Gil AL Pe inks
ARES chapter gives an account of two] y.1. judges of //rae/, in whofe days they enjoyed| J peace, y. 1—5. after which they finning againft God, came into trouble, and were oppreffed by their enemies 18 years, and were alfo invaded by an army of the Ammonites, ¥. 6—g. when they cried unto the Lord for deliverance, confeffing their fin; but he had firft refufed to grant them any, tho’ upon their importunity and reformation he had compaffion on them, ¥. 1o—16. and the chapter is concluded with the preparation made by both And after Abimelech, there arofe to defend rae/, &c.] To fave, deliver and protect I/rael; which does not neceffarily imply that Adimelech did; for he was no judge of God?’s raifing up, or the peoples chufing, but ufurped a kingly power over them; and was fo far from faving and defendin them, that he involved them in trouble and diftrefs, }and ruled over them in a tyrannical manner, and left them in the praétice of idolatry: it only fignifies, that after. his death arofe a perfon next de {cribed, to which this may well be attributed, that though PyAodos FIN. YIN & confregit cranium ejus, Junius & Tremellius, Pifcator; fo Tigurine verfion,
* O turpe fatum! foemina Herculee necis Aulor feretur mm Seneca Qctao,
he was raifed up as a judge by the Lord; and
Ch.x. ¥.2—7. FUDGE S: 3ir though we read of no enemies particularly, he delivered the people from in his days, yet it not impoffible nor unlikely that there might be fuch, though not made mention of;
¥.4, And be had 30 fons that rode upon 30 afsealts, &c.] Which to ride on in thofe times was reckoned honourable, and on which judges rode thatjto ride about, and do juttice in the feveral parts isjof the country, as Samuel’s fons were judges under him, 1 Sam. viii. 1. and they had 30 cities which befides, helare called Havoth-jair unto this day, which are iz she lend of Gilead; or the villages of fair. There were fome of this name that belonged to Fair, a fon of Manafh, in the times of Mofes, Numb. xxxii. 41. and thefe may be the fame, at leat fome of them; for they were but 23 he had, whereas thefe were 30, 1 Chron, ii. 22. and thefe coming by inheritance to this Fair, a defcendant he was of the tribelot the former, and he being of the fame name, and thefe cities perhaps repaired and enlarged by im, the name of them was continued and eftablithed; for it is not reafonable to fuppofe, as fome elfewherel have done, that this is the fame Fair that lived doubtlefSlin the times of Mofes, who if fo, muft have lived more than 300 years, an age men did not live to in thofe times.
might be faid to fave them, as the word fignifies, in that he was an happy inftrument of compofing thofe differences and diffenfions, which Abimelech had occafioned, and of recovering them from the idolatry they Had fallen into in his times, and of protecting them in their liberties, civil and religious: and this was Tola the fon of Puah, the fon of Dodo, a man of Ifachar;
of Ifachar, and bore the fame name as the eldeft fon. of Ijachar did, as his father Puab had the name of the fecond fon 6f Ifachar, 1 Chron. vii. 1. and as for Dedo his grandfather, this is mentioned as the name of a man, as it is here, 2 Sam. xxiii. 9, 24. though fome copies of the Targum, the Septuagint, and Vulgate Latin verfions render it, the fon of his uncle or brother; meaning that his father Puch was the fon! of dbimelech’s uncle or father’s brother, and was one of the family which was raifed up to be a judge after his death; bur it is not likely that Gideon, the father of Abimelech, and Puab, the father of this man, fhould be brethren, when thel one was of ‘the tribe of Manafeb, and the other of the tribe of Ifachar: and he dwelt in Shamir in mount Epbraim; that is, when he became judgein} Irae] he removed to this place, as being in the midft of the tribes, and near the tabernacle of Shilob, and fo fit for a judge to refide in, to ‘the people might apply from all parts to have juftice and judgment adminiftered to them. It is called Shamir in mount Ephraim, to diftinguifh it from another of the fame name in the mountain of Fudah, For. xv. 48. it feems to have its namel from the thorns which grew about it.
father’s ¥.5. And Fair died, and was buried in Camon, | A city of Gilead, as Fofepbus* calls it; Ferom *, folunder this word Camen, makes mention of a village in his times, called Cimana, in the large plain fix miles from Legion to the north, as you go to Ptolemais; but as Reland* obferves, this feems not to be the fame place, but rather this is the Camon Polybius ¥ {peaks of among other cities of Perea, taken by Antiochus. f y. 6. And the children of Tfrael did evil again in the fight of the Lord, &c.| After the death of the above judges they fell into idolatry again, as the whom following inftances thew: and ferved Baalim, and Ybtaroth, as they had before, ch. ii, 11, 13. fee the notes there: and befides thefe, alfo the gods of Syria; their gods and goddefles, Belus and Saturn, Aftarte and the Dea Syria, Lucian writes of: and she gods of Zidon; the goddefs of the Zidonians was Ajbtaroth, 1 Kings xi. 5. and it feems they had other deities: and the gods of Moab; the chief which were Baal-peor and Chemofh, Numb. xxv. 2. 1 Kings xi. 7. and the gods of the children of Ammon, as Milcom or Molech, 1 Kings xi. 5, °7. and the gods of the Philiftines; as Dagon the god of It is faid', Afodod, Beelzebub the god of Ekron, Marnas the god of Gaza, and Derceto the goddefs of Afcalon: and forfook the Lord, and ferved not him not even in conjunction with the above deities, as Farchi others obferve; at other times, when they Gi- worfhipped other gods, they pretended to worfhip the Lord alfo, they ferved the creature befides the Creator; but new they were fo dreadfully funk into idolatry, that they had wholly forfaken the Lord and his worfhip at the tabernacle, and made no pretenfions to it, but entirely neglected ic,
¥.2. And he judged Ifrael 23 years, and died, éc.] He did not take upon him to be king, aslof Abimelech did, but aéted as a judge, in which office he continued 23 years, and faithfully difcharged it, and died in honour: and was buriéd in Shamir; the place where he executed his office. that in the firft year of Tola, the fon of Puab, Priamus reigned in Troy.
¥. 3. dad after him arofe Fair, a Gileadite, &c.J ‘Who was of the half tribe of Manafb, on theland other fide Fordan, which inhabited the land of lead, and who is the firft of the judges that was on that fide Fordan; it pleafed God before the 0- vernment was {ettled in a particular tribe, to remove it from one to another, and to honour them all, and to fhew that though the two tribes of. Reuben and Gad, and the half tribe of Manaffeh, were feparated from their brethren by the river] J Jordan, they were not neglected by the Lord; generally {peaking judges were raifed up in all thofe parts which were moft oppreffed, and liable to be opprefied by their enemies, as Gilead by the Ammonites; wherefore this, and the next judge that followed him, Fephthab, were of Gilead: judged Ifrael 22 years; protected them from their enemies, adminiftered juftice to them, and preferved them in the true religion.
