Judges 11:8
in Judges 11They answered Jephthah, “This is why we now turn to you, that you may go with us, fight the Ammonites, and become leader over all of us who live in Gilead.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the elders of Gilead said unto Jephthah, Therefore are we turned again to thee now, that thou mayest go with us, and fight with the children of Ammon; and thou shalt be our head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.
KJV
And the elders of Gilead said unto Jephthah, Therefore we turn again to thee now, that thou mayest go with us, and fight against the children of Ammon, and be our head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.
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This verse in Judges 11
Commentary
6 notes on this verseA commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
It is probable that he saw some of his brothers among the deputies. Jephthah was now in circumstances to make his own terms. With his former experience, he would have shown little wisdom or prudence without binding them to a clear and specific engagement to invest him with unlimited authority, the more especially as he was about to imperil his life in their cause.
This site's exposition
Did you not hate me and expel me
on Judges 11:7-8
Verse 2 lays the expulsion on his brothers and verse 7 lays it on the elders of Gilead, who answer without denying it. The offer rises from commander in verse 6 to "leader over all of us who live in Gilead" in verse 8.
This site's exposition
This is why we now turn to you
Adam Clarke hears the elders' answer as an admission that Gilead had wronged Jephthah, with the new title offered to repair it. The men who drove him from his father's house now make him leader over all Gilead. Their distress has reversed the old verdict.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And the elders of Gilead said unto Jephthah,....
It is our wisdom to make no man our enemy, because we know not how soon our distresses may be such as that we may be highly concerned to make him our friend. An encouragement to men of worth that are slighted or ill-treated.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Therefore we turn again to thee now - We are convinced that we have dealt unjustly by thee, and we wish now to repair our fault, and give thee this sincere proof of our regret for having acted unjustly, and of our confidence in thee.
The words behind it
20 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּאמְרוּ֩ | vaiyomeru | and they said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| זִקְנֵ֨י | ziknei | [the] elders of | H2205 → | 178 times |
| גִלְעָ֜ד | gilad | Gilead | H1568 → | 134 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| יִפְתָּ֗ח | yiftach | Jephthah | H3316 → | 30 times |
| לָכֵן֙ | lakhen | <to> therefore | H3651 → | 771 times |
| עַתָּה֙ | ʾatah | now | H6258 → | 433 times |
| שַׁ֣בְנוּ | shavnu | we have returned | H7725 → | 1056 times |
| אֵלֶ֔יךָ | ʾeleikha | to you | H413 → | 5510 times |
| וְהָלַכְתָּ֣ | vehalakhta | and you will come | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| עִמָּ֔נוּ | ʾimanu | with us | H5973 → | 1050 times |
| וְנִלְחַמְתָּ֖ | venilchamta | and you will fight | H3898 → | 177 times |
| בִּבְנֵ֣י | bivnei | against [the] people of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| עַמּ֑וֹן | amon | Ammon | H5983 → | 106 times |
| וְהָיִ֤יתָ | vehayita | and you will become | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| לָּ֙נוּ֙ | lanu | of us | ||
| לְרֹ֔אשׁ | lerosh | <into> chief | H7218 → | 599 times |
| לְכֹ֖ל | lekhol | of all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| יֹשְׁבֵ֥י | yoshevei | [the] inhabitants of | H3427 → | 1079 times |
| גִלְעָֽד׃ | gilad | Gilead | H1568 → | 134 times |
וַיֹּאמְרוּ֩and they said
vaiyomeruH559 →5305 times
זִקְנֵ֨י[the] elders of
zikneiH2205 →178 times
גִלְעָ֜דGilead
giladH1568 →134 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
יִפְתָּ֗חJephthah
yiftachH3316 →30 times
לָכֵן֙<to> therefore
lakhenH3651 →771 times
עַתָּה֙now
ʾatahH6258 →433 times
שַׁ֣בְנוּwe have returned
shavnuH7725 →1056 times
אֵלֶ֔יךָto you
ʾeleikhaH413 →5510 times
וְהָלַכְתָּ֣and you will come
vehalakhtaH1980 →1546 times
עִמָּ֔נוּwith us
ʾimanuH5973 →1050 times
וְנִלְחַמְתָּ֖and you will fight
venilchamtaH3898 →177 times
בִּבְנֵ֣יagainst [the] people of
bivneiH1121 →4930 times
עַמּ֑וֹןAmmon
amonH5983 →106 times
וְהָיִ֤יתָand you will become
vehayitaH1961 →3559 times
לָּ֙נוּ֙of us
lanu
לְרֹ֔אשׁ<into> chief
leroshH7218 →599 times
לְכֹ֖לof all
lekholH3605 →5413 times
יֹשְׁבֵ֥י[the] inhabitants of
yosheveiH3427 →1079 times
גִלְעָֽד׃Gilead
giladH1568 →134 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
Exodus 8:28Pharaoh answered, “I will let you go and sacrifice to the LORD your God in the wilderness, but you must not go very far. Now pray for me.”
it leads to
- Exodus 8:8
Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “Pray to the LORD to take the frogs away from me and my people. Then I will let your people go, that they may sacrifice to the…
Reached by 4 separate paths from here.
- 1 Kings 13:6
Then the king responded to the man of God, “Intercede with the LORD your God and pray that my hand may be restored.” So the man of God interceded with the LORD, and the…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Exodus 8:8
Through
1 Kings 13:6Then the king responded to the man of God, “Intercede with the LORD your God and pray that my hand may be restored.” So the man of God interceded with the LORD, and the…
it leads to
- Acts 8:24
Then Simon answered, “Pray to the Lord for me, so that nothing you have said may happen to me.”
Reached by 4 separate paths from here.
- Exodus 10:17
Now please forgive my sin once more and appeal to the LORD your God, that He may remove this death from me.”
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Exodus 9:28
Pray to the LORD, for there has been enough of God’s thunder and hail. I will let you go; you do not need to stay any longer.”
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Luke 6:27–28
But to those of you who will listen, I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,
- Acts 8:24
Through
Judges 10:18And the rulers of Gilead said to one another, “Whoever will launch the attack against the Ammonites will be the head of all who live in Gilead.”
it leads to
- Judges 11:11
So Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him their leader and commander. And Jephthah repeated all his terms in the presence of the LORD at Mizpah.
- Judges 11:11
Through
Exodus 9:28Pray to the LORD, for there has been enough of God’s thunder and hail. I will let you go; you do not need to stay any longer.”
it leads to
- Exodus 8:28
Pharaoh answered, “I will let you go and sacrifice to the LORD your God in the wilderness, but you must not go very far. Now pray for me.”
- Exodus 8:28
Where this verse is studied
On this page
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.