ALPHA MAAMA (A.M.)

 Tokonaki ‘Okatopa 30, 2021

Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty warrior

PEA ko Sēfita, ko e tangata Kiliati, ko e fu‘u to‘a ia

Fakamaau 11 (Judges 11)

(v. 1-3) PEA ko Sēfita, ko e tangata Kiliati, ko e fu‘u to‘a ia, ka ko e tama ‘a ha fefine fe‘auaki: pea ko e tamai ‘a Sēfita ko Kiliati. Pea ko e uaifi ‘o Kiliati na‘a ne fā‘ele‘i kiate ia ha ngaahi foha; pea ‘i he lalahi ‘a e fānau ‘a hono uaifi, na‘a nau kapusi ‘a Sēfita, ‘o nau pehē kiate ia, ‘E ‘ikai te ke ma‘u tofi‘a koe ‘i he fale ‘o ‘emau tamai; he ko e tama ‘a ha fefine kehe. Pea hola ‘a Sēfita mei hono ngaahi tokoua, ‘o ne nofo ‘i he fonua ko Topi: pea na‘e tānaki kia Sēfita ha tu‘unga me‘a hamumu, pea na‘a nau ō fano mo ia.

(v. 1-3) Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty warrior, but he was the son of a prostitute. Gilead was the father of Jephthah. And Gilead’s wife also bore him sons. And when his wife’s sons grew up, they drove Jephthah out and said to him, “You shall not have an inheritance in our father’s house, for you are the son of another woman.” Then Jephthah fled from his brothers and lived in the land of Tob, and worthless fellows collected around Jephthah and went out with him.

G. Campbell Morgan's Exposition on the Whole Bible

At last deliverance came through Jephthah, whose history is full of interest. He was the son of a harlot and had been thrust out from his inheritance by the legitimate sons of his father. Evidently the iron had entered into his soul and he had gathered to himself a band of men and had become a kind of outlaw freebooter. He was evidently a man of courage and heroic daring, and it is impossible to read the story of the approach of the men of Gilead to him without recognizing that he had certain excellencies of character. He can hardly be measured even by the highest standards of his own time. For some period he had been compelled to live outside the national life. Nevertheless, it is evident that he had his own religious convictions.

Perhaps the chief interest in this story is in the matter of his vow, of which there have been various interpretations. The story seems to leave no room for doubt that he intended to offer a human sacrifice, for when he promised to give what came to the door of his house, the reference can hardly be to an animal. When his daughter appeared, whether he actually slew her or whether, as some commentators believe, he condemned her to perpetual virginity must remain open to question. If indeed he offered her as a sacrifice by death, the question of the morality of his act can be discussed only in the light of his time, and, indeed, in the light of his own personal conviction. Certainly such an act was not justified by the law of Moses. Nevertheless, the impulse was a religious impulse.

David Guzik :: Study Guide for Judges 11

Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valor: This brave and notable man in Israel had a clouded pedigree. His mother was a harlot, a common heathen prostitute.

The area of Gilead was the part of Israel that lay east of the Jordan River, comprising the territory of Reuben, Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh. Coincidentally, Jephthah’s father was also named Gilead.

Jephthah fled from his brothers and dwelt in the land of Tob: Rejected by his family because of his illegitimate ancestry, Jephthah grew up in this area in what would be modern-day Syria.

Though rejected by his family, God blessed and used Jephthah. “Howbeit God made choice of such a one here to be a deliverer of his people; and hath registered him among other of his worthies, famous for their faith (Hebrews 11). This is for the comfort of bastards, if believers, and born of God (John 1:12-13).” (Trapp)

“The one thing which we emphasize is that God did not count the wrong for which he was not responsible, a disqualification. He raised him up; He gave him His Spirit; He employed him to deliver His people in the hour of their need.” (Morgan)

“Tob has been tentatively identified with the modern el-Taiyibeh, about 15 miles east-north-east of Ramoth-gilead, in the desolate area which lay just outside the eastern boundary of Israel and the northern frontier of Ammon.” (Cundall)

Jephthah wasn’t necessarily the leader of a band of criminals. Adam Clarke explains that the term worthless men doesn’t necessarily mean a bandit: “The word may, however, mean in this place poor persons, without property, and without employment.”

“He and his band probably operated more in the manner of David and his group years later, protecting cities and settlements from marauders.” (Wood) David did this in the period described in 1 Samuel 25:4-8, receiving pay from those whom they helped. It is also possible that they only plundered the villages of enemy peoples, such as the Ammonites.