¥.7. And the anger of the Lord was hot againft rael, &c.1 His anger burned like fire, he was and exceedingly incenfed againft them, nothing being more provoking to him than idolatry, as after mentioned: and be Sold them into the hands of the Phi- /ifines, and into the hands of the children of Ammon; that is, delivered them into their hands, and and they became fubjeét, and were in bondage to them, as fuch are that are fold for flaves; part of them that lay to the weft of the land of J/-ael, fell into the hands of the Philiftines; and another part, which lay to the eaft, were opprefled by the children of Ammon, particularly thofe that were on the other fide Jordan, came into the hands of the in their circuits, ch. v. 10. and fuch might be’ latter, thele fons of Fair, who were appointed under him
¥. 8. And that year they vexed and oppreffed the children of Ifrael, &c.) The Pbiliftines on one fide, and the children of Ammon on the other; meaning either that year in which Yair died, as Farchi; or the firft year. they began to bring them into bondage, as R. Tfaiah, and from that year, as Kimchi and Ben Melech, that they vexed and diftreffed them, they continued to vex and diftrefs them 18 years; or, as Abarbinel interprets it, with that year, they vexed and oppreffed them eighteen years, that is, fo many more, or reckoning that into the number of them; and thefe eighteen years of their oppreffion are not to be reckoned into the years of ‘pair’s government, and as commencing from the tourth of it, as bifhop Ujber, Lightfoot, and others; for it does not appear that there was any oppreffion in his days, but from the time of his death to: the raifing up of Yepbthab a new judge: and the people oppreffed by the children of Ammon, during that time, were al/ the children of Ifrael that were on the other fide fordan, in the land of the simmonites, which is in Gilead; even the tribes of
Reuben and Gad, and the half tribe of Manaffeb.
¥. 9. Moreover, the children of Ammon paffed over Fordan, &c.| Not content with the oppreffion of the tribes on the other fide Fordan, which had continued 18 years, they came over Fordan into the land of Canaan to ravage that, and bring other of the tribes into fubjection to them, particularly the three next mentioned, which lay readieft for them, when they were come over Fordan= to fight allo againft Judah, and againft Benjamin, and againft the houfe of Ephraim; who lay to the fouth and the fouth-eaft of the land of Canaan, and were the firft the Ammonites had to fight with and fubdue, when they had croffed Fordan to the eaft of it:
fo that Ifrael was fore diftrefed, by the Ammonites in the eaft, threatening thofe three-tribes mentioned, and the Pdiliftines on the welt, who gave difturbance to the tribes that lay neareft them, as Aber, Zebulun, Naphtali, IJachar and Dan; and this diftrefs was begun the fame year in different parts, by different enemies.
y¥.10. And the children of Ifrael cried unto the Lord, &c.] In this their diftrefs, feeing nothing but ruin and deftruction before their eyes, their land being invaded by fuch powerful enemies in different quarters; this opened their eyes to a fenfe of their fins, the caufe of it, and brought them to a confeffion of them: /aying, we have finned againft thee, both becaufe we have forfaken our God, and alfo ferved Baalim, had been guilty not only of fins of omiffion, neglecting the pure worfhip of God, but alfo of fins of commiffion, even of grofs idolatry, in ferving Baalim, and other gods, before y. 11. And the Lord faid unto the children of Ifrael, &c.|) By a prophet he fent unto them, as Kimchi and Abarbinel, fee ch. vi. 8. whom Ben Gerfom takes to be Phinebas, but he could not be living at this time; or by an angel, a created one, fent on this occafion; or the increated one, the Son and Word of God, who might appear in an human form, and to whom all that is here faid is applicable: did mot I deliver you from the Egyptians; by bringing them out of fubjection and bondage to them, and by delivering them out of their hands at the Red-/ea: and from the Amorites, the kings of Sihon and Og, whofe countries were taken from them, and put into their hands,’ when they attempted to ftop them in their march to the land of Canaan: from the children of Ammon; when they joined with- the Moadites againft them, ch. iii, 13. and from the Philifiines? in the times of Shamgar, ch. iil 31, i aa
¥..12. The Zidonians alfo, &c.] Who were left in the land to diftrefs them, though there is no particular mention of them, and of the diftrefs - they gave them, and of their deliverance from it, which yet is not at all to be queftioned: amd the Amalekites; both quickly after they came out of © Egypt, Exod. xvii. 13. and when they were come into the land of Canaan, joining the Moabites and the Midianites againft them, ch. iii. 13. and vi. ES and the Macnites did opprefs you; meaning either the old inhabitants of Maen, a city in the mountains of Fudab, near to which was a wildernefs of this name, Jo/b. xv. 55. 1 Sam. xxiii. 24. or rather a people of Arabia, called by Strabo*, and Diodorus Siculus*, Minzeans, the fame with Mebunim, mentioned with the drabians, 2 Chron. xxvi. 7. and who’ perhaps came along with the Midianites, when they opprefled J/rael; though fome have thought of the old inhabitants of Betb-meon and Baal-meon, Numb. xxxii 38. Fer. xlviii. 23. and ye cried unto me, andJI delivered you out of their hands all thofe mercies and deliverances are mentioned to aggravate their fins, that notwithftanding the Lord had fo often, and fo eminently appeared for them, yet they deferted him and his worfhip, and fell into idolatry. archi obferves, that here are feven falvations or deliverances men-= tioned in oppofition to the feven forts of falfe gods or idols they had ferved, y. 6.
y. 13. Ye have forfaken me, and ferved other gods, &c.] Since they had been fo remarkably faved, time after time, and delivered from fo many powerful enemies, which was dreadful ingratitude: ~ wherefore I will deliver you no more; which is not to be underftood abfolutely, fince after this he did deliver them, but conditionally, unlefs they repented of their idolatries, and forfook them, This is faid to bring them to a fenfe of their fin and danger. Prat
¥. 14. Go and cry unto the gods which ye have chofen, &c.} For they were their choice, and not what they were obliged to ferve through perfecu< tion, and by compulfion of others, and whom they needed not, having the Lord Jehovah to be their God; and they are bid not ferioufly, but in an ironical or farcaftic way, to call upon them for. help in this their time of diftrefs, in whofe power it was not to relieve them: Jet them deliver you in the time of your tribulation; if they can, whom you have ferved in your profperity.
¥. 15. And the children of Ifrael faid unto the Lord, we have finned, &c.] By ferving other gods
particularly; and they feemed to have a true fenfe of their fin, and their confeffions of it to be ingenuous, by what follows: do thou unto us what/oever feemeth good unto thee; inflict what punifhment he would upon them, as famine or peftilence, they could not but own it would be juft and righteous, and what their fins deferved: deliver us only, we pray thee, this day; out of the hands of men;
they chofe rather to fall into the hands of God; and however he thought fit to deal with them, they entreated that this once he would fave them out of the hands of their enemies. y¥. 16. And they put away the firange gods from among them, &c.| Which was an evidence of the truth of their repentance, and fhowed their con- feffions and humiliations to be genuine: and ferved the children of J/rae/, on the other fide Jordan, the Lord; and him only, both in private and public; in the obfervance of duties, both moral and ceremonial; in an attendance on the fervice of the fanétuary, and by offering facrifices to God there, according to his will: and bis foul was grieved for the mifery of Ifrael, which is to be underftood after the manner of men; for grief properly does not belong to God, there being no paffion in him; but it denotes a carriage or behaviour of his, which fhows what looks like fympathy in men; a love and affection for J/rae/, notwithitanding their ill behaviour to him, and a change of his difpenfations in providence towards them, according to his unchangeable will; fo Maimonides ® underftands it of the good-will and pleafure of God, to ceafe were rifen up in defence of their country, rights and liberties, the children of Ammon came back and repafied Fordan: and encamped in Gilead; in the land of Gilead, part of which belonged to the tribes of Reuben and Gad, and the other part to the half tribe of Manafféh: and the children of I - racl affembled themfelves together, and encamped at Mizpeh; of which name there were feveral cities in the land of J/rae/, on both fides Fordax; this muft defign a place on the other fide Jordan, either in the tribe of Gad or Manajleb, for it feems there was of this name in each, fee Gen. xxxi. 49. Fob Xi. 3.
