Judges 11:30
in Judges 11Jephthah made this vow to the LORD: “If indeed You will deliver the Ammonites into my hand,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Jephthah vowed a vow unto Jehovah, and said, If thou wilt indeed deliver the children of Ammon into my hand,
KJV
And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the Lord, and said, If thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands,
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This verse in Judges 11
Commentary
7 notes on this verseAnd whereas he [Jovinianus] prefers the fidelity of the father Jephthah to the tears of the virgin daughter, that corroborates our point. For we are not commending virgins of the world so much as those who are virgins for Christ's sake.
This site's exposition
the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah
on Judges 11:29-31
The Spirit of the LORD comes on Jephthah, the third of seven times, and no command, priest or answer attends the vow. The Hebrew behind "whatever" can be rendered whoever, and its last connective is read as and or as or. Both renderings are old, and the grammar carries either.
This site's exposition
Jephthah made this vow to the LORD
Jamieson, Fausset and Brown set the vow in an old custom: a commander going to war promised his god a costly offering if victory came. Matthew Henry points to the law of such a vow to the LORD in Leviticus 27:2. The vow hangs on the deliverance.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
People imitate those who do good deeds, therefore, not out of love for these good deeds but because of their utility.… The king of Moab took note of Jephthah. But, because it was his firstborn and a human being rather than an animal that he …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
The matter of such a singular vow ( Lev. xxvii. 2 ) must be something that has a plain and direct tendency either to the advancement of God's glory, and the interests of his kingdom among men, or to the furtherance of ourselves in his service, and in that which is antecedently our duty.
And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the Lord,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Returning to the camp at Mizpeh, he then began his march against the enemy. There he made his celebrated vow, in accordance with an ancient custom for generals at the outbreak of a war, or on the eve of a battle, to promise the god of their worship a costly oblation, or dedication of some valuable booty, in the event of victory.
The words behind it
12 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּדַּ֨ר | vaiyidar | and he vowed | H5087 → | |
| יִפְתָּ֥ח | yiftach | Jephthah | H3316 → | 30 times |
| נֶ֛דֶר | neder | a vow | H5088 → | |
| לַיהוָ֖ה | layahweh | to Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| וַיֹּאמַ֑ר | vaiyomar | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אִם־ | ʾim- | <if> | H518 → | 1069 times |
| נָת֥וֹן | naton | certainly [if] <to give> | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| תִּתֵּ֛ן | titen | you will give | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| בְּנֵ֥י | benei | [the] people of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| עַמּ֖וֹן | amon | Ammon | H5983 → | 106 times |
| בְּיָדִֽי׃ | beyadi | in hand my | H3027 → | 1618 times |
וַיִּדַּ֨רand he vowed
vaiyidarH5087 →
יִפְתָּ֥חJephthah
yiftachH3316 →30 times
נֶ֛דֶרa vow
nederH5088 →
לַיהוָ֖הto Yahweh
layahwehH3068 →6520 times
וַיֹּאמַ֑רand he said
vaiyomarH559 →5305 times
אִם־<if>
ʾim-H518 →1069 times
נָת֥וֹןcertainly [if] <to give>
natonH5414 →2011 times
תִּתֵּ֛ןyou will give
titenH5414 →2011 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
בְּנֵ֥י[the] people of
beneiH1121 →4930 times
עַמּ֖וֹןAmmon
amonH5983 →106 times
בְּיָדִֽי׃in hand my
beyadiH3027 →1618 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 1:11And she made a vow, pleading, “O LORD of Hosts, if only You will look upon the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, not forgetting Your maidservant but giving her a son, then…
it leads to
- Judges 13:5
For behold, you will conceive and give birth to a son. And no razor shall come over his head, because the boy will be a Nazirite to God from the womb, and he will…
- Numbers 6:5
For the entire period of his vow of separation, no razor shall pass over his head. He must be holy until the time of his separation to the LORD is complete; he must let…
- Genesis 29:32
And Leah conceived and gave birth to a son, and she named him Reuben, for she said, “The LORD has seen my affliction. Surely my husband will love me now.”
- Ecclesiastes 5:4
When you make a vow to God, do not delay in fulfilling it, because He takes no pleasure in fools. Fulfill your vow.
- Genesis 28:20
Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and watch over me on this journey, and if He will provide me with food to eat and clothes to wear,
- Judges 13:5
Through
Genesis 28:20Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and watch over me on this journey, and if He will provide me with food to eat and clothes to wear,
it leads to
- 1 Timothy 6:8
But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with these.
- 2 Samuel 15:8
For your servant made a vow while dwelling in Geshur of Aram, saying: ‘If indeed the LORD brings me back to Jerusalem, I will worship the LORD in Hebron.’”
- Genesis 31:13
I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed the pillar and made a solemn vow to Me. Now get up and leave this land at once, and return to your native land.’”
- 1 Timothy 6:8
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies10
On this verse
On this chapter
About Judges
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Ephrem the Syrian, COMMENTARY ON TATIAN'S DIATESSARON 10.3; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Against Jovinianus 1.23; 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.