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

1Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a brave warrior. His mother was a prostitute, but Gilead was his father. 2Gilead’s wife also gave him sons. When his wife’s sons grew up, they made Jephthah leave and said to him, “You are not going to inherit any of our father’s wealth, because you are another woman’s son.” So Jephthah left his half-brothers and lived in the land of Tob. Lawless men joined Jephthah’s gang and traveled with him. 4It was some time after this when the Ammonites fought with Israel. 5When the Ammonites attacked, the leaders of Gilead asked Jephthah to come back 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 5:13Then the survivors came down to the mighty ones; the Lord’s people came down to me as warriors.
• 2 Samuel 10:6When the Ammonites realized that David was disgusted with them, they sent and hired 20,000 foot soldiers from Aram Beth Rehob and Aram Zobah, in addition to 1,000 men from the king of Maacah and 12,000 men from Ish-tob.
• Judges 9:4They paid him seventy silver shekels out of the temple of Baal-Berith. Abimelech then used the silver to hire some lawless, dangerous men as his followers.
• 1 Samuel 22:2All those who were in trouble or owed someone money or were discontented gathered around him, and he became their leader. He had about four hundred men with him.
• 1 Samuel 27:2So David left and crossed over to King Achish son of Maoch of Gath accompanied by his six hundred men.
• 1 Samuel 30:22But all the evil and worthless men among those who had gone with David said, “Since they didn’t go with us, we won’t give them any of the loot we retrieved! They may take only their wives and children. Let them lead them away and be gone!”
• Job 30:1“But now they mock me, those who are younger than I, whose fathers I disdained too much to put with my sheep dogs.
• Acts 17:5But the Jews became jealous, and gathering together some worthless men from the rabble in the marketplace, they formed a mob and set the city in an uproar. They attacked Jason’s house, trying to find Paul and Silas to bring them out to the assembly.

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