1. Judges 10:6–12:7 (ESV)
  2. Structure and outline

The basic structure of the story of Jephthah

Judges 10:6–12:7 (ESV)

6 The people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the LORD and served the Baals and the Ashtaroth, the gods of Syria, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the Ammonites, and the gods of the Philistines. And they forsook the LORD and did not serve him.

The story of Jephthah runs from Judges 10:6 – 12:7. The structure is as follows:

  • The cause of the trouble and the beginning of the conflict between the tribe of Gilead and the Ammonites (Judges 10:6–18)

  • The origin of Jephthah and his calling (Judges 11:1–11)

  • Jephthah’s negotiations with the enemy’s king (Judges 11:12–28)

  • Jephthah’s victory over the enemy and the loss of his daughter (Judges 11:29–40)

  • The aftermath: tribal war between Ephraim and Gilead, and Jephthah’s death (Judges 12:1–7)