Jephthah

• Deliverance by Jephthahc. 1152 BC

Jephthah

Father

Gilead

• Ἰεφθάε·Jephthah
• יִפְתָּח·Jephthah

Includes 7 verses that refer to Jephthah without naming them, as “he”, “she”, or the subject of a verb.

1. Judges 11:1
   Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valor; he was the son of a prostitute, and Gilead was his father.
2. Judges 11:2
   And Gilead’s wife bore him sons who grew up, drove Jephthah out, and said to him, “You shall have no inheritance in our father’s house, because you are the son of another woman.”
3. Judges 11:3
   So Jephthah fled from his brothers and settled in the land of Tob, where worthless men gathered around him and traveled with him.
4. Judges 11:5
   …and made war with them, the elders of Gilead went to get Jephthah from the land of Tob.
5. Judges 11:6
   “Come,” they said, “be our commander, so that we can fight against the Ammonites.”
6. Judges 11:7
   Jephthah replied to the elders of Gilead, “Did you not hate me and expel me from my father’s house? Why then have you come to me now, when you are in distress?”
7. Judges 11:8
   They answered Jephthah, “This is why we now turn to you, that you may go with us, fight the Ammonites, and become leader over all of us who live in Gilead.”
8. Judges 11:9
   But Jephthah asked them, “If you take me back to fight the Ammonites and the LORD gives them to me, will I really be your leader?”
9. Judges 11:10
   And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “The LORD is our witness if we do not do as you say.”
10. Judges 11:11
    So Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him their leader and commander. And Jephthah repeated all his terms in the presence of the LORD at Mizpah.
11. Judges 11:12
    Then Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites, saying, “What do you have against me that you have come to fight against my land?”
12. Judges 11:13
    The king of the Ammonites answered Jephthah’s messengers, “When Israel came up out of Egypt, they seized my land, from the Arnon to the Jabbok and all the way to the Jordan. Now, therefore, restore it peaceably.”
13. Judges 11:14
    Jephthah again sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites
14. Judges 11:15
    …to tell him, “This is what Jephthah says: Israel did not take away the land of Moab or of the Ammonites.
15. Judges 11:27Referred to, not named
    I have not sinned against you, but you have done me wrong by waging war against me. May the LORD, the Judge, decide today between the Israelites and the Ammonites.”
16. Judges 11:28
    But the king of the Ammonites paid no heed to the message Jephthah sent him.
17. Judges 11:29
    Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah, and he passed through Gilead and Manasseh, then through Mizpah of Gilead. And from there he advanced against the Ammonites.
18. Judges 11:30
    Jephthah made this vow to the LORD: “If indeed You will deliver the Ammonites into my hand,
19. Judges 11:31Referred to, not named
    …then whatever comes out the door of my house to greet me on my triumphant return from the Ammonites will belong to the LORD, and I will offer it up as a burnt offering.”
20. Judges 11:32
    So Jephthah crossed over to the Ammonites to fight against them, and the LORD delivered them into his hand.
21. Judges 11:33Referred to, not named
    With a great blow he devastated twenty cities from Aroer to the vicinity of Minnith, as far as Abel-keramim. So the Ammonites were subdued before the Israelites.
22. Judges 11:34
    And when Jephthah returned home to Mizpah, there was his daughter coming out to meet him with tambourines and dancing! She was his only child; he had no son or daughter besides her.
23. Judges 11:35Referred to, not named
    As soon as Jephthah saw her, he tore his clothes and said, “No! Not my daughter! You have brought me to my knees! You have brought great misery upon me, for I have given my word to the LORD and cannot take it back.”
24. Judges 11:36Referred to, not named
    “My father,” she replied, “you have given your word to the LORD. Do to me as you have said, for the LORD has avenged you of your enemies, the Ammonites.”
25. Judges 11:40
    …that each year the young women of Israel go out for four days to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite.
26. Judges 12:1
    Then the men of Ephraim assembled and crossed the Jordan to Zaphon. They said to Jephthah, “Why have you crossed over to fight the Ammonites without calling us to go with you? We will burn your house down with you inside!”
27. Judges 12:2
    But Jephthah replied, “My people and I had a serious conflict with the Ammonites, and when I called, you did not save me out of their hands.
28. Judges 12:3Referred to, not named
    When I saw that you would not save me, I risked my life and crossed over to the Ammonites, and the LORD delivered them into my hand. Why then have you come today to fight against me?”
29. Judges 12:4
    Jephthah then gathered all the men of Gilead and fought against Ephraim. And the men of Gilead struck them down because the Ephraimites had said, “You Gileadites are fugitives in Ephraim, living in the territories of Ephraim and Manasseh.”
30. Judges 12:7
    Jephthah judged Israel six years, and when he died, he was buried in one of the cities of Gilead.
31. Judges 12:8Referred to, not named
    After Jephthah, Ibzan of Bethlehem judged Israel.
32. 1 Samuel 12:11
    So the LORD sent Jerubbaal, Barak, Jephthah, and Samuel, and He delivered you from the hands of your enemies on every side, and you dwelt securely.
33. Hebrews 11:32
    And what more shall I say? Time will not allow me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets,