Judges 11:31-39

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Judges 11:31

Shall surely be the Lord ' s , and I will offer it up for a burnt-offering - The text is עולה והעליתיהו ליהוה והיה vehayah layhovah , vehaalithihu olah ; the translation of which, according to the most accurate Hebrew scholars, is this: I will consecrate it to the Lord, or I will offer it for a burnt-offering; that is, "If it be a thing fit for a burnt-offering, it shall be made one; if fit for the service of God, it shall be consecrated to him." That... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Judges 11:33

Twenty cities - That is, he either took or destroyed twenty cities of the Ammonites, and completely routed their whole army. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Judges 11:34

With timbrels and with dances - From this instance we find it was an ancient custom for women to go out to meet returning conquerors with musical instruments, songs, and dances; and that it was continued afterwards is evident from the instance given 1 Samuel 18:6 , where David was met, on his return from the defeat of Goliath and the Philistines, by women from all the cities of Israel, with singing and dancing, and various instruments of music. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Judges 11:35

Thou hast brought me very low - He was greatly distressed to think that his daughter, who was his only child, should be, in consequence of his vow, prevented from continuing his family in Israel; for it is evident that he had not any other child, for besides her, says the text, he had neither son nor daughter, Judges 11:34 . He might, therefore, well be grieved that thus his family was to become extinct in Israel. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Judges 11:36

And she said unto him - What a pattern of filial piety and obedience! She was at once obedient, pious, and patriotic. A woman to have no offspring was considered to be in a state of the utmost degradation among the Hebrews; but she is regardless of all this, seeing her father is in safety, and her country delivered. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Judges 11:37

I and my fellows - Whether she meant the young women of her own acquaintance, or those who had been consecrated to God in the same way, though on different accounts, is not quite clear; but it is likely she means her own companions: and her going up and down upon the mountains may signify no more than her paying each of them a visit at their own houses, previously to her being shut up at the tabernacle; and this visiting of each at their own home might require the space of two months.... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Judges 11:39

And she knew no man - She continued a virgin all the days of her life. read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Judges 11:31

The words of this verse prove conclusively that Jephthah intended his vow to apply to human beings, not animals: for only one of his household could be expected to come forth from the door of his house to meet him. They also preclude any other meaning than that Jephthah contemplated a human sacrifice. This need not, however, surprise us, when we recollect his Syrian birth and long residence in a Syrian city, where such fierce rites were probably common. The Syrians and Phoenicians were... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Judges 11:33

As in the conflicts with the Moabites, Canaanites, and Midianites Judges 3:0; Judges 4:0; Judges 7:0, the battle was on Israelite territory, in self-defense, not in aggressive warfare.The plain of the vineyards - Rather, “Abel-Ceramim” (compare Abel-Meholah), identified with an “Abel” situated among vineyards, 7 miles from Robbah. “Minnith” is “Maanith,” 4 miles from Heshbon, on the road to Rab-bah. read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Judges 11:34

His daughter came out to meet him - The precise phrase of his vow Judges 11:31. She was his “only child,” a term of special endearment (see Jeremiah 6:26; Zechariah 12:10). The same word is used of Isaac Genesis 22:2, Genesis 22:12, Genesis 22:16. read more

Group of Brands