Kenneth M. Craig, «Bargaining in Tov (Judges 11,4-11): The Many Directions of So-called Direct Speech», Vol. 79 (1998) 76-85

This article explores the subject of speech as mediated discourse in the bargaining scene between the elders of Gilead and Jephthah in the land of Tov (Judg 11,4-11). The episode consists of the narrator's frame in vv. 4-5 and 11 and five insets wherein the elders initiate and conclude the dialogue (elders- Jephthah-elders-Jephthah-elders). The narrator informs us that the elders approach Jephthah with a plan of taking (xql) him from the land of Tov. The taking is accomplished through speech that the narrator quotes, and the perspectival shifts in narration and quotation demonstrate the Bible's art of diplomacy. The speeches are tightly woven with the narrator interrupting only to shift our attention from one side to the other in this tit-for-tat interchange. But even here, the narrator is not completely effaced. The reception acts are staged in a way that remind us of the presence of all sides in this exchange. The bargaining thus proceeds through filtered words, and the resulting insets call attention to the web of perspectives and competing interests, the offers and counter offers in the world of give- and-take, and, from our side, the fun of it all.

fight against the Ammonites, and Yhwh gives them over to me, I myself will be your Governor. ¹⁰And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, Yhwh is listening between us. Indeed, what you say, certainly we will do. ¹¹And Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him over them Governor and General. And Jephthah spoke all of his words before Yhwh at Mizpah ¹.

       This scene is preceded by an account of Jephthah's expulsion from his ancestral home by his half-brothers. Born the illegitimate son of a harlot, Jephthah finds himself hounded out of Gilead. He flees to the land of Tov, probably in the region of the Yarmuk ² outside the land of Israel, and, while in exile, gains a reputation as a warrior. "Empty" ³ men rally around and fight with him in Tov (11,3). (The place name, ironically charged, means "good.") When the Ammonites threaten Gilead, the elders scout around for a military leader. Jephthah, who by now has proven himself, emerges as their candidate. At this stage they are not concerned about his parentage or the campaigns he has conducted with the "empty" men. He has the one thing they so desperately need: military prowess, the ability to quickly assemble and lead an organized military contingent ⁴. His contingent can counterattack the Ammonites, and, should he fall in battle, the Gileadites will suffer no great loss.

       The dialogue that ensues as part of this scene's perspectival shifts in narration and quotation demonstrates the Bible's art of diplomacy, the bargainers' shrewdness with offers and counter offers in the world of give-and-take. The narrator invests both Jephthah and the elders with bargaining power, and both sides' use of language is managed as a set of oppositions. They give as little as possible while taking all they can get; he will reject their first offer outright. When the momentum for battle escalates, the elders of Gilead approach Jephthah with the plan of taking (xql) him from the land of Tov. This taking will be accomplished through speech, and the bargaining is the first of four conversation scenes wherein Jephthah dominates. In 11,6- 11 Jephthah converses with the elders of Gilead, in 11,12-28 he (through his messengers) speaks to the king of Ammon, in 11,35-38 Jephthah talks with his daughter, and 12,1-4 records Jephthah's dialogue with Ephraim ⁵. Each speech event is significant

                                               

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