Judges 11-14

Highlights for the
Week of February 9-15, 2015
Judges 11-14
PLEASE NOTE - The references below are taken from
Jud 11:31 - *** w08 2/15 pp. 7-8 par. 4 Walk in Jehovah’s
the 1986-2014 WTLibrary publication Index. Many verses
have additional references that have not been included due
to time & space. We are encouraged to do additional
personal research.
Ways ***
(Judges 11:31) 31 then whoever comes out of the door of
my house to meet me when I return in peace from the
Amʹmon·ites will become Jehovah’s, and I will offer that
one up as a burnt offering.”
Jud 11:3 - *** w07 5/15 p. 8 Jephthah Keeps His Vow to
Jehovah ***
(Judges 11:3) 3 So Jephʹthah fled from his brothers and
settled in the land of Tob. And idle men joined company
with Jephʹthah, and they followed him.
Meanwhile, Jephthah is having problems of his own.
His greedy half brothers have driven him away in order to
steal his inheritance. So Jephthah moves to Tob, a region
east of Gilead and exposed to Israel’s enemies. “Idle men,”
likely those who were put out of work by the oppressors or
who rebelled against servitude to them, gather to
Jephthah. They “go out with him,” perhaps meaning that
they accompany Jephthah as he conducts raids against
hostile neighbors.
Jud 11:8-11 - *** w07 5/15 p. 9 Jephthah Keeps His Vow
to Jehovah ***
(Judges 11:8-11) 8 At this the elders of Gilʹe·ad said to
Jephʹthah: “That is why now we have returned to you. If
you go with us and fight against the Amʹmon·ites, you will
become our leader over all the inhabitants of Gilʹe·ad.” 9 So
Jephʹthah said to the elders of Gilʹe·ad: “If you bring me
back to fight against the Amʹmon·ites and Jehovah defeats
them for me, then I will indeed become your leader!” 10 The
elders of Gilʹe·ad said to Jephʹthah: “Let Jehovah be the
witness between us if we do not do as you say.” 11 So
Jephʹthah went with the elders of Gilʹe·ad, and the people
made him their leader and commander. And Jephʹthah
repeated all his words before Jehovah in Mizʹpah.
On one condition alone will Jephthah take the lead in
Gilead. ‘If Jehovah abandons Ammon to me,’ he declares,
‘I shall become your head!’ Victory would give evidence of
God’s backing, but Jephthah also aims to make sure that
divine rule will not be forsaken as soon as the crisis has
passed.—Judges 11:8-11.
Jud 11:24 - *** w07 5/15 p. 9 Jephthah Keeps His Vow to
Jehovah ***
(Judges 11:24) 24 Do you not possess whatever your god
Cheʹmosh gives you to possess? So everyone whom
Jehovah our God has driven out from before us is the one
we will drive out.
Jephthah also focuses on an issue central to Israel’s
woes: Who is the true God? Jehovah or the gods of the
land that Israel has occupied? If Chemosh had any power
at all, would he not wield it to retain his people’s land? This
is a contest between false religion, championed by the
Ammonites, and true worship. So Jephthah logically
concludes: “Let Jehovah the Judge judge today between
the sons of Israel and the sons of Ammon.”—Judges
11:23-27.
4
In the days of Israel’s Judges, Jephthah vowed that if
Jehovah gave him victory over the Ammonites, he would
present as “a burnt offering” the first one meeting him upon
his return from battle. That one turned out to be Jephthah’s
daughter—his only child. With faith in Jehovah, both
Jephthah and his unmarried daughter fulfilled his vow.
Although marriage and childbearing were highly esteemed
in Israel, Jephthah’s daughter willingly remained single and
enjoyed the privilege of engaging in sacred service at
Jehovah’s sanctuary.—Judg. 11:28-40.
Jud 11:34 - *** it-2 p. 28 Jephthah ***
(Judges 11:34) 34 Finally Jephʹthah came to his home in
Mizʹpah, and look! his daughter was coming out to meet
him, playing the tambourine and dancing! Now she was his
one and only child. Besides her, he had neither son nor
daughter.
It was a real sacrifice on the part of both Jephthah and
his daughter, for he had no other child. (Jg 11:34)
Therefore no descendant of his would carry on his name
and his inheritance in Israel. Jephthah’s daughter was his
only hope for this. She wept, not over her death, but over
her “virginity,” for it was the desire of every Israelite man
and woman to have children and to keep the family name
and inheritance alive. (Jg 11:37, 38) Barrenness was a
calamity. But Jephthah’s daughter “never had relations with
a man.” Had these words applied only to the time prior to
the carrying out of the vow, they would have been
superfluous, for she is specifically said to have been a
virgin. That the statement has reference to the fulfilling of
the vow is shown in that it follows the expression, “He
carried out his vow that he had made toward her.” Actually,
the record is pointing out that also after the vow was
carried out she maintained her virginity.—Jg 11:39;
compare renderings in KJ; Dy; Yg; NW.
Jud 11:37 - *** it-2 p. 28 Jephthah ***
(Judges 11:37) 37 She then said to her father: “Let this be
done for me: Let me be alone for two months, and let me
go away into the mountains, and let me weep over my
virginity with my female companions.”
