Genesis 19:38

NET Bible® (New English Translation)

The younger daughter also gave birth to a son and named him Ben Ammi. He is the ancestor of the Ammonites of today.

📖 Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

וְהַצְּעִירָ֤ה גַם־הִוא֙ יָ֣לְדָה בֵּ֔ן וַתִּקְרָ֥א שְׁמ֖וֹ בֶּן־עַמִּ֑י ה֛וּא אֲבִ֥י בְנֵֽי־עַמּ֖וֹן עַד־הַיּֽוֹם׃

Transliteration

wə-haṣṣəʿîrāh gam-hiwʾ yāldāh bēn wə-tiqrāʾ šəmô ben-ʿammî hûʾ ʾăbî bənê-ʿammôn ʿad-hayyôm

Grammar Details

• *wə-haṣṣəʿîrāh*: conjunction + definite article + noun, feminine singular - and the younger
• *gam*: adverb - also
• *hiwʾ*: 3rd person feminine singular pronoun - she
• *yāldāh*: perfect, 3rd person feminine singular - she bore
• *bēn*: noun, masculine singular - son
• *wə-tiqrāʾ*: consecutive imperfect, 3rd person feminine singular - and she called
• *šəmô*: noun, masculine singular with 3rd person masculine singular suffix - his name
• *ben*: noun, masculine singular construct - son of
• *ʿammî*: noun, masculine singular with 1st person singular suffix - my people
• *hûʾ*: 3rd person masculine singular pronoun - he
• *ʾăbî*: noun, masculine singular construct - father of
• *bənê*: noun, masculine plural construct - sons of
• *ʿammôn*: proper noun - Ammon
• *ʿad*: preposition - until
• *hayyôm*: definite article + noun, masculine singular - the day/today

Word Meanings

• *yāldāh*: gave birth to/bore
• *ben*-*ʿammî*: son of my people
• *bənê*-*ʿammôn*: sons of Ammon/Ammonites
• *ʿad*-*hayyôm*: until this day/until now

