Jephthah made his own aggrandisement the condition of his delivering; his country. The circumstances of his birth and long residence in a pagan land were little favorable to the formation of the highest type of character. Yet he has his record among the faithful Hebrews 11:32.

And Jephthah said unto the elders of Gilead,.... Considering the former usage he had met with from them, and the character which he himself bore, and the fickleness of men, when their turn is served, was willing to make a sure bargain with them:

if ye bring me home again to fight against the children of Ammon; that is, should he consent to go along with them, and fight their battle for them:

and the Lord deliver them before me; or into his hands, on whom he depended for success, and not on his own courage and valour, and military skill:

shall I be your head? not only captain general of their forces during the war, but the chief ruler of them when that was ended.

Jephthah assented to this: "If ye will take me back to make war upon the Ammonites, and Jehovah shall give them up to me (lit. 'before me,' as in Joshua 10:12; Deuteronomy 2:31, etc.), I will be your head." "I" is emphatic as distinguished from he; and there is no necessity to regard the sentence as a question, with which the expression in Judges 11:10, "according to thy words," which presuppose an affirmative statement on the part of Jephthah, and not a question, would be altogether irreconcilable.

And Jephthah said unto the elders of Gilead, If ye bring me home again to fight against the children of Ammon, and the LORD deliver them before me, shall I be your head?

11:9 If, and c. - If you recall me from this place where I am now settled, to the place whence I was expelled. Shall I, and c. - Will you really make good this promise? Jephthah was so solicitous in this case, either from his zeal for the public good, which required that he should be so; or from the law of self - preservation, that he might secure himself from his brethren; whose ill - will he had experienced, and whose injuries he could not prevent, if, after he had served their ends, he had been reduced to his private capacity.

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 into his hand; he thereby reminds his countrymen to look up to God as the Giver of victory. The same question as here, in fact, is put to those who desire salvation by Christ. If he save you, will ye be willing that he shall rule you? On no other terms will he save you. If he make you happy, shall he make you holy? If he be your helper, shall he be your Head? Jephthah, to obtain a little worldly honour, was willing to expose his life: shall we be discouraged in our Christian warfare by the difficulties we may meet with, when Christ has promised a crown of life to him that overcometh?