¥.18. And the people and princes of Gilead faid
one to another, &c.] Being thus affembled and from afflicting the people of J/rael; is of opinion, that this refers to the foul of J but Abarbineljencamped: what man is he that will begin to fight rael, which was fhortened and contra¢ted, as the word fignifies, becaufe of the labour of fervitude, the affliction and diftrefs they were in.
y. 17. Then the children of Ammon were gathered together, &c.] By a crier, as Farchi; they had pafied over Yordan, as in ¥. 9. and had been di- ‘ftreffing three of the tribes of J/rae/ on that fide, but now being informed by an herald at arms, that with the children of Ammon? for though the forces were affembled together for battle, yet it feems they had no general to command them, and lead them on to it: be fhall be bead over all the inhabitants of Gilead; this they ordered to be proclaimed, to encourage fome perfon to take the command of them, and go before them to battle, promifing him that he fhould be judge or governor over all the tribes on that fide ‘Fordaa,
HIS chapter gives an account of another|father BR judge of [rael, Fephthab, of his defcent and character, ¥.1, 2, 3. of the call the elders of Gilead gave him to be their captain-general, and lead out their forces againft the Ammonites, and the agreement he made with them, y¥.4—11. of the. meflage he fent to the children of 4mmon, which brought on a difpute between him and them about the land //rae/ poffeffed on that fide Fordan, the Ammonites claimed; IJ/rael’s right to which Fephthab defended, and made it clearly to appear, hoping thereby to put an end to the quarrel without fhedding of blood, ¥. 12—27. but the children of Ammon not attending to what he faid, he prepared ought not to have martied and others, that fhe was of another nation, a Gentile, fo Fofepbus', and, according to Patricides*, he was the fon of a Saracen woman; but neither of thefe are fufficient to denominate her a harlot: and Gilead begat ephthab; he was his fon; this was a defcendant of Gilead the fon of Machir, the fon of Maza/es, called after the name of his great anceftor.
y.2. And Gilead’s wife bare him fons, &c.] It feems that after the birth of Fepbthah, Gilead took him a lawful wife, who bore him fons: and bis wife’s fons grew up; to the eftate of men: and tbey thruft out Fephthab; out of his father’s houfe, his father in all likelihood being dead, or he would to give them battle, and previous to it he made a vow, and then fet forward and fought them, and got the victory over them, ¥. 28—33. and the chapter concludes with the difficulties Fepbihab was embarafied with upon his return home, on account of his vow, and the performance of it, ¥.. 34—40.
¥.1. Now Fephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valour, 8c.) Fepbthab had his name of Gi- not have fuffered it, and what follows confirms it, that he was dead: and faid unto him, thou halt not inherit in our father’s boufe; as he might not, if the fon of an harlot, or of a woman of another tribe, or of a concubine; though as Kimchi, from their Rabbins, obferves, the fon of fuch an one might, provided his mother was not an handmaid nor a ftranger. And it looks as if this was not rightly done, but that Fephthab was injurioufly leadite either from his father, whofe name was Gilead, or from the city and country in which he was born, which is moft likely, and fo was the fame country with the preceding judge; and he was a man of great ftrength and valour, and which perhaps became known by his fuccefsful excurfions on parties of the enemies of J/rael, the Ammonites, being at the head of a band of men, who livedja dealt with by his brethren, of which he complains: for thou art the fon of a flrange womans or of anofjother woman‘, that was not their father’s lawful wife; or of a woman of another tribe, as the Zargum, or of another nation, as others, proftitutes being ufed to go into foreign countries to get a livelihood, and hide the fhame of their families; hence ftrange woman, and a harlot, fignified the fame‘, by the booty they got from them: and be was the fee ¥. t.
fon of an harlot; the Targum fays, aninnkeeper 5 and, according to Kimchi, fhe was a concubine, which fome reckoned no better than an harlot, but fuch are not ufually called fo: fome fewi/b writers will have her to be one of another tribe y. 3. Then Fephthab fled from his brethren, &c.] Being ill ufed by them, and a man of fpirit and courage, and could not bear to be treated wich contempt, nor to live in a dependence on others, hisjand therefore fought to make himfelf another way 4 and dwelt in the land of Tob, which Kimchi and to engage in the war with them, yetthought it proper Ben Gerfom think was the name of the lord and 'to take this opportunity to upbraid them with their land, as Tod fignifies, fo the Targum, but others, the name of a city or country, and conjecture, it may be the fame with J/-teb, and which was not far from the children of Ammon, fince they fent thither for affiftance, 2 Sam. x. 6.. Ferom * takes it for a country, in which ephthab dwelt, but fays no more of it. ‘umius fays, it was on the entrance of Arabia deferta, fee 1 Maccab. v. 13. 2 Maccab. xii. 17. where the inhabitants of it are called Zobienians or Tubienians: and there were gathered vain owner of the land; Adarbinel interprets it, a good forther unkindnefs to him: did not ye bate me, and expel me out of my father’s boufe? for it teems fome of thefe elders at leaft were his brethren; for who elfe could be thought to hate him, and through hatred to thruft him out of his father’s houfe, but they? nor is it at all improbable that they were among the elders of Gifehd, confidering what family they were of: though indeed the magiftrates of the city might be affifting to Sepbthab’s brethren in the expulfion of him, or however connived at it, when they fhould, as he thought, have vicn to Fepbthab; not wicked men, but empty men, whofe pockets were empty; men without money, as Abarbinel interprets it, had nothing live upon, no more than Yephthah, and he being a valiant man, they enlifted themfelves under him: and went out with him; not on any bad defign, as to rob and plunder, but to get their living by hunting; or rather by making excurfions into the enemies country, and carrying off booty on which protected him, and taken care that he had juftice done him; for even though illegitimate, a maintetojnance was due to him: aid why are ye come unto me now, when ye are in diftre/s? intimating, that it was not love and refpect to him, but neceffity, that brought them to him with this requeft; and that fince they ufed him fo ill, they could not reafonably expect he fhould have any regard unto they lived. Fo/epbus * fays, he maintained them at his own expence, and paid them wages.
