Judges 11:34

Judges 11:34 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)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.
• New International Version (NIV)When Jephthah returned to his home in Mizpah, who should come out to meet him but his daughter, dancing to the sound of timbrels! She was an only child. Except for her he had neither son nor daughter.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Then Jephthah came to his home at Mizpah. And behold, his daughter came out to meet him with tambourines and with dances. She was his only child; besides her he had neither son nor daughter.
• New King James Version (NKJV)When Jephthah came to his house at Mizpah, there was his daughter, coming out to meet him with timbrels and dancing; and she was his only child. Besides her he had neither son nor daughter.

Context of Judges 11:34

32Then Jephthah went to attack the Ammonites. The Lord put them under his power. 33Jephthah destroyed them all the way from Aroer to Minnith. He took 20 Ammonite cities, as far as Abel Karamim. He completely destroyed them! So the Israelites had complete power over the Ammonites. After that, Jephthah returned to his home in Mizpah. As he arrived, his daughter came out to meet him. She was dancing and making music with a tambourine. She was Jephthah's only child. He had no other son or daughter. 35When Jephthah saw her, he was so upset that he tore his clothes. He said, ‘Oh no! My daughter! You have made me very sad. I made a serious promise to the Lord and I must do what I promised.’ 36She said to her father, ‘You have made a promise to the Lord. You must do to me what you told him you would do. The Lord gave you the power to punish your enemies, the Ammonites. So you must do what you promised him.

Judges 11:34 word by word

וַיָּבֹ֨א יִפְתָּ֣ח הַמִּצְפָּה֮ אֶל־בֵּיתוֹ֒ וְהִנֵּ֤ה בִתּוֹ֙ יֹצֵ֣את לִקְרָאת֔וֹ בְתֻפִּ֖ים וּבִמְחֹל֑וֹת וְרַק֙ הִ֣יא יְחִידָ֔ה אֵֽין־ל֥וֹ מִמֶּ֛נּוּ בֵּ֖ן אוֹ־בַֽת׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And Jephthahיִפְתָּחyiphtâch · JephthahH3316
• cameבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
• to Mizpehמִצְפָּהmitspâh · MizpahH4709
• unto his houseבַּ֫יִתbayith · house: homeH1004
• and, behold, his daughterבַּתbath · daughterH1323
• came outיָצָאyâtsâ' · to come out: comeH3318
• to meetקִרְאָהqir'âh · befallH7125
• him with timbrelsתֹּףtôph · tambourineH8596
• and with dancesמְחוֹלָהmechôlâh · danceH4246
• only childיָחִידyâchîyd · onlyH3173
• beside her he had neither sonבֵּןbên · son: childH1121
• norאוֹ'ô 'av · orH176

Cross-references for Judges 11:34

• Judges 11:11So Jephthah went back with them to Gilead. The people made him their ruler and leader of their army. In Mizpah, Jephthah repeated his promise to the Lord.
• Judges 10:17The Ammonite army came to Gilead and they made their camp there. The Israelite army also came and they made their camp in Mizpah.
• Judges 5:1On that day Deborah sang this song, with Abinoam's son Barak:
• Exodus 15:20Then Miriam, Aaron's sister, who was a prophet, took a tambourine in her hand. All the other women followed her, with tambourines in their hands. They danced while Miriam sang to them.
• 1 Samuel 18:6After David had killed the Philistine, Goliath, he and the soldiers returned to their homes. Women came out from all the towns in Israel to meet King Saul. The women were happy as they sang songs and they danced. They made music with tambourines and lyres.
• Psalms 68:25The singers will march in front. The musicians will follow them. Young women will be with them as they beat their tambourines.
• Psalms 148:11Praise him, kings all over the world, and people of every nation. Praise him, princes and all rulers on earth.
• Psalms 150:4Dance and hit drums to praise him! Make music with harps and flutes to praise him!
• Jeremiah 31:4My special people of Israel, I will make you strong again. You will be so happy that you dance, as people make music with tambourines.
• Zechariah 12:10I will cause the family of David and the people in Jerusalem to think seriously about me. Then they will know that I am kind to them. And they will want to pray to me. They will look at me whom they pierced (made holes in). They will weep about him as those that weep after the death of their only son. They will cry aloud as if their only son was dead.
• Luke 7:12When he had almost reached the gate of the town, lots of people were coming out. They were carrying a dead man on a wooden board. They were taking him to bury him. His mother had no other sons and her husband was also dead. A large crowd of people from the town was going with her.
• Luke 8:42I have one daughter. She is 12 years old and she is very ill. She will die very soon.’ So Jesus went along. A crowd of people went with him. They were pushing against him.
• Luke 9:38A man from the crowd shouted to him. ‘Teacher, please, I ask you to help my son. He is my only child.

Commentaries on Judges 11:34

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 34With timbrels and with dances - From this instance we find it was an ancient custom for women to go out to meet returning conquerors with musical instruments, songs, and dances; and that it was continued afterwards is evident from the instance given 1 Samuel 18:6, where David was met, on his return from the defeat of Goliath and the Philistines, by women from all the cities of Israel, with singing and dancing, and various instruments of music.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 34His daughter came out to meet him - The precise phrase of his vow Judges 11:31. She was his “only child,” a term of special endearment (see Jeremiah 6:26; Zechariah 12:10). The same word is used of Isaac Genesis 22:2, Genesis 22:12, Genesis 22:16.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 29-40Verses 29-40 Several important lessons are to be learned from Jephthah's vow. 1. There may be remainders of distrust and doubting, even in the hearts of true and great believers. 2. Our vows to God should not be as a purchase of the favour we desire, but to express gratitude to him. 3. We need to be very well-advised in making vows, lest we entangle ourselves. 4. What we have solemnly vowed to God, we must perform, if it be possible and lawful, though it…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 34-4034-40. Jephthah came to Mizpeh unto his house, and, behold, his daughter came out to meet him with timbrels and with dances--The return of the victors was hailed, as usual, by the joyous acclaim of a female band (1Sa 18:6), the leader of whom was Jephthah's daughter. The vow was full in his mind, and it is evident that it had not been communicated to anyone, otherwise precautions would doubtless have been taken to place another object at his door. The…Read the comment

Topics related to Judges 11:34

• Consecration
• Dancing
• Jephthah
• Joy
• Music
• Rashness
• Timbrel
• Vows
• Women
• Zeal, Religious

In the dictionaries

• Jephthah
• Dance
• Fight
• Inherit
• Meet
• Mizpah
• Timbrel
• Abdon (1)
• Father
• Gad (1)

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