The Meaning of Judges 12:2 Explained

Judges 12:2

KJV: And Jephthah said unto them, I and my people were at great strife with the children of Ammon; and when I called you, ye delivered me not out of their hands.

YLT: And Jephthah saith unto them, 'A man of great strife I have been (I and my people) with the Bene-Ammon, and I call you, and ye have not saved me out of their hand,

Darby: And Jephthah said to them, "I and my people had a great feud with the Ammonites; and when I called you, you did not deliver me from their hand.

ASV: And Jephthah said unto them, I and my people were at great strife with the children of Ammon; and when I called you, ye saved me not out of their hand.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And Jephthah  said  unto them, I and my people  were  at great  strife  with the children  of Ammon;  and when I called  you, ye delivered  me not out of their hands. 

What does Judges 12:2 Mean?

Context Summary

Judges 12:1-15 - At The Fords Of Ephraim
In this second war, Jephthah showed the same conciliatory spirit as he had showed to Ammon. He parleyed sensibly and courteously before he went into the conflict. A great many Christians are less Christian than this. They ignore Christ's strict injunction, Matthew 18:15. Ephraim had acted in the same manner to Gideon, Judges 8:1. In each case that tribe wanted to retain its primacy without the sacrifice which leadership involves; and it was angry when deliverance had arisen from another source. Leadership must be won, not inherited. Ephraim, therefore, was clearly in the wrong; and when her troops, which had crossed the Jordan into Gilead, were hurled back, the slaughter at the ford fell as a national judgment. The omission of a letter in their speech betrayed them. Alas, that Christians have martyred their fellows for even less!
Jephthah died soon after. Probably he died, not of age nor the brunt of war, but of a broken heart. The sweet voice of his child was always calling him. But the Spirit of God wrote on his memorial tablet-"By faith Jephthah." [source]

Chapter Summary: Judges 12

1  The Ephraimites, quarrelling with Jephthah, are slain by the Gileadites
7  Jephthah dies
8  Ibzan, who had thirty sons, and thirty daughters
11  and Elon
13  and Abdon, who had forty sons, and thirty nephews, judge Israel

What do the individual words in Judges 12:2 mean?

And said Jephthah to them a man in a great struggle were I and My people and with the sons of Ammon exceedingly and when I called you and not you did deliver me out of their hands
וַיֹּ֤אמֶר יִפְתָּח֙ אֲלֵיהֶ֔ם אִ֣ישׁ רִ֗יב הָיִ֛יתִי אֲנִ֛י וְעַמִּ֥י וּבְנֵֽי־ עַמּ֖וֹן מְאֹ֑ד וָאֶזְעַ֣ק אֶתְכֶ֔ם וְלֹֽא־ הוֹשַׁעְתֶּ֥ם אוֹתִ֖י מִיָּדָֽם

וַיֹּ֤אמֶר  And  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.
אֲלֵיהֶ֔ם  to  them 
Parse: Preposition, third person masculine plural
Root: אֶל  
Sense: to, toward, unto (of motion).
אִ֣ישׁ  a  man 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: אִישׁ 
Sense: man.
רִ֗יב  in  a  great  struggle 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: רִיב 
Sense: strife, controversy, dispute.
וְעַמִּ֥י  and  My  people 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular construct, first person common singular
Root: עַם 
Sense: nation, people.
וּבְנֵֽי־  and  with  the  sons 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, 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.
מְאֹ֑ד  exceedingly 
Parse: Adverb
Root: מְאֹד  
Sense: exceedingly, much subst.
וָאֶזְעַ֣ק  and  when  I  called 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, first person common singular
Root: זָעַק  
Sense: to cry, cry out, call, call for help.
וְלֹֽא־  and  not 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Adverb, Negative particle
Root: הֲלֹא 
Sense: not, no.
הוֹשַׁעְתֶּ֥ם  you  did  deliver 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Perfect, second person masculine plural
Root: יָשַׁע 
Sense: to save, be saved, be delivered.
אוֹתִ֖י  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.
מִיָּדָֽם  out  of  their  hands 
Parse: Preposition-m, Noun, feminine singular construct, third person masculine plural
Root: יָד  
Sense: hand.

What are the major concepts related to Judges 12:2?

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