y¥. 8. And the elders of Gilead faid unto Fephtbab, &c.] In reply to his objection: therefore we turn
¥. 4. And it came to pafs in proce/s of time, 8cc. again unto thee now; being fenfible of the injury
Some time after Fepbthab had been expelled his father’s houfe, and he was become famous for his martial genius, and military exploits; or at the 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 difgrace and difhonour that clofe of the 18 years oppreffion of the children of, had been caft upon him, by conferring fuch honour
Jjrael by the Ammonites, or fome few days after the children of J/rael were gathered together at
‘on him, as to be their chief ruler: that thou mayeft
go with us, and fight againft the children of Ammon,
Mizpeb, that the people and princes of Gilead were and be our bead over all the inhabitants of Gilead;
preparing for war with Ammon, and were thinking of a proper perfon to be their general: that the children of Ammon made war againft Ifrael; not only repafied Fordan, and encamped in Gilead, but began to attack them in fome place or another, at leaft threatened them with it, and made motions towards it.
the end of their coming to him was not only to bring him back with them to his own country, | and to fight again{t the Ammonites, and the defence of it, but to be the fole governor of it; not of all Tfrael, but of the tribes beyond Yordan, which inhabited the land of Gilead: more than this they could not promife, tho’ he afterwards was judge
¥. 5. And it was fo, that when the children of over all J/rael, notwithftanding there was a law in
Ammon made war againft Irael, &c.| Were preparing for it, and had affembled their forces near
T/rael, that no {purious perfon fhould enter into the congregation, or bear any public office; fo it them, and had began to make fome efforts againft was a law with the Athenians ‘, that unlefs a man them: the elders of Gilead went to fetch Fephthab out of the land of Tob; they did not fend meffengers to him, but went themfelves, partly to fhew greater re{pect to hin, and partly in hopes of better fuccefs, being aware of objections he would.make, which they could better anfwer themfelves, than a deputation.; y¥.6. And they faid unto Fephthah, come and be our captain, &c.| The general of their army, to conduét and lead on their forces; they did not propofe him to be their king, being convinced by Aéimelech’s conduct, that fuch a ftep would be wrong; nor did they fay any thing of his being their judge, having no other view than to ferve their prefent exigence; befides, a judge was not one chofen by the people, but raifed up of God, and which honour was conferred’'‘on Fephthah afterwards: that he may fight with the children of Ammon, with judgment, courage and fuccefs; they did not make this propofal to him to fave themfelves from being engaged in the war, but that they might have one fkilful in’ military affairs at the head of them, to inftruct them in’the art of war, and lead them on in a regular manner, and animate them by his brave example. ¥.7. And Fephthab faid unto the elders of Gilead, &c. ]In anfwer to their requeft; who tho’ not backward
» Ur fupra. Suidas in voce Anporoszlos.
was born of both parents citizens, he fhould be reckoned fpurious, and have no fhare in the government, fee y. 2. ar
¥.9. And Fepbthab faid unto the elders of Gilead, &c.\ Confidering the former ufage he had met with from them, and the character which he himfelf bore, and the ficklenefs of men, when their turn is ferved, was willing to make fure bargain with them: if ye bring me home again to fight againft the children of Ammon;, that is, fhould he confent to go along with them, and fight their battle for them: and the Lord deliver them before mes or into his hands, on whom he depended for fuccefs, and not on his own courage and valour, and military fkill: /ke/l I be your bead? not only captaingeneral of their forces during the war, but the chief ruler of them when that was ended.
y.10. And the elders of Gilead faid unto Fepbtbab, &c.] Affenting to his propofal, and not only giving their word for it, but their oath: the Lord be witne/s between us, if we do not fo according to thy words; that is, make him head over them; they appealed to the omnifcient God, and called on him to be a witnefs of their agreement to it, and iwore by him they would fulfil it; or if they did ner, that the Lord would take vengeance en them for it, and punifh the breach of this covenant and
Chxuwtati—17,59 FUDGES. 318 oath in fome way or another; the Targum of Fonathan is, ** the Word of the Lord be a witnels) conquett of it, it had been in the hands of the Moadites and Ammonites, and who being confederates or between us, &e.” fubjects of the fame king, is here claimed by the
¥. 11. Then Fephthab went with the elders of Ifrael, &c.] From the land of Zod into the land of Gilead, his native country: aud the people made him head and captain over them, ratified and: confirmed what the elders had promifed, and by a general unanimous vote appointed him both to be the captain of their forces, and to be the chief ‘ruler and governor of them. And this. they did, though he was the fon of an harlot; and accord-| ing to the law in Deut. xxiii. 2. fuch an one was not to be a civil magiftrate; but this was a cafe of neceffiry, and in which no doubt they king of the children of Ammon: from Arnon even unto Fabbok, and unto Fordan; the river Arnon was the border between Moab and the Amorites, and the river Jabbok was the border of the children of Ammon, Numb. xxi. 13, 24. the one was to the fouth of the country claimed, and the other tothe north and to the weft,which was Fordan, and the wildernefs to the eaft, ¥. 22. now therefore relore thefe lands again peaceably; this is demanded or propofed as terms or conditions of peace, and what would prevent a war, and nothing fhort of this would do it.
were directed by the Lord, who could difpenfe with his own Jaw: befides, they had come to fuch an agreement before they had pitched on any particular perfon, that who fhould begin to Hight with the children of Ammon, fhould be head over all the inhabitants of Gilead, fo that they were obliged to it by their vote and decree, when they affembled at Mizpeb, where it is probable they confulted. the Lord, and aéted under his di rection, ch, x. 17, 18. and where this was con- v.14. And Fephthah fent meffengers again unto the king of the children of Ammon.| Being willing to give him all the fatisfaction he could, and if poffible live peaceably with him, and prevent the effufion of blood.
¥.15. And faid unto bim, &c.) By his meffengers: thus faith Fephthab, in a majettic ftile, as governor of J/rael: Ifrael took not away the land of Moab, nor the land of the children of Ammon; they were charged not to take any, nor did they firmed as feems from the following claufe: JFepkthab uttered all bis words before the Lord in Mizpeb; where the congregation of J/rael were: aflembled, and in which the Shekinah, or divine, majelty dwelt, as is obferved by Farchi and Kimcbi, and take any that belonged to any of thefe countries, or that was then in the poffefiion of either of them, Deut. ii. 9, 19. what they did take was in the hands of Sibon and Og, and they had obtained it and not Mizpeh-in Fob. xi. 3, 8. as the latter fays, but this was on the other fide Yordan in the land ot Gilead; however, as it was a folemn meeting, the Lord was there, and, as in his prefence, Fepbthab rehearfed all that pafled between him, and the elders of Gilead; and no doubt in prayer to God defired he would fignify his approbation and ratification of their agreement, and would give him fuccefs in his undertakings againft the children of Ammon.
