Annotations upon the remaining historicall part of the Old Testament. The second part. to wit, the books of Joshua, Judges, the two books of Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles, and the books of Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther : wherein first, all such passages in the text are explained as were thought likely to be questioned by any reader of ordinary capacity : secondly, in many clauses those things are discovered which are needfull and usefull to be known ... and thirdly, many places that might at first seem to contradict one another are reconciled ... / by Arthur Jackson.

CHAP. XI.

Vers. 1. NOw Jephthah the Gileadite, was a mighty man, &c.] Though he were the sonne of one Gilead, as is evident in the last words of this verse, And Gilead begat Jephthah (not the same who was the sonne of Machir the sonne of Manasseh, Josh. 17.1, 2. of whom the greatest part, if not all of that tribe were descended, but another of his posterity, and called by his name) yet doubtlesse he is here called a Gileadite, either from the land or city of Gilead, the place of his birth and education; for the most of Gilead was possest by Manassehs tribe.

Vers. 2. And they thrust out Jephthah, and said unto him, Thou shalt not in∣herit in our fathers house, &c.] This his brethren did by the help and decree of the

Magistrates of Gilead, as appears by Jephthahs answer to the Elders, vers. 17. And Jephthah said unto the Elders of Gilead, did ye not hate me, and expell me out of my fathers house? Whether they onely cast him one from having any share in the inhe∣ritance of their father, or whether also they denyed him any portion for his lively∣hood amongst them, we cannot from the words certainly conclude; yet because be∣ing a bastard he could not challenge any part of his fathers inheritance, and his com∣plaint vers. 7. seems to imply, that he apprehended himself greatly wronged, there∣fore the last is thought most probable.

Vers. 3. And Jephthah fled from his brethren, and dwelt in the land of Tob.] Where this land of Tob was, we reade not, but their sudden fetching Jephthah to be their Captain, shows plainly that it was a place not farre off from them.

And there were gathered vain men to Jephthah, and went out with him.] That is, they went with him out of the land of Gilead, to wit, to serve under him in other countries where he should be imployed.

Vers. 5. The Elders of Gilead went to fetch Jephthah, out of the land of Tob.] After that consultation in the Assembly at Mizpeh, whereof chap. 10. vers. 18. when and where the government was proffered to any man that would begin the fight a∣gainst the Ammonites, none being found either so fit or willing to undergo the charge, at last it seems the whole Assembly, moved with the great renown that Jeph∣thah had got with his valour in the land of Tob, resolved to send for him, and to make him their captain and head: and so he became the next Judge in Israel. At first it seems he was onely chosen to be the head of the inhabitants of Gilead, but af∣terwards it is evident he was Judge of all Israel, chap. 12.7. And Jephthah judged Is∣rael six years. The Law indeed saith that no bastard should be admitted to any place of Magistracy amongst the Israelites, as you may see in the note upon Deut. 23.2. A bastard shall not enter into the congregation of the Lord: but necessitie now forced them to do, what they do, and that not without the speciall providence of God, who might dispence with his own Law.

Vers. 8. And the Elders of Gilead said unto Jephthah, Therefore we turn again to thee now, &c.] That is, we acknowledge this thou sayest to be true, but therefore now we come to seek thy favour, and to make amends for the unkindnesse then prof∣fered thee, we desire thine aid upon no other condition, but that thou shalt be head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.

Vers. 9. If ye bring me home again to fight against the children of Ammon, and the Lord deliver them before me, shall I be your head?] That is, will you be as good as your word to make me governour of the land of Gilead? because they had formerly dealt injuriously with him, he was the more carefull now to look to the a∣greement he made with them: nor was Jephthah to be blamed for an ambitious and greedy desire to rule over them, in that he laboured thus to make sure that he might be their head; as will be evident, if we consider, first, that he might the rather desire this, lest if he should have lived afterwards amongst them in a private condition, his brethren not yet forgetting the old quarrells that had been between them, might of∣fer him some injury: and secondly, that he might be carefull to secure the govern∣ment which they tendered him, out of a desire to do good to the people; and doubt∣lesse, as he might lawfully imbrace it, when it was proffered him, as beleiving that

he was called thereby of God to it, so he might also as lawfully provide, that when he had hazarded his life for them, they should also make good their promise to him, and the publick good might be his chief aim in all this he did.

