10:6 The fifth major judge account begins with the standard introductory formula: “The people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord.” What is not standard, however, is the extent of Israel’s idolatry as portrayed in this verse. The listing includes seven false gods from the nations surrounding Israel. Her idolatry has reached critical mass, here highlighted by the sevenfold list of false gods. She is whoring after these gods like an unfaithful wife with multiple illicit partners. Israel is the very picture of Gomer as presented in Hosea 1–3. The listing of seven gods in this verse contrasts with the faithfulness of the Lord presented in Judges 10:11–12, the Lord who has delivered Israel from the oppression of seven nations, beginning with the great deliverance from Egypt. The last sentence of the verse makes clear that the only god Israel is not worshiping is the one true God.

10:7–9 Israel’s sevenfold idolatry provokes the anger of the Lord, and he once again sells her into the hand of an enemy so that he might provoke repentance in his people. The two enemy nations listed, Philistia and Ammon, set the scene for the deliverance of Jephthah (defeating the Ammonites) and of Samson (defeating the Philistines). The oppression of the Ammonites lasts eighteen years before the people of God cry out to him for help. The center of Ammonite oppression is located east of the Jordan (“beyond the Jordan”; v. 8). Gilead is identified as the specific location (cf. Numbers 32), which hints at the coming of Jephthah, since he is “Jephthah the Gileadite” (Judg. 11:1). Jair, the third minor judge, was also identified as a Gileadite (cf. comment on 10:3–5). It is also recorded how the Ammonite oppression pushes across the Jordan into the west, impacting Judah, Benjamin, and Ephraim. At the end of the Jephthah narrative the tribe of Ephraim will oppose Jephthah, resulting in a tragic civil war and the deaths of forty-two thousand Ephraimites (12:1–7).

10:10 The account of Israel’s repentance receives special attention in this particular judge narrative. It begins here in Judges 10:10 and runs all the way through 10:16, where it is recorded how Israel puts away the foreign gods among her and returns to worshiping the Lord. Sandwiched between the statement of Israel’s repentance in verse 10 and the action of her repentance in verse 16 is a brief word from the Lord depicting the severity of Israel’s recurring idolatry. The statement that Israel “served the Baals” is simply a generic reference to all of the false gods mentioned in verse 6.

10:11–14 It is unknown how the Lord communicates with his people at this point. We can only assume that he sends a prophet or prophetess among them to deliver his word, someone like Deborah (ch. 4). The word begins with the Lord’s recounting his constant faithfulness to deliver his people in the past. In 10:11–12 the Lord lists seven nations from whom he has delivered his people, beginning with Egypt. We know from a later statement of Jephthah (11:26) that three hundred years have passed since the exodus event and Israel’s occupation of the region east of the Jordan. As such, the Lord has provided a three-hundred-year track record of his faithfulness to deliver his people in their time of need. This record of the Lord’s faithfulness is contrasted with the statement of Israel’s covenant infidelity in 10:13 and the decision of the Lord no longer to save his people but rather to give them over to the gods they have chosen to worship. In other words, the Lord is informing Israel that the sevenfold nature of her idolatry has exhausted the sevenfold nature of his deliverance. It is now time to allow Israel to reap the fruit of disobedience. The resulting condition of Israel’s idolatry is expressed well in Isaiah 42:17:

    They are turned back and utterly put to shame,

    who trust in carved idols,

    who say to metal images,

    “You are our gods.”30

10:15–16 The people of Israel respond with a second confession of sin and submission to the will of God. This confession of sin follows with the statement that Israel does in fact rid herself of these foreign gods and return to the Lord God in worship. Finally, this section ends with a statement describing the Lord as “impatient over the misery of Israel.” The Hebrew idiom for “he became impatient” could be rendered woodenly as “his soul became short.” The same idiom appears later in the Samson narratives, when Delilah repeatedly presses Samson to tell her the secret of his strength; there it is rendered “his soul was vexed” (Judg. 16:16; cf. Num. 21:4; Zech. 11:8). This second rendering well captures the inner conflict between justice and mercy, between saving Israel again (mercy) and giving them over to their sin (justice). This is a conflict resolved ultimately at the cross, where the justice of God is poured out in wrath on sin and his mercy comes as he is the one who bears that sin on his people’s behalf. The resolution of this conflict is nothing less than the good news of the gospel.

