The Meaning of Judges 11:5 Explained

Judges 11:5

KJV: And it was so, that when the children of Ammon made war against Israel, the elders of Gilead went to fetch Jephthah out of the land of Tob:

YLT: and it cometh to pass, when the Bene-Ammon have fought with Israel, that the elders of Gilead go to take Jephthah from the land of Tob;

Darby: And when the Ammonites made war against Israel, the elders of Gilead went to bring Jephthah from the land of Tob;

ASV: And it was so, that, when the children of Ammon made war against Israel, the elders of Gilead went to fetch Jephthah out of the land of Tob;

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And it was so, that when the children  of Ammon  made war  against Israel,  the elders  of Gilead  went  to fetch  Jephthah  out of the land  of Tob: 

What does Judges 11:5 Mean?

Context Summary

Judges 11:1-11 - Turning To A Rejected Leader
The life of Jephthah is a great consolation to those whose birth has been irregular. The sin of his parents was not allowed permanently to injure his career. He is also distinctly mentioned in Hebrews 11:1-40 as one of the heroes of faith. See Ezekiel 18:14-17.
Driven from his home, Jephthah took to the life of a bandit-chieftain, probably in much the same fashion as David in after-years when he protected, for payment, the cattle of the Hebrew grazers from Ammonite forays. See 1 Samuel 25:15. Jephthah's wife apparently had died; but his sweet and noble daughter grew up amid that wild horde, and they were all in all to each other. As David influenced a similar band, so did this father and child lift the tone and morale of their followers, until the story of it filled the land and brought the, elders, who years before had sided with Jephthah's brethren, to entreat him to lead the fight for freedom. What a beautiful suggestion of our Lord! He came to His own and they crucified Him. He comes to us and we at first refuse Him. But His love never faileth. Being reviled, He blesses; being persecuted, He endures; being defamed, He entreats, 1 Corinthians 4:12. [source]

Chapter Summary: Judges 11

1  The covenant between Jephthah and the Gileadites, that he should lead
12  The treaty of peace between him and the Ammonites is in vain
29  Jephthah's vow
32  His conquest of the Ammonites
34  He performs his vow on his daughter

What do the individual words in Judges 11:5 mean?

And so it was when made war the sons of Ammon against Israel that went the elders of Gilead to get - Jephthah from the land of Tob
וַיְהִ֕י כַּאֲשֶׁר־ נִלְחֲמ֥וּ בְנֵֽי־ עַמּ֖וֹן עִם־ יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל וַיֵּֽלְכוּ֙ זִקְנֵ֣י גִלְעָ֔ד לָקַ֥חַת אֶת־ יִפְתָּ֖ח מֵאֶ֥רֶץ טֽוֹב

וַיְהִ֕י  And  so  it  was 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אֶהְיֶה 
Sense: to be, become, come to pass, exist, happen, fall out.
נִלְחֲמ֥וּ  made  war 
Parse: Verb, Nifal, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: לָחַם 
Sense: to fight, do battle, make war.
בְנֵֽי־  the  sons 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: בֵּן 
Sense: son, grandson, child, member of a group.
עַמּ֖וֹן  of  Ammon 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: עַמֹּון  
Sense: a people dwelling in Transjordan descended from Lot through Ben-ammi.
עִם־  against 
Parse: Preposition
Root: עִם  
Sense: with.
יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל  Israel 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יִשְׂרָאֵל  
Sense: the second name for Jacob given to him by God after his wrestling with the angel at Peniel.
וַיֵּֽלְכוּ֙  that  went 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: הָלַךְ  
Sense: to go, walk, come.
זִקְנֵ֣י  the  elders 
Parse: Adjective, masculine plural construct
Root: זָקֵן  
Sense: old.
גִלְעָ֔ד  of  Gilead 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: גִּלְעָד  
Sense: a mountainous region bounded on the west by the Jordan, on the north by Bashan, on the east by the Arabian plateau, and on the south by Moab and Ammon; sometimes called ‘Mount Gilead’ or the ‘land of Gilead’ or just ‘Gilead’.
לָקַ֥חַת  to  get 
Parse: Preposition-l, Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct
Root: יָקַח 
Sense: to take, get, fetch, lay hold of, seize, receive, acquire, buy, bring, marry, take a wife, snatch, take away.
אֶת־  - 
Parse: Direct object marker
Root: אֹות 
Sense: sign of the definite direct object, not translated in English but generally preceding and indicating the accusative.
יִפְתָּ֖ח  Jephthah 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יִפְתָּח 
Sense: a son of Gilead and a concubine and the judge who defeated the Ammonites; after the victory because of a vow taken before the battle he sacrificed his daughter as a burnt offering.
מֵאֶ֥רֶץ  from  the  land 
Parse: Preposition-m, Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: אֶרֶץ  
Sense: land, earth.
טֽוֹב  of  Tob 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: טֹוב 
Sense: a region east of the Jordan, north or northeast of Gilead, probably Aramean, location uncertain.