And that year they vexed and oppressed the children of Israel: eighteen years, all the children of Israel that were on the other side Jordan in the land of the Amorites, which is in Gilead.
That year they troubled and mistreated the people of Israel for eighteen years—all the Israelites who lived on the east side of the Jordan River in the land of the Amorites, in the region of Gilead.
The writer is describing how Israel's enemies oppressed and harassed the Israelites living east of the Jordan River for eighteen long years.
📚 Historical Context
This verse refers to the oppression by the Philistines and Ammonites during the period of the judges, when Israel repeatedly fell into cycles of disobedience, judgment, and deliverance. The region of Gilead was the mountainous area east of the Jordan River where the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half of Manasseh had settled. This eighteen-year period of oppression was God's judgment on Israel for their idolatry and abandonment of Him.
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