Judges 12:1-7. Jephthah's conflict with the men of Ephraim

A sequel of the Ammonite war. Jephthah had returned to his house (Judges 11:34), two months at least had passed (Judges 11:39), the Gileadite forces had dispersed (implied by Judges 12:4), when the arrogant and jealous temper of the Ephraimites broke out, as formerly after Gideon's victory (Judges 8:1-3), but this time without a shadow of pretext. The narrative Judges 11:1 has been regarded as a mere replica of Judges 8:1-3, which it certainly resembles; but the situation here is different, and the marked originality of the incident in Judges 11:5 forbids us to question the historical character of the present section.

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