Vers. 11. And Jephthah uttered all his words before the Lord in Mizpeh.] That is, Jephthah coming to the assembly of the people and princes at Mizpeh, there, as in Gods presence he repeated all that he had before spoken unto the messengers that were sent unto him, both he and they solemnly binding themselves to perform that which they then agreed upon, and that happely by oath, mutually taken as in the presence of God.

Vers. 13. Because Israel took away my land when they came out of Egypt, &c.] A great part of that land which the Israelites took from Sihon king of the Amo∣rites; yea, and from Og king of Bashan, had been before by those kings taken from the Ammonites, especially from the Moabites, as we may see in the note upon Num. 21.26. For Heshbon was the city of Sihon king of the Ammorites, who had fought a∣gainst the former king of Moab, and taken all his land out of his hand, even to Ar∣non. Josh. 13.25. And their coast was Jazer, and all the cities of Gilead, and half the land of the children of Ammon. Deut. 3.11. For onely Og king of Bashan remained of the remnant of gyants; behold his bedstead was a bedstead of iron: is it not in Rabbath of the children of Ammon: all which the king of the Ammonites claims now as belonging to him, being also it seems king of the Moabites: whence Chemosh the idol of Moab is called his god.

Vers. 15. Israel took not away the land of Moab, nor the land of the children of Ammon.] Hereby also it seems probable that the king of the children of Ammon, did at this time also command over Moab in chief, and thereupon challenged all that land which Sihon had first taken from the Moabites, and then the Israelites from him; for why is it else that Jephthah here answers, that the Israelites meddled not ei∣ther with the land of Moab, or with the land of the children of Ammon.

Vers. 16. But when the Israelites came up from Egypt, and walked through the wildernesse unto the red sea, and came to Kadesh.] Not Kadesh-Barnea, but that Kadesh bordering upon the land of Edom, whence they sent messengers to the king of Edom to desire a passage through his land, Num. 20.14. And Moses sent mes∣sengers from Kadesh unto the King of Edom.

Vers. 17, And Israel abode in Kadesh, &c.] That is, there they stayed till they sent messengers to the king of Edom, and received an answer back from him, resol∣ving not to enter his land; yea, and when he denyed them a passage, they put them∣selves to the trouble of fetching a great compasse about his land, rather then they would be any way injurious to him, as is expressed in the following words, vers. 18. Then went they along through the wildernesse, and compassed the land of Edom, and the land of Moab, and came by the east side of the land of Moab, and pitched in the north side of Arnon, but came not within the border of Moab: all which Jeph∣thah now relates, to let them see how fairly the Israelites dealt with all the nations they passed by, and how farre they were from offering violence to any of the nations that bordered upon the land of Canaan,

Vers. 18. And pitched on the north side of Arnon, but came not within the bor∣der of Moab, &c.] Hereby they prove that the Israelites were so farre from taking

any of the land of the Moabites from them, they that came not within their border.

Vers. 20. But Sihon gathered all his people together and pitched in Jahaz, and fought against Israel.] This discovers the just cause they had to fight against the A∣morites; and the justnesse of their cause herein tends strongly to justifie their interest in that land, which through Gods assistance, in this warre they recovered from them.

