Judges 11:26
New International Version
For three hundred years Israel occupied Heshbon, Aroer, the surrounding settlements and all the towns along the Arnon. Why didn’t you retake them during that time?

New Living Translation
“Israel has been living here for 300 years, inhabiting Heshbon and its surrounding settlements, all the way to Aroer and its settlements, and in all the towns along the Arnon River. Why have you made no effort to recover it before now?

English Standard Version
While Israel lived in Heshbon and its villages, and in Aroer and its villages, and in all the cities that are on the banks of the Arnon, 300 years, why did you not deliver them within that time?

Berean Standard Bible
For three hundred years Israel has lived in Heshbon, Aroer, and their villages, as well as all the cities along the banks of the Arnon. Why did you not take them back during that time?

King James Bible
While Israel dwelt in Heshbon and her towns, and in Aroer and her towns, and in all the cities that be along by the coasts of Arnon, three hundred years? why therefore did ye not recover them within that time?

New King James Version
While Israel dwelt in Heshbon and its villages, in Aroer and its villages, and in all the cities along the banks of the Arnon, for three hundred years, why did you not recover them within that time?

New American Standard Bible
While Israel was living in Heshbon and its villages, and in Aroer and its villages, and in all the cities that are on the banks of the Arnon, three hundred years, why did you not recover them within that time?

NASB 1995
‘While Israel lived in Heshbon and its villages, and in Aroer and its villages, and in all the cities that are on the banks of the Arnon, three hundred years, why did you not recover them within that time?

NASB 1977
‘While Israel lived in Heshbon and its villages, and in Aroer and its villages, and in all the cities that are on the banks of the Arnon, three hundred years, why did you not recover them within that time?

Legacy Standard Bible
While Israel lived in Heshbon and its towns and in Aroer and its towns and in all the cities that are on the banks of the Arnon, 300 years, why did you not deliver them for yourself within that time?

Amplified Bible
While Israel lived in Heshbon and its villages, and in Aroer and its villages, and in all the cities along the banks of the Arnon for three hundred years, why did you not recover your lost lands during that time?

Christian Standard Bible
While Israel lived three hundred years in Heshbon and Aroer and their surrounding villages, and in all the cities that are on the banks of the Arnon, why didn’t you take them back at that time?

Holman Christian Standard Bible
While Israel lived 300 years in Heshbon and its villages, in Aroer and its villages, and in all the cities that are on the banks of the Arnon, why didn’t you take them back at that time?

American Standard Version
While Israel dwelt in Heshbon and its towns, and in Aroer and its towns, and in all the cities that are along by the side of the Arnon, three hundred years; wherefore did ye not recover them within that time?

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
When Israel dwelt in Kheshbon and in its villages and in Aduir and in its villages and among all the towns that are upon the side of Arnon three hundred years, why did you not lay hold of them in that time?

Brenton Septuagint Translation
when Israel dwelt in Esebon and in its coasts, and in the land of Aroer and in its coasts, and in all the cities by Jordan, three hundred years? and wherefore didst thou not recover them in that time?

Contemporary English Version
For 300 years, Israelites have been living in Heshbon and Aroer and the nearby villages, and in the towns along the Arnon River gorge. If the land really belonged to you Ammonites, you wouldn't have waited until now to try to get it back.

Douay-Rheims Bible
Whereas he hath dwelt in Hesebon, and the villages thereof, and in Aroer, and its villages, and in all the cities near the Jordan, for three hundred years. Why have you for so long a time attempted nothing about this claim?

English Revised Version
While Israel dwelt in Heshbon and her towns, and in Aroer and her towns, and in all the cities that are along by the side of Arnon, three hundred years; wherefore did ye not recover them within that time?

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Israel has now lived in Heshbon, Aroer, all their villages, and in all the cities along the Arnon River for 300 years. Why didn't you recapture these cities during that time?

