The Meaning of Judges 11:7 Explained

Judges 11:7

KJV: And Jephthah said unto the elders of Gilead, Did not ye hate me, and expel me out of my father's house? and why are ye come unto me now when ye are in distress?

YLT: And Jephthah saith to the elders of Gilead, 'Have not ye hated me? and ye cast me out from the house of my father, and wherefore have ye come unto me now when ye are in distress?'

Darby: But Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, "Did you not hate me, and drive me out of my father's house? Why have you come to me now when you are in trouble?"

ASV: And Jephthah said unto the elders of Gilead, Did not ye hate me, and drive me out of my father's house? and why are ye come unto me now when ye are in distress?

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And Jephthah  said  unto the elders  of Gilead,  Did not ye hate  me, and expel  me out of my father's  house?  and why are ye come  unto me now when ye are in distress? 

What does Judges 11:7 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 11:7 mean?

So said Jephthah to the elders of Gilead did not you hate me and expel me from house of my father and why have you come to me now when are in distress you
וַיֹּ֤אמֶר יִפְתָּח֙ לְזִקְנֵ֣י גִלְעָ֔ד הֲלֹ֤א אַתֶּם֙ שְׂנֵאתֶ֣ם אוֹתִ֔י וַתְּגָרְשׁ֖וּנִי ؟ מִבֵּ֣ית אָבִ֑י וּמַדּ֜וּעַ בָּאתֶ֤ם אֵלַי֙ עַ֔תָּה כַּאֲשֶׁ֖ר צַ֥ר ؟ לָכֶֽם

וַיֹּ֤אמֶר  So  said 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
יִפְתָּח֙  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.
לְזִקְנֵ֣י  to  the  elders 
Parse: Preposition-l, 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’.
הֲלֹ֤א  did  not 
Parse: Adverb, Negative particle
Root: הֲלֹא 
Sense: not, no.
שְׂנֵאתֶ֣ם  hate 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, second person masculine plural
Root: שָׂנֵא  
Sense: to hate, be hateful.
אוֹתִ֔י  me 
Parse: Direct object marker, first person common singular
Root: אֹות 
Sense: sign of the definite direct object, not translated in English but generally preceding and indicating the accusative.
וַתְּגָרְשׁ֖וּנִי  and  expel  me 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Piel, Consecutive imperfect, second person masculine plural, first person common singular
Root: גָּרַשׁ 
Sense: to drive out, expel, cast out, drive away, divorce, put away, thrust away, trouble, cast up.
؟ מִבֵּ֣ית  from  house 
Parse: Preposition-m, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: בַּיִת 
Sense: house.
אָבִ֑י  of  my  father 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, first person common singular
Root: אָב  
Sense: father of an individual.
וּמַדּ֜וּעַ  and  why 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Interrogative
Root: מַדּוּעַ  
Sense: why?, on what account?, wherefore?.
בָּאתֶ֤ם  have  you  come 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, second person masculine plural
Root: בֹּוא 
Sense: to go in, enter, come, go, come in.
אֵלַי֙  to  me 
Parse: Preposition, first person common singular
Root: אֶל  
Sense: to, toward, unto (of motion).
עַ֔תָּה  now 
Parse: Adverb
Root: עַתָּה  
Sense: now.
צַ֥ר  are  in  distress 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: צַר 
Sense: narrow, tight.