Bible Strands
Judges 11:7
Jephthah replied to the elders of Gilead, “Did you not hate me and expel me from my father’s house? Why then have you come to me now, when you are in distress?”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Jephthah addresses the elders of Gilead immediately after they request him to command their army against the Ammonites. He questions their sudden appeal given their previous hostility and his expulsion from his father’s house.
The words — The Hebrew שְׂנֵאתֶם (se.ne.Tem) literally means "you hated," emphasizing the elders' past rejection. Jephthah pairs this with the rhetorical particle הֲ/לֹא (ha./Lo'), meaning "did you not," to highlight the contradiction in their current request.
The thread — This pattern of rejected leaders later vindicated appears in Joseph’s confrontation with his brothers (Genesis 45:4) and contrasts with the ideal of steadfast loyalty in Proverbs 17:17. The tension between human unfaithfulness and divine rescue also echoes the warning against false profession in Revelation 3:9.
Why it lands — The verse demands honest acknowledgment of past relational failure before accepting new responsibility. It requires readers to examine whether their current appeals to God or leaders stem from genuine need or mere convenience.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And Jephthah said unto the elders of Gilead, Did not ye hate me, and expel me out of my father’s house? and why are ye come unto me now when ye are in distress?
Cross-references
- Genesis 45:4 Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Please come near me.” And they did so. “I am Joseph, your brother,” he said, “the one you sold into Egypt!
- Proverbs 17:17 A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.
- Revelation 3:9 As for those who belong to the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews but are liars instead, I will make them come and bow down at your feet, and they will know that I love you.
- Isaiah 60:14 The sons of your oppressors will come and bow down to you; all who reviled you will fall facedown at your feet and call you the City of the LORD, Zion of the Holy One of Israel.
- Acts 7:9 Because the patriarchs were jealous of Joseph, they sold him as a slave into Egypt. But God was with him
- Genesis 26:27 “Why have you come to me?” Isaac asked them. “You hated me and sent me away.”
- Genesis 37:27 Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay a hand on him; for he is our brother, our own flesh.” And they agreed.