In Judges 12:2, Jephthah says, literally, I was a man of contention,
that is, I was a contentious man.
This places Jephthah in the same class as Gideon (whose name Jerubbaal,
Let Baal contend,
reflected something of his contentious character1) and the Ephraimites (Judges 8:1b). Jephthah’s life was one of conflict, and the narrative bears that out in four stages:
Contention with his own family
Contention with his own tribe
Contention with a foreign enemy
Contention with another Israelite tribe (Ephraim)2
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.