Judges 12:3

And when I saw that ye delivered me not, I put my life in my hands, and passed over against the children of Ammon, and the LORD delivered them into my hand: wherefore then are ye come up unto me this day, to fight against me?

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
saw	וָֽאֶרְאֶ֞ה va.'er.'Eh	H7200	to see · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 1st person common singular
delivered	מוֹשִׁ֗יע mo.Shi.a'	H3467	properly · verb, hiphil active participle, masculine singular absolute
put	וָאָשִׂ֨ימָה va.'a.Si.mah	H7760	to put (used in a great variety of applications · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 1st person common singular + paragogic he
life	נַפְשִׁ֤י naf.Shi	H5315	properly · noun, common feminine singular construct + pronominal suffix
hands	בְכַפִּי֙ ve.kha.Pi	H3709	the hollow hand or palm (so of the paw of an animal · preposition + noun, common feminine singular construct + pronominal suffix
over	וָֽאֶעְבְּרָה֙ va.'e'.be.Rah	H5674	to cross over · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 1st person common singular + paragogic he
children	בְּנֵ֣י be.Nei	H1121	a son (as a builder of the family name) · noun, common masculine plural construct
Ammon	עַמּ֔וֹן a.Mon	H5983	Ammon · proper noun, a man's name
LORD	יְהוָ֖ה Yah.weh	H3068	Jehovah · proper noun, a title
delivered	וַיִּתְּנֵ֥ם vai.yi.te.Nem	H5414	to give · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine plural
hand	בְּיָדִ֑י be.ya.Di	H3027	a hand (the open one (indicating power · preposition + noun, common both genders singular construct + pronominal suffix
up	עֲלִיתֶ֥ם 'a.li.Tem	H5927	to ascend · verb, qal perfect, 2nd person masculine plural
day	הַיּ֥וֹם hai.Yom	H3117	a day (as the warm hours) · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
fight	לְהִלָּ֥חֶם le.hi.La.chem	H3898	to feed on · preposition + verb, niphal infinitive construct

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

1 Samuel 19:5 For he did put his life in his hand, and slew the Philistine, and the LORD wrought a great salvation for all Israel: thou sawest it, and did…
1 Samuel 28:21 And the woman came unto Saul, and saw that he was sore troubled, and said unto him, Behold, thine handmaid hath obeyed thy voice, and I have…
Job 13:14 Wherefore do I take my flesh in my teeth, and put my life in mine hand?
Psalms 119:109 My soul is continually in my hand: yet do I not forget thy law.
Judges 9:17 (For my father fought for you, and adventured his life far, and delivered you out of the hand of Midian:
Judges 11:27 Wherefore I have not sinned against thee, but thou doest me wrong to war against me: the LORD the Judge be judge this day between the childr…
2 Chronicles 13:12 And, behold, God himself is with us for our captain, and his priests with sounding trumpets to cry alarm against you. O children of Israel,…
Romans 16:4 Who have for my life laid down their own necks: unto whom not only I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles.

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Judges 12:1-7

Here Is, I. The unreasonable displeasure of the men of Ephraim against Jephthah, because he had not called them in to his assistance against the Ammonites, that they might share in the triumphs and spoils, Jdg 12:1. Pride was at the bottom of the quarrel. Only by that comes contention. Proud men think all the honours lost that go beside themselves, and then who can stand before envy? The Ephraimites had the same quarrel with Gideon (Jdg 8:1), who was of Manasseh on their side Jordan, as Jephthah was of Manasseh on the other side Jordan. Ephraim and Manasseh were hearer akin than any other of the tribes, being both the sons of Joseph, and yet they were more jealous one of another than any oth…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Judges 12:3

when I saw that ye delivered me not, I put my life in my hands--A common form of speech in the East for undertaking a duty of imminent peril. This Jephthah had done, having encountered and routed the Ammonites with the aid of his Gileadite volunteers alone; and since the Lord had enabled him to conquer without requiring assistance from any other tribe, why should the Ephraimites take offense? They ought rather to have been delighted and thankful that the war had terminated without their incurring any labor and danger.

John Gill on Judges 12:3

And when I saw that ye delivered me not,.... Gave him no assistance against their common enemy, did not attempt to save him and his people out of their hands, but left them to defend themselves: I put my life in my hands; ready to deliver it up in the defence of his country; the meaning is, that he exposed himself to the utmost danger, hazarded his life in going with a few troops into an enemy's country to fight him, and so liable to lose his life; which was in as much danger, as some observe, as any brittle thing contained in the hand is in danger of falling, or of being snatched out of it: and passed over against the children of Ammon: took a long and fatiguing march over the land of Gil…

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Dictionary and topics

Shibboleth — River, or an ear of corn. The tribes living on the east of Jordan, separated from their brethren on the west by the deep ravines and the rapid river, gradually came to adopt peculiar customs, and…
Ammonites · General references — General references
Citizens · .Ephraimites — .Ephraimites
Ephraim, Tribe Of · Quarrelled with Jephthah for not seeking their aid against Ammon — Quarrelled with Jephthah for not seeking their aid against Ammon
Strife · .Jephthah and the Ephraimites — .Jephthah and the Ephraimites
Treason · .Of the Ephraimites against Jephthah — .Of the Ephraimites against Jephthah
War · Civil — Civil

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Judges 12:3

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Judges 12:1-7

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Judges 12:3

John Gill on Judges 12:3

Dictionary and topics

Judges 12:3

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Judges 12:1-7

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Judges 12:3

John Gill on Judges 12:3

Dictionary and topics

Keil & Delitzsch on Judges 12:1-3

Rashi on Judges 12:1