Judges 11:25

Moab and Ammon were related as descendants of Lot. Moab might have had a legitimate claim to the land north of the Arnon, which Israel occupied. Sihon, king of the Amorites, had taken this land from Moab earlier (Numbers 21:24). The Israelites conquered Sihon and took over the disputed territory, but Moab did not try to reclaim it. Ammon should not have claimed it either, because the land had never belonged to them.

• Jephthah first tried to solve the issue through diplomacy instead of using military force (compare Deuteronomy 20:10–11).

• Unlike the nomadic and raiding Midianites from Gideon's time, the Ammonites were a settled tribe. Their land was east of Israel's territory in Transjordan (east of the Jordan River), with Rabbah as their capital. The Ammonites, like the Moabites (both who were descended from Lot) and the Edomites (descendants of Esau), were to be left alone because the Lord assigned their territories to them (Deuteronomy 2:16–23).

• Contrary to the Ammonite king's claim, the Amorites, not the Ammonites or Moabites, lived between the Arnon and Jabbok rivers during the conquest. When Sihon refused to let Israel pass, the Lord gave the land of the Amorite kings Sihon and Og to Israel. The Ammonite king had no valid reason to argue with Israel.