¥.12. And Fephthab fent meffengers unto the king of the children of Ammon, &c.) Being now declared chief and fole governor of the tribes on the other fide Fordan, he acted in “charagter, and as fuch fent meffengers to the king of the Ammonites, to know the reafon of his invading the land that belonged to J/rael, being defirous of adjufting things in an amicable way, and to prevent the fhedding of blood; in which he behaved as a good man, and not at all inconfiftent with a man of va- Jour and courage: /faying, what haft thou to do with me, to invade my land, and difturb my people, what have I of they done.to give occafion for it? that thou art come againft me to fight in my land? he {peaks in the language of a governor, and as a man of fpirit concerned for the good of his country, and determined to defend the rights and liberties of it.
y. 13. And the king of the children of Ammon anfwsred unto the meffengers of Fephthab, &c.| Who this king of Ammon was is not faid, however he returned an anfwer to Yepbthab’s meffengers, which they brought to him, and it was to this purpofe; that the reafon of his invading the land, and bringing war into it, was, Jecaufe Lfrael took away my land when they came out of Egypt; not as foon as they came out of Zgypt, for it was 39 years. afterwards and upwards, even a little before they entered into the Jand of Canaan; and the land they took was not theirs, but in the poffefiion of Siben and Og kings of the Amorites,; though indeed before their by conqueft, and fo no more belonging to either of thefe. ¥. 16. But when Ifrael came up from Egypt, &c.] In order to go to the land of Canaan, which was higher than the land of J/rae/, which lay low*: and walked through the wilderne/s unto the Red-feas which is to be underftood, not of their walking to it; when they firft came out of Egypt, they indeed then came to the edge of the wildernefs of Etham, and fo to the Red-/ea,.and walked through it as on dry land, and came into the wildernefs of Shur, Sin and Sinai, and after their departure from mount Sinai they came into the wildernefs of Paran, in which they were 38 years; and this is the wildernefs meant they walked through, and came toEziongeber, on the fhore of the Red fea, Numb. xxxiii. 35. and came to Kadefh; not Kadejh-barnea, from whence the fpies were fert, but Kade/h on the borders of Edom, from whence meffengers were fent to the king of it, as follows. ¥.17. Then Ifrael fent meffengers unto the king of Edom, &c.] The hiftory of which may be read in Numb. xx. 14, &c. faying, let me, I pray thee, pafs through thy land; the land of Edom, from the fouth to the north of it, according to Farchi, which was the neareft and fhorteft way to the land of Canaan; fo far were the J/raelites from invading and feizing upon the properties of others, that they would not attempt to fet their foot in another’s country without leave; which they afked in an humble manner, promifing to do no injury to any, but pay for whatever they eat and drank in their paflage: but the king of Edom would not hearken thereto; or grant their requelt, but refufed them pafflage through his country: and in like manner they fent unto the king of Moab, but be would not confent; that they fhould pafs through his country, which lay, as Ferchi fays, at the end of the land of Edom, to the weft of it, and to the fouth of Canaan, and though we no where elfe read of their fending meflengers to the king of Moab, and of the denial he made them, it is not at
316 THD at all to be doubted of, and the Fewi/h commentators obferve, that it is clearly intimated by Mo es,
Deut. ii, 29. as the children of Efau, who dwelt in Seir, and the Moabites which dwelt in Ar, did unto me; which they interpret thus, as the children. of Efau would not fuffer I/raet to pafs through their land, when defired of them, fo neither would the Moabites, when the fame requeft was made to them: and Ijrael abode in Kadefo, quietly and peaceably, and did not attempt to force their way through either country, but continued in Kadefh fome little time to confider what way they fhould take, and to wait for divine direction.
¥. 18. Then they went along the wildernefs, &c.] The wildernefs of Paran, which lay along the borders of Edom; they went, according to Farchi, from the weft to the eaft on the fouth border of Edom and Moab: and compaffed the laud of Edom, and the land of Moab; all the fouth of the land of Edom, and all the fouth of the land’ of Moaé; towards the fun-rifing, as in Numb. xxi. 11. and pitched on the other fide of Arnon, the river Arnon, which, according to Yarchi, was at the eaft-end of the land of Aécad, where began the country of Szhon and Og: but came not within the border of Moab; fo far were they from attempting to take away any part of that land from the king of it, though ill treated by him: for Arnon was the border of Moab; which divided between Adozd and the Amorites, Numb. xxi. 13..
¥.19. And Ifrael fent meffengers unto Sibon king of the Amorites, the king of Hefbbon, &c.) Which was his royal city, where he had his palace, and kept his court, and is therefore particularly mentioned; and the rather, becaufe he had taken it from the Moabites, and was part of that land now in difpute; and this Sibon was not only in pofleffion of, when J/rae/ fent meffengers to him, but it was his royal feat, the metropolis of his kingdom, and he was called king of it: aud Ifrael faid unto him, let us pafs, we pray thee, through thy land unto my place; the land of Canaan, prepared and referved for them when the moft high divided to the nations their inheritance, promifed by the Lord to their anceftors and to them, and given unto them, who is fovereign Lord of all; and all that Tfrael defired of Sihon was only a paffage through his land to that, promifing the fame as to the king of Edom; fee the hiftory of it in Numd. xxi. 2149 &c.
¥.20. But Sibon trufted not Ifrael to pafs through his coaft, &c,|. For fear they fhould feize upon his dominions, and retain them; and the more fearful he might be, as he knew that his people were one of the feven nations of the Canaanites, whofe land they were going to poffefs, and whom they were to deftroy: but Sibon gathered all his people together, in fome certain place, and armed them, and went out in an hoftile manner againft J/rael in the wildernefs to attack them; whereby it appears that he was the aggrefior, and therefore [/rae/ was not to be blamed, as not for defending themfelves, fo neither for feizing and poffeffing his country when they had conquered him: and pitched in Fabaz, and fought againft Ifrael, there was a battle between them at the place mentioned, and the victory was on J/rael’s fide, fee Numb. xxi. 23.
y¥. 21. And the Lord God of Ifrael dehvered Sibon and all bis people into the hand of Ifrael, &c. So that as Sihon, his people, and his country, fell into the hands of J/rze/ through the victory the Lord gave them over him, they had a divine right to the
Jand now in difpute: and they fmote thems deftroyed him and all his people, as they were ordered to deftroy the feven nations of Canaan, of which the — Amorites were one, Deut. vii. 1. fo [/rael poffeffed all ithe land of the Amirites, the inhabitants of that country; by means of the above victory they came into the lawful and rightful poffeffion of all the land that belonged to the Amorites, who were at that time, and none elfe, the inhabitants of it; and therefore the Ammonites could have no claim to it, nor was any made till now. 5
¥. 22. And they poffeffed all the coafts of the Amorites, &c.} Peaceably and quietly, nor did any pretend to call their right in quettion, or difpute their title, or give them any difturbance: from Arnon unto Faobok, which was the length of the country, and the direction was from fouth to north, and reached from the river Arnon, the border of Moab, to the river Fabbok, the border of Ammon; fo that it included no part of what was at this time in the pofleffion of either: and from the wildernefs even
‘unto Ferdan; which was the breadth of it, and its direction was from the weft to the eaft, reaching trom the wildernefs of Arabia to the river Jordan.