10:17–18 The Ammonites set up camp in Gilead, while the Israelites set up camp in Mizpah, which is also in Gilead (cf. Judg. 11:11, 29).31 The Hebrew verb translated “were called to arms” is the same verb used in 10:10 when Israel “cried out” to the Lord, and it is used again in 10:15 when the Lord commanded Israel to “cry out” for help to the false gods she had been worshiping. The repetition of this verbal root in the introduction to the Jephthah narrative identifies an important truth that can be missed in translation. When the enemy cries out against God’s people, the only true path of rescue is to cry out to the one true God. This time, however, the Lord puts the false gods of Israel’s worship to the test by allowing Israel the opportunity to call upon her idols to deliver her from the enemy:

    When you cry out, let your collection of idols deliver you!

    The wind will carry them all off,

    a breath will take them away.

    But he who takes refuge in me shall possess the land

    and shall inherit my holy mountain. (Isa. 57:13; cf. Pss. 22:5; 107:13, 19; 142:1, 5)

After eighteen years of oppression, with no relief in sight, the people of Israel now understand that only the Lord can truly save them from the enemy.

This chapter comes to an end with the leaders of Gilead looking for someone to begin the fight against the Ammonites. This person they will make the leader (lit., “head”) over all of Gilead. The specific focus on Gilead and the Transjordan reminds us that the judge narratives depict largely regional and perhaps overlapping areas of deliverance and years of service. The purpose of Judges is not a strict historical, chronological account of the period of the judges but a selection of narratives that faithfully record Israel’s decline into sin and the rejection of the Lord as her King—the un-creation of Israel. However, what is recorded in part is largely true of the whole, and each individual narrative repeatedly portrays the nation of Israel as unfaithful to her covenant with the Lord, in contrast to the faithfulness of the Lord in spite of Israel’s infidelity. This is a picture of the steadfast love of the Lord that is such an important theme in all Scripture. The believer must always remember that the Lord does not treat his people as their sins deserve, for he took upon himself the punishment of their sins (Ps. 25:7): “He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities” (Ps. 103:10).

11:1 In Judges 10:18 the leaders of Gilead posed the question, “Who is the man who will begin to fight against the Ammonites?” Judges 11:1 provides the answer: Jephthah is the man. The text provides important background information regarding him. First, he is a “mighty warrior.” This is a positive description and explains why the leaders of Gilead desire Jephthah to return and help defeat the Ammonites. Other OT figures are similarly characterized: David (1 Samuel 16:18); Kish, the father of Saul (1 Samuel 9:1); Jeroboam (1 Kings 11:28); Naaman, the general of Aram (2 Kings 5); and Boaz (Ruth 2:1).

Second, Jephthah is the “son of a prostitute.” At first glance this might appear to be a negative assessment. Perhaps it alludes to the birth of Abimelech, the son of Gideon’s concubine from another town. But Boaz was the son of Rahab the prostitute (Matt. 1:5; cf. Ruth 4:21), and no one thinks any less of him. In fact, this fact makes Boaz’s fulfillment of the law of the kinsman-redeemer that much more remarkable, especially since Ruth was a Moabitess. This is just the type of person the Bible loves to showcase. The Lord loves to make his power and grace known by going after the unexpected, least likely, or most unqualified candidate. Sometimes it is the younger brother (Abel, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, David), the barren woman (Sarah, Rebekah, Hannah, Elizabeth), the unloved wife (Leah), or the unqualified servant (Moses, David). When the Bible introduces a character and mentions a flaw or weakness in that character, we should be prepared to see God at work (2 Cor. 12:9).

Finally, it is recorded that Gilead was the father of Jephthah. Jephthah was a true Gileadite and so belonged to Gilead as a son and brother. The author of the narratives describes Gilead’s other sons as “his brothers” (Judg. 11:3), but his brothers distance themselves from him by referring to Gilead as “our father” (11:2). These facts set us up for the upcoming parable of Jephthah.

