Hakim-hakim 11:12-13

Jephthah Gives a History Lesson

11:12 Jephthah sent messengers to the Ammonite king, saying, “Why have ¹  you come against me to attack my land?” 11:13 The Ammonite king said to Jephthah’s messengers, “Because Israel stole ²  my land when they ³  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. ⁴  Now return it ⁵  peaceably!”

[11:12]  ¹ tn Heb “What to me and to you that…?”

[11:13]  ² tn Or “took”; or “seized.”

[11:13]  ³ tn Heb “he” (a collective singular).

[11:13]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ 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.