and he said to him, “Jephthah says: Israel didn’t take away the land of Moab, nor the land of the children of Ammon;
ExplanationCommentary
Verse 15. Moab. After the death of Eglon, the Ammonites had probably seized upon his dominion, (verse 25,) as we find no farther mention of the Moabites among the enemies of Israel, nor any king of that nation till the reign of David. Hence, as the king of Ammon laid claim to all the country, and had many of the Moabites in his army, Jephte answers at once, that the land under dispute belonged to neither of these nations. Calmet.—They had entirely lost it when Israel attacked Sehon, and took it from him, as was plain from the history of Moses and of the Amorrhites. Numbers 21:27. Bible.—Jephte refers to facts universally known. Calmet.