11:2–3 These verses continue to provide important information for understanding the upcoming events in chapters 11–12. It is recorded that the sons of Gilead’s wife drove out Jephthah from the land of Gilead due to greed. They did not want to share their inheritance with the son of a prostitute. So Jephthah left the land of Gilead and lived in the land of Tob, where “worthless fellows” joined up with him. The word here translated “worthless” means “empty,” as in “empty pit” (Gen. 37:24) or “empty jars” (Judg. 7:16). In Judges 9:4 Abimelech hired “worthless [or “empty”] and reckless fellows.” In contexts such as 9:4 or here, the designation “empty” is best understood as “unattached” or “empty” with regard to social connection—these are soldiers or mercenaries for hire. Since Jephthah is a mighty warrior, it makes sense that other such warriors would gather to him. There is safety in numbers, especially if one has just been rejected and sent away by one’s family. As the narrative progresses, the people of Israel deal with Jephthah on earth how they have dealt with God in heaven. The reject him, cry out to him to save them, repent and make him head over them, and then, in the end, turn on him after having been delivered. The cycle continues—as on earth, so in heaven. The narrative of Jephthah is something of a parable, and it puts on display the ongoing corruption of Israel. In the end, for Jephthah to deliver Israel will cost him his only child. The parabolic nature of the account is the intentional design of the author, not an accident.

11:4–6 Judges 11:4 takes us back to 10:17, in which the Ammonites encamped in Gilead in preparation for battle. Judges 11:5–6 take us to 10:18, in which the leaders of Gilead looked for “the man who will begin to fight against the Ammonites.” The text does not state how the leaders of Gilead decide upon Jephthah or even if they have other options. We simply read that they go to Tob to ask for Jephthah’s help. The brother they once rejected is sought after for help in their time of need after eighteen years of oppression. They are desperate and so now repent of their rejection of Jephthah and promise to make him the one who rules over them. The parable continues!

11:7–10 The dialogue recorded in these four verses appears to be something of a negotiation, or at least the means by which Jephthah confirms the truthful intentions of the elders. In verses 7 and 9 Jephthah questions the elders of Gilead, and in verses 8 and 10 the elders respond. Jephthah’s first question is intended to remind the elders of their past mistreatment of him, echoing the words of the Lord in 10:13–14: “You have forsaken me and served other gods; therefore I will save you no more. Go and cry out to the gods whom you have chosen; let them save you in the time of your distress.” The response of the elders (11:8) corresponds to Israel’s response to the Lord in 10:15: “We have sinned; do to us whatever seems good to you. Only please deliver us this day.” Jephthah’s second inquiry (11:9) makes an important connection: the one who delivers is the one who leads. In 10:11–12 the Lord rehearsed his sevenfold deliverance of his people over a period of some three hundred years, but the people still reject him as God and King. Will Israel reject Jephthah as they have the Lord? In desperation, the elders of Gilead respond in earnest and call the Lord to serve as witness to this promise (“The Lord will be the one who hears between us”; AT).

11:11 This section concludes with Jephthah again in Gilead, this time as “head and leader” over the people, reversing the events previously recorded (v. 3). The reference to Jephthah’s speaking “all his words before the Lord” refers to the previous dialogue (vv. 9–10). Jephthah rehearses the obligations of verse 9, and the Lord “hears” these words and so serves as the witness to the oath and pledge. A similar type of oath between Jacob and Laban occurred in this location hundreds of years prior and is the reason for the name of the location (“Mizpah”). In Genesis 31 Laban invokes God as witness, as the one who “sees” or “watches” when no one else is looking; “Therefore he named it Galeed, and Mizpah, for he said, ‘The Lord watch between you and me, when we are out of one another’s sight’” (Gen. 31:48–49). Mizpah means “watchtower” and is an apt symbol of witness and a subtle Hebrew play on words.

