Judges 10:1 - 12:15

Outline :

Chapters 10-12 :
Jephthah (etc)

10:1-5

Tola and Jair Brief mention of Tola and Jair, two judges of Israel.

10:6-18

Setting for Jephthah: Israel sins, is oppressed by Ammon, and repents. Israel again serves all the foreign gods, so God delivers them over to the 'sons of Ammon'. Ammon afflicts Israel for 18 years before Israel repents and cries out, at which point God 'could bear the misery of Israel no longer'. When our story starts, Ammon has just camped in Gilead, and Israel has camped in Mizpah to fight them; they still don't have a leader though...

11:1-3

Meet Jephthah Our introduction to Jephthah; he is the son of a harlot, and as such his family drove him out. He ends up forming a band of outlaws and living in the land of Tob; evidentally he also got something of a reputation as a valiant warrior.

11:4-11

Gilead recruits Jephthah In their time of trouble, Gilead decides that the man they need to lead them into battle is the outlaw harlot son Jephthah. They approach him, and ask him to come, telling him that he will be their chief if he agrees. On these terms, he agrees to hang up his spurs and go straight.

11:12-28

Jephthah defends Israels ownership of the land east of the Jordan (formally the land of Ammon). The first thing Jephthah does is send a message to the king of Ammon asking him the reason for the fight; the king of Ammon replies that he is taking back the land that Israel took from Ammon 300 years (which, if you add up the years mentioned in judges, seems about right) ago. Jephthah responds with a bit of a history lesson about how the Israelites had asked the Edomites, Moabites, and Amorites for passage through their land on the way to Canaan, and how the Edomites and Moabites refused them, and the Amorites and Ammonites (Bashan is usually equated with Ammon) attacked them (Israel possesed the land of the Amorites and Ammonites after defeating this attack - see Num. 21). He goes on to question why the claim is being presented 300 years after the fact...
The Ammonites ignore Jephthah's message.

11:29-33

Jephthah defeats the Ammonites "The Spirit of the Lord" comes upon Jephthah, and he goes on the attack. Before entering battle though, he makes an oath that he will offer up whatever first comes out of his house to greet him after his battle as a burnt offering if he is given success. Then, he goes and defeats Ammon "with a very great slaughter".

11:34-40

Jephthah's Daughter becomes Jephthah's offering. Jephthah's daughter is the first to greet Jephthah, and so he says that he she has to be his offering. She asks for 2 months to weep her virginity in the mountains, which she gets; when she returns, Jephthah does 'according to the vow which he had made'.
Well...i think its safe to say that this was a mistake. God doesn't need to make deals with us for success or failure (Jephthah's conditional promise to God; "if you let me win..."), but beyond that Jephthah's vow violated clear commands on human life (assuming that he did use his daughter as a burnt offering). It should be noted that some say that Jephthah didn't kill his daughter, but that he fulfilled his vow by making her the OT equiv. of a nun.

12:1-7

Gilead vs. Ephriam Ephriam heres of the battle, and crosses over fight Gilead (they're mad that they weren't included). Jephthah responsds by saying that when they say that Ephriam wouldn't help, they attacked themselves. He then calls up Gilead and attacks Ephriam; Ephriam loses, and then Gilead takes the fords of the Jordan and kills anyone who has an Ephriamite accent (all in all, they kill 42,000 Ephriamites).

12:8-15

Ibzan, Elon, and Abdon Three judges of whom next to nothing is said, other than a mention of Abdons 40 sons and 30 grandsons.

10:1-5
Tola and Jair	Brief mention of Tola and Jair, two judges of Israel.
10:6-18
Setting for Jephthah: Israel sins, is oppressed by Ammon, and repents.	Israel again serves all the foreign gods, so God delivers them over to the 'sons of Ammon'. Ammon afflicts Israel for 18 years before Israel repents and cries out, at which point God 'could bear the misery of Israel no longer'. When our story starts, Ammon has just camped in Gilead, and Israel has camped in Mizpah to fight them; they still don't have a leader though...
11:1-3
Meet Jephthah	Our introduction to Jephthah; he is the son of a harlot, and as such his family drove him out. He ends up forming a band of outlaws and living in the land of Tob; evidentally he also got something of a reputation as a valiant warrior.
11:4-11
Gilead recruits Jephthah	In their time of trouble, Gilead decides that the man they need to lead them into battle is the outlaw harlot son Jephthah. They approach him, and ask him to come, telling him that he will be their chief if he agrees. On these terms, he agrees to hang up his spurs and go straight.
11:12-28
Jephthah defends Israels ownership of the land east of the Jordan (formally the land of Ammon).	The first thing Jephthah does is send a message to the king of Ammon asking him the reason for the fight; the king of Ammon replies that he is taking back the land that Israel took from Ammon 300 years (which, if you add up the years mentioned in judges, seems about right) ago. Jephthah responds with a bit of a history lesson about how the Israelites had asked the Edomites, Moabites, and Amorites for passage through their land on the way to Canaan, and how the Edomites and Moabites refused them, and the Amorites and Ammonites (Bashan is usually equated with Ammon) attacked them (Israel possesed the land of the Amorites and Ammonites after defeating this attack - see Num. 21). He goes on to question why the claim is being presented 300 years after the fact... The Ammonites ignore Jephthah's message.
11:29-33
Jephthah defeats the Ammonites	"The Spirit of the Lord" comes upon Jephthah, and he goes on the attack. Before entering battle though, he makes an oath that he will offer up whatever first comes out of his house to greet him after his battle as a burnt offering if he is given success. Then, he goes and defeats Ammon "with a very great slaughter".
11:34-40
Jephthah's Daughter becomes Jephthah's offering.	Jephthah's daughter is the first to greet Jephthah, and so he says that he she has to be his offering. She asks for 2 months to weep her virginity in the mountains, which she gets; when she returns, Jephthah does 'according to the vow which he had made'. Well...i think its safe to say that this was a mistake. God doesn't need to make deals with us for success or failure (Jephthah's conditional promise to God; "if you let me win..."), but beyond that Jephthah's vow violated clear commands on human life (assuming that he did use his daughter as a burnt offering). It should be noted that some say that Jephthah didn't kill his daughter, but that he fulfilled his vow by making her the OT equiv. of a nun.
12:1-7
Gilead vs. Ephriam	Ephriam heres of the battle, and crosses over fight Gilead (they're mad that they weren't included). Jephthah responsds by saying that when they say that Ephriam wouldn't help, they attacked themselves. He then calls up Gilead and attacks Ephriam; Ephriam loses, and then Gilead takes the fords of the Jordan and kills anyone who has an Ephriamite accent (all in all, they kill 42,000 Ephriamites).
12:8-15
Ibzan, Elon, and Abdon	Three judges of whom next to nothing is said, other than a mention of Abdons 40 sons and 30 grandsons.