Judges 12:3

Jdg 12:3 And when I saw that ye delivered [me] not, I put my life in my hands, and passed over against the children of Ammon, and the LORD delivered them into my hand: wherefore then are ye come up unto me this day, to fight against me?

Ver. 3. I put my life in my hands.] I hazarded it to loss, and set as light by it as a boy doth by a bird, which he holdeth loose in his open hand. See Jdg 9:17. The Hebrew here hath it, I put my life in my palm.

Wherefore then are ye come up against me this day?] Are ye weary of receiving so many benefits by one man? as Themistocles asked his ungrateful countrymen. But this is the world’s wages; and those that have best deserved of the publics must look for no better, but only from God.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

That is, I ventured my life, and when man’s help failed, I put my trust only in God.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

when I saw that ye delivered me not, I put my life in my hands--A common form of speech in the East for undertaking a duty of imminent peril. This Jephthah had done, having encountered and routed the Ammonites with the aid of his Gileadite volunteers alone; and since the Lord had enabled him to conquer without requiring assistance from any other tribe, why should the Ephraimites take offense? They ought rather to have been delighted and thankful that the war had terminated without their incurring any labor and danger.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 3. I put my life in my hands] I exposed myself to the greatest difficulties and dangers. But whence did this form of speech arise? Probably from a man's laying hold of his sword, spear, or bow. "This is the defender of my life; on this, and my proper use of it, my life depends." When a man draws his sword against his foe, his enemy will naturally aim at his life; and his sword in his hand is his sole defense. It is then, Fight and conquer, or die. Thus Jephthah took his life in his hand. This phrase occurs in some other places of Scripture; see 1Sa 19:5; 1Sa 28:21. And the words of the Conqueror, Isa 63:5, seem to confirm the above view of the subject: I looked, and there was none to help; and I wondered there was none to uphold; therefore mine own arm brought salvation unto me; i.e., by mine own arm I saved my life, and brought destruction on mine enemies.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(3) I put my life in my hands.—Rather, in the hollow of my hand (caph). (See for the phrase, Psa_119:109; Job_13:14; 1Sa_20:5; 1Sa_28:21.) It expresses extreme peril.

The Lord delivered them into my hand.—Here the word for “hand” is yad. Here, as he had done in arguing with the king of the Ammonites (Jdg_11:21-24), Jephthah appeals to the decision of Jehovah, as proving that he had done rightly.

Wherefore then are ye come up . . . ?—For the phrase “come up” see Jdg_1:1-16. Jephthah’s answer is as moderate as Gideon’s (Jdg_8:2-3), though it does not display the same happy tact, and refers to topics which could not but be irritating. Whether it was made in a conciliatory spirit or not, we cannot tell. Certainly if Ephraim persisted in aggressive violence after these explanations, they placed themselves so flagrantly in the wrong that civil war became inevitable.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

3. that thou wast not going to save me] Or omit thou, and render that there was none to save, LXX. cod. A, Luc. Cf. Isa_63:5.

I put my life in my hand] Cf. 1Sa_19:5; 1Sa_28:21, Job_13:14, Psa_119:109.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And when I saw that ye delivered me not,.... Gave him no assistance against their common enemy, did not attempt to save him and his people out of their hands, but left them to defend themselves:

I put my life in my hands; ready to deliver it up in the defence of his country; the meaning is, that he exposed himself to the utmost danger, hazarded his life in going with a few troops into an enemy's country to fight him, and so liable to lose his life; which was in as much danger, as some observe, as any brittle thing contained in the hand is in danger of falling, or of being snatched out of it:

and passed over against the children of Ammon: took a long and fatiguing march over the land of Gilead into that of the children of Ammon, to fight with them:

and the Lord delivered them into my hand; gave him victory over them, which showed that his cause was just, and his call to engage in it clear:

wherefore then are ye come up unto me this day to fight against me? who rather should have come with thanks to him for the service he had done, not only for the Gileadites, but for all Israel; for had he not fought against the children of Ammon, and conquered them, they would have soon not only overrun and oppressed Gilead, but would have come over Jordan, and dispossessed the other tribes, and particularly Ephraim, as they had done already, Jdg 10:9 so that it was base ingratitude in these people to come to fight against Jephthah, who had fought for them, and wrought salvation for them.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

I put my life in my hands - Compare 1Sa 19:5; 1Sa 28:21. The phrase expresses the utmost possible risk, knowingly incurred.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Hands exposed to all sorts of danger. I resolved to defend myself to the utmost, 1 Kings xix. 6., and Ecclesiastes x. 2. (Calmet)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

I put my life in my hands, i.e. I exposed myself to utmost danger; as a man that carries a brittle and precious thing in his hand, which may easily either fall to the ground, or be snatched from him. The same phrase is used 1Sa 19:5; 28:21; Job 13:14; Psa 119:109.

Wherefore then are ye come up unto me? why do you thus requite my kindness in running into such hazard to preserve you and yours?

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Put my life - That is, I exposed myself to the utmost danger; as a man that carries a brittle and precious thing in his hand, which may easily either fall to the ground, or be snatched from him. Wherefore - Why do you thus requite my kindness in running such hazards to preserve you and yours?

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

you did not rescue me

The word "you" is plural and refers to the men of Ephraim. Jephthah is referring to the people of Gilead, including himself, when he says "me." AT: "you did not rescue us" (See: Forms of You and Synecdoche)

I put my life in my own hand

This is an idiom which means to risk one's life and to rely only on one's own strength. Jephthah continues to refer to the people of Gilead as himself. AT: "We risked our lives, relying on our own strength" (See: Idiom and Synecdoche)

Yahweh gave me victory

Jephthah is referring to Yahweh giving the men of Gilead victory over the Ammonites. The full meaning of this statement can be made clear. AT: "Yahweh gave us victory over them" or "Yahweh allowed us to defeat them in battle" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)

he fought against Ephraim

The word "he" refers to Jephthah and all the fighting men of Gilead. AT: "they fought against Ephraim" (See: Synecdoche)

Why have you come to fight against me

The word "you" is plural and refers to the men of Ephraim. Jephthah is referring to the people of Gilead, including himself, when he says "me." AT: "Why have you come to fight against us" (See: Forms of You and Synecdoche)

You Gileadites are fugitives

You can make the meaning of this insult explicit. AT: "You Gileadites do not really belong here. You are just people who came here to live" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)

passed through against the people of Ammon

This means that they fought against the Ammonites as they passed through Ammon. The full meaning of this statement can be made clear. AT: "fought against the people of Ammon as we passed through their region" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)

Gileadites

people from Gilead

in Ephraim—in Ephraim and Manasseh

"in the regions of Ephraim and Manasseh" or "in the land of Ephraim and Manasseh." Here "Ephraim" and "Manasseh" refer to regions and are named after the tribes which live there.

translationWords

life

strength

Yahweh

Gilead

Manasseh

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.