Judges 10:18

Judges 10:18 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And the people and princes of Gilead said one to another, What man is he that will begin to fight against the children of Ammon? he shall be head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.
• New International Version (NIV)The leaders of the people of Gilead said to each other, “Whoever will take the lead in attacking the Ammonites will be head over all who live in Gilead.”
• English Standard Version (ESV)And the people, the leaders of Gilead, said one to another, "Who is the man who will begin to fight against the Ammonites? He shall be head over all the inhabitants of Gilead."
• New King James Version (NKJV)And the people, the leaders of Gilead, said to one another, “Who is the man who will begin the fight against the people of Ammon? He shall be head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.”

Context of Judges 10:18

16Then the Israelites put aside their foreign gods and served the Lord. And he was grieved by their misery. 17At that time the armies of Ammon had gathered for war and were camped in Gilead, and the people of Israel assembled and camped at Mizpah. The leaders of Gilead said to each other, “Whoever attacks the Ammonites first will become ruler over all the people of Gilead.”

Judges 10:18 word by word

וַיֹּאמְר֨וּ הָעָ֜ם שָׂרֵ֤י גִלְעָד֙ אִ֣ישׁ אֶל־רֵעֵ֔הוּ מִ֣י הָאִ֔ישׁ אֲשֶׁ֣ר יָחֵ֔ל לְהִלָּחֵ֖ם בִּבְנֵ֣י עַמּ֑וֹן יִֽהְיֶ֣ה לְרֹ֔אשׁ לְכֹ֖ל יֹשְׁבֵ֥י גִלְעָֽד׃ פRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And the peopleעַם‛am · peopleH5971
• princesשַׂרώar · rulerH8269
• of Gileadגִּלְעָדgil‛âd · GileadH1568
• saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• oneאִישׁ'îysh · man: anyoneH376
• to anotherרֵעַrêa‛ rêya‛ · neighborH7453
• What manאִישׁ'îysh · manH376
• that will beginחָלַלchâlal · to profane/begin: beginH2490
• to fightלָחַםlâcham · to fightH3898
• against the childrenבֵּןbên · son: descendant/peopleH1121
• of Ammonעַמּוֹן‛ammôn · AmmonH5983
• he shall be headרֹאשׁrô'sh · head: leaderH7218
• over all the inhabitantsיָשַׁבyâshab · to dwellH3427

Cross-references for Judges 10:18

• Judges 1:1After the death of Joshua, the Israelites asked the Lord, “Which tribe should go first to attack the Canaanites?”
• Judges 11:5When the Ammonites attacked, the elders of Gilead sent for Jephthah in the land of Tob.
• Isaiah 3:1The Lord, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, will take away from Jerusalem and Judah everything they depend on: every bit of bread and every drop of water,
• Isaiah 34:12It will be called the Land of Nothing, and all its nobles will soon be gone.
• Judges 11:11So Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him their ruler and commander of the army. At Mizpah, in the presence of the Lord, Jephthah repeated what he had said to the elders.
• Judges 12:7Jephthah judged Israel for six years. When he died, he was buried in one of the towns of Gilead.
• 1 Samuel 17:25“Have you seen the giant?” the men asked. “He comes out each day to defy Israel. The king has offered a huge reward to anyone who kills him. He will give that man one of his daughters for a wife, and the man’s entire family will be exempted from paying taxes!”

Commentaries on Judges 10:18

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 18What man is he that will begin to fight - It appears that, although the spirit of patriotism had excited the people at large to come forward against their enemies, yet they had no general, none to lead them forth to battle. God, however, who had accepted their sincere repentance, raised them up an able captain in the person of Jephthah; and in him the suffrages of the people were concentrated, as we shall see in the following chapter. In those ancient…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 18And the people and princes … - The inhabitants of Gilead appear as a separate and independent community, electing their own chief, without any reference to the West-Jordanic tribes.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 10-18Verses 10-18 God is able to multiply men's punishments according to the numbers of their sins and idols. But there is hope when sinners cry to the Lord for help, and lament their ungodliness as well as their more open transgressions. It is necessary, in true repentance, that there be a full conviction that those things cannot help us which we have set in competition with God. They acknowledged what they deserved, yet prayed to God not to deal with them…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 18The leaders of Gilead, desperate for guidance, did not ask the Lord (compare Judges 1:1; 20:18). They decided that whoever volunteered to lead would become the ruler of Gilead.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 17-1817-18. the children of Ammon were gathered together--From carrying on guerrilla warfare, the Ammonites proceeded to a continued campaign. Their settled aim was to wrest the whole of the trans-jordanic territory from its actual occupiers. In this great crisis, a general meeting of the Israelitish tribes was held at Mizpeh. This Mizpeh was in eastern Manasseh (Jos 11:3).Read the comment

Topics related to Judges 10:18

• Ammonites
• Israel
• Prayer

In the dictionaries

• Ammon
• Gilead
• Defend
• Governor
• Abdon (1)
• Israel, History of
• Jephthah
• Judges, Book of
• Mizpah

Commentaries on Judges 10

• 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
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings