Judges 10:18

King James Version (KJV)

And the people and princes of Gilead said one to another, What man is he that will begin to fight against the children of Ammon? he shall be head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.

Adam Clarke
Bible Commentary

What man is he that will begin to fight - It appears that, although the spirit of patriotism had excited the people at large to come forward against their enemies, yet they had no general, none to lead them forth to battle. God, however, who had accepted their sincere repentance, raised them up an able captain in the person of Jephthah; and in him the suffrages of the people were concentrated, as we shall see in the following chapter. In those ancient times much depended on the onset; a war was generally terminated in one battle, the first impression was therefore of great consequence, and it required a person skillful, valorous, and strong, to head the attack. Jephthah was a person in whom all these qualifications appear to have met. When God purposes to deliver, he, in the course of his providence, will find out, employ, and direct the proper means.

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Albert Barnes
Notes on the Whole Bible

And the people and princes … - The inhabitants of Gilead appear as a separate and independent community, electing their own chief, without any reference to the West-Jordanic tribes.

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Matthew Henry
Concise Bible Commentary

God is able to multiply men's punishments according to the numbers of their sins and idols. But there is hope when sinners cry to the Lord for help, and lament their ungodliness as well as their more open transgressions. It is necessary, in true repentance, that there be a full conviction that those things cannot help us which we have set in competition with God. They acknowledged what they deserved, yet prayed to God not to deal with them according to their deserts. We must submit to God's justice, with a hope in his mercy. True repentance is not only for sin, but from sin. As the disobedience and misery of a child are a grief to a tender father, so the provocations of God's people are a grief to him. From him mercy never can be sought in vain. Let then the trembling sinner, and the almost despairing backslider, cease from debating about God's secret purposes, or from expecting to find hope from former experiences. Let them cast themselves on the mercy of God our Saviour, humble themselves under his hand, seek deliverance from the powers of darkness, separate themselves from sin, and from occasions of it, use the means of grace diligently, and wait the Lord's time, and so they shall certainly rejoice in his mercy.

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SDA Bible Commentary (limited)
Volume 1-7

18. What man? The princes of the tribes east of the Jordan had acted in concert to gather armed Israelites to oppose the Ammonites, but after assembling, they felt that they were in need of a leader who was wise in warfare, courageous in battle, and sufficiently diplomatic to weld the various contingents into a strong fighting force. In those days the outcome of wars generally depended on one pitched battle, and the princes recognized that they must choose carefully. In other crises God had chosen the leader, but this time He had probably not indicated a choice, so the people were forced to use their own best sanctified judgment and select one from their number. God honored their choice by putting His Spirit upon him (ch. 11:29). His character may not have been the best, but inasmuch as God chooses to work through human agencies, He is dependent for His choice upon the men who are available. Even today God carries on His work through imperfect human channels. If this fact were better understood, there would be less criticism of those whom God has called into service.

1. Jephthah. Literally, “he will open.” Some believe that the name may have been a shortened form of Jipthah-el (Joshua 19:14, 27), which means “the Lord will open.”

Harlot. His mother did not even have the status of an inferior wife or concubine. She was merely a prostitute, and because of this the father apparently took the child to his home and reared him there, thus signifying his desire to treat him as a legitimate son.

Gilead begat Jephthah. Here Gilead stands for a person. Everywhere else where the name occurs in this narrative, except in v. 2, it refers to the region of Gilead. Manasseh had a grandson named Gilead, who gave his name to this region (Num. 26:29, 30; Joshua 17:1; 1 Chron. 7:14-17). But it is highly improbable that he was the father of Jephthah. If he were, the events here recorded concerning Jephthah must be among the earliest in the book of Judges. It is difficult to extend four generations over the period from the descent into Egypt to this point in thejudges period. Jephthah’s father was probably another man of the tribe of Manasseh who bore the famous tribal name. It should be noted also that the narrative goes back a number of years to explain the family background of Jephthah.

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Cross References

What man