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Jephthah Gives a History Lesson

12 Jephthah sent messengers to the Ammonite king, saying, “Why have[a] you come against me to attack my land?” 13 The Ammonite king said to Jephthah’s messengers, “Because Israel stole[b] my land when they[c] came up from Egypt—from the Arnon River in the south to the Jabbok River in the north, and as far west as the Jordan.[d] Now return it[e] peaceably!”

14 Jephthah sent messengers back to the Ammonite king 15 and said to him, “This is what Jephthah says, ‘Israel did not steal[f] the land of Moab and the land of the Ammonites. 16 When they left[g] Egypt, Israel traveled[h] through the desert as far as the Red Sea and then came to Kadesh. 17 Israel sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, “Please allow us[i] to pass through your land.” But the king of Edom rejected the request.[j] Israel sent the same request to the king of Moab, but he was unwilling to cooperate.[k] So Israel stayed at Kadesh. 18 Then Israel[l] went through the wilderness and bypassed the land of Edom and the land of Moab. They traveled east of the land of Moab and camped on the other side of the Arnon River;[m] they did not go through Moabite territory (the Arnon was Moab’s border). 19 Israel sent messengers to King Sihon, the Amorite king who ruled in Heshbon, and said to him, “Please allow us to pass through your land to our land.”[n] 20 But Sihon did not trust Israel to pass through his territory. He[o] assembled his whole army,[p] camped in Jahaz, and fought with Israel. 21 The Lord God of Israel handed Sihon and his whole army over to Israel and they defeated them. Israel took[q] all the land of the Amorites who lived in that land. 22 They took all the Amorite territory from the Arnon River on the south to the Jabbok River on the north, from the desert in the east to the Jordan in the west.[r] 23 Since[s] the Lord God of Israel has driven out[t] the Amorites before his people Israel, do you think you can just take it from them?[u] 24 You have the right to take what Chemosh your god gives you, but we will take the land of all whom the Lord our God has driven out before us.[v] 25 Are you really better than Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he dare to quarrel with Israel? Did he dare to fight with them?[w] 26 Israel has been living in Heshbon and its nearby towns, in Aroer and its nearby towns, and in all the cities along the Arnon for 300 years! Why did you not reclaim them during that time? 27 I have not done you wrong,[x] but you are doing wrong[y] by attacking me. May the Lord, the Judge, judge this day between the Israelites and the Ammonites!’” 28 But the Ammonite king disregarded[z] the message sent by Jephthah.[aa]

