Judg 11:11 | TNotes | STEP | 11:11 At the end of the negotiations, Jephthah was sworn in as both ruler and commander . • This Mizpah (“watchtower”) was a shrine east of the Jordan in Gilead, which was Jephthah’s home (10:17 ; 11:29 , 34 ); it should not be confused with Mizpah in Benjamin, the place near Bethel where the tribes later assembled and swore oaths for the final battle of Judges (20:1 ; 21:1 ). • The ceremony at Mizpah in the presence of the Lord appears to have been the making of a suzerain-vassal covenant, in which a ruler (the suzerain) promises to protect and defend a vassal people in exchange for authority over them (see study note on Exod 20:1–23:33; see also Deuteronomy Book Introduction, “Literary Form”).

‏ Judges 11:11

11:11 ^a At the end of the negotiations, Jephthah was sworn in as both ruler and commander.

• This Mizpah (“watchtower”) was a shrine east of the Jordan in Gilead, which was Jephthah’s home (10:17 ^b; 11:29 ^c, 34 ^d); it should not be confused with Mizpah in Benjamin, the place near Bethel where the tribes later assembled and swore oaths for the final battle of Judges (20:1 ^e; 21:1 ^f).

• The ceremony at Mizpah in the presence of the Lord appears to have been the making of a suzerain-vassal covenant, in which a ruler (the suzerain) promises to protect and defend a vassal people in exchange for authority over them (see study note on Exod 20:1–23:33; see also Deuteronomy Book Introduction, “Literary Form”).