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Judges 11:13

in Judges 11

The king of the Ammonites answered Jephthah’s messengers, “When Israel came up out of Egypt, they seized my land, from the Arnon to the Jabbok and all the way to the Jordan. Now, therefore, restore it peaceably.”

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And the king of the children of Ammon answered unto the messengers of Jephthah, Because Israel took away my land, when he came up out of Egypt, from the Arnon even unto the Jabbok, and unto the Jordan: now therefore restore those lands again peaceably.

KJV

And the king of the children of Ammon answered unto the messengers of Jephthah, Because Israel took away my land, when they came up out of Egypt, from Arnon even unto Jabbok, and unto Jordan: now therefore restore those lands again peaceably.

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This verse in Judges 11

Commentary

8 notes on this verse
From Arnon even unto Jabbok ... - The land bounded by the Arnon on the south, by the Jabbok on the north, by the Jordan on the west, and by the wilderness on the east was, of old, the kingdom of Sihon, but then the territory of Reuben and Gad.

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.

This site's exposition

restore it peaceably

The land the king claims, from the Arnon to the Jabbok, had been the kingdom of Sihon, Albert Barnes notes, and Reuben and Gad now held it. Matthew Henry reads the demand as a cover for plunder. Adam Clarke takes Moab as Ammon's partner in the claim.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

His pretence is, "Israel took away my lands long since; now therefore restore those lands." We have reason to think the Ammonites, when they made this descent upon Israel, meant no other than to spoil and plunder the country, and enrich themselves with the prey, as they had done formerly under Eglon ( ch. iii.

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens

And the king of the children of Ammon answered unto the messengers of Jephthah,....

The Nineteenth Century3 voices

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

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).

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

proposed

the king of Ammon . . ., Because Israel took away my land--(See on De 2:19). The subject of quarrel was a claim of right advanced by the Ammonite monarch to the lands which the Israelites were occupying.

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

proposed

From Arnon even unto Jabbok, and unto Jordan - That is, all the land that had formerly belonged to the Amorites, and to the Moabites, who it seems were confederates on this occasion.

The words behind it

23 Hebrew words

Every 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.

  • וַיֹּאמֶר֩and he said

    vaiyomerH559 →5305 times

  • מֶ֨לֶךְ[the] king of

    melekhH4428 →2525 times

  • בְּנֵי־[the] people of

    benei-H1121 →4930 times

  • עַמּ֜וֹןAmmon

    amonH5983 →106 times

  • אֶל־to

    ʾel-H413 →5510 times

  • מַלְאֲכֵ֣י[the] messengers of

    malakheiH4397 →213 times

  • יִפְתָּ֗חJephthah

    yiftachH3316 →30 times

  • כִּֽי־that

    ki-H3588 →4482 times

  • לָקַ֨חit took

    lakachH3947 →966 times

  • יִשְׂרָאֵ֤לIsrael

    yisraelH3478 →2507 times

  • אֶת־<obj.>

    ʾet-H853 →10935 times

  • אַרְצִי֙land my

    ʾartziH776 →2504 times

  • בַּעֲלוֹת֣וֹwhen came up it

    baalotoH5927 →890 times

  • מִמִּצְרַ֔יִםfrom Egypt

    mimitzrayimH4714 →641 times

  • מֵאַרְנ֥וֹןfrom [the] Arnon

    mearnonH769 →25 times

  • וְעַד־and to

    vead-H5704 →1261 times

  • הַיַּבֹּ֖קthe Jabbok

    haiyabokH2999 →

  • וְעַד־and to

    vead-H5704 →1261 times

  • הַיַּרְדֵּ֑ןthe Jordan

    haiyardenH3383 →182 times

  • וְעַתָּ֕הand therefore

    veatahH6258 →433 times

  • הָשִׁ֥יבָהrestore !

    hashivahH7725 →1056 times

  • אֶתְהֶ֖ן<obj.> them

    ʾethenH853 →10935 times

  • בְּשָׁלֽוֹם׃in peace

    beshalomH7965 →236 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

8 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Genesis 32:22During the night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two maidservants, and his eleven sons, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok.5 worksNumbers 21:24–26And Israel put him to the sword and took possession of his land, from the Arnon to the Jabbok—but only up to the border of the Ammonites, because it was fortified.4 works2 Kings 8:6When the king asked the woman, she confirmed it. So the king appointed for her an officer, saying, “Restore all that was hers, along with all the proceeds of the field from the day that she left the country until now.”3 worksProverbs 19:9A false witness will not go unpunished, and one who pours out lies will perish.2 worksDeuteronomy 3:16and to the Reubenites and Gadites I gave the territory from Gilead to the Arnon Valley (the middle of the valley was the border) and up to the Jabbok River, the border of the Ammonites.2 worksProverbs 19:5A false witness will not go unpunished, and one who utters lies will not escape.2 works
The other 2 cross-references, with their words ▾
Deuteronomy 2:37But you did not go near the land of the Ammonites, or the land along the banks of the Jabbok River, or the cities of the hill country, or any place that the LORD our God had forbidden.2 worksJoshua 12:2Sihon king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon. He ruled from Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Valley, along the middle of the valley, up to the Jabbok River (the border of the Ammonites), that is, half of Gilead,2 works

The walk

8 stops

Each 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

    Genesis 32:22

    During the night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two maidservants, and his eleven sons, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok.

    it leads to

    • Deuteronomy 2:37

      But you did not go near the land of the Ammonites, or the land along the banks of the Jabbok River, or the cities of the hill country, or any place that the LORD…

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • Deuteronomy 3:16

      and to the Reubenites and Gadites I gave the territory from Gilead to the Arnon Valley (the middle of the valley was the border) and up to the Jabbok River, the border of the…

    • 1 Timothy 5:8

      If anyone does not provide for his own, and especially his own household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

  • Through

    Proverbs 19:5

    A false witness will not go unpunished, and one who utters lies will not escape.

    it leads to

    • Proverbs 21:28

      A lying witness will perish, but the man who listens to truth will speak forever.

    • Proverbs 6:19

      a false witness who gives false testimony, and one who stirs up discord among brothers.

    • Exodus 23:1

      “You shall not spread a false report. Do not join the wicked by being a malicious witness.

    • Proverbs 19:9

      A false witness will not go unpunished, and one who pours out lies will perish.

  • Through

    Proverbs 19:9

    A false witness will not go unpunished, and one who pours out lies will perish.

    it leads to

    • Revelation 22:15

      But outside are the dogs, the sorcerers, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.

About Judges

Jephthah's Daughter Comes to Meet Her Father — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain
Jephthah's Daughter Comes to Meet Her Father — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain
Judges: the study guide →Read Judges 11 →

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments; 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.

Read on in Judges 11 →