References (26)
And Jephthah (Hebr. Yiftach), the Gileadite, was a mighty warrior, but he was the son of a prostitute, and Gilead gave birth to Jephthah.
[The name Jephthah (Hebr. Yiftach) means "he has opened." The name seems to express his mother's joy at having given birth to a son. However, it is not entirely clear who "he" refers to, but it probably refers to some deity who has opened her womb. The word is used for a place called Jiftach-el (, ) where the general name for God (Hebr. El) is used. One possibility is that Jiftach's name is "Jiftach-El" or "Jiftach-Yahweh," i.e., that it refers to the God of Israel, but based on the story, this is unfortunately unlikely. His name was perhaps rather "Jephthah-Baal." His mother's occupation, his father's actions, his half-brothers' character, and Jephthah's own actions point to a strong influence of Canaanite culture and religion.]
And Gilead's wife bore him sons, and when his wife's sons grew up, they drove Jephthah away and said to him, "You shall not inherit our father's house, for you are the son of another woman." Jephthah's mother may have been an Israelite, but more likely a Canaanite, perhaps a temple prostitute. When Jephthah's father dies and it is time to divide the inheritance, his half-brothers drive him away because they do not want to share the inheritance with him.
Jephthah fled from his brothers and lived in the land of Tob [a city/region northeast of Gilead], where various vagabonds gathered around Jephthah and went out with him.
And it came to pass, when the children of Ammon made war against Israel, that the elders of Gilead went and took Jephthah from the land of Tob.
And they said to Jephthah, "Come and be our commander (Hebr. qatsin) so that we may fight against the sons of Ammon."
And Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, "Did you not hate me and drive me out of my father's house? Why do you come to me now, when you are in trouble?"
And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, "That is why we have come to you now, that you may go with us and fight against the sons of Ammon, and you shall be our head (our leader – Hebr. rosh) over all the inhabitants of Gilead."
[The same word (Hebr. rosh) is used in . There is a significant difference between being qatsin () and rosh (). A leader, qatsin, is a leader/chief with limited responsibility, and this may also apply to a limited period of time. For example, a captain in the army who has been given a mission for a specific part of the army and perhaps only for a specific battle/task. A leader, rosh, is a permanent leader/chief, such as a tribal chief or king, who has full responsibility in all areas for all the people in his group for as long as he lives.]
And Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, "If you bring me back home to fight against the sons of Ammon and the Lord (Yahweh) gives them before me, I will be your head (leader – Hebr. rosh)."
And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, "The Lord (Yahweh) is (shall be) witness between us, if we do not do according to your word."
And Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head (Hebr. rosh) and commander (Hebr. qatsin) over them. And Jephthah spoke all his words [repeated the words from ] before the Lord (Yahweh) at Mizpah.
And Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites, saying, "What have you against me? [What are you doing in the land of Israel?] Why have you come to fight against my land [the area around Gilead east of the Jordan River]?" [Jephthah tries to resolve the conflict diplomatically and through negotiations first. The fighting has already begun, see , so the question may also be about gaining time and providing moral arguments for fighting.]
And the king of the Ammonites said to Jephthah's messengers, "Since Israel took my land when you came up from Egypt, from the Arnon to the Jabbok and to the Jordan, now return it [the land and the cities] peacefully (in shalom)."
And Jephthah sent messengers back to the king of the sons of Ammon
and said to him,
"Thus says Jephthah: Israel did not take the land from Moab, nor did they take the land of the sons of Ammon.
[Now follows a long explanation in which Jephthah shows that he is well acquainted with the history of Israel. He makes it clear that the sons of Ammon have never been taken by Israel. On the contrary, there are three countries that God says Israel should not fight against because they are their brothers. These are Ammon and Moab, who are descendants of Lot (Abraham's nephew), and Edom, who are descendants of Esau (Jacob's brother). What Jephthah now recounts from verses 16 to 26 is how Israel wandered in the desert and did not touch these three countries, but how, on the other hand, the Amorites long ago took the area that Ammon now claims and how Israel took it from the Amorites and thus has a legal right to this area. see .]
But the king of the sons of Ammon did not listen to the words that Jephthah sent to him [via the messengers].
Then the Spirit of the Lord (Yahweh) came upon Jephthah, and he went over Gilead and Manasseh and passed over Mizpeh of Gilead and from Mizpeh of Gilead over to the sons of Ammon.
And Jephthah made a vow to the Lord (Yahweh) and said, "If you will indeed deliver the sons of Ammon into my hand,
And Jephthah went over to the sons of Ammon to fight against them, and the Lord (Yahweh) delivered them into his hand.
And Jephthah came to Mizpah to his house, and behold, his daughter came out to meet him with tambourines and with dancing, and she was his only child; besides her he had no son or daughter.
for the daughters of Israel to go out yearly to mourn the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in the year.
And the men of Ephraim gathered together and went to Zaphon, and they said to Jephthah, "Why did you go over and fight against the Ammonites without calling us to go with you? We will burn your house down over you."
And Jephthah said to them, "I and my people were in great conflict with the sons of Ammon, and when I called to you, you did not save me from their hand.
And Jephthah gathered all the men of Gilead and fought against Ephraim, and the men of Gilead defeated Ephraim because they said, "You Gileadites are fugitives from Ephraim in the midst of Ephraim and in the midst of Manasseh."
And Jephthah judged Israel for six years. Then Jephthah the Gileadite died and was buried in one of the cities of Gilead. [The Hebrew does not say "in one of" but only "in" the cities of Gilead; the reason for the plural form is probably that the author does not know exactly which city it is; see also .]
Then the Lord (Yahweh) sent Jerubbaal [Gideon, see ] and Bedan [probably another name for Barak, see ] and Jephthah [] and Samuel [he mentions himself as the last judge; some Greek manuscripts of the Septuagint and the Syriac translation write Samson, see ] and delivered you from the hand of your enemies on every side, and you lived in safety.
What more shall I say?
I would not have time to tell about
Gideon [who won victory with a small army of 300 men, see ],
Barak [who obeyed the prophetic words of the judge Deborah. Together they defeated the enemy, see ],
Samson [who finally understood that his strength did not come from himself, see ],
Jephthah (Jiftach) [born out of wedlock, driven away by his brothers, but allowed to join in defeating the Ammonites and became a judge, see ],
David [Israel's most famous king, see ; ],
Samuel [Israel's great prophet, see ]
and the prophets,
