Judges 11 · Verse 3

Judges 11:3

Then Jephthah fled from his brethren, and dwelt in the land of Tob: and there were gathered vain men to Jephthah, and went out with him.
Judges 11:3, King James Version

Judges 11:3 in other translations

BSBSo Jephthah fled from his brothers and settled in the land of Tob, where worthless men gathered around him and traveled with him.
WEBThen Jephthah fled from his brothers and lived in the land of Tob. Outlaws joined up with Jephthah, and they went out with him.
ASVThen Jephthah fled from his brethren, and dwelt in the land of Tob: and there were gathered vain fellows to Jephthah, and they went out with him.
YLTAnd Jephthah fleeth from the face of his brethren, and dwelleth in the land of Tob; and vain men gather themselves together unto Jephthah, and they go out with him.
DARBYThen Jephthah fled from his brethren, and dwelt in the land of Tob. And vain men were gathered to Jephthah, and they made expeditions with him.
BBESo Jephthah went in flight from his brothers and was living in the land of Tob, where a number of good-for-nothing men, joining Jephthah, went out with him on his undertakings.
WebsterThen Jephthah fled from his brethren, and dwelt in the land of Tob: and there were gathered vain men to Jephthah, and they went out with him.

What does Judges 11:3 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
3. Jephthah ... dwelt in the land of Tob--on the north of Gilead, beyond the frontier of the Hebrew territories (2Sa 10:6, 8). there were gathered vain men to Jephthah--idle, daring, or desperate. and went out with him--followed him as a military chief. They led a freebooting life, sustaining themselves by frequent incursions on the Ammonites and other neighboring people, in the style of Robin Hood. The same kind of life is led by many an Arab or Tartar still, who as the leader of a band, acquires fame by his stirring or gallant adventures. It is not deemed dishonorable when the expeditions are directed against those out of his own tribe or nation. Jephthah's mode of life was similar to that of David when driven from the court of Saul.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 3 There were gathered vain men to Jephthah - אנשים ריקים anashim reykim, empty men - persons destitute of good sense, and profligate in their manners. The word may, however, mean in this place poor persons, without property, and without employment. The versions in general consider them as plunderers.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Judges 11:1-11

Men ought not to be blamed for their parentage, so long as they by their personal merits roll away any reproach. God had forgiven Israel, therefore Jephthah will forgive. He speaks not with confidence of his success, knowing how justly God might suffer the Ammonites to prevail for the further punishment of Israel. Nor does he speak with any confidence at all in himself. If he succeed, it is the Lord delivers them…

Read the full comment on Judges 11:1-11 →

Judges 11:3 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וַיִּבְרַ֤חvai.yiv.Rachand he fledH1272
יִפְתָּח֙yif.TachJephthahH3316
מִפְּנֵ֣יmi.pe.Nei[away] from beforeH6440
אֶחָ֔יו'e.Chavbrothers hisH251
וַיֵּ֖שֶׁבvai.Ye.shevand he dweltH3427
בְּאֶ֣רֶץbe.'E.retzin [the] land ofH776
ט֑וֹבTovTobH2897
וַיִּֽתְלַקְּט֤וּvai.yit.la.ke.Tuand they joined themselvesH3950
אֶל\־'el-toH413
יִפְתָּח֙yif.TachJephthahH3316
אֲנָשִׁ֣ים'a.na.ShimmenH582
רֵיקִ֔יםrei.KimunprincipledH7386
וַיֵּצְא֖וּvai.ye.tze.'Uand they went outH3318
עִמּֽוֹ\׃\ \פi.Mowith himH5973

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Judges 11:3

  • Judges 9:4

    And they gave him threescore and ten pieces of silver out of the house of Baal–berith, wherewith Abimelech hired vain and light persons, which followed him.

  • 1 Samuel 22:2

    And every one that was in distress, and every one that was in debt, and every one that was discontented, gathered themselves unto him; and he became a captain over them: and there were with him about four hundred men.

  • 2 Samuel 10:8

    And the children of Ammon came out, and put the battle in array at the entering in of the gate: and the Syrians of Zoba, and of Rehob, and Ish–tob, and Maacah, were by themselves in the field.

  • Job 30:1-10

    But now they that are younger than I have me in derision, whose fathers I would have disdained to have set with the dogs of my flock. Yea, whereto might the strength of their hands profit me, in whom old age was perished? For want and famine they were solitary; fleeing into the wilderness in former time desolate and waste. Who cut up mallows by the bushes, and juniper roots for their meat. …

  • 1 Samuel 27:2

    And David arose, and he passed over with the six hundred men that were with him unto Achish, the son of Maoch, king of Gath.

  • 2 Samuel 10:6

    And when the children of Ammon saw that they stank before David, the children of Ammon sent and hired the Syrians of Beth–rehob, and the Syrians of Zoba, twenty thousand footmen, and of king Maacah a thousand men, and of Ish–tob twelve thousand men.

  • 1 Samuel 30:22-24

    Then answered all the wicked men and men of Belial, of those that went with David, and said, Because they went not with us, we will not give them ought of the spoil that we have recovered, save to every man his wife and his children, that they may lead them away, and depart. Then said David, Ye shall not do so, my brethren, with that which the Lord hath given us, who hath preserved us, and delivered the company that came against us into our hand. For who will hearken unto you in this matter? but as his part is that goeth down to the battle, so shall his part be that tarrieth by the stuff: they shall part alike.

  • Acts 17:5

    But the Jews which believed not, moved with envy, took unto them certain lewd fellows of the baser sort, and gathered a company, and set all the city on an uproar, and assaulted the house of Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
from his brethren. Heb. from the face of. Tob.Probably the same as Ish-Tob; and appears to have been a part of Syria, near Zobah, Rehob, and Maachah, east of Jordan, and in the most northern part of the portion of Manasseh. If so, it could not be far from Gilead, the country of Jephthah. This country is called Tobie or Tubin, 1 Mac 5:13; and the Jews who inhabited this district Tubieni, 2 Mac 12:17. 2 Sa 10:6.
vain men.
9:4; 1Sa 22:2; 27:2; 30:22-24; Job 30:1-10; Ac 17:5

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Judges 11:2

    And Gilead’s wife bare him sons; and his wife’s sons grew up, and they thrust out Jephthah, and said unto him, Thou shalt not inherit in our father’s house; for thou art the son of a strange woman.

  • Judges 11:3

    Then Jephthah fled from his brethren, and dwelt in the land of Tob: and there were gathered vain men to Jephthah, and went out with him.

  • Judges 11:4

    And it came to pass in process of time, that the children of Ammon made war against Israel.

Read all of Judges 11

Judges 11:3 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909
Huyendo pues Jephté á causa de sus hermanos, habitó en tierra de Tob; y juntáronse con él hombres ociosos, los cuales con él salían.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885
Et Jephthé s’enfuit de devant ses frères, et habita dans le pays de Tob; et des hommes légers se ramassèrent autour de Jephthé, et ils entraient en campagne avec lui.
German
Elberfelder 1871
Und Jephtha floh vor seinen Brüdern und wohnte im Lande Tob. Und es sammelten sich zu Jephtha lose Leute und zogen mit ihm aus.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate
Quos ille fugiens atque devitans, habitavit in terra Tob: congregatique sunt ad eum viri inopes, et latrocinantes, et quasi principem sequebantur.