11:12–13 As the new leader and head of Gilead, Jephthah sets out to deal with the Ammonite threat. This is the very reason the elders of Gilead brought him back from exile in Tob. He begins by negotiating with the Ammonites (Judg. 11:12–28). The first round of negotiations appears in verses 12–13; the second round of negotiations is much longer (vv. 14–28). In this first round Jephthah begins by asking a simple question: “What do you have against me, that you have come to me to fight against my land?” In response the Ammonites accuse Israel of wrongfully taking their land when Israel came out of Egypt approximately three hundred years ago. The Ammonites are now demanding it be returned to them in peace. In the response that follows, Jephthah presents his case that the Israelites are the lawful inhabitants of the disputed region. His review of Israel’s history is impressive and relies heavily on information recorded in Numbers 20–22 and Deuteronomy 2–3 (cf. esp. Num. 20:14–21; 21:13–26, 31–35; Deut. 2:24–3:17).

11:14–15 Jephthah sends messengers to the king of the Ammonites a second time in order to substantiate Israel’s legitimate possession of the disputed region and to repudiate the Ammonite claim that Israel wrongfully took territory. The use of the introductory messenger formula “Thus says Jephthah” is striking, echoing the formula commonly used by biblical prophets to introduce divine speech: “Thus says the Lord” (cf. Ex. 4:22). This is yet another device employed by the author to portray Jephthah as the instrument of the Lord in his service as Israel’s judge and deliverer. Jephthah’s thesis appears at the end of Judges 11:15: “Israel did not take away the land of Moab or the land of the Ammonites.”

11:16–18 Jephthah begins to defend his thesis by rehearsing Israel’s journey from Egypt to the Red Sea, from the Red Sea to Kadesh, and then through the wilderness around Edom and Moab until arriving at the north bank of the Arnon. The Arnon River is the northern border of Moab, and thus Israel did not enter into the land of Moab.32 This review demonstrates that the people of Israel did not take or occupy any land that the Lord had not given to them as their inheritance. The role of Moab and its border appears again in verses 25–26.

11:19–23 In this next section of his defense Jephthah rehearses how Israel came to take possession of the land of the Amorites, the land north of Moab allotted to the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and east Manasseh. This was the land of Sihon, the Amorite king who came out against Israel in war when the Lord gave them into the hand of Israel. Israel then possessed her land, “all the territory of the Amorites from the Arnon to the Jabbok and from the wilderness to the Jordan” (v. 22). The point of this rehearsal is to verify and validate that it was the Lord who gave this land to Israel (v. 21) and that it was the Lord who dispossessed the Amorites (v. 23). The land of the Amorites was not the same as that of the Ammonites. For example, Numbers 21:24 records, “Israel defeated [Sihon] with the edge of the sword and took possession of his land from the Arnon to the Jabbok, as far as to the Ammonites, for the border of the Ammonites was strong” (cf. Deut. 2:31–36). Israel did not enter, occupy, or possess any Ammonite territory but only the land of the Amorites up to the border of Ammon. That border was “strong,” meaning secure. In Deuteronomy 2:37 it is also recorded that the Lord did not permit the Israelites to occupy Ammonite territory: “Only to the land of the sons of Ammon you did not draw near, that is, to all the banks of the river Jabbok and the cities of the hill country, whatever the Lord our God had forbidden us.”

11:24 Jephthah now makes the theological argument that nations possess what has been divinely allotted to them (cf. Deut. 32:8–9). The reference to Chemosh as the god of the Ammonites has caused some discussion. Chemosh is normally referred to as the god of the Moabites (Num. 21:29), with Milcom being the god of the Ammonites (1 Kings 11:5, 7, 33). Perhaps the prominence of Moab in Jephthah’s argument below explains this reference. Or he could be referring to the land under dispute, the land formerly associated with Chemosh before being occupied by Israel. Some argue that Jephthah’s mention of Chemosh implies syncretism on his part. However, such an interpretation is not required. Jephthah is simply speaking in terms that the unnamed Ammonite king would understand. The prophets frequently make reference to other so-called gods without ever being accused of syncretism.

11:25–26 Jephthah follows with a reference to Balak, king of Moab when Israel came out of Egypt (cf. Numbers 22–24; Josh. 24:9; Mic. 6:5; Rev. 2:14). This is an argument of comparison: “Are you any better?” The point is that Moab’s king did not dispute Israel’s claim to the Amorite territory and that the Ammonites are not greater than the Moabites. Additionally, if the Ammonites did have a claim on the former region of the Amorites, why has it taken three hundred years to make such a claim?