Good News Translation
For three hundred years Israel has occupied Heshbon and Aroer, and the towns around them, and all the cities on the banks of the Arnon River. Why haven't you taken them back in all this time?

International Standard Version
When Israel was living in Heshbon and its surrounding villages, in Aroer and its surrounding villages, and in all the cities that line the banks of the Arnon River these past three hundred years, why didn't you retake them during that time?

JPS Tanakh 1917
While Israel dwelt in Heshbon and its towns, and in Aroer and its towns, and in all the cities that are along by the side of the Arnon, three hundred years; wherefore did ye not recover them within that time?

Literal Standard Version
In Israel’s dwelling in Heshbon and in its towns, and in Aroer and in its towns, and in all the cities which [are] by the sides of Arnon [for] three hundred years—and why have you not delivered them in that time?

Majority Standard Bible
For three hundred years Israel has lived in Heshbon, Aroer, and their villages, as well as all the cities along the banks of the Arnon. Why did you not take them back during that time?

New American Bible
Israel has dwelt in Heshbon and its villages, Aroer and its villages, and all the cities on the banks of the Arnon for three hundred years. Why did you not recover them during that time?

NET Bible
Israel has been living in Heshbon and its nearby towns, in Aroer and its nearby towns, and in all the cities along the Arnon for three hundred years! Why did you not reclaim them during that time?

New Revised Standard Version
While Israel lived in Heshbon and its villages, and in Aroer and its villages, and in all the towns that are along the Arnon, three hundred years, why did you not recover them within that time?

New Heart English Bible
While Israel lived in Heshbon and its towns, and in Aroer and its towns, and in all the cities that are along by the side of the Arnon, three hundred years; why did you not liberate them within that time?

Webster's Bible Translation
While Israel dwelt in Heshbon and her towns, and in Aroer and her towns, and in all the cities that are along by the borders of Arnon, three hundred years? why therefore did ye not recover them within that time?

World English Bible
Israel lived in Heshbon and its towns, and in Aroer and its towns, and in all the cities that are along the side of the Arnon for three hundred years! Why didn’t you recover them within that time?

Young's Literal Translation
In Israel's dwelling in Heshbon and in its towns, and in Aroer and in its towns, and in all the cities which are by the sides of Arnon three hundred years -- and wherefore have ye not delivered them in that time?

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Jephthah Delivers Israel
25Are you now so much better than Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever contend with Israel or fight against them? 26For three hundred years Israel has lived in Heshbon, Aroer, and their villages, as well as all the cities along the banks of the Arnon. Why did you not take them back during that time? 27I have not sinned against you, but you have done me wrong by waging war against me. May the LORD, the Judge, decide today between the Israelites and the Ammonites.”…

Cross References
Acts 13:19
And having vanquished seven nations in Canaan, He gave their land to His people as an inheritance.

Numbers 21:25
Israel captured all the cities of the Amorites and occupied them, including Heshbon and all its villages.

Numbers 21:26
Heshbon was the city of Sihon king of the Amorites, who had fought against the former king of Moab and taken all his land as far as the Arnon.

Deuteronomy 2:36
From Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Valley, along with the city in the valley, even as far as Gilead, not one city had walls too high for us. The LORD our God gave us all of them.


Treasury of Scripture

While Israel dwelled in Heshbon and her towns, and in Aroer and her towns, and in all the cities that be along by the coasts of Arnon, three hundred years? why therefore did you not recover them within that time?

Heshbon

Numbers 21:25-30
And Israel took all these cities: and Israel dwelt in all the cities of the Amorites, in Heshbon, and in all the villages thereof…

Deuteronomy 2:24
Rise ye up, take your journey, and pass over the river Arnon: behold, I have given into thine hand Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his land: begin to possess it, and contend with him in battle.

