Judges 11:3

Judges 11:3 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)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.
• New International Version (NIV)So Jephthah fled from his brothers and settled in the land of Tob, where a gang of scoundrels gathered around him and followed him.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Then Jephthah fled from his brothers and lived in the land of Tob, and worthless fellows collected around Jephthah and went out with him.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Then Jephthah fled from his brothers and dwelt in the land of Tob; and worthless men banded together with Jephthah and went out raiding with him.

Context of Judges 11:3

1Jephthah of Gilead was a brave soldier. His father's name was Gilead, but his mother was a prostitute. 2Gilead's wife also gave birth to sons for him. When they were older, they sent Jephthah away from the family home. They said to him, ‘You will not receive any of our father's things when he dies. You are the son of a prostitute, not our mother.’ So Jephthah ran away from his brothers. He went to live in the land of Tob. Other men joined the group that Jephthah led. They did not obey any laws. 4Some time later, the Ammonite soldiers came to fight against Israel. 5When the Ammonites attacked, the leaders of Gilead went to bring Jephthah from the land of Tob.

Judges 11:3 word by word

וַיִּבְרַ֤ח יִפְתָּח֙ מִפְּנֵ֣י אֶחָ֔יו וַיֵּ֖שֶׁב בְּאֶ֣רֶץ ט֑וֹב וַיִּֽתְלַקְּט֤וּ אֶל־יִפְתָּח֙ אֲנָשִׁ֣ים רֵיקִ֔ים וַיֵּצְא֖וּ עִמּֽוֹ׃ פRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Then Jephthahיִפְתָּחyiphtâch · JephthahH3316
• fledבָּרַחbârach · to fleeH1272
• fromפָּנֶהpânîym · face: beforeH6440
• his brethrenאָח'âch · brother: male-siblingH251
• and dweltיָשַׁבyâshab · to dwellH3427
• in the landאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
• of Tobטוֹבţôb · TobH2897
• and there were gatheredלָקַטlâqaţ · to gatherH3950
• vainרֵיקrêyq rêq · worthlessH7386
• menאֱנוֹשׁ'ĕnôsh · humanH582
• and went outיָצָאyâtsâ' · to come out: comeH3318

Cross-references for Judges 11:3

• Judges 5:13The faithful men who remained returned to their leaders. The Lord's people came to me. They were ready to fight against our enemies.
• 2 Samuel 10:6The Ammonites realized that they had made David very angry. So they paid 20,000 Syrian soldiers from Beth Rehob and Zobah to come and fight for them. They also brought 1,000 soldiers from the king of Maakah and 12,000 soldiers from Tob.
• Judges 9:4So they gave him 70 pieces of silver from the temple of their god, Baal-Berith. Abimelech used this money to pay some wicked men to help him.
• 1 Samuel 22:2Everybody who had trouble went to stay with David. People who had debts and those who were angry also went to him. About 400 men went to be with David and he became their leader.
• 1 Samuel 27:2So David and his 600 men went across the border of Israel to Gath town. Maoch's son Achish was the king there.
• 1 Samuel 30:22But some of the men who had gone with David were wicked and stupid. They said, ‘These men did not come with us to attack the Amalekites. So we will not give them any of the things that we have brought back. Each man can have only his wife and his children. Then they must take them back home.’
• Job 30:1‘But now it is different. Men who are younger than I am laugh at me. I would not even trust their fathers to take care of my sheep.
• Acts 17:5Some other Jews in the city were jealous of Paul and Silas, because people believed their message. So they went to the city's market place and they found some bad men there. These men often caused trouble in the city. Now the Jews brought these men to come together with them in an angry crowd. This crowd made a lot of noise and trouble in the streets of the city. They went to Jason's house and they broke down his door. They wanted to find Paul and Silas. They wanted to bring them out of the house to the crowd.

Commentaries on Judges 11:3

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 3There were gathered vain men to Jephthah - ריקים אנשים anashim reykim, empty men - persons destitute of good sense, and profligate in their manners. The word may, however, mean in this place poor persons, without property, and without employment. The versions in general consider them as plunderers.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 3The land of Tob - To the north of Gilead, toward Damascus. The readiness with which Jephthah took to the freebooter‘s life gives us a lively picture of the unsettled times in which he lived.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 3Jephthah’s worthless men remind us of Abimelech’s worthless and reckless men (see Judges 9:4), but Jephthah did not need to buy their loyalty.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 33. Jephthah ... dwelt in the land of Tob--on the north of Gilead, beyond the frontier of the Hebrew territories (2Sa 10:6, 8). there were gathered vain men to Jephthah--idle, daring, or desperate. and went out with him--followed him as a military chief. They led a freebooting life, sustaining themselves by frequent incursions on the Ammonites and other neighboring people, in the style of Robin Hood. The same kind of life is led by many an Arab or Tartar…Read the comment

Topics related to Judges 11:3

• Jephthah
• Prayer
• Tob

In the dictionaries

• Jephthah
• Bastard
• Fight
• Inherit
• Meet
• Tob, The land of
• Abdon (1)
• Ammon; Ammonites
• Fellow
• Israel, History of

Commentaries on Judges 11

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• Darby Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary