
- Leviticus 19:12
You must not swear falsely by My name and so profane the name of your God. I am the LORD.
- James 5:12
Above all, my brothers, do not swear, not by heaven or earth or by any other oath. Simply let your “Yes” be yes, and your “No,” no, so that you will not fall under…
- Matthew 5:33–37
Again, you have heard that it was said to the ancients, ‘Do not break your oath, but fulfill your vows to the Lord.’
- Psalms 50:14–16
Sacrifice a thank offering to God, and fulfill your vows to the Most High.
- Deuteronomy 5:11
Through
Jeremiah 29:23For they have committed an outrage in Israel by committing adultery with the wives of their neighbors and speaking lies in My name, which I did not command them to do. I am He…
it leads to
- Malachi 3:5
“Then I will draw near to you for judgment. And I will be a swift witness against sorcerers and adulterers and perjurers, against oppressors of the widowed and fatherless, and against those who defraud…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Malachi 3:5
Through
Genesis 31:50If you mistreat my daughters or take other wives, although no one is with us, remember that God is a witness between you and me.”
it leads to
- Micah 1:2
Hear, O peoples, all of you; listen, O earth, and everyone in it! May the Lord GOD bear witness against you, the Lord from His holy temple.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Jeremiah 42:5
Then they said to Jeremiah, “May the LORD be a true and faithful witness against us if we do not act upon every word that the LORD your God sends you to tell us.
- Micah 1:2
About Judges
This page draws on John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; 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.