Referenced Verses

• Deut 2:19 : 19 But when you come close to the Ammonites, do not harass or provoke them because I am not giving you any of the Ammonites’ land as your possession; I have already given it to Lot’s descendants as their possession.”
• Deut 23:3 : 3 An Ammonite or Moabite may not enter the assembly of the LORD; to the tenth generation none of their descendants shall ever do so,
• Judg 10:6-11:40 : 6 The Lord’s Patience Runs Short The Israelites again did evil in the LORD’s sight. They worshiped the Baals and the Ashtoreths, as well as the gods of Syria, Sidon, Moab, the Ammonites, and the Philistines. They abandoned the LORD and did not worship him. 7 The LORD was furious with Israel and turned them over to the Philistines and Ammonites. 8 They ruthlessly oppressed the Israelites that eighteenth year– that is, all the Israelites living east of the Jordan in Amorite country in Gilead. 9 The Ammonites crossed the Jordan to fight with Judah, Benjamin, and Ephraim. Israel suffered greatly. 10 The Israelites cried out for help to the LORD:“We have sinned against you. We abandoned our God and worshiped the Baals.” 11 The LORD said to the Israelites,“Did I not deliver you from Egypt, the Amorites, the Ammonites, the Philistines, 12 the Sidonians, Amalek, and Midian when they oppressed you? You cried out for help to me, and I delivered you from their power. 13 But since you abandoned me and worshiped other gods, I will not deliver you again. 14 Go and cry for help to the gods you have chosen! Let them deliver you from trouble!” 15 But the Israelites said to the LORD,“We have sinned. You do to us as you see fit, but deliver us today!” 16 They threw away the foreign gods they owned and worshiped the LORD. Finally the LORD grew tired of seeing Israel suffer so much. 17 An Outcast Becomes a General The Ammonites assembled and camped in Gilead; the Israelites gathered together and camped in Mizpah. 18 The leaders of Gilead said to one another,“Who is willing to lead the charge against the Ammonites? He will become the leader of all who live in Gilead!” 1 Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a brave warrior. His mother was a prostitute, but Gilead was his father. 2 Gilead’s wife also gave him sons. When his wife’s sons grew up, they made Jephthah leave and said to him,“You are not going to inherit any of our father’s wealth, because you are another woman’s son.” 3 So Jephthah left his half-brothers and lived in the land of Tob. Lawless men joined Jephthah’s gang and traveled with him. 4 It was some time after this when the Ammonites fought with Israel. 5 When the Ammonites attacked, the leaders of Gilead asked Jephthah to come back from the land of Tob. 6 They said,“Come, be our commander, so we can fight with the Ammonites.” 7 Jephthah said to the leaders of Gilead,“But you hated me and made me leave my father’s house. Why do you come to me now, when you are in trouble?” 8 The leaders of Gilead said to Jephthah,“That may be true, but now we pledge to you our loyalty. Come with us and fight with the Ammonites. Then you will become the leader of all who live in Gilead.” 9 Jephthah said to the leaders of Gilead,“All right! If you take me back to fight with the Ammonites and the LORD gives them to me, I will be your leader.” 10 The leaders of Gilead said to Jephthah,“The LORD will judge any grievance you have against us, if we do not do as you say.” 11 So Jephthah went with the leaders of Gilead. The people made him their leader and commander. Jephthah repeated the terms of the agreement before the LORD in Mizpah. 12 Jephthah Gives a History Lesson Jephthah sent messengers to the Ammonite king, saying,“Why have you come against me to attack my land?” 13 The Ammonite king said to Jephthah’s messengers,“Because Israel stole my land when they came up from Egypt– from the Arnon River in the south to the Jabbok River in the north, and as far west as the Jordan. Now return it peaceably!” 14 Jephthah sent messengers back to the Ammonite king 15 and said to him,“This is what Jephthah says,‘Israel did not steal the land of Moab and the land of the Ammonites. 16 When they left Egypt, Israel traveled through the desert as far as the Red Sea and then came to Kadesh. 17 Israel sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying,“Please allow us to pass through your land.” But the king of Edom rejected the request. Israel sent the same request to the king of Moab, but he was unwilling to cooperate. So Israel stayed at Kadesh. 18 Then Israel went through the wilderness and bypassed the land of Edom and the land of Moab. They traveled east of the land of Moab and camped on the other side of the Arnon River; they did not go through Moabite territory(the Arnon was Moab’s border). 19 Israel sent messengers to King Sihon, the Amorite king who ruled in Heshbon, and said to him,“Please allow us to pass through your land to our land.” 20 But Sihon did not trust Israel to pass through his territory. He assembled his whole army, camped in Jahaz, and fought with Israel. 21 The LORD God of Israel handed Sihon and his whole army over to Israel and they defeated them. Israel took all the land of the Amorites who lived in that land. 22 They took all the Amorite territory from the Arnon River on the south to the Jabbok River on the north, from the desert in the east to the Jordan in the west. 23 Since the LORD God of Israel has driven out the Amorites before his people Israel, do you think you can just take it from them? 24 You have the right to take what Chemosh your god gives you, but we will take the land of all whom the LORD our God has driven out before us. 25 Are you really better than Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he dare to quarrel with Israel? Did he dare to fight with them? 26 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? 