Jephthah continues with his series of stinging rhetorical questions, which now border on mockery. Again the Hebrew verb for possess (yarash) dominates this verse, appearing four times in various forms. It highlights the focus of concern here, namely, “who owns the disputed land?” There is also a challenge here between Chemosh, the god of the Ammonites, and the LORD, the God of the Israelites. This verse comes in two parts, with Jephthah basically saying, “You keep what is yours, and we will keep what is ours.”

Will you not possess what Chemosh your god gives you to possess?: The pronouns you and your refer to the Ammonite king. For the Hebrew verb rendered possess, see the comments on verse 11.21, where it is translated “took possession of.” What Chemosh … gives to you to possess is the object of this clause. Jephthah does not specify what is meant, but certainly land is in focus. Chemosh was the god of the Moabites and Jephthah probably mentions this god here because the Moabites controlled the disputed area even before the Amorites and the Ammonites. In all likelihood, Chemosh remained the local god regardless of which ethnic group lived there. Here there is clearly a play on words since the Hebrew word for both the god of the Ammonites and the God of the Israelites is ʾelohim. This rhetorical question is Jephthah’s way of stating a basic principle: no one should question what a god does and no one can refuse a gift from a god. Though the object “land” is not specified, it seems in focus here. If the Ammonites’ god Chemosh gave them land, it would be theirs. He encourages them, with quite a bit of irony, to take the land offered by their god. Certainly Jephthah is mocking the Ammonite king. We might say “Go ahead and possess what your god Chemosh has given you to possess” or “If your god Chemosh can give you land, then it’s yours!”

And all that the LORD our God has dispossessed before us, we will possess: This sentence is the second part of Jephthah’s reasoning. It is a powerful statement of Jephthah’s confidence in the God of Israel. The Hebrew waw conjunction rendered And introduces an alternative to what precedes: “you do this and we will do that.” It may be translated “Likewise.” All that the LORD our God has dispossessed before us again refers indirectly to the land. This object occurs at the beginning of this sentence in Hebrew for emphasis. Jephthah refers to the LORD as our God. This is the first time he speaks of Yahweh in a personal way. For dispossessed before us, see verse 11.23. We will possess is literally “we will possess it,” with the pronoun “it” referring to the land.

Translation models for this verse are:

• Whatever your god Chemosh gives you, keep it [it’s yours], and whatever the LORD our God gives us, we will keep.

• If your god Chemosh gives you land, take it. Likewise, whatever Yahweh our God gives us, we will take it.

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 .