Judges - 11:8



8 The elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, "Therefore we have turned again to you now, that you may go with us, and fight with the children of Ammon; and you shall be our head over all the inhabitants of Gilead."

Verse In-Depth

Explanation and meaning of Judges 11:8.

Differing Translations

Compare verses for better understanding.
And the elders of Gilead said unto Jephthah, Therefore we turn again to thee now, that thou mayest go with us, and fight against the children of Ammon, and be our head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.
And the elders of Gilead said unto Jephthah, Therefore are we turned again to thee now, that thou mayest go with us, and fight with the children of Ammon; and thou shalt be our head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.
And the princes of Galaad said to Jephte: For this cause we are now come to thee, that thou mayst go with us, and fight against the children of Ammon, and be head over all the inhabitants of Galaad.
And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, |That is why we have turned to you now, that you may go with us and fight with the Ammonites, and be our head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.|
and the elders of Gilead say unto Jephthah, 'Therefore, now, we have turned back unto thee; and thou hast gone with us, and fought against the Bene-Ammon, and thou hast been to us for head, to all the inhabitants of Gilead.'
And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, Therefore we turn again to you now, that you may go with us, and fight against the children of Ammon, and be our head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.
And the responsible men of Gilead said to Jephthah, That is the reason we have come back to you; so go with us and make war against the children of Ammon, and we will make you our head over all the people of Gilead.
And the elders of Gilead said unto Jephthah: 'Therefore are we returned to thee now, that thou mayest go with us, and fight with the children of Ammon, and thou shalt be our head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.'
And the leaders of Gilead said to Jephthah, "But it is due to this necessity that we have approached you now, so that you may set out with us, and fight against the sons of Ammon, and be commander over all who live in Gilead."

*Minor differences ignored. Grouped by changes, with first version listed as example.


Historical Commentaries

Scholarly Analysis and Interpretation.

Therefore we turn again to thee now - We are convinced that we have dealt unjustly by thee, and we wish now to repair our fault, and give thee this sincere proof of our regret for having acted unjustly, and of our confidence in thee.

And the elders of Gilead said unto Jephthah,.... In reply to his objection:
therefore we turn again unto thee now; being sensible of the injury they had done him, and repenting of it, of which their return to him was an evidence; it being with this view to remove the disgrace and dishonour that had been cast upon him, by conferring such honour on him, as to be their chief ruler:
that thou mayest go with us, and fight against the children of Ammon, and be our head over all the inhabitants of Gilead; the end of their coming to him was not only to bring him back with them to his own country, and to fight against the Ammonites, and the defence of it, but to be the sole governor of it; not of all Israel, but of the tribes beyond Jordan, which inhabited the land of Gilead: more than this they could not promise, though he afterwards was judge over all Israel, notwithstanding there was a law in Israel, that no spurious person should enter into the congregation, or bear any public office; so it was a law with the Athenians (i), that unless a man was born of both parents citizens, he should be reckoned spurious, and have no share in the government, see Judges 11:2.
(i) Aelian. Var. Hist. l. 6. c. 10. l. 13. c. 24. "Suidas in voce"

The elders replied, "Therefore (לכן, because we have formerly done thee wrong) we have now come to thee again to make thee our head, if thou comest with us and fightest against the Ammonites." The clauses והלכתּ, ונלהמתּ, and והיית, which are formally co-ordinate, are logically to be subordinated to one another, the first two expressing the condition, the third the consequence, in this sense, "If thou go with us and fight, thou shalt be head to us, namely, to all the inhabitants of Gilead," i.e., to the two tribes and a half on the east of the Jordan.

Therefore - Being sensible that we have done thee injury, we come now to make thee full reparation.

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