Judges 11:3
in Judges 11So Jephthah fled from his brothers and settled in the land of Tob, where worthless men gathered around him and traveled with him.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Then Jephthah fled from his brethren, and dwelt in the land of Tob: and there were gathered vain fellows to Jephthah, and they went out with him.
KJV
Then Jephthah fled from his brethren, and dwelt in the land of Tob: and there were gathered vain men to Jephthah, and went out with him.
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This verse in Judges 11
Commentary
7 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The land of Tob - To the north of Gilead, toward Damascus. The readiness with which Jephthah took to the freebooter’s life gives us a lively picture of the unsettled times in which he lived.
This site's exposition
a mighty man of valor
on Judges 11:1-3
Gilead names both the father and the country, and the brothers expel Jephthah over inheritance, since where a wife had sons "the son of another woman" had no claim on the estate. The "worthless men" who gather to him in Tob bear the word used of Abimelech's hirelings at 9:4, the following David draws at Adullam in 1 Samuel 22:2. The next deliverer runs a band outside the land.
This site's exposition
settled in the land of Tob
Albert Barnes places Tob north of Gilead, toward Damascus. Adam Clarke notes that the worthless men, in Hebrew anashim reykim, can also mean poor men with no property and no work. The band was landless, like its leader.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Then Jephthah fled from his brethren,....
This is the man that must save Israel. That people had by their idolatry made themselves children of whoredoms, and aliens from God and his covenant, and therefore, though God upon their repentance will deliver them, yet, to mortify them and remind them of their sin, he chooses to do it by a bastard and an exile.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
It is not deemed dishonorable when the expeditions are directed against those out of his own tribe or nation. Jephthah's mode of life was similar to that of David when driven from the court of Saul. THE GILEADITES COVENANT WITH JEPHTHAH.
There were gathered vain men to Jephthah - אנשים ריקים anashim reykim, empty men - persons destitute of good sense, and profligate in their manners. The word may, however, mean in this place poor persons, without property, and without employment. The versions in general consider them as plunderers.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּבְרַ֤ח | vaiyivrach | and he fled | H1272 → | |
| יִפְתָּח֙ | yiftach | Jephthah | H3316 → | 30 times |
| מִפְּנֵ֣י | mipenei | [away] from before | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| אֶחָ֔יו | ʾechav | brothers his | H251 → | 630 times |
| וַיֵּ֖שֶׁב | vaiyeshev | and he dwelt | H3427 → | 1079 times |
| בְּאֶ֣רֶץ | beeretz | in [the] land of | H776 → | 2504 times |
| ט֑וֹב | tov | Tob | H2897 → | |
| וַיִּֽתְלַקְּט֤וּ | vaiyitlaketu | and they joined themselves | H3950 → | |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| יִפְתָּח֙ | yiftach | Jephthah | H3316 → | 30 times |
| אֲנָשִׁ֣ים | ʾanashim | men | H582 → | 566 times |
| רֵיקִ֔ים | reikim | unprincipled | H7386 → | 14 times |
| וַיֵּצְא֖וּ | vaiyetzeu | and they went out | H3318 → | 1067 times |
| עִמּֽוֹ׃ פ | imo | with him | H5973 → | 1050 times |
וַיִּבְרַ֤חand he fled
vaiyivrachH1272 →
יִפְתָּח֙Jephthah
yiftachH3316 →30 times
מִפְּנֵ֣י[away] from before
mipeneiH6440 →2123 times
אֶחָ֔יוbrothers his
ʾechavH251 →630 times
וַיֵּ֖שֶׁבand he dwelt
vaiyeshevH3427 →1079 times
בְּאֶ֣רֶץin [the] land of
beeretzH776 →2504 times
ט֑וֹבTob
tovH2897 →
וַיִּֽתְלַקְּט֤וּand they joined themselves
vaiyitlaketuH3950 →
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
יִפְתָּח֙Jephthah
yiftachH3316 →30 times
אֲנָשִׁ֣יםmen
ʾanashimH582 →566 times
רֵיקִ֔יםunprincipled
reikimH7386 →14 times
וַיֵּצְא֖וּand they went out
vaiyetzeuH3318 →1067 times
עִמּֽוֹ׃ פwith him
imoH5973 →1050 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
1 Samuel 22:2And all who were distressed or indebted or discontented rallied around him, and he became their leader. About four hundred men were with him.
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 25:13
And David said to his men, “Strap on your swords!” So David and all his men put on their swords, and about four hundred men followed David, while two hundred stayed with the supplies.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Matthew 11:28
Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
- Psalms 72:12–14
For he will deliver the needy who cry out and the afflicted who have no helper.
- 1 Samuel 1:10
In her bitter distress, Hannah prayed to the LORD and wept with many tears.
- 1 Samuel 30:22–24
but all the wicked and worthless men among those who had gone with David said, “Because they did not go with us, we will not share with them the plunder we recovered, except for…
- 1 Samuel 25:13
Through
Judges 9:4So they gave him seventy shekels of silver from the temple of Baal-berith, with which Abimelech hired some worthless and reckless men to follow him.
it leads to
- Judges 8:33
And as soon as Gideon was dead, the Israelites turned and prostituted themselves with the Baals, and they set up Baal-berith as their god.
- 2 Chronicles 13:7
Then worthless and wicked men gathered around him to resist Rehoboam son of Solomon when he was young, inexperienced, and unable to resist them.
- Judges 8:33
Through
1 Samuel 27:2So David set out with his six hundred men and went to Achish son of Maoch, the king of Gath.
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 21:10
That day David fled from Saul and went to Achish king of Gath.
- 1 Samuel 21:10
About Judges
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, 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.