Judges 11:15
in Judges 11to tell him, “This is what Jephthah says: Israel did not take away the land of Moab or of the Ammonites.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
and he said unto him, Thus saith Jephthah: Israel took not away the land of Moab, nor the land of the children of Ammon;
KJV
And said unto him, Thus saith Jephthah, Israel took not away the land of Moab, nor the land of the children of Ammon:
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This verse in Judges 11
Commentary
5 notes on this verseAnd said unto him,.... By his messengers: thus saith Jephthah; in a majestic style, as governor of Israel: Israel took not away the land of Moab, nor the land of the children of Ammon; they were charged not to take any, nor did they take any that belonged to any of these countries, or that was then in the possession of either of them, Deu 2:9 what they did take was in the hands of Sihon and Og, and they had obtained it by conquest, and so no more belonging to either of these.
This site's exposition
Jephthah again sent messengers to the king
on Judges 11:14-15
What follows is the longest speech in Judges, and it is built as a legal answer. The thesis comes first, so the case turns on whose land it was when Israel took it. Verses 16 to 22 are the evidence for that sentence, drawn from Numbers 20 and 21.
This site's exposition
This is what Jephthah says
This is what Jephthah says is the style of a king's message, and John Gill reads it as Jephthah speaking now as leader of Israel. Albert Barnes ties the speech's close agreement with Numbers and Deuteronomy to the Law kept with the ark at Mizpah.
The record, by era
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Consult the marginal references. If the ark with the copy of the Law Deu 31:26 was at Mizpeh, it would account for Jephthah’s accurate knowledge of it; and this exact agreement of his message with Numbers and Deuteronomy would give additional force to the expression, “he uttered all his words before the Lord” Jdg 11:11. Jdg 11:17 No mention is made of this embassy to Moab in the Pentateuch. Jdg 11:19 Into my place - This expression implies that the trans-Jordanic possessions of Israel were not included in the land of Canaan properly speaking.
A 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).
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
Until the Reed Sea. South of the land of Edom, while the land of Edom is south of the land of Canaan.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
15 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֣אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| ל֔וֹ | lo | to <the> him | ||
| כֹּ֖ה | koh | thus | H3541 → | |
| אָמַ֣ר | ʾamar | he says | H559 → | 5305 times |
| יִפְתָּ֑ח | yiftach | Jephthah | H3316 → | 30 times |
| לֹֽא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| לָקַ֤ח | lakach | it has taken | H3947 → | 966 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אֶ֣רֶץ | ʾeretz | [the] land of | H776 → | 2504 times |
| מוֹאָ֔ב | moav | Moab | H4124 → | 181 times |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אֶ֖רֶץ | ʾeretz | [the] land of | H776 → | 2504 times |
| בְּנֵ֥י | benei | [the] people of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| עַמּֽוֹן׃ | amon | Ammon | H5983 → | 106 times |
וַיֹּ֣אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
ל֔וֹto <the> him
lo
כֹּ֖הthus
kohH3541 →
אָמַ֣רhe says
ʾamarH559 →5305 times
יִפְתָּ֑חJephthah
yiftachH3316 →30 times
לֹֽא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
לָקַ֤חit has taken
lakachH3947 →966 times
יִשְׂרָאֵל֙Israel
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
אֶ֣רֶץ[the] land of
ʾeretzH776 →2504 times
מוֹאָ֔בMoab
moavH4124 →181 times
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
אֶ֖רֶץ[the] land of
ʾeretzH776 →2504 times
בְּנֵ֥י[the] people of
beneiH1121 →4930 times
עַמּֽוֹן׃Ammon
amonH5983 →106 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
Deuteronomy 2:19But when you get close to the Ammonites, do not harass them or provoke them, for I will not give you any of the land of the Ammonites. I have given it to the…
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 2:9
Then the LORD said to me, “Do not harass the Moabites or provoke them to war, for I will not give you any of their land, because I have given Ar to the descendants…
- Judges 11:13–27
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,…
- Genesis 19:36–38
Thus both of Lot’s daughters became pregnant by their father.
- 2 Chronicles 20:10
And now, here are the men of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, whom You did not let Israel invade when they came out of the land of Egypt; but Israel turned away from them…
- Deuteronomy 2:5
Do not provoke them, for I will not give you any of their land, not even a footprint, because I have given Mount Seir to Esau as his possession.
- Deuteronomy 2:9
Through
Deuteronomy 2:9Then the LORD said to me, “Do not harass the Moabites or provoke them to war, for I will not give you any of their land, because I have given Ar to the descendants…
it leads to
- Genesis 19:36–37
Thus both of Lot’s daughters became pregnant by their father.
- Numbers 21:15
even the slopes of the wadis that extend to the site of Ar and lie along the border of Moab.”
- Numbers 21:28
For a fire went out from Heshbon, a blaze from the city of Sihon. It consumed Ar of Moab, the rulers of Arnon’s heights.
- Genesis 19:36–37
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Judges
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: Joshua, Judges, Ruth and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.