Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty warrior: Now renders the Hebrew waw conjunction, which here signals a new episode and introduces a new character, Jephthah. Translators should use a transition that is appropriate to this introductory material. Some languages may prefer a temporal expression, such as “At that time” or “During that time.” Jephthah is described as a Gileadite, which means he came from the region of Gilead (see verse 5.17). He was also a mighty warrior (literally “warrior of might”). A similar expression is used to describe Gideon in verse 6.12 (see comments there). Before Jephthah was chosen to lead Israel, he was already an important military leader. The narrator seems to have highlighted this fact, since there was an impending military threat in the land.

But he was the son of a harlot: But renders the Hebrew waw conjunction, which introduces an unexpected fact here. Heroes in Israel are usually described through an impressive ancestry, but here Jephthah is described as having a lowly birth. A harlot (literally “woman prostitute”) is a person who has illicit sexual relations, often in exchange for money. In Canaan there were both secular and religious prostitutes, but here the narrator does not specify what kind of prostitute was Jephthah’s mother. In most languages there are expressions or euphemisms for this kind of behavior. However, the language here is direct, and if possible, this style should be preserved. If prostitution is not known, translators can use terms for men and women who have illicit sexual relations. It must be clear that Jephthah’s mother was not the wife of his father.

Gilead was the father of Jephthah: Though this clause begins with a Hebrew waw conjunction, most versions omit it. Translators could use a transition word that can introduce background material. This clause is a very unusual and ambiguous statement. The name Gilead could refer to an individual named Gilead (the son of Makir, and the grandson of Manasseh, who is mentioned in Num 26.29), but many take it to refer to the region of Gilead. Scholars point out that Jephthah, being the son of a prostitute, was “fatherless” and “a son of the land of Gilead.” In what follows his “brothers” rise against him and want to disinherit him. Thus the ambiguity of the passage continues through several verses. Probably it is best for translators to render the text as it stands and explain in a footnote that Gilead could be the name of a person or a region.

Translation models for this verse are:

• Now Jephthah of Gilead was a mighty warrior, but he was the son of a prostitute. Gilead was his father.*
* This may mean that no one knew who Jephthah’s father really was. He was simply “a son of the region of Gilead.”

• Jephthah the Gileadite was a brave fighter, but his mother was a prostitute. He was [fatherless,] simply a son of the land of Gilead.

Quoted with permission from Zogbo, Lynell and Ogden, Graham S. A Handbook on Judges. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2019. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .