Judges 11:12
in Judges 11Then Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites, saying, “What do you have against me that you have come to fight against my land?”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Jephthah sent messengers unto the king of the children of Ammon, saying, What hast thou to do with me, that thou art come unto me to fight against my land?
KJV
And Jephthah sent messengers unto the king of the children of Ammon, saying, What hast thou to do with me, that thou art come against me to fight in my land?
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This verse in Judges 11
Commentary
5 notes on this verseA commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
The bravest officers have always been averse to war; so Jephthah, whose courage was indisputable, resolved not only to make it clearly appear that hostilities were forced upon him, but to try measures for avoiding, if possible, an appeal to arms: and in pursuing such a course he was acting as became a leader in Israel (De 20:10-18).
This site's exposition
Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites
on Judges 11:12-13
He sends before he strikes, as Deuteronomy 20:10 orders: "make an offer of peace". The king claims Israel seized his land "from the Arnon to the Jabbok", but that was the kingdom of Sihon the Amorite. Numbers 21:24 has Israel stop at "the border of the Ammonites, because it was fortified", and Deuteronomy 2:19 had forbidden Israel to harass Ammon, so the two nations never fought over it.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And Jephthah sent messengers unto the king of the children of Ammon,....
That Jephthah did delight inequity, and designed no other than to do justice. If the children of Ammon could convince him that Israel had done them wrong, he was ready to restore the rights of the Ammonites. If not, it was plain by their invasion that they did Israel wrong, and he was ready to maintain the rights of the Israelites.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Jepthah sent messengers - He wished the Ammonites to explain their own motives for undertaking a war against Israel; as then the justice of his cause would appear more forcibly to the people.
The words behind it
16 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּשְׁלַ֤ח | vaiyishlach | and he sent | H7971 → | 845 times |
| יִפְתָּח֙ | yiftach | Jephthah | H3316 → | 30 times |
| מַלְאָכִ֔ים | malakhim | messengers | H4397 → | 213 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| מֶ֥לֶךְ | melekh | [the] king of | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| בְּנֵֽי־ | benei- | [the] people of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| עַמּ֖וֹן | amon | Ammon | H5983 → | 106 times |
| לֵאמֹ֑ר | lemor | <to> saying | H559 → | 5305 times |
| מַה־ | mah- | what? | H4100 → | 752 times |
| לִּ֣י | li | [is] to me | ||
| וָלָ֔ךְ | valakh | and to <the> you | ||
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| בָ֥אתָ | vata | you have come | H935 → | 2568 times |
| אֵלַ֖י | ʾelai | to me | H413 → | 5510 times |
| לְהִלָּחֵ֥ם | lehilachem | to wage war | H3898 → | 177 times |
| בְּאַרְצִֽי׃ | beartzi | against land my | H776 → | 2504 times |
וַיִּשְׁלַ֤חand he sent
vaiyishlachH7971 →845 times
יִפְתָּח֙Jephthah
yiftachH3316 →30 times
מַלְאָכִ֔יםmessengers
malakhimH4397 →213 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
מֶ֥לֶךְ[the] king of
melekhH4428 →2525 times
בְּנֵֽי־[the] people of
benei-H1121 →4930 times
עַמּ֖וֹןAmmon
amonH5983 →106 times
לֵאמֹ֑ר<to> saying
lemorH559 →5305 times
מַה־what?
mah-H4100 →752 times
לִּ֣י[is] to me
li
וָלָ֔ךְand to <the> you
valakh
כִּֽי־that
ki-H3588 →4482 times
בָ֥אתָyou have come
vataH935 →2568 times
אֵלַ֖יto me
ʾelaiH413 →5510 times
לְהִלָּחֵ֥םto wage war
lehilachemH3898 →177 times
בְּאַרְצִֽי׃against land my
beartziH776 →2504 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
Numbers 20:14From Kadesh, Moses sent messengers to tell the king of Edom, “This is what your brother Israel says: You know all the hardship that has befallen us,
it leads to
- Judges 11:16–17
But when Israel came up out of Egypt, they traveled through the wilderness to the Red Sea and came to Kadesh.
- Deuteronomy 23:7
Do not despise an Edomite, for he is your brother. Do not despise an Egyptian, because you lived as a foreigner in his land.
- Genesis 36:31–39
These are the kings who reigned in the land of Edom before any king reigned over the Israelites:
- Judges 11:16–17
Through
Deuteronomy 2:26So from the Wilderness of Kedemoth I sent messengers with an offer of peace to Sihon king of Heshbon, saying,
it leads to
- Joshua 13:18
Jahaz, Kedemoth, Mephaath,
- Luke 10:5–6
Whatever house you enter, begin by saying, ‘Peace to this house.’
- Luke 10:10–12
But if you enter a town and they do not welcome you, go into the streets and declare,
- Joshua 21:37
Kedemoth, and Mephaath—four cities, together with their pasturelands.
- Matthew 10:12–15
As you enter the home, greet its occupants.
- Joshua 13:18
About Judges
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; 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.