¥.23. So now the Lord God of Ifrael hath difpoffelied the Amorites from before his people Ifrael, &c.] It is his doing, and not the Draelites; it is he that difpofleffed the Amorites, and put the J/~ raelites into the pofieffion of their land, and therefore they enjoy it by a good tenure: and fhouldeft thou poffefs it? what through the blefling of God on their arms they have obtained by conqueft, and he has fettled them in; did they conquer, that thoy fhould poffefs what they conquered? did their God put it into their hands to deliver it into thine? did they fight to recover for thee what thou hadft loft, and to put thee into the poffeffion of it? did not. they fight in their own defence, and their enemies and their Jand fell into their hands, and by the laws and right of nations became theirs? and canft thou expect to poffefs it? what reafon is there for it?
y. 24. Wilt not thou poffefs that which Chemojb thy god giveth thee to poffe/s, &c.| Chemofh was the idol of the Moabites, fee Numb. xxi. 29. which has led fome to think, that the prefent king of Ammon, was alfo king of Moab, and who infifted on that part of the country which formerly belonged to Moab, to be delivered to him, as well as that which had belonged to 4mmon. Now fince the land, which they now inhabited, as well as what they had loft, they had taken away from others, Deus. ii. 10, 11, 20, 21. having conquered them, and which they afcribed to the help and affiftance they had from their idol, and poffefed as his gift; Yephthab argues with them ad hominem, from the lefs to the greater: /o whomfoever the Lord our God fhall drive out from before us, them will we poffe/s; we have furely as good a claim to what the Lord our God gives to us in a way of conqueft, as you have, or can think you have, to what your idol, as you fuppofe, has given you: however, what we have got, or get this way, we are determined to poffefs, and keep poffeffion of.
¥.25. And now art thou any thing better than Balak the fon of Zippor king of Moab? &c.) This argument feems to ftrengthen the conjeéture, that this king was king of Moab at this time, and fo Balak was one of his predeceffors. Now he is afked, whether he thought he was a wifer and more knowing prince than he, ‘as to what was his right and due; or whether he had a better claim, or any ge apes! one to the jand) in difpute the other had.not; or whether he judged he was more able to regain what belonged to him: did be ever firive againft Ifrael? for the land they took from Sihon formerly, in the poffeffion of the Moad- _ ies? did he ever lay any claim to it, or enter into any difpute, or litigate with J/rae/ about it? not at all: or did be ever fight againft Ifrael? that is, On that account; no, he fent for Balaam to curfe Iracl, and fought to defend and fecure his own ountry he was in pofleffion of, which he thought was in danger by the J/raelites being fo near him this day Letween the children of Irael and the children of mmen, not that he expected a decifion of the controverfy between them would be made that preawayjcife and exact day; but that from. henceforward tlfe Lord would appear, by giving fuccefs to that party which was in the right in this conteft.
y.28. Howbeit, the king of the children of Avimon bearkened not unto the words of Fephthah which he fent bim;|) He attended not to the arcuments %epbthab made ufe of, and did not chufe to feem at leaft to be convinced by them; nor to regard the;)awful appeal he had made to the great Febovab.
but he never made,war with them under any fuch pretence, that they had done him any injury by inheriting the land they had taken from Sihon and Og kings of the Amorites.
y.26. While Irael dwelt in Hefhbon and ber towns, &c.| This was the principal city, which formerly belonged »to the A@vabites, and was taken from them by Sibon; who being conquered by J/- racl, it fell into their hands, and they inhabited it, and the towns adjacent to it, from that time to the prefent; fee Numb. xxi. 25. and in Aroer and ber towns; another city with its villages, taken at the fame time, and ever fince inhabited by the J/raelites, even by the tribe of Gad, who rebuilt it; it lay near the river Aruon; fee Numb. xxxii. 34. Deut. iii. 12. and in all the cities that be along by
¥..29. Then the fpirit of the Lord came upon Jephibah, &c.] The fpirit of ftrength, as the Yargum; of fortitude of mind, of uncommon valour and courage, and of zeal for God and J/- racl, and againft their enemies; fuch a fpirit as ufed to be given to men, when they were in an extraordinary manner raifed up by the Lord, to be judges, faviours, and deliverers of his people;. fo that as Fepbibab was before chofen by the people to be the general, and head of the tribes beyond Fordan, he was raifed.up and qualified by the Lord now to be the judge of all [/rael; of which the fpirit of the Lord coming on him was a fufficient proof and evidence: and he pajfed over Gilead and Manaffeb; the countries that belonged to Reuben, Gad, and the half tribe of Manaffeb; however, all that the coafts of Arnon; which lay along by the fide of that river, which divided Moad from the of the Amorites; thefe Ifrael had dwelt in 300 years; and during this time, neither Balak king of Moab, nor any of his fucceflors, had ever difputed JfraeP’s title to thofe cities, or commenced a war with them on account of them; butthey had continued in the peaceable enjoyment of them fo long as 300 years; which are thus reckoned in the Fewi part of it which lay from the place where he was, kingdom)to the land of the children of Ammon: and paffed ever Mizpeh of Gilead; which lay to the north of the land of Gilead, or tribe of Gad: and from Mizpeh of Gilead he paffed over to the children of Ammon; did not ftay for them, to bring on the war in the land of Gz/ead, but prevented it by carrying it into the land of the children of Ammon. It feems by h chronology 7; Jefoua governed J/rae] 28 years, Othniel 40, Ehud 80, Deborah 40, Gideon 40, Abimelech 3, Tola 23, Fair 22, and 18 years L/- yael was opprefled by the children of Ammon, which this, that though the children of Ammon had encamped in Gilead fome time before, ch. x. 17. yet for fome reafon or another they had decamped, and had retired into their own country; but yet threatening [/rael with a war, and preparing for it.
with the 6 years of Fepbthab make juft 300; fo that, according to this computation, there were 6 years fhort of it; but being fo near, theround number is given: why therefore did ye not recover within that time? fignifying they ought to have put in their ‘claim fooner, and endeavoured to have recovered them long before this time, if they had any right unto them; wherefore Yephthab pleads prefcription, and which in a courfe of time ought to take place; or otherwife the world would be full of endlefs contentions and controverfies, and kingdoms and ftates would never be at peace, nor each one know and enjoy for certainty its proper y. 30. dnd Fephthab vowed a vow unto the Lord, &c.] Before he fet out for the land of the children of Ammon, and to fight with them; hoping that them) fuch a religious difpofition of mind would be regarded by the Lord, and be acceptable to him, and he fhould be bleffed with fuccefs in his enterprize: amd faid, if thou fhalt without fail deliver ibe children of Ammon into mine kands, though he was affured of the juftnefs of his caufe, and of his call to engage in it, he feems to have fome little diffidence in his mind about the fuccefs of it; at leaft, was not fully certain of it.