Deuteronomy 3:2,6
And the LORD said unto me, Fear him not: for I will deliver him, and all his people, and his land, into thy hand; and thou shalt do unto him as thou didst unto Sihon king of the Amorites, which dwelt at Heshbon…

Aroer

Deuteronomy 2:36
From Aroer, which is by the brink of the river of Arnon, and from the city that is by the river, even unto Gilead, there was not one city too strong for us: the LORD our God delivered all unto us:

three hundred

Judges 3:11,30
And the land had rest forty years. And Othniel the son of Kenaz died…

Judges 5:31
So let all thine enemies perish, O LORD: but let them that love him be as the sun when he goeth forth in his might. And the land had rest forty years.

Judges 8:28
Thus was Midian subdued before the children of Israel, so that they lifted up their heads no more. And the country was in quietness forty years in the days of Gideon.

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Judges 11
1. The covenant between Jephthah and the Gileadites, that he should lead
12. The treaty of peace between him and the Ammonites is in vain
29. Jephthah's vow
32. His conquest of the Ammonites
34. He performs his vow on his daughter.














(26) While Israel dwelt in Heshbon.--See Numbers 21:25. This is an argument from undisputed possession.

In Aroer and her towns.--These had been assigned to the tribe of Gad (Numbers 32:34).

In all the cities that be along by the coast of Arnon.--The LXX. read Jordan.

Three hundred years.--There is an almost insuperable difficulty in making out any reasonable scheme of chronology even by accepting this as a round number, because it is difficult to reconcile with nine or ten genealogies which have been preserved to us, and which represent the period between the conquest and David by seven or eight generations. Now the period covered by these genealogies includes the judgeship of Samuel and the reign of Saul--at least seventy years; and seven or eight generations cannot possibly span 370 years. The hypothesis that in all these genealogies--even the four times repeated genealogy of David--generations are always omitted is very improbable. The chronology of the Jews is confessedly loose and uncertain, and it seems quite possible that "three hundred years" may be a marginal gloss which has crept into the text. What makes this more probable is that the words not only create an immense chronological difficulty, but (1) are quite needless to Jephthah's argument, and (2) actually conflict with the rest of the sentence, which refers to Balak alone; the argument being, If Balak, "at that time" (as the words should be rendered), did not advance any claim, what right have you to do so now? If, however, in spite of these difficulties, the clause be genuine, and if there has not been one of the clerical errors which are so common where numerals are concerned, it seems possible that 300 years may be counted inclusively, e.g., 100 full years since the death of Joshua and nominal completion of the conquest of Canaan, with parts of a century before and after it. Certainly this is a recognised mode of reckoning time among the Jews. For instance, if a king began to reign on December 30, 1879, and died on January 2, 1881, they would say that he had reigned three years. Whatever explanations we may adopt, there is nothing but conjecture to go upon. (See Introduction.)

Within that time.--This is a mistranslation, due probably to the perplexity caused by the "three hundred years." The Hebrew has "in that time," i.e., at that crisis. It was obvious, without special mention, that they had remained in possession ever since Balak's day, and in the most ancient times it was admitted that lapse of time secured possession (Isocr. Ep. ad Aechid., p. 121; Tac. Ann. vi. 31).

