Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Judges 11:9
And Jephthah said unto the elders of Gilead, If ye bring me home again to fight against the children of Ammon, and the LORD deliver them before me, shall I be your head?
9. shall I be ? ] Rather it is I who am to be your head, accepting the agreement in Jdg 11:6.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Jephthah made his own aggrandisement the condition of his delivering; his country. The circumstances of his birth and long residence in a pagan land were little favorable to the formation of the highest type of character. Yet he has his record among the faithful Heb 11:32.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
If ye bring me home again; if you recall me from this place where I am now settled, to the place whence I was expelled.
Shall I be your head? will you really make good this promise? Jephthah was so solicitous in this case, either from his zeal for the public good, which required that he should be so; or from the law of self-preservation, that he might secure himself from his brethren; whose ill will he had experienced, and whose injuries he could not prevent, if, after he had served their ends, he had been reduced to his private capacity: or there might be some tincture of ambition in him; for which God therefore severely, though paternally, chastiseth him, as we see afterwards.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
And Jephthah said unto the elders of Gilead,…. Considering the former usage he had met with from them, and the character which he himself bore, and the fickleness of men, when their turn is served, was willing to make a sure bargain with them:
if ye bring me home again to fight against the children of Ammon; that is, should he consent to go along with them, and fight their battle for them:
and the Lord deliver them before me; or into his hands, on whom he depended for success, and not on his own courage and valour, and military skill:
shall I be your head? not only captain general of their forces during the war, but the chief ruler of them when that was ended.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Jephthah assented to this: “ If ye will take me back to make war upon the Ammonites, and Jehovah shall give them up to me ( lit. ‘before me,’ as in Jos 10:12; Deu 2:31, etc.), I will be your head.” “ I ” is emphatic as distinguished from he; and there is no necessity to regard the sentence as a question, with which the expression in Jdg 11:10, “according to thy words,” which presuppose an affirmative statement on the part of Jephthah, and not a question, would be altogether irreconcilable.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
(9) Shall I be your head?We must not be surprised if Jephthah does not display a disinterested patriotism. He was only half an Israelite; he had been wronged by his fathers kin; he had spent long years of his manhood among heathens and outlaws, who gained their livelihood by brigandage or mercenary warfare. As Gideon is the highest pitch of greatness to which this period reaches, says Dean Stanley. Jephthah and Samson are the lowest points to which it descends. Since, then, we have marked elements of ferocity and religious ignorance and ambition even in the noble character of Gideon, we must remember that we might naturally make allowance for a still lower level of attainment in one who had been so unfavourably circumstanced as Jephthah. Apart from the Syrian influences which had told upon him, the whole condition of the pastoral tribes on the east of the Jordan was far below that of the agricultural western tribes.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
9. Shall I be your head Better to make this a positive declaration, I will be your head; for the response of the elders in the next verse is not so much an answer to a question, as an expression of submission to Jephthah’s will.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘ And Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, “If you bring me home again to fight with the children of Ammon, and Yahweh deliver them before me, shall I be your head?”
Jephthah wanted to be quite clear about what they were offering. He had had no reason to trust them in the past. Why should he trust them now? But his reply demonstrated that in spite of his way of life, he trusted in Yahweh. His faith had been tested in the fires of affliction, and in his military way of life, and now he recognised that in order to obtain victory he would need Yahweh’s help. But his reply also gave them comfort. If Yahweh did give him victory, surely this would prove that Yahweh was satisfied for him to be their head. And if not, well, what had they lost?
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
It is said of the adored Redeemer, that Christ glorified not himself to be made an high priest, but was called of God, as was Aaron. Heb 5:4-5 . It is beautiful, and even glorious in the contemplation of redemption-work, that in all Jesus did and accomplished; the Father’s gracious hand is seen joined with the Savior’s work in the plan of mercy. My Father, saith Jesus, worketh hitherto, and, I work. Joh 5:17 . I cannot close the perusal of this account of Jephthah’s uttering all his words before the Lord, without reminding the Reader of that most sublime view of the Son of God, lifting up his eyes to heaven, just as he was about to enter on his last act, in the finishing redemption, and saying; Father, the hour is come, glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee, etc. Joh 17:1-4 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Jdg 11:9 And Jephthah said unto the elders of Gilead, If ye bring me home again to fight against the children of Ammon, and the LORD deliver them before me, shall I be your head?
Ver. 9. Shall I be your head? ] He would make his bargain wisely, to prevent all differences for the future, and the rather because he had been before but coarsely used by them.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
the LORD. Hebrew. Jehovah. App-4.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
If ye bring: Num 32:20-29
Reciprocal: Jdg 8:23 – I will
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Jdg 11:9. If ye bring me home If ye recall me from this place where I am now settled to the place whence I was expelled. Shall I be your head? Will you really make good this promise? Jephthah was so solicitous in this case, either from his zeal for the public good, which required that he should be so; or from the law of self-preservation, that he might secure himself from his brethren; whose ill-will he had experienced, and whose injuries he could not prevent, if, after he had served their ends, he had been reduced to his private capacity.