27 I have not done you wrong, but you are doing wrong by attacking me. May the LORD, the Judge, judge this day between the Israelites and the Ammonites!’” 28 But the Ammonite king disregarded the message sent by Jephthah. 29 A Foolish Vow Spells Death for a Daughter The LORD’s Spirit empowered Jephthah. He passed through Gilead and Manasseh and went to Mizpah in Gilead. From there he approached the Ammonites. 30 Jephthah made a vow to the LORD, saying,“If you really do hand the Ammonites over to me, 31 then whoever is the first to come through the doors of my house to meet me when I return safely from fighting the Ammonites– he will belong to the LORD and I will offer him up as a burnt sacrifice.” 32 Jephthah approached the Ammonites to fight with them, and the LORD handed them over to him. 33 He defeated them from Aroer all the way to Minnith– twenty cities in all, even as far as Abel Keramim! He wiped them out! The Israelites humiliated the Ammonites. 34 When Jephthah came home to Mizpah, there was his daughter hurrying out to meet him, dancing to the rhythm of tambourines. She was his only child; except for her he had no son or daughter. 35 When he saw her, he ripped his clothes and said,“Oh no! My daughter! You have completely ruined me! You have brought me disaster! I made an oath to the LORD, and I cannot break it.” 36 She said to him,“My father, since you made an oath to the LORD, do to me as you promised. After all, the LORD vindicated you before your enemies, the Ammonites.” 37 She then said to her father,“Please grant me this one wish. For two months allow me to walk through the hills with my friends and mourn my virginity.” 38 He said,“You may go.” He permitted her to leave for two months. She went with her friends and mourned her virginity as she walked through the hills. 39 After two months she returned to her father, and he did to her as he had vowed. She died a virgin. Her tragic death gave rise to a custom in Israel. 40 Every year Israelite women commemorate the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite for four days.
• 1 Sam 11:1-9 : 1 Saul Comes to the Aid of Jabesh Nahash the Ammonite marched against Jabesh Gilead. All the men of Jabesh Gilead said to Nahash,“Make a treaty with us and we will serve you.” 2 But Nahash the Ammonite said to them,“The only way I will make a treaty with you is if you let me gouge out the right eye of every one of you and in so doing humiliate all Israel!” 3 The elders of Jabesh said to him,“Leave us alone for seven days so that we can send messengers throughout the territory of Israel. If there is no one who can deliver us, we will come out voluntarily to you.” 4 When the messengers went to Gibeah(where Saul lived) and informed the people of these matters, all the people wept loudly. 5 Now Saul was walking behind the oxen as he came from the field. Saul asked,“What has happened to the people? Why are they weeping?” So they told him about the men of Jabesh. 6 The Spirit of God rushed upon Saul when he heard these words, and he became very angry. 7 He took a pair of oxen and cut them up. Then he sent the pieces throughout the territory of Israel by the hand of messengers, who said,“Whoever does not go out after Saul and after Samuel should expect this to be done to his oxen!” Then the terror of the LORD fell on the people, and they went out as one army. 8 When Saul counted them at Bezek, the Israelites were 300,000 strong and the men of Judah numbered 30,000. 9 They said to the messengers who had come,“Here’s what you should say to the men of Jabesh Gilead:‘Tomorrow deliverance will come to you when the sun is fully up.’” When the messengers went and told the men of Jabesh Gilead, they were happy. 10 The men of Jabesh said,“Tomorrow we will come out to you and you can do with us whatever you wish.” 11 The next day Saul placed the people in three groups. They went to the Ammonite camp during the morning watch and struck them down until the hottest part of the day. The survivors scattered; no two of them remained together. 12 Saul Is Established as King Then the people said to Samuel,“Who were the ones asking,‘Will Saul reign over us?’ Hand over those men so we may execute them!” 13 But Saul said,“No one will be killed on this day. For today the LORD has given Israel a victory!” 14 Samuel said to the people,“Come on! Let’s go to Gilgal and renew the kingship there.” 15 So all the people went to Gilgal, where they established Saul as king in the LORD’s presence. They offered up peace offerings there in the LORD’s presence. Saul and all the Israelites were very happy.