y. 31. Then it foall be, that whatfoever cometh domains. forth of the doors of my boufe to meet me, &c.) If y. 27. Wherefore I have not finned againft thee, &c.] Had donehim noinjury, not wronged him of any thing, nor had taken away any part of his country from him; this» Zepbthab faid in the name this phrafe, to meet me, is meant intentionally, then no other than an human creature can be meant; a child, or fervant, or any other of mankind; for none elfe could come forth with a defign to meet of all Z/rael, of whom he was governor: dut thou doeft me wrong to war againft me; meaning that he had no juft caufe to commence a waragainft J/rae but aéted an injurious part; and feeing things could not be adjufted in an amicable way, but muft be decided by the fword, he leaves the affair with the Lord, and appeals tohim: the Lord the judge; the judge of the whole earth, the omnifcient God, that knows all things, the right and wrong of every ‘caufe, on which fide truth and juftice lie: be judge him: but if this isto be underftood eventually, of what might meet him, though not with defign,,| then any other creature may be intended; and it muft be meant what came forth firft, as the Vulgate Lain verfion expreffes it, or otherwife many might come forth at fuch a time: when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, fafe in his own perfon, and having conquered the Ammonites, and reftored peace to [rael: foall furely be the Lord's; be devoted to him, and made ufe of, or the apr
2 Seder Olam Rabba, c. 12. Vids Jarchium & Kimchium in loc.
318 JF PRAISES Ch, xi. ¥. 32—36. of it, with which it is redeemed, in his fervice: and I will offer it for a burnt-offering that is, if it is what according to the law may be offered up, as an ox, fheep, ram, or lamb; fome read the words disjunctively, or Iwill offer it, &c. it hall either be devoted to the Lord in the manner that perfons things, according to the law, are direéted to be; or it fhall be offered up for a burnt-offering, if proper for the fervice; fo Yo/eph and David Kimchi, Ben Melech, and Abarbinel, with others, it; but fuch a disjunétion is objected to as proper and ridiculous, to diftinguifh two fentences, when the one is more general, and the other more they were not begotten by him, they were not of ~~ his body, not his own children; he had none but — ” this daughtér, which made the trial the more grie- — vous to him; her name, according to Philo, was Seta,.
orl y. 35. And it came to pafs when be faw ber, &c.] She being the firft perfon that prefented to fit andjhis view, as fhe was at the head of the vitgins with their timbrels and dances: that he rent his clothes 5 interpretjas was the ufual manner, when any thing calamitous im-jand diftreffing happened; fee Gen. xxxvii. 34. Jab i. 20. and faid, alas, my daughter, thou haft brought me very low; damped his {piaits, funk him very fpecial. low, fo that he was ready to drop into the earth, -
¥. 32. So Fephthah paffed over unto the children of Ammon, to fight againft them, &c.] Asin y¥. 29. ter he had made the above vow: and the Lord delivered them into his bands; whenboth armies met and engaged, victory was on the fide of Fephibah; as we fay; he that was now returning in triumph, af-jamidft the acclamations of the people, in the height of his glory, and extolled to the fkies, and perhaps elated in his own mind; ona fudden, at the fight of his daughter, was fo depreffed in his the Lord being with him, and giving him fuccefs, to whom all is juftly afcribed.
¥. 33. And he fmote them from Aroer, &c.| A city which lay near the river Aruon, on the borders of Moab, Deut. iii. 12. even till thou come to Minnith; which feems to have been a place famous for fpirits, that he could not bear up; but was ready to fink and die away, all bis honoun being as it were laid in the duft, and nothing to him: and thou art one of them that trouble me, or among his troublers, and the greateft he ever met with; he had been in trouble from his brethren, when they wheat, Ezek. xxvii. 17. fo David de Pomis * fays it was a place where the beft wheat grew. Yerom fays » in. his time was fhewn a village called Mannith, 4 miles from Eflus (or He/bbon) as you go Philadelphia. Fofephus* calls it Maniathe, and it is thought by fome to be the Anitha of Ptolemy *, which he places in Arabia Petrea: even twenty cities; which he purfued them through and took and unto the plain of the vineyards, with a very great Slaughter; or, Abel Ceramim. Ferom fays* in his time was feen a village called Adela, planted with vineyards, 7 miles from Philadelphia: thus the children of Ammon were fubdued before the children of J/rael; fo that they were not able to opprefs them drove him from his father’s houfe, and he had had trouble with the children of Ammon to fubdue them; but this was the greateft trouble of all, that tojhis daughter fhould be the firft that fhould meet him; of whom, according to his vow, he was to be deprived; and fo all his future comforts, hopes, and expectations from her gone; and therefore:jranks her among, and at the head of his.troublers: for 1 have opened my mouth unto the Lord; in a vows not only had purpofed it in his heart, but had exprefled it with his lips: and I cannot go back; or retract it; looking upon himfelf under an indifpenfible obligation to perform it; of which, be it as it may, he feems to have had miftaken notions any more. and apprehenfions; for if ‘his vow was to fa-
¥. 34. And Fephthab came to Mizpeh unto bis houfe, &c.| Where he had uttered his words the Lord, which had paffed between him and elders of Gilead, and from whence he fet out to fight the children of Ammon, and whither he returned after he had got the victory over them, y. 11, 29. and where it feems he had a houfe, and his family dwelt; for upon his being fetched from the land of Ios, he brought what family he had with him, and fettled them at Mizpeh, whilft he went on the expedition againft the children of Ammon: crifice her, as fome think, he was not obliged to do beforejit, fince it was contrary to the law of God, and thejabominable in his fight; and befides, what was vowed to be the Lord’s, or devoted to him, might be redeemed according to the law, a female for 30 pieces of filver, Lev. xxvii. 2, 3, 4. and if the vow was to feparate his daughter from the com- }pany of men, and oblige her never to marry, fuch a power as this parents had not allowed them over their children, according to the laws of God or of men, in the Fewifh nation; and therefore, be it and behold, his daughter came out to meet him, with timbrels, and with dances; accompanied with young women, having timbrels in their hands, and playing upon them, and dancing as they came along; exprefling their joy at, and congratulating him upon: the victory he had obtained over the children of Ammon: and fhe was his only child; and fo dear unto him, and upon whom all his hopes and expectations of a pofterity from him depended: de- which it will, what he had to do was to repent of this rafh vow, and humble himfelf before God for making it, and not add fin to fin by performing it. |
¥. 36. And foe faid unto him, my. father, if thou haft opened thy mouth unto the lod, &c.] The conditional word if may be left out, as it is not in the original text, for her father had told her, that he had opened his mouth, or made a vow to the
Sides her he had neither fon nor daughter; fomeread it, of her 5; that is, fhe had neither fon nor daughter; and fo by this vow, be it underftood in which way it may be, if fulfilled, fhe mutt die without any iffue; though the phrafe in the Hebrew text is, of himfelf®; he had noné, though his wife whom he married might have fons and daughters by an hufband fhe had before him, and fo thefe were brought up in Fepbthabh’s houfe as his children; yet Lord, and had wo doubt explained it to her what it was, though it is not exprefled; fhe knew it re- {pected her, as it had iffted, and was concerning her, as appears by her after requeft: do fo me according to that which hath proceeded out of thy mouth; which is a remarkable inftance of filial fubjeétion and obedience to a parent, and which perhaps was {trengthened by a like miftaken notion, as that of her father concerning the vow, that it could not pon
