Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Judges 11:32
So Jephthah passed over unto the children of Ammon to fight against them; and the LORD delivered them into his hands.
32. Jephthah passed over unto thechildren of Ammon . . . and the Lord delivered them into his handsHemet and engaged them at Aroer, a town in the tribe of Gad, upon theArnon. A decisive victory crowned the arms of Israel, and the pursuitwas continued to Abel (plain of the vineyards), from south to north,over an extent of about sixty miles.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
So Jephthah passed over unto the children of Ammon, to fight against them,…. As in Jud 11:29, after he had made the above vow:
and the Lord delivered them into his hands; when both armies met and engaged, victory was on the side of Jephthah; the Lord being with him, and giving him success, to where all is justly ascribed.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Jephthah Victory Jdg. 11:32-40
32 So Jephthah passed over unto the children of Ammon to fight against them; and the Lord delivered them into his hands.
33 And he smote them from Aroer, even till thou come to Minnith, even twenty cities, and unto the plain of the vineyards, with a very great slaughter. Thus the children of Ammon were subdued before the children of Israel.
34 And Jephthah came to Mizpeh unto his house, and, behold, his daughter came out to meet him with timbrels and with dances: and she was his only child; beside her he had neither son nor daughter.
35 And it came to pass, when he saw her, that he rent his clothes, and said, Alas, my daughter! thou hast brought me very low, and thou art one of them that trouble me: for I have opened my mouth unto the Lord, and I cannot go back.
36 And she said unto him, My father, if thou hast opened thy mouth unto the Lord, do to me according to that which hath proceeded out of thy mouth; forasmuch as the Lord hath taken vengeance for thee of thine enemies, even of the children of Ammon,
37 And she said unto her father, Let this thing be done for me: let me alone two months, that I may go up and down upon the mountains, and bewail my virginity, I and my fellows.
38 And he said, Go. And he sent her away for two months: and she went with her companions, and bewailed her virginity upon the mountains.
39 And it came to pass at the end of two months, that she returned unto her father, who did with her according to his vow which he had vowed: and she knew no man. And it was a custom in Israel,
40 That the daughters of Israel went yearly to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in a year.
15.
Where is Minnith? Jdg. 11:33
After Jephthah had beaten the Ammonites he chased them from Aroer a spot east of the Dead Sea all the way to this point which was east of the Jordan River. Mention is made in ancient writings of Mannith which was located as being situated four miles from Heshbon on the road to Philadelphia, which is the modern Amman. The spot identified as the plain of the vineyards has also on occasion been transliterated under the name Abel-chermain. This spot is mentioned as being seven miles from modern Amman, and generally thought of as being in the same direction. Minnith is mentioned in Eze. 27:17 as one of the places which traded in the wheat market of Judah with Tyre. The implication of the mentioning of these spots is that Jephthah drove the Ammonites out of all the land across the Jordan.
16.
Why did Jephthah say his daughter had brought him very low? Jdg. 11:35
Jephthah had vowed to give the Lord the first object belonging to him as soon as he got back to his home. If he did sacrifice his daughter, the fact that he performed such a dastardly deed is reason enough for his saying that he had been brought very low. On the other hand, if he simply dedicated her to perpetual service around the Tabernacle, she would leave him without heirs. She would live a life of perpetual celibacy; and Jephthah, himself, would have no namesake since she was his only child. In any event, he was brought very low.
17.
Why did Jephthahs daughter want to be alone for two months? Jdg. 11:37
If the daughter had devoted herself to death, it is next to incredible that she should have asked to spend the last two months of life granted to her, not with her brokenhearted father, but in the mountains with her companions. She bewails not her maiden age but her maidenhood. She does not bewail that she dies so young, but that she is to live unmarried. It is also impossible to understand why continued repetition should be made of the fact that she knew no man if she were sacrificed. If she continued to live a life of perpetual celibacy such as the women who served around the Tabernacle in the days of Eli (1Sa. 2:22, cf. Exo. 38:8), it would be pertinent to mention that she knew no man.
