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Judges 11:17

in Judges 11

Then Israel sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, ‘Please let us pass through your land,’ but the king of Edom would not listen. They also sent messengers to the king of Moab, but he would not consent. So Israel stayed in Kadesh.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

then Israel sent messengers unto the king of Edom, saying, Let me, I pray thee, pass through thy land; but the king of Edom hearkened not. And in like manner he sent unto the king of Moab; but he would not: and Israel abode in Kadesh.

KJV

Then Israel sent messengers unto the king of Edom, saying, Let me, I pray thee, pass through thy land: but the king of Edom would not hearken thereto. And in like manner they sent unto the king of Moab: but he would not consent: and Israel abode in Kadesh.

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This verse in Judges 11

Commentary

4 notes on this verse

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).

This site's exposition

when Israel came up out of Egypt

on Judges 11:16-18

The route follows Numbers 20:14-21 and 21:4-13: Kadesh, Edom's refusal, the long way around Edom and Moab, and camp beyond the Arnon without entering Moab. The argument needs one fact, "the Arnon was its border," so the ground north of the river lay outside Moab when Israel reached it.

This site's exposition

sent messengers to the king of Edom

Israel asks leave of two kings and accepts both refusals. The stay at Kadesh is part of Jephthah's evidence. It shows Israel holding back at the borders of Edom and Moab with no attempt to force the way.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

Then Israel sent messengers unto the king of Edom,....

How the passage was read

What the Jewish commentators add

Please allow me to traverse your country. From south to north, in order to enter the land of Canaan.
Rashi: France, 1040–1105 · Rashi on Judges 11:17:1, via Sefaria, The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J
2 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
Until the Reed Sea. South of the land of Edom, while the land of Edom is south of the land of Canaan.
Rashi: France, 1040–1105 · Rashi on Judges 11:16:1, via Sefaria, The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J
They then continued through the wilderness from west to east, along the southern borders of Edom and Moav.
Rashi: France, 1040–1105 · Rashi on Judges 11:18:1, via Sefaria, The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J

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

24 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.

  • וַיִּשְׁלַ֣חand it sent

    vaiyishlachH7971 →845 times

  • יִשְׂרָאֵ֣לIsrael

    yisraelH3478 →2507 times

  • מַלְאָכִ֣ים׀messengers

    malakhimH4397 →213 times

  • אֶל־to

    ʾel-H413 →5510 times

  • מֶלֶךְ֩[the] king of

    melekhH4428 →2525 times

  • אֱד֨וֹם׀Edom

    ʾedomH123 →99 times

  • לֵאמֹ֜ר<to> saying

    lemorH559 →5305 times

  • אֶעְבְּרָה־let me pass

    ʾe'berah-H5674 →556 times

  • נָּ֣אplease

    na'H4994 →404 times

  • בְאַרְצֶ֗ךָin land your

    veartzekhaH776 →2504 times

  • וְלֹ֤אand not

    velo'H3808 →5168 times

  • שָׁמַע֙he listened

    shama'H8085 →1159 times

  • מֶ֣לֶךְ[the] king of

    melekhH4428 →2525 times

  • אֱד֔וֹםEdom

    ʾedomH123 →99 times

  • וְגַ֨םand also

    vegamH1571 →769 times

  • אֶל־to

    ʾel-H413 →5510 times

  • מֶ֧לֶךְ[the] king of

    melekhH4428 →2525 times

  • מוֹאָ֛בMoab

    moavH4124 →181 times

  • שָׁלַ֖חit sent

    shalachH7971 →845 times

  • וְלֹ֣אand not

    velo'H3808 →5168 times

  • אָבָ֑הhe was willing

    ʾavahH14 →54 times

  • וַיֵּ֥שֶׁבand it remained

    vaiyeshevH3427 →1079 times

  • יִשְׂרָאֵ֖לIsrael

    yisraelH3478 →2507 times

  • בְּקָדֵֽשׁ׃at Kadesh

    bekadeshH6946 →

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

Related verses

7 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.

Numbers 20:20But Edom insisted, “You may not pass through.” And they came out to confront the Israelites with a large army and a strong hand.5 worksDeuteronomy 2:4–9and command the people: ‘You will pass through the territory of your brothers, the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir. They will be afraid of you, so you must be very careful.3 worksNumbers 20:14–21From Kadesh, Moses sent messengers to tell the king of Edom, “This is what your brother Israel says: You know all the hardship that has befallen us,3 worksNumbers 20:1In the first month, the whole congregation of Israel entered the Wilderness of Zin and stayed in Kadesh. There Miriam died and was buried.3 worksJoshua 24:9Then Balak son of Zippor, the king of Moab, set out to fight against Israel. He sent for Balaam son of Beor to curse you,2 worksDeuteronomy 2:29just as the descendants of Esau who live in Seir and the Moabites who live in Ar did for us, until we cross the Jordan into the land that the LORD our God is giving us.”2 works
The other 1 cross-references, with their words ▾
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 of Lot as their possession.”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

    Joshua 24:9

    Then Balak son of Zippor, the king of Moab, set out to fight against Israel. He sent for Balaam son of Beor to curse you,

    it leads to

    • Judges 11:25

      Are you now so much better than Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever contend with Israel or fight against them?

    • Micah 6:5

      My people, remember what Balak king of Moab counseled and what Balaam son of Beor answered. Remember your journey from Shittim to Gilgal, so that you may acknowledge the righteousness of the LORD.’”

    • Numbers 22:2

      Now Balak son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites,

  • Through

    Numbers 20:1

    In the first month, the whole congregation of Israel entered the Wilderness of Zin and stayed in Kadesh. There Miriam died and was buried.

    it leads to

    • Numbers 13:21

      So they went up and spied out the land from the Wilderness of Zin as far as Rehob, toward Lebo-hamath.

    • Exodus 15:20

      Then Miriam the prophetess, Aaron’s sister, took a tambourine in her hand, and all the women followed her with tambourines and dancing.

    • Numbers 33:36

      They set out from Ezion-geber and camped at Kadesh in the Wilderness of Zin.

  • Through

    Deuteronomy 2:29

    just as the descendants of Esau who live in Seir and the Moabites who live in Ar did for us, until we cross the Jordan into the land that the LORD our God is…

    it leads to

    • Deuteronomy 23:3–4

      No Ammonite or Moabite or any of their descendants may enter the assembly of the LORD, even to the tenth generation.

    • Judges 11:17–18

      Then Israel sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, ‘Please let us pass through your land,’ but the king of Edom would not listen. They also sent messengers to the king of Moab,…

Where this verse is studied

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; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: Joshua, Judges, Ruth.

Read on in Judges 11 →