And Jephthah said unto them, I and my people were at great strife with the children of Ammon; and when I called you, ye delivered me not out of their hands.
Jephthah said to them, 'My people and I were in a serious conflict with the Ammonites, and when I called on you for help, you didn't rescue me from their power.'
Jephthah is confronting the Ephraimites for refusing to help him when he desperately needed their support against enemy attacks.
📚 Historical Context
In the book of Judges, Jephthah was a leader of Israel who had recently led a military campaign against the Ammonites, a neighboring enemy tribe. When the Ephraimites, another Israelite tribe, accused him of excluding them from the fight, Jephthah defended himself by pointing out that he had called for their assistance, but they had failed to respond. This incident reflects the ongoing tribal rivalries and lack of unity among the Israelites during the period of the judges, a time of decentralized leadership before the establishment of a monarchy.
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