“penfed with; and therefore was moved under a fenfe of religion, as well as filial duty, to exprefs herfelf in this manner, as well as by what follows: fovafinuch as the Lord bath taken vengeance for thee of thine enemies, even of the children of Ammon; fuch was her public fpirit,. and the grateful fenfe fhe had of the divine goodnefs, in giving victory over J/rael’s enemies, and delivering them from them, with vengeance on them, fhe cared not what was done to her; yea, defired that what was vowed might be performed..:. y. 37. And foe faid unto her father, let this thing be done for me, &c.) She had but one favour to afk of him, which fhe thought might be granted, withoutany breach of the vow: /et me alone two mouths, fhe defired fuch a fpace of time might be allowed her before the vow took place; and the rather fhe might be encouraged to expect that her requeft would be granted, fince no time’ was fixed by the vow for the accomplifhment of it, and fince the time fhe afked was not very long, and the end to be anfwered not unreafonable: that I may go up and down upon the mountains; or, defcend upon the mountains *; ‘fephthak’s houfe in Mizpeb being higher than the mountains; or there might be, as Kimchi and Ben Melech note, ‘a valley between that and the mountains, to which fhe defcended in order to go up to the mountains; fee Fo/d. ix. 24. thefe fhe chofeto make her abode, and take her walks in, during thetime fhe afked, as being moft fit for retirement and folitude; where fhe might give up herfelf to meditation and prayer, and converfation with her fellow-virgins fhe would take with her, and fo be wrought upto a greater degree of refignation and fubmiffion to her father’s will, and to the will of God in it, as fhe might fuppofe: and bewail my virginity, 1 and my fellows, the virgins her companions;_ this fhe propofed to be the fubject that fhe and her affociates would dwell upon, during this time of folitude; and the rather, as this may be thought to be the thing contained in the vow, that as fhe was a virgin, fo fhe fhould continue; by which means fhe would not be the happy inftrument of increafing the number of the children of J/rael, nor of being the progenitrix of the Meffiab; upon which accounts it was reckoned in thofe times to be very grievous and reproachful, to live and die without iflue, and fo matter of lamentation and weeping. y¥. 38. And be faid, go, &c.] He granted her requeft at once: and he fent her away for two months; as fhe defired: and fhe went with her companions, and bewailed ber virginity upon the mountains; for the fpace of two months: the Yevw7/b commenta- queft fhe made. was not a pretence to make her elcape out of his hands; but having done what fhe propofed to do, and the time fixed for it being come, fhe returned to her father’s houfe, and delivered up herfelf to him; who did with ber according 40 bis vow which he had vowed, but what he did is a queftion, and which is not eafily refolved s fome think he really facrificed her, through a miftaken fenfe of Lev, xxvii. 29. and which and his action are accounted for through his living a military life, and ina diftant part of the country, and at a time when idolatry had greatly prevailed in J - rael, and to fuch a degree as it had not before, and no doubt that branch of it, facrificing children to Moloch; and Fephthah might think that though that was finful, yet fuch a facrifice might be acceptable to the Lord; and efpecially fince hts vow, as he thought, bound him to it; and how far the inftance of Abrabam offering up his fon T/aac, might encourage him to it, cannot be faid: of this mind were Fo/epbus *, Jonathan Ben Uz-' ziab the Targumift, and fome other Fewi/fb writers '; and many of the ancient Chri/tian fathers, and many modern authors of every name among Chriffians 3 and it has been thought that the ftory of Iphigenia, who Capellus ™ thinks is the fame with Fepthigenia, that is, the daughter of Fephthah, and was flain by her father Agamemnon, having feveral circum- {tances in it fimilar to this, is taken from hence: and there is much fuch a cafe as this related * of Idomeneus, a king of the Cretians, who upon his return after the deftruétion of Zroy, being in a tempeft, vowed, fhould he be faved, that he would {acrifice the firft he met with to the gods; andas it was his fon he firft met with, he facrificed him; or as others fay, would have done it, but was prevented by the citizens, and who on this account drove him from his kingdom. But others are of opinion, that what Fephthah did according to his vow was, that he fhut up his daughter, and feparated her from the company of men, and obliged her to live unmarried all her days, and therefore fhe is faid to bewail her virginity. Kimchi and Ben Melech fay, he built a houfe for her without the city, where fhe dwelt alone, and knew no man; and where her father fupported her, and obliged her to live all her days; and Abarbdinel thinks, that the Romanifts from hence learnt to build their cloyfters to put their nuns in; and fo Ben Gerfom interprets this vow of her being feparated from men, and devoted to the fervice of God; and which is the fenfe of many Chriftian interpreters. Now though Fephthab had no fuch power over his daughter, as to oblige her to per- tors make mention of an allegorical expofition of petual virginity, nor did his vow bind him to it;
a writer ‘ of theirs, who by mountains underftands the fanhedrim, to whom fhe propofed to go, who perhaps might find a way for the loofing of the vow; but it is a queftion whether there was fuch a court then in J/rael, and had there been one, and either fhe or her father had applied to it, in this cafe the priefts would have pointed out what was to be done, and efpecially if the vow had any regard to the facrifice of his daughter; and even to her virginity, which he had no power to oblige her to; but’the literal jenfe is no doubt to be fol lowed.;
y. 39. And it came to pafs, at the end of two months foe returned to ber father, &c.| For the re- for perfons devoted to the Lord were not obliged to abftain from marriage, nor have we any initances of a monaftic life in thofe times, nor among the jews at any time; yet. as he did fomething not right, which he thought his vow obliged him to, one would be rather tempted to think, in charity to him, that of the two evils he did the leaft; for if fhe was put to death, it muft be done cither by the magiftrates, or by the priefts, or by Fephthab himfelf; neither of whichis probable: and /he knew no man, never married, but lived and died a virgin: and it was a cuftom in Ifrael, the Targum adds, ‘* that aman might not offer his fon or his daughter fora burntoffering, as Yephthab the Gileadite did, and did not bean by Ty74") & defcendam fuper montes, Pagninus, Montanus; defcendamque ad montes, Tigurine ver- confult Phinebas the prieft; for had he confulted Phinebas the prieft, he would have redeemed her with a price;” fo archi, according to Lev. Xxvii. 4. but each ftood upon their honour, as the Fews fay °; Fephthab being aking would not go to Phinehas, and Phinebas being an high-prieft, and the fon of an high-prieft, would not go toa plebeian; and fo, between them both, the maiden was loft; but the cuftom refers to what follows.
_ ¥.40. That the daughters of Ifrael went yearly to lament the daughter of Feprthab the Gileadite, 8c.
Either the death of her, as fome, or her virginity, as others; though the word? ufed may fignify to talk and difcourfe with her, to hold aconfabulation with her, and comfort her, as Kimchi and Ben Melech interpret it; to bring her fome news, and tell her fome diverting ftories, to chear and recreate her in her folitude. De Dieu obferves, that the word fignifies in the Aradic language to praife, or fpeak in commendation of a perfon or thing; and indeed in this fenfe it feems to be ufed in this book,
PPAHIS chapter relates a quarrel between Fephthab and the Epbraimites, which was fatal to the latter, ¥. r—6. the time of Fephrhab judging Tfrael, his death and burial, ¥. 7. and it briefly makes mention of three more judges of J/rael, lbzan. Elon, and Abdon, ¥. 8—15.
y¥. 1. And the men of Ephraim gathered themfelves together, &c.| Or cried‘, got together bya cry or