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Notas al pie

  1. Judges 11:12 tn Heb “What to me and to you that…?”
  2. Judges 11:13 tn Or “took”; or “seized.”
  3. Judges 11:13 tn Heb “he” (a collective singular).
  4. Judges 11:13 tn Heb “from the Arnon to the Jabbok and to the Jordan.” The word “River” has been supplied in the translation with “Arnon” and “Jabbok,” because these are less familiar to modern readers than the Jordan.
  5. Judges 11:13 tc The translation assumes a singular suffix (“[return] it”); the Hebrew text has a plural suffix (“[return] them”), which, if retained, might refer to the cities of the land.
  6. Judges 11:15 tn Or “take”; or “seize.”
  7. Judges 11:16 tn Heb “For when they went up from.”
  8. Judges 11:16 tn Or “went.”
  9. Judges 11:17 tn Heb “me.” (Collective Israel is the speaker.)
  10. Judges 11:17 tn Heb “did not listen.”
  11. Judges 11:17 tn Heb “Also to the king of Moab he sent, but he was unwilling.”
  12. Judges 11:18 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Israel; the pronoun in the Hebrew text represents a collective singular) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  13. Judges 11:18 tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
  14. Judges 11:19 tn Heb “to my place.”
  15. Judges 11:20 tn Heb “Sihon.” The proper name (“Sihon”) has been replaced in the translation by the pronoun (“he”) because of English style; a repetition of the proper name here would be redundant in English.
  16. Judges 11:20 tn Heb “all his people” (also in the following verse).
  17. Judges 11:21 tn That is, took as its own possession.
  18. Judges 11:22 tn Heb “from the Arnon to the Jabbok, and from the desert to the Jordan.” The word “River” has been supplied in the translation with “Arnon” and “Jabbok,” because these are less familiar to modern readers than the Jordan.
  19. Judges 11:23 tn Heb “Now.”
  20. Judges 11:23 tn Or “dispossessed.”
  21. Judges 11:23 tn Heb “will you dispossess him [i.e., Israel; or possibly “it,” i.e., the territory]?” There is no interrogative marker in the Hebrew text.
  22. Judges 11:24 tn Heb “Is it not so that what Chemosh your god causes you to possess, you possess, and all whom the Lord our God dispossesses before us we will possess?” Jephthah speaks of Chemosh as if he is on a par with the Lord God of Israel. This does not necessarily mean that Jephthah is polytheistic or that he recognizes the Lord as only a local deity. He may simply be assuming the Ammonite king’s perspective for the sake of argument. Other texts, as well as the extrabiblical Mesha inscription, associate Chemosh with Moab, while Milcom is identified as the god of the Ammonites. Why then does Jephthah refer to Chemosh as the Ammonite god? Ammon had likely conquered Moab and the Ammonite king probably regarded himself as heir of all territory formerly held by Moab. Originally Moab had owned the disputed territory (cf. Num 21:26-29), meaning that Chemosh was regarded as the god of the region (see R. G. Boling, Judges [AB], 203-4). Jephthah argues that Chemosh had long ago relinquished claim to the area (by allowing Sihon to conquer it), while the Lord had long ago established jurisdiction over it (by taking it from Sihon and giving it to Israel). Both sides should abide by the decisions of the gods which had stood firm for 300 years.
  23. Judges 11:25 tn The Hebrew grammatical constructions of all three rhetorical questions indicate emphasis, which “really” and “dare to” are intended to express in the translation. sn Jephthah argues that the Ammonite king should follow the example of Balak, who, once thwarted in his attempt to bring a curse on Israel, refused to attack Israel and returned home (Num 22-24).
  24. Judges 11:27 tn Or “sinned against you.”
  25. Judges 11:27 tn Or “evil.”
  26. Judges 11:28 tn Heb “did not listen to.”
  27. Judges 11:28 tn Heb “Jephthah’s words which he sent to him.”

12 Then Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites and said, “What is there between you and me, that you have come to me to fight against my land?” 13 The king of the Ammonites answered the messengers of Jephthah, “Because Israel, on coming from Egypt, took away my land from the Arnon to the Jabbok and to the Jordan; now, therefore, restore it peaceably.”(A) 14 Once again Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites 15 and said to him, “Thus says Jephthah: Israel did not take away the land of Moab or the land of the Ammonites,(B) 16 but when they came up from Egypt, Israel went through the wilderness to the Red Sea[a] and came to Kadesh.(C) 17 Israel then sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, ‘Let us pass through your land,’ but the king of Edom would not listen. They also sent to the king of Moab, but he would not consent. So Israel remained at Kadesh. 18 Then they journeyed through the wilderness, went around the land of Edom and the land of Moab, arrived on the east side of the land of Moab, and camped on the other side of the Arnon. They did not enter the territory of Moab, for the Arnon was the boundary of Moab.(D) 19 Israel then sent messengers to King Sihon of the Amorites, king of Heshbon, and Israel said to him, ‘Let us pass through your land to our country.’(E) 20 But Sihon did not trust Israel to pass through his territory, so Sihon gathered all his people together and encamped at Jahaz and fought with Israel.(F) 21 Then the Lord, the God of Israel, gave Sihon and all his people into the hand of Israel, and they defeated them, so Israel occupied all the land of the Amorites, who inhabited that country.(G) 22 They occupied all the territory of the Amorites from the Arnon to the Jabbok and from the wilderness to the Jordan.(H) 23 So now the Lord, the God of Israel, has conquered the Amorites for the benefit of his people Israel. Do you intend to take their place? 24 Should you not possess what your god Chemosh gives you to possess? And should we not be the ones to possess everything that the Lord our God has conquered for our benefit?(I) 25 Now are you any better than King Balak son of Zippor of Moab? Did he ever enter into conflict with Israel, or did he ever go to war with them?(J) 26 While Israel lived in Heshbon and its villages, and in Aroer and its villages, and in all the towns that are along the Arnon, three hundred years, why did you not recover them within that time?(K) 27 It is not I who have sinned against you, but you are the one who does me wrong by making war on me. Let the Lord, who is judge, decide today for the Israelites or for the Ammonites.”(L) 28 But the king of the Ammonites did not heed the message that Jephthah sent him.

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Notas al pie

  1. 11.16 Or Sea of Reeds