18.
Why did the daughters of Israel assemble yearly in honor of Jephthahs daughter? Jdg. 11:40
The King James Version gives a translation which indicates that the daughters of Israel went yearly to lament the daughter of Jephthah four days each year. The American Standard Version says they went to celebrate. Brown, Driver, and Briggs in the Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament define the original word as coming from tanah, which means to recount or rehearse as is indicated in Jdg. 5:11, where the word also appears, In Youngs Analytical Concordance the word is found with the meaning of praise, It is not at all necessary to picture the women of Israel lamenting a person who was offered as a burnt offering. They may as well have gone up to praise her or to meet in celebration of her unselfish yielding to her fathers vow.
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(32) So.Rather, And. The clause does not refer in any way to Jephthahs vow, but merely resumes the narrative.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
32. The Lord delivered them into his hands The time was full for judgment to break upon the idolatrous Ammonites, and Jephthah was the chosen instrument for this work. The penitence and reformation in Israel, and the prayers for help that touched Jehovah’s heart, (Jdg 10:15-16,) soon brought them this great deliverance. Strangely have some thought that deliverance came because of Jephthah’s vow, or as a token of the divine approval of that pious act. As if his vow, at best of doubtful morality, moved God more than the reformation, prayers, and public interests of all Israel! As well might one argue that Saul’s rash oath (1Sa 14:24) brought victory to Israel’s arms that day when Jonathan offended. Yet Jehovah may hear a prayer, clothed in mistaken form, coming from a reverent heart. Jephthah had the faith of Abraham, willing to sacrifice his child, under the sincere supposition that it was Jehovah’s will. So that he was worthily written in the glorious roll of Hebrews 11.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Jdg 11:32-33 a
‘So Jephthah passed over to the children of Ammon, to fight against them, and Yahweh delivered them into his hand, And he smote them from Aroer until you come to Minnith, even twenty cities, and to Abel-cheramim, with a very great slaughter. So the children of Ammon were subdued before the children of Israel.’
The details of the battle are brief. Jephthah had been filled with the Spirit of Yahweh and had revealed his dedication by his vow. Thus as far as the writer was concerned Yahweh fought for him and the battle was won. We may, however, consider that he was also greatly helped by having his own trained band of fighting men and an astute knowledge of generalship. The victory was total. He cleared the border of Reuben (Aroer), took town after town (‘ten’ would mean ‘a number of’ so twenty (ten intensified) probably meant ‘a considerable number of’) decimated their army, and swept them out of the land and beyond. Minnith and Abel-cheramim are unknown although Minnith appears to have been famous for its wheat (Eze 27:17) and Abel-cheramim means ‘the meadow of vineyards’. The suggestion may be that he appropriated the richest land of Ammon for Israel, or that he released for Reuben fertile and rich land which had been occupied.
Note the way that Jdg 11:29-32 sweep forward. They begin with the Spirit of Yahweh coming on Jephthah, and end with Yahweh delivering the enemy into his hand, with his vow mentioned in the middle. This confirms that his vow was acceptable to Yahweh and militates against it indicating human sacrifice.
Jdg 11:33 b
‘So the children of Ammon were subdued before the children of Israel.’
The final state of things is described. Ammon, and probably her brother nation Moab, were subdued. They were no longer able to trouble Israel. Yahweh had fulfilled His promised deliverance.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Observe who it was that made Jephthah victorious. Yes! As in heaven so on earth, the armies of God overcame by the blood of the Lamb. It is always delightful to trace from whence our mercies flow; because through grace all the praise will then return to the right owner. Rev 12:11 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Jdg 11:32 So Jephthah passed over unto the children of Ammon to fight against them; and the LORD delivered them into his hands.
Ver. 32. So Jephthah passed over unto the children of Ammon. ] He stayed not their coming, but went over to them to fight them, being caelo, Christo, Deo armatus, – not Styge armatus, as the poet saith of Achilles, – and that he was therefore insuperable.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
the Lord: Jdg 1:4, Jdg 2:18, Jdg 3:10