Judges 11:10 NIV

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Judges 11:4-11

Here is, I. The distress which the children of Israel were in upon the Ammonites? invasion of their country, Jdg. 11:4. Probably this was the same invasion with that mentioned, Jdg. 10:17; when the children of Ammon were gathered together and encamped in or against Gilead. And those words, in process of time, refer to what goes immediately before of the expulsion of Jephthah; many days after he had been thus thrust out in disgrace was he fetched back again with honour. II. The court which the... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Judges 11:10

And the elders of Gilead said unto Jephthah ,.... Assenting to his proposal, and not only giving their word for it, but their oath: the Lord be witness between us, if we do not so according to thy words ; that is, make him head over them; they appealed to the omniscient God, and called on him to be a witness of their agreement to it, and swore by him they would fulfil it; or if they did not, that the Lord would take vengeance on them for it, and punish the breach of this covenant and... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Judges 11:10-11

Judges 11:10-11. The Lord be witness The Lord be a hearer; so the Hebrew word is. Whatever we speak, it concerns us to remember that God is a hearer! The people made him head, &c. They confirmed in full assembly, by unanimous consent, what the elders, who had been sent to him, had promised. Jephthah uttered all his words before the Lord That is, before the public congregation, where God was usually and then especially present. This most probably refers to the words of the people, in... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Judges 11:1-40

Jephthah and five other judges (10:1-12:15)Little is known of the political or military activities of the judges Tola and Jair. They both exercised power for lengthy periods, and Jair’s family certainly enjoyed considerable power and prestige among the East Jordan tribes (10:1-5).Again the Israelites turned away from Yahweh and worshipped false gods, and again they were punished. The Ammonites conquered the eastern tribes, crossed Jordan, and seized large portions of Israelite territory in... read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Judges 11:10

be witness = be a hearer. read more

Robert Jamieson; A. R. Fausset; David Brown

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Judges 11:10

10, 11. the elders of Israel said unto Jephthah, The Lord be witness between us—Their offer being accompanied by the most solemn oath, Jephthah intimated his acceptance of the mission, and his willingness to accompany them. But to make "assurance doubly sure," he took care that the pledge given by the deputies in Tob should be ratified in a general assembly of the people at Mizpeh; and the language of the historian, "Jephthah uttered all his words before the Lord," seems to imply that his... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Judges 11:1-11

The choice of Jephthah as Gilead’s leader 11:1-11Judges 11:1-3 provide information about Jephthah’s personal background. His name means "He [an unspecified deity] has opened [the womb]." Jephthah lived on the east side of the Jordan River. Unlike Gideon, he was a courageous and valiant warrior. He was, however, the product of his father’s sexual liaison with a prostitute, another clue to the moral level in Israel. Evidently Jephthah’s grandparents named his father in honor of an ancestor named... read more

John Dummelow

John Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible - Judges 11:1-40

Jephthah’s Victory over the Ammonites. His Rash Vow1-11. The Choice of Jephthah.1. As the son of a harlot, Jephthah has no legal standing in the tribe. Gilead begat] Throughout the rest of the narrative Gilead is the name of a place, not a person (cp. Judges 12:7). Here Gilead’s ’sons’ represent the legitimate tribesmen. 3. Tob] must have been near Gilead, probably to the NE. (cp. 2 Samuel 10:6). Vain men] see on Judges 9:4. ’Broken men,’ such as came to David at the cave of Adullam (1 Samuel... read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Judges 11:10

(10) The Lord be witness.—Rather, be hearing (Dominus, qui haec audit ipse Mediator ac testis sit, Vulg.). read more

William Nicoll

Expositor's Dictionary of Texts - Judges 11:1-40

Judges 11:6 When a subject presented itself so large and shapeless, and dry and thorny, that few men's fortitude could face, and no one's patience could grapple with it; or an emergency occurred demanding, on a sudden, access to stores of learning, the collection of many long years, but arranged so as to be made available at the shortest notice then it was men asked where Lawrence was. Lord Brougham. Judges 11:10 In a sermon preached at Fenwick in 1663, William Guthrie told his congregation:... read more