Vers. 24. Wilt not thou possesse that which Chemosh thy god giveth thee to pos∣sesse? &c.] Molech or Melchom was the idol-god of the Ammonites, 1. Kings 11.7. Then did Solomon build an high place for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab in the hill that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech the abomination of the children of Ammon: and vers. 33. Because they have forsaken me, and worshipped Ashtaroth the goddesse of the Sidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites and Milcom the god of the children of Ammon: see also 2. Kings 23.13. but Chemosh was the god of the Moabites, Num: 21.29. Wo to thee Moab, thou art undone O people of Che∣mosh. Jer. 48.13. Moab shall be ashamed of Chemosh. Now in that Jephthah speaking to the king of the Ammonites, calls Chemosh his god, it seems hereby also not im∣probable that this king of the Ammonites was at present king of the Moabites; and because the Moabites (yea the children of Ammon too) had formerly taken their land from other people that had anciently inhabited it, Deut. 2.9, 10. And the Lord said unto me, Distresse not the Moabites, neither contend with them in battell; for I will not give thee of their land for a possession, because I have given Ar unto the children of Lot for a possession. The Emims dwelt therein in times past, a people great, and many, and tall as the Anakims: and vers. 19, 20. And when thou comest nigh over against the children of Ammon, distresse them not —because I have given it unto the children of Lot for a possession (that also was counted a land of gyants) gy∣ants dwelt therein in old time, and the Ammonites call them Zamzummims; and were ready enough to ascribe this to the help they had received from their god Che∣mosh; hence Jephthah wisheth the king to consider whether it were not as just that the Israelites should keep that land which the Lord their God had given them to possesse, as that the Moabites should hold that which they pretended their god Che∣mosh had conferred upon them.

Vers. 25. And now art thou any thing better then Balak the sonne of Zippor, king of Moab? did he ever strive against Israel, &c.] That is, art thou wiser or more puissant, or hast thou any better title then Balak had that was king of Moab; now if he would never strive against Israel, nor fight against them, to wit, to reco∣ver that land out of their hands, which they had taken from the Amorites, why then shouldest thou so many years after, pretend a title and think by force to carry it away? indeed Balak opposed the Israelites, for fear they would have entered his land, but neither he nor any of his posterity did ever make warre with them af∣ter they were settled in the land of the Amorites, under pretence the land was theirs; of which onely Jephthah speaks, as is evident by the words of the following verse.

Vers. 26. While Israel dwelt in Heshbon and her towns, and Aroer and her towns, and in all the cities that be along by the coasts of Arnon, three hundred years?] Here he pleads prescription: having peaceably enjoyed the land so many years, it was a silly thing in the king of the Ammonites, now to pretend a title to it. For the com∣putation of these three hundred years, it is hard to say how they must be reckoned.

They that reckon the years of the Ifraelites oppression, apart from the years of the Judges, must needs find from the Israelites conquest of this land, to this time, at least three hundred thirty six years; which discovers this computation to be erroneous; no doubt Jephthah would have made the most he could of the years they had enjoyed the land. But now reckoning onely the years of the Judges, allowing to Joshua seven∣teen years (see the note upon Josh. 24.29.) to Othniel fourty, to Ehud eighty, to Barak fourty, to Gideon fourty, to Abimelech three, to Tola three and twenty, and to Jair two and twenty, we find lesse then three hundred years, to wit, but two hundred sixty five. But to this we answer, either that Jephthah to help his cause made the most of the time, this being usuall in the Scripture, yea and in mens ordinary speech, to reckon a full round number, when the years of which they speak are not exactly so many, but near about so many; or else, that these two hundred sixty five years, wherein the Israelites had possessed it, must needs be made up three hundred by the addition of those years wherein Sihon and Og held it, after they took it from the Moabites and Ammonites, whose right the Israelites had by the law of conquest.

Vers. 27. The Lord the Judge, be Judge this day between the children of Israel, and the children of Ammon.] That is, by giving victory at this time to the inno∣cent party, may the Lord the great Judge of all the world make it manifest, whether the Israelites have unjustly detained from the Ammonites, that which belonged to them, or whether the children of Ammon do not most unjustly upon a groundlesse pretence, make warre now against the children of Israel.

Vers. 29. Then the spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah, &c.] See the note chap. 3.10.

