12:1 The Ephraimites assembled 5 and crossed over to Zaphon. They said to Jephthah, “Why did you go and fight 6 with the Ammonites without asking 7 us to go with you? We will burn your house down right over you!” 8
1 tn Heb “Did you not hate me and make me leave?”
2 tn Heb “the one coming out, who comes out from.” The text uses a masculine singular participle with prefixed article, followed by a relative pronoun and third masculine singular verb. The substantival masculine singular participle הַיּוֹצֵא (hayyotse’, “the one coming out”) is used elsewhere of inanimate objects (such as a desert [Num 21:13] or a word [Num 32:24]) or persons (Jer 5:6; 21:9; 38:2). In each case context must determine the referent. Jephthah may have envisioned an animal meeting him, since the construction of Iron Age houses would allow for an animal coming through the doors of a house (see R. G. Boling, Judges [AB], 208). But the fact that he actually does offer up his daughter indicates the language of the vow is fluid enough to encompass human beings, including women. He probably intended such an offering from the very beginning, but he obviously did not expect his daughter to meet him first.
3 tn The language is fluid enough to include women and perhaps even animals, but the translation uses the masculine pronoun because the Hebrew form is grammatically masculine.
4 tn Some translate “or,” suggesting that Jephthah makes a distinction between humans and animals. According to this view, if a human comes through the door, then Jephthah will commit him/her to the
5 tn Heb “the men of Ephraim were summoned [or “were mustered”].”
6 tn Heb “cross over to fight.”
7 tn Or “calling”; or “summoning.”
8 tn Heb “Your house we will burn over you with fire.”
9 tn Heb “his mother.” The pronoun (“she”) has been substituted for the noun (“mother”) in the translation because of English style.
10 tn The Hebrew text has “and gave it.” The referent (the pieces of silver) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
11 tn Heb “and it was in Micah’s house.”
12 tn Heb “He came to the Ephraimite hill country, to Micah’s house, making his way.”
13 tn Or “When they were near.”
14 tn Heb “voice.” This probably means that “his speech was Judahite [i.e., southern] like their own, not Israelite [i.e., northern]” (R. G. Boling, Judges [AB], 263).
15 tn Heb “turned aside.”
16 tn Heb “What [is there] to you here?”
17 tn Heb “These went into Micah’s house and took.”
18 tn Heb “arose against me and surrounded against me the house at night.”