The Meaning of Judges 11:6 Explained

Judges 11:6

KJV: And they said unto Jephthah, Come, and be our captain, that we may fight with the children of Ammon.

YLT: and they say unto Jephthah, 'Come, and thou hast been to us for captain, and we fight against the Bene-Ammon.'

Darby: and they said to Jephthah, "Come and be our leader, that we may fight with the Ammonites."

ASV: and they said unto Jephthah, Come and be our chief, that we may fight with the children of Ammon.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And they said  unto Jephthah,  Come,  and be our captain,  that we may fight  with the children  of Ammon. 

What does Judges 11:6 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 11:6 mean?

and they said to Jephthah come and be our commander that we may fight against the sons of Ammon
וַיֹּאמְר֣וּ לְיִפְתָּ֔ח לְכָ֕ה וְהָיִ֥יתָה לָּ֖נוּ לְקָצִ֑ין וְנִֽלָּחֲמָ֖ה בִּבְנֵ֥י עַמּֽוֹן

וַיֹּאמְר֣וּ  and  they  said 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
לְיִפְתָּ֔ח  to  Jephthah 
Parse: Preposition-l, 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.
לְכָ֕ה  come 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperative, masculine singular, third person feminine singular
Root: הָלַךְ  
Sense: to go, walk, come.
וְהָיִ֥יתָה  and  be 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, second person masculine singular
Root: אֶהְיֶה 
Sense: to be, become, come to pass, exist, happen, fall out.
לָּ֖נוּ  our 
Parse: Preposition, first person common plural
לְקָצִ֑ין  commander 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, masculine singular
Root: קָצִין  
Sense: chief, ruler, commander.
וְנִֽלָּחֲמָ֖ה  that  we  may  fight 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Nifal, Conjunctive imperfect Cohortative, first person common plural
Root: לָחַם 
Sense: to fight, do battle, make war.
בִּבְנֵ֥י  against  the  sons 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: בֵּן 
Sense: son, grandson, child, member of a group.
עַמּֽוֹן  of  Ammon 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: עַמֹּון  
Sense: a people dwelling in Transjordan descended from Lot through Ben-ammi.

What are the major concepts related to Judges 11:6?

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