Judges 12:2
in Judges 12But Jephthah replied, “My people and I had a serious conflict with the Ammonites, and when I called, you did not save me out of their hands.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Jephthah said unto them, I and my people were at great strife with the children of Ammon; and when I called you, ye saved me not out of their hand.
KJV
And Jephthah said unto them, I and my people were at great strife with the children of Ammon; and when I called you, ye delivered me not out of their hands.
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This verse in Judges 12
Commentary
6 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
When I called you ... - This circumstance is not related in the main narrative. It is likely to have occurred when Jephthah was first chosen leader by the Gileadites, and when Ephraim would probably ignore his pretensions.
This site's exposition
the men of Ephraim assembled
on Judges 12:1-3
Ephraim brought the same complaint to Gideon at 8:1, and here the tribe threatens to burn Jephthah's house. Jephthah answers with a fact the narrative never reported, that “when I called, you did not save me”, and Albert Barnes places that call at his election in chapter 11. The Hebrew behind “I risked my life” returns at 1 Samuel 19:5 and 28:21 for a risk knowingly taken.
This site's exposition
when I called, you did not save me
Jamieson, Fausset and Brown read Jephthah's answer as proof that the charge of the men of Ephraim was false. Ephraim, in their reading, held back until the Ammonites were beaten and then came to fight Jephthah. The quarrel turns on who failed whom.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
(4.) He does not take the glory of the success to himself (that would have been invidious), but gives it all to God: " The Lord delivered them into my hands. If God was pleased so far to make use of me for his glory, why should you be offended at that?
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — odd-straight-quotes
And Jephthah said unto them, I and my people were at a great strife with the children of Ammon,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
when I called you, ye delivered me not out of their hands--The straightforward answer of Jephthah shows that their charge was false; their complaint of not being treated as confederates and allies entirely without foundation; and their boast of a ready contribution of their services came with an ill grace from people who had purposely delayed appearing till the crisis was past.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
And crossed northward. They crossed the Yardein and travelled north in trans-Yardein to Gilod.
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. 4 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
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֤אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| יִפְתָּח֙ | yiftach | Jephthah | H3316 → | 30 times |
| אֲלֵיהֶ֔ם | ʾaleihem | to them | H413 → | 5510 times |
| אִ֣ישׁ | ʾish | a man of | H376 → | 1663 times |
| רִ֗יב | riv | strife | H7379 → | |
| הָיִ֛יתִי | hayiti | I was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| אֲנִ֛י | ʾani | I | H589 → | 874 times |
| וְעַמִּ֥י | veami | and people my | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| וּבְנֵֽי־ | uvenei- | and [the] people of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| עַמּ֖וֹן | amon | Ammon | H5983 → | 106 times |
| מְאֹ֑ד | meod | exceedingly | H3966 → | 300 times |
| וָאֶזְעַ֣ק | vaezak | and I summoned | H2199 → | 73 times |
| אֶתְכֶ֔ם | ʾetkhem | <obj.> you | H853 → | 10935 times |
| וְלֹֽא־ | velo'- | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| הוֹשַׁעְתֶּ֥ם | hosha'tem | you delivered | H3467 → | 206 times |
| אוֹתִ֖י | ʾoti | <obj.> me | H853 → | 10935 times |
| מִיָּדָֽם׃ | miyadam | from hand their | H3027 → | 1618 times |
וַיֹּ֤אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
יִפְתָּח֙Jephthah
yiftachH3316 →30 times
אֲלֵיהֶ֔םto them
ʾaleihemH413 →5510 times
אִ֣ישׁa man of
ʾishH376 →1663 times
רִ֗יבstrife
rivH7379 →
הָיִ֛יתִיI was
hayitiH1961 →3559 times
אֲנִ֛יI
ʾaniH589 →874 times
וְעַמִּ֥יand people my
veamiH5971 →1873 times
וּבְנֵֽי־and [the] people of
uvenei-H1121 →4930 times
עַמּ֖וֹןAmmon
amonH5983 →106 times
מְאֹ֑דexceedingly
meodH3966 →300 times
וָאֶזְעַ֣קand I summoned
vaezakH2199 →73 times
אֶתְכֶ֔ם<obj.> you
ʾetkhemH853 →10935 times
וְלֹֽא־and not
velo'-H3808 →5168 times
הוֹשַׁעְתֶּ֥םyou delivered
hosha'temH3467 →206 times
אוֹתִ֖י<obj.> me
ʾotiH853 →10935 times
מִיָּדָֽם׃from hand their
miyadamH3027 →1618 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
About Judges
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); 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) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.