Nevi'im
Shoftim11
Judges · Chapter 11
Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valour, and he
was
the son of an harlot: and Gilead begat Jephthah.
And Gilead’s wife bare him sons; and his wife’s sons grew up, and they thrust out Jephthah, and said unto him, Thou shalt not inherit in our father’s house; for thou
art the son of a strange woman.
Then Jephthah fled from his brethren, and dwelt in the land of Tob: and there were gathered vain men to Jephthah, and went out with him.
And it came to pass in process of time, that the children of Ammon made war against Yisra'el.
And it was so, that when the children of Ammon made war against Yisra'el, the elders of Gilead went to fetch Jephthah out of the land of Tob:
And they said unto Jephthah, Come, and be our captain, that we may fight with the children of Ammon.
And Jephthah said unto the elders of Gilead, Did not ye hate me, and expel me out of my father’s house? and why are ye come unto me now when ye are in distress?
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 Jephthah said unto the elders of Gilead, If ye bring me home again to fight against the children of Ammon, and 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 (YHWH) deliver them before me, shall I be your head?
And the elders of Gilead said unto Jephthah, 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 (YHWH) be witness between us, if we do not so according to thy words.
Then Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and captain over them: and Jephthah uttered all his words before 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 (YHWH) in Mizpeh.
And Jephthah sent messengers unto the king of the children of Ammon, saying, What hast thou to do with me, that thou art come against me to fight in my land?
And the king of the children of Ammon answered unto the messengers of Jephthah, Because Yisra'el took away my land, when they came up out of Mitsrayim, from Arnon even unto Jabbok, and unto Yarden: now therefore restore those
lands again peaceably.
And Jephthah sent messengers again unto the king of the children of Ammon:
And said unto him, Thus saith Jephthah, Yisra'el took not away the land of Moab, nor the land of the children of Ammon:
But when Yisra'el came up from Mitsrayim, and walked through the wilderness unto the Red sea, and came to Kadesh;
Then Yisra'el sent messengers unto the king of Edom, saying, Let me, I pray thee, pass through thy land: but the king of Edom would not hearken
thereto. And in like manner they sent unto the king of Moab: but he would not
consent: and Yisra'el abode in Kadesh.
Then they went along through the wilderness, and compassed the land of Edom, and the land of Moab, and came by the east side of the land of Moab, and pitched on the other side of Arnon, but came not within the border of Moab: for Arnon
was the border of Moab.
And Yisra'el sent messengers unto Sihon king of the Amorites, the king of Heshbon; and Yisra'el said unto him, Let us pass, we pray thee, through thy land into my place.
But Sihon trusted not Yisra'el to pass through his coast: but Sihon gathered all his people together, and pitched in Jahaz, and fought against Yisra'el.
And 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 (YHWH) Elohim of Yisra'el delivered Sihon and all his people into the hand of Yisra'el, and they smote them: so Yisra'el possessed all the land of the Amorites, the inhabitants of that country.
And they possessed all the coasts of the Amorites, from Arnon even unto Jabbok, and from the wilderness even unto Yarden.
So now 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 (YHWH) Elohim of Yisra'el hath dispossessed the Amorites from before his people Yisra'el, and shouldest thou possess it?
Wilt not thou possess that which Chemosh thy elohim giveth thee to possess? So whomsoever 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 (YHWH) our Elohim shall drive out from before us, them will we possess.
And now
art thou any thing better than Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab? did he ever strive against Yisra'el, or did he ever fight against them,
While Yisra'el dwelt in Heshbon and her towns, and in Aroer and her towns, and in all the cities that
be along by the coasts of Arnon, three hundred years? why therefore did ye not recover
them within that time?
Wherefore I have not sinned against thee, but thou doest me wrong to war against me: 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 (YHWH) the Judge be judge this day between the children of Yisra'el and the children of Ammon.
Howbeit the king of the children of Ammon hearkened not unto the words of Jephthah which he sent him.
Then the Ruach of 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 (YHWH) came upon Jephthah, and he passed over Gilead, and Manasseh, and passed over Mizpeh of Gilead, and from Mizpeh of Gilead he passed over
unto the children of Ammon.
And Jephthah vowed a vow unto 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 (YHWH), and said, If thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands,
Then it shall be, that whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, shall surely be 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 (YHWH)’S, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering.
So Jephthah passed over unto the children of Ammon to fight against them; and 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 (YHWH) delivered them into his hands.
And he smote them from Aroer, even till thou come to Minnith,
even twenty cities, and unto the plain of the vineyards, with a very great slaughter. Thus the children of Ammon were subdued before the children of Yisra'el.
And Jephthah came to Mizpeh unto his house, and, behold, his daughter came out to meet him with timbrels and with dances: and she
was his
only child; beside her he had neither son nor daughter.
And it came to pass, when he saw her, that he rent his clothes, and said, Alas, my daughter! thou hast brought me very low, and thou art one of them that trouble me: for I have opened my mouth unto 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 (YHWH), and I cannot go back.
And she said unto him, My father,
if thou hast opened thy mouth unto 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 (YHWH), do to me according to that which hath proceeded out of thy mouth; forasmuch as 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 (YHWH) hath taken vengeance for thee of thine enemies,
even of the children of Ammon.
And she said unto her father, Let this thing be done for me: let me alone two months, that I may go up and down upon the mountains, and bewail my virginity, I and my fellows.
And he said, Go. And he sent her away
for two months: and she went with her companions, and bewailed her virginity upon the mountains.
And it came to pass at the end of two months, that she returned unto her father, who did with her
according to his vow which he had vowed: and she knew no man. And it was a custom in Yisra'el,
That the daughters of Yisra'el went yearly to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in a year.
