Howbeit, the king of the children of Ammon hearkened not unto the words of Jephthah which he sent him. He attended not to the arguments Jephthah made use of, and did not choose to seem at least to be convinced by them, nor to regard the awful appeal he had made to the great Jehovah. read more
Consult the marginal references. If the ark with the copy of the Law Deuteronomy 31:26 was at Mizpeh, it would account for Jephthah’s accurate knowledge of it; and this exact agreement of his message with Numbers and Deuteronomy would give additional force to the expression, “he uttered all his words before the Lord” Judges 11:11.Judges 11:17No mention is made of this embassy to Moab in the Pentateuch.Judges 11:19Into my place - This expression implies that the trans-Jordanic possessions of... read more
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
"Howbeit the king of the children of Ammon harkened not unto the words of Jephthah which he sent him."This verse is the statement of the unaltered position of the king of the Ammonites who was determined to take Israel's territory by force of arms. read more
28. Howbeit the king of the children of Ammon hearkened not unto the words of Jephthah—His remonstrances to the aggressor were disregarded, and war being inevitable, preparations were made for a determined resistance. :-. HIS VOW. read more
Jephthah’s negotiations with the king of Ammon 11:12-28Jephthah did not rush into battle but wisely tried to settle the Ammonites’ grievance with Israel peacefully. His approach reveals his humility as well as his wisdom. Most men would have wanted to demonstrate their prowess in battle to impress the ones who had expressed confidence in them and to guarantee their future security with a victory. However, Jephthah restrained himself and appealed to the king of Ammon very logically through... read more
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
(28) Hearkened not.—We are not told of any counter-arguments. Probably the king of Ammon cared only for the argument of the sword—“The good old ruleContented him, the simple planThat they should get who have the power,And they should keep who can.” read more
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
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Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Judges 11:12-28
We have here the treaty between Jephthah, now judge of Israel, and the king of the Ammonites (who is not named), that the controversy between the two nations might, if possible, be accommodated without the effusion of blood. I. Jephthah, as one having authority, sent to the king of Ammon, who in this war was the aggressor, to demand his reasons for invading the land of Israel: ?Why hast thou come to fight against me in my land? Jdg. 11:12. Had I come first into thy land to disturb thee in thy... read more