It was a real sacrifice on the part of both Jephthah and
his daughter, for he had no other child. (Jg 11:34)
Therefore no descendant of his would carry on his name
and his inheritance in Israel. Jephthah’s daughter was his
only hope for this. She wept, not over her death, but over
her “virginity,” for it was the desire of every Israelite man
and woman to have children and to keep the family name
and inheritance alive. (Jg 11:37, 38) Barrenness was a
calamity. But Jephthah’s daughter “never had relations with
a man.” Had these words applied only to the time prior to
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Highlights for the
Week of February 9-15, 2015
Judges 11-14
the carrying out of the vow, they would have been
superfluous, for she is specifically said to have been a
virgin. That the statement has reference to the fulfilling of
the vow is shown in that it follows the expression, “He
carried out his vow that he had made toward her.” Actually,
the record is pointing out that also after the vow was
carried out she maintained her virginity.—Jg 11:39;
compare renderings in KJ; Dy; Yg; NW.
Consider, too, the case of Manoah and his wife, the
parents of Samson. This account also speaks of the
angelic messenger as “Jehovah’s angel” and “the angel of
the true God.” (Judges 13:2-18) In verse 22, Manoah says
to his wife: “We shall positively die, because it is God that
we have seen.” Although he did not actually see Jehovah
God, Manoah felt that way because he had seen the
materialized personal spokesman for God.
Jud 11:40 - *** w07 5/15 p. 10 Jephthah Keeps His Vow
Jud 14:6 - *** w05 1/15 p. 31 Questions From Readers
to Jehovah ***
This faithful maiden’s life was not wasted. Full-time
service at Jehovah’s house was an excellent, satisfying,
and commendable way for her to honor God. Thus, “from
year to year the daughters of Israel would go to give
commendation to the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite.”
(Judges 11:40) And surely he rejoiced in her service to
Jehovah.
Many among God’s people today choose a life of fulltime service as pioneers, missionaries, traveling ministers,
or members of Bethel families. This may mean not seeing
family members as often as one might like. Yet, all involved
can rejoice in such sacred service rendered to Jehovah.—
Psalm 110:3; Hebrews 13:15, 16.
Jud 12:7 - *** w07 5/15 p. 10 Jephthah Keeps His Vow to
Jehovah ***
What a sad time in Israel’s history! Battles won by
Judges Othniel, Ehud, Barak, and Gideon brought peace.
This time peace is not mentioned. The account merely
concludes: “Jephthah continued to judge Israel for six
years, after which [he] died and was buried in his city in
Gilead.”—Judges 3:11, 30; 5:31; 8:28; 12:7.
Jud 13:5 - *** nwt p. 1705 Glossary ***
(Judges 13:5) 5 Look! You will conceive and give birth to a
son, and no razor should touch his head, because the child
will be a Nazʹi·rite of God from birth, and he will take the
lead in saving Israel out of the hand of the Phi·lisʹtines.”
Nazirite. A word taken from the Hebrew for “One
Singled Out,” “Dedicated One,” “Separated One.” There
were two classes of Nazirites: those who volunteered and
those who were appointed as such by God. A man or a
woman could take a special vow to Jehovah to live as a
Nazirite for a period of time. Those voluntarily taking the
vow had three principal restrictions: they were to drink no
alcohol nor eat any product of the grapevine, they were not
to cut their hair, and they were not to touch a dead body.
Those appointed by God as Nazirites remained such for
life, and Jehovah specified the requirements for them.—Nu
6:2-7; Jg 13:5.
Jud 13:22 - *** w88 5/15 p. 23 Has Anyone Seen God?
(Judges 13:22) 22 Ma·noʹah then said to his wife: “We are
sure to die, because it is God whom we have seen.”
Does the statement that Samson ripped apart a lion
“just as someone tears a male kid in two” suggest that
the tearing apart of young goats was a common
practice in his day?
There is no evidence that in the time of Israel’s Judges,
it was common for people to tear apart young goats.
Judges 14:6 states: “Jehovah’s spirit became operative
upon [Samson], so that he tore it [a maned young lion] in
two, just as someone tears a male kid in two, and there
was nothing at all in his hand.” This comment likely is an
illustration.
The expression “he tore it in two” could have two
meanings. Samson either tore apart the jaws of the lion or
tore the lion limb from limb in some way. If the former is
meant, then doing the same thing to a young goat is
conceivably within human power. In this case, the parallel
illustrates that conquering a lion with his bare hands was
no more difficult for Samson than had the lion been a mere
male kid. However, what if Samson killed the lion by
tearing it limb from limb? The comment then can hardly be
taken as anything more than a simile. The point of the
simile would be that Jehovah’s spirit empowered Samson
to perform a task that required extraordinary physical
strength. In either case, the comparison drawn at Judges
14:6 illustrates that with Jehovah’s help, a powerful lion
proved to be no more ferocious to Samson than a male kid
would be to the average person.
Jud 14:20 - *** it-1 p. 815 Father-in-law ***
Because an engaged couple were considered as bound
although the couple had not yet come together in marriage,
the woman was spoken of as the man’s wife. (Jg 14:20)
Therefore, the man was called “son-in-law” (a noun drawn
from cha·thanʹ being used) regardless of whether the
marriage alliance had been fully consummated (Jg 19:5;
1Sa 22:14; Ne 6:18; 13:28) or was only contemplated, as
in the case of Lot’s “sons-in-law.” (Ge 19:12, 14; compare
Jg 15:6.) Lot’s daughters were only betrothed; otherwise
they would most likely have been with their husbands and
not living in their father’s house. That the two men were
only prospective, not actual, sons-in-law (engaged to Lot’s
daughters but not as yet married to them) is indicated by
the Hebrew, which allows for the rendering: “[Lot’s] sonsin-law who were to take [or, were intending to take] his
daughters.”—Ge 19:14, NW; Ro; compare JB; Mo; RS.
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