Judges 11:12-28

JUDGES—NOTE ON Judges 11:12 In an impressive speech, Jephthah answered the Ammonite charge (v. Judges 11:13) that Israel had unlawfully seized the disputed territory. Jephthah asserted that “the LORD, the God of Israel” was himself the one who had displaced these peoples (vv. Judges 11:21, Judges 11:23, Judges 11:24). Israel was not an aggressor (v. Judges 11:15) but merely a recipient of the Lord’s generosity. Sihon, king of the Amorites, had taken some of the Ammonite territory, and then Israel had taken Sihon’s territory (see Numbers 21:25). And the Ammonites never really had claim to the land to begin with; rather, it was the land of the Amorites (Judges 11:19). Finally, it was a little late to be challenging Israel’s claim to the land in any case, since 300 years had passed since the events in question (v. Judges 11:26). Jephthah ended by appealing to God to judge between the two sides.