The war of Jephthah

THE WAR OF JEPHTHAH, End of 12th to 11th, Centuries B.C.

Attention is focused on Transjordan with the legend of Jephthah (Judg 10:6–12:7), a hero whose life reflects a number of themes from this type of literature, not only in the Levant but in the eastern Mediterranean in general. He is of noble lineage through his father but a supposed outcast because his mother was a harlot. When he is ousted by his siblings, he gathers a band of outlaw warriors and establishes himself at Tob, identified with et-Taiybeh southeast of Edrei (Der‘a). The place was known from the city list of Thutmose III and in the Amarna letters. Sociologically, it can be said that Jephthah and his militia had become like the Late Bronze Age ‘apîru men.

Article abstract from The Sacred Bridge