Nevi'im
Shoftim12
Judges · Chapter 12
And the men of Ephraim gathered themselves together, and went northward, and said unto Jephthah, Wherefore passedst thou over to fight against the children of Ammon, and didst not call us to go with thee? we will burn thine house upon thee with fire.
And Jephthah said unto them, I and my people were at great strife with the children of Ammon; and when I called you, ye delivered me not out of their hands.
And when I saw that ye delivered
me not, I put my life in my hands, and passed over against the children of Ammon, and 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 (YHWH) delivered them into my hand: wherefore then are ye come up unto me this day, to fight against me?
Then Jephthah gathered together all the men of Gilead, and fought with Ephraim: and the men of Gilead smote Ephraim, because they said, Ye Gileadites
are fugitives of Ephraim among the Ephraimites,
and among the Manassites.
And the Gileadites took the passages of Yarden before the Ephraimites: and it was
so, that when those Ephraimites which were escaped said, Let me go over; that the men of Gilead said unto him,
Art thou an Ephraimite? If he said, Nay;
Then said they unto him, Say now Shibboleth: and he said Sibboleth: for he could not frame to pronounce
it right. Then they took him, and slew him at the passages of Yarden: and there fell at that time of the Ephraimites forty and two thousand.
And Jephthah judged Yisra'el six years. Then died Jephthah the Gileadite, and was buried in
one of the cities of Gilead.
And after him Ibzan of Beit Lechem judged Yisra'el.
And he had thirty sons, and thirty daughters,
whom he sent abroad, and took in thirty daughters from abroad for his sons. And he judged Yisra'el seven years.
Then died Ibzan, and was buried at Beit Lechem.
And after him Elon, a Zebulonite, judged Yisra'el; and he judged Yisra'el ten years.
And Elon the Zebulonite died, and was buried in Aijalon in the country of Zebulun.
And after him Abdon the son of Hillel, a Pirathonite, judged Yisra'el.
And he had forty sons and thirty nephews, that rode on threescore and ten ass colts: and he judged Yisra'el eight years.
And Abdon the son of Hillel the Pirathonite died, and was buried in Pirathon in the land of Ephraim, in the mount of the Amalekites.
Nevi'im
Shoftim13
Judges · Chapter 13
And the children of Yisra'el did evil again in the sight of 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 (YHWH); and 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 (YHWH) delivered them into the hand of the Philistines forty years.
And there was a certain man of Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name
was Manoah; and his wife
was barren, and bare not.
And the mal'akh of 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 (YHWH) appeared unto the woman, and said unto her, Behold now, thou
art barren, and bearest not: but thou shalt conceive, and bear a son.
Now therefore beware, I pray thee, and drink not wine nor strong drink, and eat not any unclean
thing:
For, lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and no razor shall come on his head: for the child shall be a Nazarite unto Elohim from the womb: and he shall begin to deliver Yisra'el out of the hand of the Philistines.
Then the woman came and told her husband, saying, A man of Elohim came unto me, and his countenance
was like the countenance of an mal'akh of Elohim, very terrible: but I asked him not whence he
was, neither told he me his name:
But he said unto me, Behold, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and now drink no wine nor strong drink, neither eat any unclean
thing:
for the child shall be a Nazarite to Elohim from the womb to the day of his death.
Then Manoah intreated 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 (YHWH), and said, O my master, let the man of Elohim which thou didst send come again unto us, and teach us what we shall do unto the child that shall be born.
And Elohim hearkened to the voice of Manoah; and the mal'akh of Elohim came again unto the woman as she sat in the field: but Manoah her husband
was
not with her.
And the woman made haste, and ran, and shewed her husband, and said unto him, Behold, the man hath appeared unto me, that came unto me the
other
day.
And Manoah arose, and went after his wife, and came to the man, and said unto him, Art thou the man that spakest unto the woman? And he said, I
am.
And Manoah said, Now let thy words come to pass. How shall we order the child, and
how shall we do unto him?
And the mal'akh of 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 (YHWH) said unto Manoah, Of all that I said unto the woman let her beware.
She may not eat of any
thing that cometh of the vine, neither let her drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean
thing:
all that I commanded her let her observe.
And Manoah said unto the mal'akh of 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 (YHWH), I pray thee, let us detain thee, until we shall have made ready a kid for thee.
And the mal'akh of 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 (YHWH) said unto Manoah, Though thou detain me, I will not eat of thy bread: and if thou wilt offer a burnt offering, thou must offer it unto 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 (YHWH). For Manoah knew not that he
was an mal'akh of 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 (YHWH).
And Manoah said unto the mal'akh of 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 (YHWH), What
is thy name, that when thy sayings come to pass we may do thee honour?
And the mal'akh of 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 (YHWH) said unto him, Why askest thou thus after my name, seeing it is secret?
So Manoah took a kid with a meat offering, and offered
it
upon a rock unto 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 (YHWH): and
the mal'akh did wonderously; and Manoah and his wife looked on.
For it came to pass, when the flame went up toward shamayim from off the altar, that the mal'akh of 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 (YHWH) ascended in the flame of the altar. And Manoah and his wife looked on
it, and fell on their faces to the ground.
But the mal'akh of 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 (YHWH) did no more appear to Manoah and to his wife. Then Manoah knew that he
was an mal'akh of 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 (YHWH).
And Manoah said unto his wife, We shall surely die, because we have seen Elohim.
But his wife said unto him, If 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 (YHWH) were pleased to kill us, he would not have received a burnt offering and a meat offering at our hands, neither would he have shewed us all these
things, nor would as at this time have told us
such things as these.
And the woman bare a son, and called his name Shimshon: and the child grew, and 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 (YHWH) blessed him.
And the Ruach of 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 (YHWH) began to move him at times in the camp of Dan between Zorah and Eshtaol.