Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a valiant warrior, but he was the son of a prostitute. And Gilead had fathered Jephthah.
Parallel translations
- WEB Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valor, and he was the son of a prostitute. Gilead became the father of Jephthah.
- KJV Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valour, and he was the son of an harlot: and Gilead begat Jephthah.
- BSB Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valor; he was the son of a prostitute, and Gilead was his father.
- NKJV Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valor, but he was the son of a harlot; and Gilead begot Jephthah.
- NLT Now Jephthah of Gilead was a great warrior. He was the son of Gilead, but his mother was a prostitute.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Jephthah, a mighty warrior and son of a prostitute, is introduced. God's chosen deliverer comes from an unlikely and despised background.
Overview
Jephthah is presented as a valiant man yet marked by the shame of his birth to a prostitute. His mixed reputation sets up the rejection and rise that follow. That God would raise a deliverer from such humble and scorned origins displays his pattern of using the lowly, anticipating the One despised and rejected who became Israel's true Savior.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 3
- Heb 11:32What more shall I say? For the time would fail me if I told of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets;
- 2 Kgs 5:1Now Naaman, captain of the army of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master, and honorable, because by him Yahweh had given victory to Syria: he was also a mighty man of valor, but he was a leper.
- Judg 6:12Yahweh’s angel appeared to him, and said to him, “Yahweh is with you, you mighty man of valor!”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Israel's cycle of sin and rescue through flawed deliverers cries out for a Savior who never fails — the true and final Judge and Deliverer who saves his people not for a season but forever.
How Judges 11:1 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.