Jephthah has argued that Israel did not take away the land of the Moabites to the south or the land of the Ammonites to the north and east. Israel circumvented Moabite territory, disposed the Amorites alone, and did not enter into or occupy any Ammonite territory. Finally, no previous Ammonite king has come to make a claim on this land in the three hundred years of its occupation. These verses bring the defense of Jephthah’s thesis to a conclusion, and he now stands ready to deliver his verdict.

11:27–28 The conclusion of Jephthah’s case against the Ammonites comprises three parts. First, he declares himself (and so also Israel by representation) innocent of any wrong. This is stated in the negative: “I therefore have not sinned against you.” Second, he accuses the unnamed Ammonite king of wrongdoing: “You do me wrong by making war on me.” The word translated as “wrong” is the same word used repeatedly in Judges to characterize Israel’s idolatry and translated as “evil” (e.g., 2:11; “And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord”). The connection between the word for “sin” in the first part of the statement and the word for “evil” or “wrong” in the second is intentional. The third and final part of Jephthah’s verdict represents a theological highpoint in Judges. This is the declaration that the Lord himself is the one true Judge: “The Lord, the Judge, decide this day.” The verb rendered “decide” is the verb “to judge” that appears frequently in Judges (seventeen times). Though perhaps repetitive in English, this could be rendered “The Lord, the [one true] Judge, will judge!” Once again, the judges raised up by the Lord understand their authority in subordination to him as his instrument of deliverance. It is the Lord who saves (2:18). It is the Lord who rules over his people (8:23). It is the Lord who is the one true Judge (11:27). The message of the book could not be any clearer. Unfortunately, the king of the Ammonites does not learn this lesson but makes the mistake of engaging the Lord and his people in battle.

11:29 This next section (vv. 29–33) records Jephthah’s swift defeat of the Ammonites and the vow he makes. The section begins with the statement that the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah. The second introduction to the book stated that “whenever the Lord raised up judges for them, the Lord was with the judge, and he saved them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge” (2:18). This promise of the divine presence comes as the enabling power of the Spirit of the Lord, whose presence underscores that the Lord had indeed raised up Jephthah to deliver his people. The enabling presence of the Spirit has come upon Othniel (3:10), Gideon (6:34), and now Jephthah. The presence of the Spirit of the Lord will play a major role in the life of Samson as well (13:25; 14:6, 19; 15:14). This verse concludes by tracing the route used by Jephthah to engage the Ammonites in battle.

11:30–31 Jephthah’s vow comprises two parts: the condition (v. 30) and its consequence (v. 31). The first part is the condition (protasis). Jephthah will fulfill his vow if the Lord will indeed give the Ammonites into his hand. The language here recalls Jephthah’s interaction with the elders of Gilead in verse 9: “If you bring me home again to fight against the Ammonites, and the Lord gives them over to me, [then] I will be your head.” The second part of Jephthah’s vow is the consequence (apodosis). Jephthah vows to offer up to the Lord “whatever comes out from the doors of my house to meet me” as a whole burnt offering (an offering completely consumed by fire on the altar). The clause “whatever comes out” could also be rendered “whoever comes out” (ESV mg.). It is not likely that Jephthah expects an animal or some inanimate object to come out and greet him. When men returned from war, it was usually women who went out to greet them (Ex. 15:20; Judg. 5:28; 1 Sam. 18:6). But this does not mean that Jephthah intends to engage in the abomination of human sacrifice (Deut. 12:31; 18:9–12), as the Ammonites did in their worship of Molech (Lev. 18:21; 20:2–5; 2 Kings 23:13; Jer. 32:35). Rather, it is best to understand the language of sacrifice employed by Jephthah to be symbolic.33 Sacrificial language in general, in both the OT and the NT, may be used symbolically to characterize something offered to the Lord. For example, in Psalm 51:17 a “broken and contrite heart” is the sacrifice the Lord desires. And in Romans 12:1 Paul admonishes believers to offer their bodies as living sacrifices to the Lord, an act of spiritual worship. Thus it is possible, and more likely probable, that Jephthah is using the language of sacrifice symbolically for complete and total dedication to the Lord. It is also important to remember that Jephthah makes this vow in the context of the Spirit’s coming upon him to deliver Israel. The symbolic nature and the fulfillment of the vow is explained further in the comments on 11:37–40.