Verse 26. - The occupation of the cities and villages referred to is related in Numbers 21:23 and following verses, and in Deuteronomy 2:36; see too Joshua 12:2. Aroer is not mentioned among the cities of Moab taken by the Amorites in the ancient book quoted in Numbers 21:27-80, and it has been conjectured that it may have been built by the Amorites to secure their new frontier. It is described by Eusebius and Jerome in the 'Onomasticon' as built on a hill overhanging the bank of the Amen, and a ruin called Arair has been foBy the coasts of Arnon, i.e. on the banks. The Septuagint for Arnon reads Jordan, which was the western boundary, as Arnon was the southern (ver. 22). The corresponding description in Deuteronomy 2:36 is, From Aroer, which is by the brink of the river of Arnon, and from the city that is by the river, even unto Gilead:, there was not owe city too strong for us: the Lord our God delivered all unto us. Three hundred years. These words seem quite unintelligible and out of place. They are also chronologically impracticable. One expects the number of the cities, as in ver. 33, rather than the number of years; and it is remarkable that the whole number of cities taken by the Israelites on the east of Jordan must have been just about 300, since the half-tribe of Manasseh had sixty. If Gad and Reuben had the same proportion, it would be exactly 300 (5 × 60). Within that time. The Hebrew phrase, which occurs about seventy times, invariably means at that time, and here can only refer to the time of the first settlement in the days of Balak, of which he had been speaking - another proof that the enumeration three hundred years is out of place here. If the reading years is not, as above suggested, an error for cities, the whole sentence, three hundred years, may very probably be an interpolation by a professed chronologist. The adding up of all the numbers of the servitudes and rests given in the book gives 301 years from the commencement of the oppression by Chushan-rishathaim to the death of Jair. But this method of reckoning gives the impossible period of 600 years from the exodus to the building of the temple.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
For three
שְׁלֹ֥שׁ (šə·lōš)
Number - feminine singular construct
Strong's 7969: Three, third, thrice

hundred
מֵא֖וֹת (mê·’ō·wṯ)
Number - feminine plural
Strong's 3967: A hundred

years
שָׁנָ֑ה (šā·nāh)
Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 8141: A year

Israel
יִ֠שְׂרָאֵל (yiś·rā·’êl)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3478: Israel -- 'God strives', another name of Jacob and his desc

has lived
בְּשֶׁ֣בֶת (bə·še·ḇeṯ)
Preposition-b | Verb - Qal - Infinitive construct
Strong's 3427: To sit down, to dwell, to remain, to settle, to marry

in Heshbon,
בְּחֶשְׁבּ֨וֹן (bə·ḥeš·bō·wn)
Preposition-b | Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 2809: Heshbon -- a place East of the Jordan

Aroer,
וּבְעַרְע֣וֹר (ū·ḇə·‘ar·‘ō·wr)
Conjunctive waw, Preposition-b | Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 6177: Aroer -- three cities in Israel

and their villages,
וּבִבְנוֹתֶ֗יהָ (ū·ḇiḇ·nō·w·ṯe·hā)
Conjunctive waw, Preposition-b | Noun - feminine plural construct | third person feminine singular
Strong's 1323: A daughter

as well as all
וּבְכָל־ (ū·ḇə·ḵāl)
Conjunctive waw, Preposition-b | Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 3605: The whole, all, any, every

the cities
הֶֽעָרִים֙ (he·‘ā·rîm)
Article | Noun - feminine plural
Strong's 5892: Excitement

along
עַל־ (‘al-)
Preposition
Strong's 5921: Above, over, upon, against

the banks
יְדֵ֣י (yə·ḏê)
Noun - fdc
Strong's 3027: A hand

of the Arnon.
אַרְנ֔וֹן (’ar·nō·wn)
Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 769: Arnon -- 'a roaring stream', a wadi and stream in Moab

Why
וּמַדּ֥וּעַ (ū·mad·dū·a‘)
Conjunctive waw | Interrogative
Strong's 4069: Why? for what reason?

did you not
לֹֽא־ (lō-)
Adverb - Negative particle
Strong's 3808: Not, no

take them back
הִצַּלְתֶּ֖ם (hiṣ·ṣal·tem)
Verb - Hifil - Perfect - second person masculine plural
Strong's 5337: To strip, plunder, deliver oneself, be delivered, snatch away, deliver

during that
הַהִֽיא׃ (ha·hî)
Article | Pronoun - third person feminine singular
Strong's 1931: He, self, the same, this, that, as, are

time?
בָּעֵ֥ת (bā·‘êṯ)
Preposition-b, Article | Noun - common singular
Strong's 6256: Time, now, when


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OT History: Judges 11:26 While Israel lived in Heshbon and its (Jd Judg. Jdg)
Judges 11:25
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