Vers. 31. Whatsoever cometh forth of the doores of my house to meet me, &c. shall surely be the Lords, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering.] It is a great question, whether Jephthah did by this vow intend to bind himself to offer as a burnt offer∣ing, whatsoever should first come out of his house to meet him; and indeed according to the Hebrew, the words may be reade disjunctively, as it is in the margin; It shall surely be the Lords, or I will offer it up for a burnt offering; and then his meaning must needs be, that whatsoever should first meet him out of his house, should some way be consecrated to the Lord, and if it were any thing fit for Gods altar, it should be offered for a burnt offering. But I conceive that Jephthah did absolutely intend that which he vowed for a burnt offering, and that for these two reasons; first, be∣cause the first clause being generall, It shall surely be the Lords, and comprehending that which follows of offering a burnt offering, it cannot with any propriety of speech be read disjunctively, It shall surely be the Lords, or I will offer it up for a burnt offrring, no more then he could have said, I will offer a clean beast or a sheep: and secondly, because the bitter lamentation which he made, when he saw his daugh∣ter come forth to meet him, is a strong argument to prove that he apprehended him∣self bound by his vow to offer her for a burnt offering; yea, indeed I make little question but he meant what he said merely concerning a humane sacrifice, to wit, that whatsoever it were either man or woman that came first out of his house to meet him, it should be sacrificed to the Lord, as indeed the manner of speech here used doth plainly imply; for what else but a man or woman could come out of his house of purpose to meet him, by way of congratulating the great victory where∣with

God had honoured him? It is indeed strange, that an Israelite, yea a faithfull good man (for he is reckoned by S. Paul, Heb. 11.32. amongst Gods worthies that through faith did accomplish great things) should be so ignorant of Gods Law, as to think to please God with that which was so expressely there forbidden, Deut. 12.30, 31. Take heed to thy self that thou be not snared by following them, &c. for every abomination to the Lord which he hateth, have they done unto their gods: for even their sonnes, and their daughters, have they burnt in the fire to their gods. Yea be∣sides, had he been never so great a stranger to the Law of God, as being a man train∣ed up in the warre, and that too a great part of his life amongst heathens out of the land of Israel, yet the sacrificing of men and women, is a sinne so much against the light of nature, that one would think it should not come into the thought of a man that had any spark of grace in him: Well, but yet the letter of the text being so ex∣presse for this, I see not how it can be determined otherwise, but that in this vow of his he did intend a humane sacrifice; and that we may not stumble too much at the strangenesse of it, we must consider, first, that the people of Israel were for the gene∣rallity never so farre fallen away from the knowledge and worship of the true God, or so farre corrupted with the abominations of the heathens, as they were now; we see that it is said before, in the sixth verse of this chapter, that they forsook the Lord, and served not him, but were wholly gone aside after the idolatry of the hea∣then: secondly, that Jephthah had hitherto perhaps, lived in as much darknesse as the rest, and that the rather, because he had spent so much of his time out of the land of Israel, and therefore though at this time God had called him, and so the spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him, that for the present he should make such an un∣couth and unwarrantable vow in such dark times, is not at all incredible: thirdly, that there being a sort of vowes mentioned in the Law of God, wherein the persons devoted to be put to death, Levit. 27.29. None devoted which shall be devoted of men shall be redeemed; but shall surely be put to death, this Jephthah might take to be a j••st warrant for his vow, though indeed it were not: and fourthly, that Jephthah made this vow rashly, not considering the mischief that might follow upon it, being at that time transported with the fervency of his zeal for the rescuing Gods people from the oppression of the Ammonites; for to this end, that he might have the Am∣monites delivered into his hand, he sought as it were to demerit Gods favour by pro∣mising this extraordinary gift, and by binding himself solemnly to do that for God, which the heart of man would startle at.

Vers. 33. And he smote them from Aroer, even till thou come to Minnith, e∣ven twenty cities, &c.] That is, the inhabitants of twenty cities, and those in the land of the Ammonites, for they were beyond Aroer, which was the bounds be∣twixt Israel and Ammon: of Minnith there is mention made, Ezek. 27.17. Judah and the land of Israel, they were thy merchants, they traded in thy market, wheat of Minnith, and Pannag, and honey, and oil, and balm.

Vers. 35. Alas, my daughter, thou hast brought me very low, and thou art one of them that trouble me, &c.] That is, God having raised me to a high pitch of ho∣nour by this glorious victory which I have now attained over the Ammonites, thou who mightest have reaped a great share in mine honour, and thereby have added unto my joy, hast now humbled me, and deprived me of all the glory and comfort

of my victory, and hast brought more trouble upon me, then all mine enemies could have done.