11:32–33 The record of the battle with the Ammonites and of Jephthah’s victory is very brief and general in terms of description. The author appears to be more interested in the nature and consequences of Jephthah’s vow in the verses that follow. The text simply states that Jephthah engages the Ammonites in battle and that the Lord gives them into his hand. Once again the text is clear that when the judge engages the enemy in battle, it is the Lord by the power of his Spirit who achieves victory for his people. This victory is called a “great blow” for the Ammonites, one that results in their humiliation and submission to the people of Israel.

11:34 The condition of Jephthah’s vow has been met. The Lord has given the Ammonites into the hand of Jephthah, who has returned to his house in peace. It is now time to fulfill the vow. Upon his return, Jephthah’s daughter comes out of the house to meet him. The language of the first half of this verse draws upon the language of Jephthah’s vow in the first part of Judg. 11:31. The verbs “to go out” and “to meet” and the noun “house” are repeated in order to connect the events in verse 34 to the vow recorded in verse 31. Jephthah’s daughter will be offered as the vowed “burnt offering.” The second half of this verse describes the special status of Jephthah’s daughter: “She was his only child; besides her he had neither son nor daughter.” The word translated “only child” is an adjective occurring only twelve times in the OT. The only other person described in this way is Isaac (Gen. 22:2, 12, 16). The similarity in context is both striking and intentional. For example, God commanded Abraham to “take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you” (Gen. 22:2). Isaac is described as Abraham’s “only son” (in spite of Ishmael), and Abraham is to offer him up as a “burnt offering.” The exact same language appears in Judges 11, and both events find fulfillment in a nonliteral manner. The point is the parable: Jephthah’s story is that of God and Israel, and for God to save his people it will one day cost the life of his only child.

11:35–36 Jephthah responds to the presence of his daughter with sorrow and grief, as evidenced by the tearing of his clothes. The verb translated “you have brought me very low” is the same verb used to describe Jephthah’s defeat of the Ammonites, rendered “were subdued” (v. 33). As such, the loss of the Ammonites costs Jephthah the loss of his daughter, and the “great blow” (v. 33) of the Ammonites has become the “great trouble” of Jephthah. The extent of Jephthah’s grief corresponds to his commitment to keep the vow he has made to the Lord. Even more surprising, however, is the willingness of his daughter to fulfill the vow of her father. Her willingness is yet another argument against the literal fulfillment of the vow.

11:37–38 The daughter’s request hints at the nature of the vow’s fulfillment. She asks for time to weep not for her life but for her virginity. Yes, as a virgin, death would prevent marriage and the opportunity to raise a family. But the prospect of marriage in the face of death as a whole burnt offering seems to miss the gravity of situation. If death by sacrifice were really the issue, the request for two months would provide a good head start on running away from home. The issue of virginity, however, explicitly appears in verses 37, 38, and 39. Never once is death or an actual sacrifice ever mentioned. Not only are such sacrifices clearly forbidden and abominated in Scripture (Deut. 12:31; 18:9–12; cf. 2 Kings 3:27; 23:10; Isa. 57:5), but the focus of the text is repeatedly virginity, not death. Jephthah’s daughter weeps because she will never experience the joy of being a bride in this life.

11:39 After two months Jephthah’s daughter willingly returns to him so that he might fulfill his vow. The nature of the fulfillment is described in the second half of the verse with a disjunctive, epexegetical clause that should be translated “In other words, she did not know a man.” Again, the issue is virginity, not death. The text does not provide us with the exact nature of the vow’s fulfillment. It appears, however, that Jephthah’s vow consists of offering a member of his house to full-time service of the Lord and thus not to the normal duties of a household, such as marriage or childbearing. Service of this type is documented in the OT (Ex. 38:8; 1 Sam. 1:11, 22–28; 2:22). If Jephthah had in fact slaughtered his daughter as a burnt offering in order to fulfill his vow to the Lord, it is hard to conceive of the author of Hebrews allowing his name to stand in the great hall of faith recorded in Hebrews 11.

