Judg 11:12-28 | TNotes | STEP | Summary for Judg 11:12-28: 11:12-28 Jephthah initially tried to solve the problem by diplomatic rather than military means (cp. Deut 20:10-11 ). • Unlike the nomadic, marauding Midianites of Gideon’s day, the Ammonites were a settled tribe whose territory lay to the east of Israel’s holdings in Transjordan (east of the Jordan); Rabbah was the Ammonite capital. The Ammonites, like the Moabites (both descendants of Lot) and the Edomites (Esau’s descendants), were to be left alone, as their territories were assigned to them by the Lord (Deut 2:16-23 ). • Contrary to the Ammonite king’s contention, the Amorites, not Ammon or Moab, lived between the Arnon and Jabbok rivers at the time of the conquest. In response to Sihon’s refusal to let Israel pass, the Lord had given the land of the Amorite kings Sihon and Og to Israel. The Ammonite king had no legitimate quarrel with Israel.

a11:12-28►

bDeut 20:10-11►

cDeut 2:16-23►

d11:17►

eNum 32:8►

fDeut 1:19►

g2:14►

h11:24►

i11:25►

jNum 21:24►

k11:26►

l11:27►

m11:29-33►

‏ Judges 11:12-28

Summary for Judg 11:12-28: 11:12-28 ^a Jephthah initially tried to solve the problem by diplomatic rather than military means (cp. Deut 20:10-11 ^b).

• Unlike the nomadic, marauding Midianites of Gideon’s day, the Ammonites were a settled tribe whose territory lay to the east of Israel’s holdings in Transjordan (east of the Jordan); Rabbah was the Ammonite capital. The Ammonites, like the Moabites (both descendants of Lot) and the Edomites (Esau’s descendants), were to be left alone, as their territories were assigned to them by the Lord (Deut 2:16-23 ^c).

• Contrary to the Ammonite king’s contention, the Amorites, not Ammon or Moab, lived between the Arnon and Jabbok rivers at the time of the conquest. In response to Sihon’s refusal to let Israel pass, the Lord had given the land of the Amorite kings Sihon and Og to Israel. The Ammonite king had no legitimate quarrel with Israel.
11:17 ^d Kadesh had been Israel’s base for spying out the land (Num 32:8 ^e; Deut 1:19 ^f; 2:14 ^g). The name comes from the Hebrew root qadesh (“holy”) and presumably is named for a shrine.
11:24 ^h Chemosh was the god of the related tribe of Moabites. If the land occupied by Israel east of the Jordan originally belonged to Moab (see study note on 11:25), the Ammonite king would still have regarded Chemosh as the god of that land. Whether Jephthah regarded Chemosh as a god or was accommodating himself to the king’s belief system is not clear.
11:25 ⁱ Moab and Ammon were related (descendants of Lot). Moab, as opposed to Ammon, may have had a legitimate claim to the land that Israel occupied north of the Arnon, which was taken from them earlier by Sihon, king of the Amorites (Num 21:24 ^j). The Israelites had conquered Sihon and annexed the disputed territory, but Moab had not attempted to claim it. Neither should Ammon, because the land in question had never belonged to them.
11:26 ^k Whether the conquest and settlement took place in the 1400s BC or the 1200s BC (see Judges Book Introduction, “Chronology of the Judges Era”), Jephthah’s 300 years is probably a round figure.
11:27 ^l Jephthah appealed to the Lord, the great judge, to decide between Israel and Ammon. The Lord’s response (11:29-33 ^m) was his answer.