Vers. 36. And she said unto him, my father, if thou hast opened thy mouth, &c.] By those words of her father mentioned in the former verse, Alas, my daughter, &c. for I have opened my mouth unto the Lord, and I cannot go back, she might con∣ceive that he had made some vow concerning her but could not know what that vow was; and therefore it is evident, that besides what is expressed in the foregoing verse, her father had also acquainted her what the vow was that he had made, and there∣upon being erroneously perswaded, that he was bound to make good his vow, she freely offers her self to undergo what he had vowed, as being ready to die, rather then he should sinne against God by breaking his vow, and desirous, by discover∣ing her willingnesse to consent thereto, to appease and mitigate his sorrow as much as in her lay.

Vers. 37. Let me alone two moneths, that I may go up and down upon the moun∣tains & bewail my virginity, &c.] She chose the mountains to do this in, because those unfrequented and solitary places were fittest for the bitter lamentations and mourn∣full expressions of their grief, wherewith she resolved with her companions in a so∣lemn manner to bewail this heavy affliction that was fallen upon her, and happely, withall, she desired by retiring to those unfrequented places, to fit and prepare her self for that death, which within a short time she was to undergo, for though she spake onely of her bewailing her virginity, yet thereby is meant that she would bewail her dying a virgin, implying how much this did aggravate her sorrow, that she should die without leaving any posterity behind her; and indeed to die childlesse, was in those times esteemed one of the greatest of earthly miseries. There are many learned Expositours that conceive that Jephthahs vow was, that whatsoever should first meet him, should be the Lords, and that if it were a creature which by the Law might be offered in a sacrifice, then he would offer it for a burnt offering; & so many of them read his vow disjunctively, as is noted before, vers. 3. It shall surely be the Lords, or I will offer it up for a burnt offering: and so they conceive that his daughter was not sacrificed, but onely shut up there in perpetuall virginity, to spend all her time in the service of God, and therefore she desires not respite to bewail her death, but to bewail her virginity. But many things make this opinion lesse probable: for first, we reade not the least touch in the Scripture, of any such separating men or women to the service of God, in a monasticall life, much lesse, that parents should have this power over their children, to vow them to virginity without their consent. Samuel, that was consecrated to God from his infancy was yet married, and had many chil∣dren: secondly, if his vow must be understood of any thing that should first meet him (whereof see vers. 31.) we may demand what if a dog or a swine had met him, yea, what if his wife or any of his married servants had met him, that could not have been devoted to perpetuall virginity; for to avoid this it cannot be reasonably answe∣red, that such might have been redeemed, for if they speak of redemtion in these cases, then we reply, why might not his daughter have been redeemed too, that being also allowed by the Law, Levit. 27.5. And if it be from five years old, even to twen∣ty years old, then thy estimation shall be of the male twenty shekels, and for the fe∣male ten shekels: and thirdly, the bitter lamentation of Jephthah, vers. 35. Alas, my

daughter thou hast brought me very low, and thou art one of them that trouble me, shews, that there was something more in his vow, then the consecrating of his daugh∣ter to perpetuall virginity.

Vers. 39. She returned unto her father, who did with her according to his vow which he had vowed.] That is, he sacrificed her, it is indeed strange, that having two moneths liberty to deliberate about it, he was not all that time, either by the priests, or some other resolved, both how unlawfull his vow was, and how lawfully he might now break it. But much must be ascribed to the ignorance, corruption, and confusion of these times.

And she knew no man.] These words are added to imply, that this did much ag∣gravate Jephthahs losse, that his daughter died childlesse.

And it was a custome in Israel, &c.] To wit, that foure dayes every year the daughters of Israel went into the mountains to bewail Jephthahs daughter, as it follows, vers. 40. at first happely they met onely that were her companions, but at last it grew to be an anniversary custome, and it may be was the rather taken up and continued, that it might be a memoriall to warn men to take heed of all such rash and unlawfull vowes.