11:40 Verse 39 concluded with the statement that “it became a custom in Israel.”34 This custom is now described. “Year by year” (or “from days to days”) for four days the daughters of Israel would go to “lament” the daughter of Jephthah. The text does not tell us where they went. The precise meaning of the verb rendered “lament” is disputed. In 5:11 it is translated “repeat,” as in, “They repeat the righteous triumphs of the Lord.” The nuance of “repeat,” “rehearse,” or “commemorate” also suits the context of chapter 11, so that the text could be stating, “Each year the daughters of Israel would go to commemorate [or “console”] the daughter of Jephthah.”35 If the daughter were serving at the tabernacle, the daughters of Israel may have gone to visit her each year for four days as an act of kindness as she fulfilled her father’s vow. Though this is described here as an annual custom, there is no other record or account of its being carried out. Perhaps the custom came to an end with the death of Jephthah’s daughter many years later, as the need to visit or commemorate her would no longer be necessary.

12:1 The Jephthah narrative comes to an end with the account of Ephraim’s rebellion and the ensuing civil war (vv. 1–6), followed by the formulaic death notice of the judge (v. 7). After Jephthah defeats the Ammonites and delivers Israel, the men of Ephraim cross over to the eastern side of the Jordan to meet Jephthah at Zaphon, in the territory of Gad.36 The parable of Jephthah continues. He has delivered Israel from the oppression of the enemy at the cost of his only daughter, merely to have the people (represented by Ephraim) respond with infidelity and violence. The complaint is that Jephthah did not summon the Ephraimites to participate in the battle against the Ammonites; in response they threaten Jephthah with death by fire. The reference to his house links to the events of chapter 11, in which Jephthah made his vow concerning the one who would come out of his house to meet him. In chapter 11 Jephthah’s house produced “great trouble” and suffering. Here in chapter 12 his house, probably including the entire household, comes under the threat of complete destruction.

12:2–3 Jephthah’s first response to the Ephraimite threat is diplomacy, the same tactic employed against the Ammonites in 11:12–27. He sets the record straight by arguing that the Ephraimites are incorrect in their assessment of the situation. Jephthah did in fact summon the Ephraimites into battle, but they did not answer the summons. As such, Ephraim has wronged Jephthah and the warriors of Gilead. Jephthah could lodge a countercomplaint against Ephraim, but instead he simply notes that the Lord has given the enemy into his hand. This reference to the Lord’s agency in victory should abate the anger of the Ephraimites, but it does not. Civil war ensues—a precursor to the events recorded in chapters 19–21 (the civil war against the tribe of Benjamin).

12:4–6 Jephthah and the men of Gilead engage in battle with the men of Ephraim. The Ephraimites taunt the Gileadites with the epithet “fugitives of Ephraim” (v. 4). However, the Gileadites prevail and strike down the Ephraimites. In order to prevent escape, the Gileadites capture the fords of the Jordan and turn the tables on the Ephraimites, a tactic employed by Ehud in 3:28. The Ephraimites have now become the literal “fugitives of Ephraim” (v. 5), and Jephthah will put them to the test. In order to determine whether someone coming to the crossing point of the Jordan is an Ephraimite, he is told to say the Hebrew word “Shibboleth,” meaning either “ear of corn” or “flood of water.” The meaning of the word, however, is not important—it is its pronunciation that matters. If the person responds with the pronunciation “Sibboleth,” he is identified as an Ephraimite and put to death. This dialectal test is rather ingenious and certainly makes sense in light of modern analogies. For example, the pronunciation of English varies between America, Canada, England, and Australia. Even within the United States, regional dialects distinguish places of origin. As a result, both in the initial battle and at the crossing point of the Jordan, Ephraim suffers a great loss: the tragic death of forty-two thousand men.

12:7 The Jephthah narrative now comes to an end with the formulaic report of his death after judging Israel six years. The duration of his service is comparatively short but accords well with the three minor judges who immediately follow, with durations of service recorded at seven, ten, and eight years.