Study Desk

"Then Israel sent messengers to King Sihon of the Amorites, who ruled from Heshbon, asking for permission to cross through his land to get to their destination.

Are you any better than Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he try to make a case against Israel for disputed land? Did he go to war against them?

"Israel has been living here for 300 years, inhabiting Heshbon and its surrounding settlements, all the way to Aroer and its settlements, and in all the towns along the Arnon River. Why have you made no effort to recover it before now?

When Jephthah returned home to Mizpah, his daughter came out to meet him, playing on a tambourine and dancing for joy. She was his one and only child; he had no other sons or daughters.

When he saw her, he tore his clothes in anguish. "Oh, my daughter!" he cried out. "You have completely destroyed me! You've brought disaster on me! For I have made a vow to the Lord , and I cannot take it back."

And she said, "Father, if you have made a vow to the Lord , you must do to me what you have vowed, for the Lord has given you a great victory over your enemies, the Ammonites.

But first let me do this one thing: Let me go up and roam in the hills and weep with my friends for two months, because I will die a virgin."

"You may go," Jephthah said. And he sent her away for two months. She and her friends went into the hills and wept because she would never have children.

for young Israelite women to go away for four days each year to lament the fate of Jephthah's daughter.

Then the people of Ephraim mobilized an army and crossed over the Jordan River to Zaphon. They sent this message to Jephthah: "Why didn't you call for us to help you fight against the Ammonites? We are going to burn down your house with you in it!"

Jephthah judged Israel for six years. When he died, he was buried in one of the towns of Gilead.

He had thirty sons and thirty daughters. He sent his daughters to marry men outside his clan, and he brought in thirty young women from outside his clan to marry his sons. Ibzan judged Israel for seven years.

After Ibzan died, Elon from the tribe of Zebulun judged Israel for ten years.

He had forty sons and thirty grandsons, who rode on seventy donkeys. He judged Israel for eight years.

Again the Israelites did evil in the Lord 's sight, so the Lord handed them over to the Philistines, who oppressed them for forty years.

You will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and his hair must never be cut. For he will be dedicated to God as a Nazirite from birth. He will begin to rescue Israel from the Philistines."

But he told me, ‘You will become pregnant and give birth to a son. You must not drink wine or any other alcoholic drink nor eat any forbidden food. For your son will be dedicated to God as a Nazirite from the moment of his birth until the day of his death.'"

Then Manoah said to the angel of the Lord , "Please stay here until we can prepare a young goat for you to eat."

Then Manoah asked the angel of the Lord , "What is your name? For when all this comes true, we want to honor you."

"Why do you ask my name?" the angel of the Lord replied. "It is too wonderful for you to understand."