Judges 11:24
in Judges 11Do you not possess whatever your god Chemosh grants you? So also, we possess whatever the LORD our God has granted us.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Wilt not thou possess that which Chemosh thy god giveth thee to possess? So whomsoever Jehovah our God hath dispossessed from before us, them will we possess.
KJV
Wilt not thou possess that which Chemosh thy god giveth thee to possess? So whomsoever the Lord our God shall drive out from before us, them will we possess.
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This verse in Judges 11
Commentary
5 notes on this verseWilt not thou possess that which Chemosh thy god giveth thee to possess?.... Chemosh was the idol of the Moabites, see Num 21:29, which has led some to think, that the present king of Ammon was also king of Moab, and who insisted on that part of the country, which formerly belonged to Moab, to be delivered to him, as well as that which had belonged to Ammon.
This site's exposition
dispossessed the Amorites from before
on Judges 11:23-24
The god named in verse 24 is Chemosh, and Chemosh belongs to Moab in Numbers 21:29 and 1 Kings 11:7, while Ammon's god is Milcom in 1 Kings 11:5. Readers take the difficulty three ways: that Jephthah argues from the king's own premise without granting it, that Moab and Ammon shared cults along that border, or that the disputed strip had been Moabite before Sihon took it from Moab. Whether the sentence concedes anything real to Chemosh is argued as well, and commentators differ over how much of Israel's theology a Gileadite captain carried. The text reports his words and passes no judgment on them.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Not that Jephthah thought Chemosh a god, only he is thy god, and the worshippers even of those dunghill deities that could do neither good nor evil yet thought themselves beholden to them for all they had ( Hos. ii. 12 , These are my rewards which my lovers have given me; and see Judg. xvi.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
Wilt not thou possess that which Chemosh thy god giveth thee - As if he had said: “It is a maxim with you, as it is among all nations, that the lands which they conceive to be given them by their gods, they have an absolute right to, and should not relinquish them to any kind of claimant. You suppose that the land which you possess was given you by your god Chemosh and therefore you will not relinquish what you believe you hold by a Divine right.
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).
The words behind it
17 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הֲלֹ֞א | halo' | ¿ not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| אֵ֣ת | ʾet | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֧ר | ʾasher | [that] which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| יוֹרִֽישְׁךָ֛ | yorishekha | he will cause to possess you | H3423 → | 231 times |
| כְּמ֥וֹשׁ | kemoosh | Chemosh | H3645 → | |
| אֱלֹהֶ֖יךָ | ʾeloheikha | god your | H430 → | 2601 times |
| אוֹת֥וֹ | ʾoto | <obj.> it | H853 → | 10935 times |
| תִירָ֑שׁ | tirash | will you take possession of | H3423 → | 231 times |
| וְאֵת֩ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֨ר | ʾasher | that | H834 → | 5497 times |
| הוֹרִ֜ישׁ | horish | he has dispossessed | H3423 → | 231 times |
| יְהוָ֧ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֱלֹהֵ֛ינוּ | ʾeloheinu | God our | H430 → | 2601 times |
| מִפָּנֵ֖ינוּ | mipaneinu | from before us | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| אוֹת֥וֹ | ʾoto | <obj.> it | H853 → | 10935 times |
| נִירָֽשׁ׃ | nirash | we will take possession of | H3423 → | 231 times |
הֲלֹ֞א¿ not
halo'H3808 →5168 times
אֵ֣ת<obj.>
ʾetH853 →10935 times
אֲשֶׁ֧ר[that] which
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
יוֹרִֽישְׁךָ֛he will cause to possess you
yorishekhaH3423 →231 times
כְּמ֥וֹשׁChemosh
kemooshH3645 →
אֱלֹהֶ֖יךָgod your
ʾeloheikhaH430 →2601 times
אוֹת֥וֹ<obj.> it
ʾotoH853 →10935 times
תִירָ֑שׁwill you take possession of
tirashH3423 →231 times
וְאֵת֩and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
אֲשֶׁ֨רthat
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
הוֹרִ֜ישׁhe has dispossessed
horishH3423 →231 times
יְהוָ֧הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֱלֹהֵ֛ינוּGod our
ʾeloheinuH430 →2601 times
מִפָּנֵ֖ינוּfrom before us
mipaneinuH6440 →2123 times
אוֹת֥וֹ<obj.> it
ʾotoH853 →10935 times
נִירָֽשׁ׃we will take possession of
nirashH3423 →231 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
Joshua 3:10He continued, “This is how you will know that the living God is among you and that He will surely drive out before you the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites, and Jebusites.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 7:1
When the LORD your God brings you into the land that you are entering to possess, and He drives out before you many nations—the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, seven nations…
- Exodus 33:2
And I will send an angel before you, and I will drive out the Canaanites, Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.
- Psalms 44:2–3
With Your hand You drove out the nations and planted our fathers there; You crushed the peoples and cast them out.
- Hebrews 10:31
It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
- Deuteronomy 7:1
Through
Micah 4:5Though each of the peoples may walk in the name of his god, yet we will walk in the name of the LORD our God forever and ever.
it leads to
- Zechariah 10:12
I will strengthen them in the LORD, and in His name they will walk,” declares the LORD.
- Joshua 24:15
But if it is unpleasing in your sight to serve the LORD, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods…
- Colossians 3:17
And whatever you do, in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.
- Zechariah 10:12
Through
Psalms 78:55He drove out nations before them and apportioned their inheritance; He settled the tribes of Israel in their tents.
it leads to
- Joshua 13:7
Now therefore divide this land as an inheritance to the nine tribes and the half-tribe of Manasseh.”
- Joshua 13:7
About Judges
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; 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.