Judges 12

Fighting One Another

New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (Chapter 12)

1 Then the men of Ephraim were summoned, and they crossed to Zaphon and said to Jephthah, “Why did you cross over to fight against the sons of Ammon without calling us to go with you? We will burn your house down on you.”

Reference

son of Lot Gn 19:38 “As for the younger, she also bore a son, and called his name Ben-ammi; he is the father of the sons of Ammon to this day.”

Genesis 37:18-25

New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (Chapter 37)

The Plot against Joseph18 When they saw him from a distance and before he came close to them, they plotted against him to put him to death.19 They said to one another, “Here comes this dreamer!20 “Now then, come and let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits; and we will say, ‘A wild beast devoured him.’ Then let us see what will become of his dreams!”21 But Reuben heard this and rescued him out of their hands and said, “Let us not take his life.”22 Reuben further said to them, “Shed no blood. Throw him into this pit that is in the wilderness, but do not lay hands on him”—that he might rescue him out of their hands, to restore him to his father.23 So it came about, when Joseph reached his brothers, that they stripped Joseph of his tunic, the varicolored tunic that was on him;24 and they took him and threw him into the pit. Now the pit was empty, without any water in it.25 Then they sat down to eat a meal. And as they raised their eyes and looked, behold, a caravan of Ishmaelites was coming from Gilead, with their camels bearing baromatic gum and cbalm and myrrh, on their way to bring them down to Egypt.

Ishmael Genesis 16

Ishmael- God hears

New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (Chapter 16)

Chapter 16 Sarai and Hagar

1 Now Sarai, Abram’s wife had borne him no children, and she had an Egyptian maid whose name was Hagar.

2 So Sarai said to Abram, “Now behold, the LORD has prevented me from bearing children. Please go in to my maid; perhaps I will obtain children through her.” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai.

3 After Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, Abram’s wife Sarai took Hagar the Egyptian, her maid, and gave her to her husband Abram as his wife.

4 He went in to Hagar, and she conceived; and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her sight.

5 And Sarai said to Abram, “May the wrong done me be upon you. I gave my maid into your arms, but when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her sight. May the LORD judge between you and me.”

6 But Abram said to Sarai, “Behold, your maid is in your power; do to her what is good in your sight.” So Sarai treated her harshly, and she fled from her presence.

7 Now the angel of the LORD found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, by the spring on the way to Shur.

8 He said, “Hagar, Sarai’s maid, where have you come from and where are you going?” And she said, “I am fleeing from the presence of my mistress Sarai.”

9 Then the angel of the LORD said to her, “Return to your mistress, and submit yourself to her authority.”

10 Moreover, the angel of the LORD said to her, “I will greatly multiply your descendants so that they will be too many to count.”

11 The angel of the LORD said to her further,“Behold, you are with child,And you will bear a son;And you shall call his name Ishmael,Because the LORD has given heed to your affliction.

12 “He will be a wild donkey of a man,His hand will be against everyone,And everyone’s hand will be against him;And he will live bto the east of all his brothers.”

13 Then she called the name of the LORD who spoke to her, “You are a God who sees”; for she said, “Have I even remained alive here after seeing Him?”

14 Therefore the well was called Beer-lahai-roi; behold, it is between Kadesh and Bered.

15 So Hagar bore Abram a son; and Abram called the name of his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael.

16 Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to him.

Gilead

Gilead A city and a hilly territory of the Transjordan occupied by the tribes of Manasseh, Gad, and Reuben. Known for its fertility and often served as a place of refuge.

Gilead in the Bible

The region of Gilead is mentioned numerous times in the Old Testament.

• When Jacob flees from his father-in-law, Laban, he moves to the region of Gilead. In Gilead, Jacob and Laban make a covenant to keep peace between their families (Gen 31).

• Joseph is sold to a caravan of Ishmaelites traveling from Gilead (Gen 37).

• Moses counts a person and clan named “Gilead” among the descendants of Joseph through Manasseh in a census (Num 26).

• Numbers 32 recounts the agreement the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh made with Israel to give military assistance in exchange for possession of Gilead (Num 36).

• Texts in Deuteronomy and Joshua are consistent with previous texts that allot the region of Gilead to the tribes of Manasseh, Reuben, and Gad.

• The city of Ramoth in Gilead is designated a city of refuge and levitical city (Josh 20:8; 21:38).

• Encounters with the Ammonites reveal tense relationships between Gilead and Ephraim during the period of the judges (Judg 11–12).

• As a place of refuge, Gilead gives home to some of Saul’s men escaping battle (1 Sam 13), as well as Ish-bosheth (2 Sam 2) and Absalom (2 Sam 17) during their attempts to acquire the Israelite monarchy.

• As a border-region, Gilead is included as Israelite territory during much of its history, but is often in dispute and is among the first to be exiled (2 Kgs 10, 15).

• Notable biblical figures from Gilead are Jephthah, Jair, Elijah, and Barzillai.

• In poetic contexts, Gilead is noted for its healing balm (Jer 8:22; 46:11), fertility, forests, and lush pastureland (Jer 22:6; 50:19; Song 4:1; 6:5; Mic 7:14).

Christina Bosserman, “Gilead,” ed. John D. Barry et al., The Lexham Bible Dictionary (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2016).

Numbers 1:10

New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (Chapter 1)

10 of the sons of Joseph: of Ephraim, Elishama the son of Ammihud; of Manasseh, Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur;

Judges 12:2-15

New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (Chapter 12)

2 Jephthah said to them, “I and my people were at great strife with the sons of Ammon; when I called you, you did not deliver me from their hand.3 “When I saw that you would not deliver me, I atook my life in my hands and crossed over against the sons of Ammon, and the LORD gave them into my hand. Why then have you come up to me this day to fight against me?”4 Then Jephthah gathered all the men of Gilead and fought Ephraim; and the men of Gilead defeated Ephraim, because they said, “You are fugitives of Ephraim, O Gileadites, in the midst of Ephraim and in the midst of Manasseh.”5 The Gileadites captured the fords of the Jordan opposite Ephraim. And it happened when any of the fugitives of Ephraim said, “Let me cross over,” the men of Gilead would say to him, “Are you an Ephraimite?” If he said, “No,”6 then they would say to him, “Say now, ‘Shibboleth.’ ” But he said, “Sibboleth,” for he could not pronounce it correctly. Then they seized him and slew him at the fords of the Jordan. Thus there fell at that time 42,000 of Ephraim.7 Jephthah judged Israel six years. Then Jephthah the Gileadite died and was buried in one of the cities of Gilead.8 Now Ibzan of Bethlehem judged Israel after him.9 He had thirty sons, and thirty daughters whom he gave in marriage outside the family, and he brought in thirty daughters from outside for his sons. And he judged Israel seven years.10 Then Ibzan died and was buried in Bethlehem.11 Now Elon the Zebulunite judged Israel after him; and he judged Israel ten years.12 Then Elon the Zebulunite died and was buried at Aijalon in the land of Zebulun.13 Now Abdon the son of Hillel the Pirathonite judged Israel after him.14 He had forty sons and thirty grandsons who rode on seventy donkeys; and he judged Israel eight years.15 Then Abdon the son of Hillel the Pirathonite died and was buried at Pirathon in the land of Ephraim, in the hill country of the Amalekites