• 2 Sam 10:1-9 : 1 David and the Ammonites Later the king of the Ammonites died and his son Hanun succeeded him. 2 David said,“I will express my loyalty to Hanun son of Nahash just as his father was loyal to me.” So David sent his servants with a message expressing sympathy over his father’s death. When David’s servants entered the land of the Ammonites, 3 the Ammonite officials said to their lord Hanun,“Do you really think David is trying to honor your father by sending these messengers to express his sympathy? No, David has sent his servants to you to get information about the city and spy on it so they can overthrow it!” 4 So Hanun seized David’s servants and shaved off half of each one’s beard. He cut the lower part of their robes off so that their buttocks were exposed, and then sent them away. 5 Messengers told David what had happened, so he summoned them, for the men were thoroughly humiliated. The king said,“Stay in Jericho until your beards have grown again; then you may come back.” 6 When the Ammonites realized that David was disgusted with them, they sent and hired 20,000 foot soldiers from Aram Beth Rehob and Aram Zobah, in addition to 1000 men from the king of Maacah and 12,000 men from Ish-tob. 7 When David heard the news, he sent Joab and the entire army to meet them. 8 The Ammonites marched out and were deployed for battle at the entrance of the city gate, while the men from Aram Zobah, Rehob, Ish-tob, and Maacah were by themselves in the field. 9 When Joab saw that the battle would be fought on two fronts, he chose some of Israel’s best men and deployed them against the Arameans. 10 He put his brother Abishai in charge of the rest of the army and they were deployed against the Ammonites. 11 Joab said,“If the Arameans start to overpower me, you come to my rescue. If the Ammonites start to overpower you, I will come to your rescue. 12 Be strong! Let’s fight bravely for the sake of our people and the cities of our God! The LORD will do what he decides is best!” 13 So Joab and his men marched out to do battle with the Arameans, and they fled before him. 14 When the Ammonites saw the Arameans flee, they fled before his brother Abishai and went into the city. Joab withdrew from fighting the Ammonites and returned to Jerusalem. 15 When the Arameans realized that they had been defeated by Israel, they consolidated their forces. 16 Then Hadadezer sent for Arameans from beyond the Euphrates River, and they came to Helam. Shobach, the general in command of Hadadezer’s army, led them. 17 When David was informed, he gathered all Israel, crossed the Jordan River, and came to Helam. The Arameans deployed their forces against David and fought with him. 18 The Arameans fled before Israel. David killed 700 Aramean charioteers and 40,000 foot soldiers. He also struck down Shobach, the general in command of the army, who died there. 19 When all the kings who were subject to Hadadezer saw they were defeated by Israel, they made peace with Israel and became subjects of Israel. The Arameans were no longer willing to help the Ammonites.
• Neh 13:1-3 : 1 Further Reforms by Nehemiah On that day the book of Moses was read aloud in the hearing of the people. They found written in it that no Ammonite or Moabite may ever enter the assembly of God, 2 for they had not met the Israelites with food and water, but instead had hired Balaam to curse them.(Our God, however, turned the curse into blessing.) 3 When they heard the law, they removed from Israel all who were of mixed ancestry.
• Neh 13:23-28 : 23 Also in those days I saw the men of Judah who had married women from Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab. 24 Half of their children spoke the language of Ashdod(or the language of one of the other peoples mentioned) and were unable to speak the language of Judah. 25 So I entered a complaint with them. I called down a curse on them, and I struck some of the men and pulled out their hair. I had them swear by God saying,“You will not marry off your daughters to their sons, and you will not take any of their daughters as wives for your sons or for yourselves! 26 Was it not because of things like these that King Solomon of Israel sinned? Among the many nations there was no king like him. He was loved by his God, and God made him king over all Israel. But the foreign wives made even him sin! 27 Should we then in your case hear that you do all this great evil, thereby being unfaithful to our God by marrying foreign wives?” 28 Now one of the sons of Joiada son of Eliashib the high priest was a son-in-law of Sanballat the Horonite. So I banished him from my sight.
• Ps 83:4-8 : 4 They say,“Come on, let’s annihilate them so they are no longer a nation! Then the name of Israel will be remembered no more.” 5 Yes, they devise a unified strategy; they form an alliance against you. 6 It includes the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites, Moab and the Hagrites, 7 Gebal, Ammon, and Amalek, Philistia and the inhabitants of Tyre. 8 Even Assyria has allied with them, lending its strength to the descendants of Lot.(Selah)
• Isa 11:14 : 14 They will swoop down on the Philistine hills to the west; together they will loot the people of the east. They will take over Edom and Moab, and the Ammonites will be their subjects.
• Zeph 2:9 : 9 Therefore, as surely as I live,” says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel,“be certain that Moab will become like Sodom and the Ammonites like Gomorrah. They will be overrun by weeds, filled with salt pits, and permanently desolate. Those of my people who are left will plunder their belongings; those who are left in Judah will take possession of their land.”
• Deut 2:9 : 9 Then the LORD said to me,“Do not harass Moab and provoke them to war, for I will not give you any of their land as your territory. This is because I have given Ar to the descendants of Lot as their possession.