Hakim-hakim 11:1-20
Konteks11:1 Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a brave warrior. His mother was a prostitute, but Gilead was his father. 1 11:2 Gilead’s wife also gave 2 him sons. When his wife’s sons grew up, they made Jephthah leave and said to him, “You are not going to inherit any of our father’s wealth, 3 because you are another woman’s son.” 11:3 So Jephthah left 4 his half-brothers 5 and lived in the land of Tob. Lawless men joined Jephthah’s gang and traveled with him. 6
11:4 It was some time after this when the Ammonites fought with Israel. 11:5 When the Ammonites attacked, 7 the leaders 8 of Gilead asked Jephthah to come back 9 from the land of Tob. 11:6 They said, 10 “Come, be our commander, so we can fight with the Ammonites.” 11:7 Jephthah said to the leaders of Gilead, “But you hated me and made me leave 11 my father’s house. Why do you come to me now, when you are in trouble?” 11:8 The leaders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “That may be true, 12 but now we pledge to you our loyalty. 13 Come with us and fight with the Ammonites. Then you will become the leader 14 of all who live in Gilead.” 15 11:9 Jephthah said to the leaders of Gilead, “All right! 16 If you take me back to fight with the Ammonites and the Lord gives them to me, 17 I will be your leader.” 18 11:10 The leaders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “The Lord will judge any grievance you have against us, 19 if we do not do as you say.” 20 11:11 So Jephthah went with the leaders of Gilead. The people made him their leader and commander. Jephthah repeated the terms of the agreement 21 before the Lord in Mizpah.
11:12 Jephthah sent messengers to the Ammonite king, saying, “Why have 22 you come against me to attack my land?” 11:13 The Ammonite king said to Jephthah’s messengers, “Because Israel stole 23 my land when they 24 came up from Egypt – from the Arnon River in the south to the Jabbok River in the north, and as far west as the Jordan. 25 Now return it 26 peaceably!”
11:14 Jephthah sent messengers back to the Ammonite king 11:15 and said to him, “This is what Jephthah says, ‘Israel did not steal 27 the land of Moab and the land of the Ammonites. 11:16 When they left 28 Egypt, Israel traveled 29 through the desert as far as the Red Sea and then came to Kadesh. 11:17 Israel sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, “Please allow us 30 to pass through your land.” But the king of Edom rejected the request. 31 Israel sent the same request to the king of Moab, but he was unwilling to cooperate. 32 So Israel stayed at Kadesh. 11:18 Then Israel 33 went through the desert and bypassed the land of Edom and the land of Moab. They traveled east of the land of Moab and camped on the other side of the Arnon River; 34 they did not go through Moabite territory (the Arnon was Moab’s border). 11:19 Israel sent messengers to King Sihon, the Amorite king who ruled in Heshbon, and said to him, “Please allow us to pass through your land to our land.” 35 11:20 But Sihon did not trust Israel to pass through his territory. He 36 assembled his whole army, 37 camped in Jahaz, and fought with Israel.
[11:1] 1 tn Heb “Now he was the son of a woman, a prostitute, and Gilead fathered Jephthah.”
[11:2] 3 tn Heb “in the house of our father.”
[11:3] 6 tn Heb “Empty men joined themselves to Jephthah and went out with him.”
[11:5] 7 tn Heb “When the Ammonites fought with Israel.”
[11:5] 9 tn Heb “went to take Jephthah.”
[11:6] 10 tn Heb “to Jephthah.”
[11:7] 11 tn Heb “Did you not hate me and make me leave?”
[11:8] 12 tn Heb “therefore”; “even so.” For MT לָכֵן (lakhen, “therefore”) the LXX has an opposite reading, “not so,” which seems to be based on the Hebrew words לֹא כֵן (lo’ khen).
[11:8] 13 tn Heb “we have returned to you.” For another example of שׁוּב אֶל (shuv ’el) in the sense of “give allegiance to,” see 1 Kgs 12:27b.
[11:8] 14 sn Then you will become the leader. The leaders of Gilead now use the word רֹאשׁ (ro’sh, “head, leader”), the same term that appeared in their original, general offer (see 10:18). In their initial offer to Jephthah they had simply invited him to be their קָצִין (qatsin, “commander”; v. 6). When he resists they must offer him a more attractive reward – rulership over the region. See R. G. Boling, Judges (AB), 198.
[11:8] 15 tn Heb “leader of us and all who live in Gilead.”
[11:9] 16 tn “All right” is supplied in the translation for clarification.
[11:9] 17 tn Heb “places them before me.”
[11:9] 18 tn Some translate the final statement as a question, “will I really be your leader?” An affirmative sentence is preferable. Jephthah is repeating the terms of the agreement in an official manner. In v. 10 the leaders legally agree to these terms.
[11:10] 19 tn Heb “The
[11:10] 20 sn The
[11:11] 21 tn Heb “spoke all his words.” This probably refers to the “words” recorded in v. 9. Jephthah repeats the terms of the agreement at the
[11:12] 22 tn Heb “What to me and to you that…?”
[11:13] 23 tn Or “took”; or “seized.”
[11:13] 24 tn Heb “he” (a collective singular).
[11:13] 25 tn Heb “from the Arnon to the Jabbok and to the Jordan.” The word “River” has been supplied in the translation with “Arnon” and “Jabbok,” because these are less familiar to modern readers than the Jordan.
[11:13] 26 tc The translation assumes a singular suffix (“[return] it”); the Hebrew text has a plural suffix (“[return] them”), which, if retained, might refer to the cities of the land.
[11:15] 27 tn Or “take”; or “seize.”
[11:16] 28 tn Heb “For when they went up from.”
[11:17] 30 tn Heb “me.” (Collective Israel is the speaker.)
[11:17] 31 tn Heb “did not listen.”
[11:17] 32 tn Heb “Also to the king of Moab he sent, but he was unwilling.”
[11:18] 33 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Israel; the pronoun in the Hebrew text represents a collective singular) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[11:18] 34 tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
[11:19] 35 tn Heb “to my place.”
[11:20] 36 tn Heb “Sihon.” The proper name (“Sihon”) has been replaced in the translation by the pronoun (“he”) because of English style; a repetition of the proper name here would be redundant in English.
[11:20] 37 tn Heb “all his people” (also in the following verse).
