שופטים, פרק י״א, פסוק כ״ו

Jephthah presents a powerful historical and logical argument to the king of Ammon, pointing out the long, unbroken history of Israelite settlement in the disputed territories and questioning the sudden Ammonite claim after centuries of silence. He notes that the Israelites had been living continuously in these main cities as well as the surrounding, neighboring villages [מצודת דוד, מצודת ציון, צאינה וראינה]. Historically, the Ammonites and Moabites knew they had no valid reason to attack the Israelites over this region. The Israelites did not capture the territory directly from them, but rather took it from Sihon, who had previously conquered the land from the king of Moab [רש"י].

This period of Israelite settlement spanned three hundred years, beginning with the conquest of the land under Joshua and lasting until Jephthah's era. Commentators agree that this figure relies on the historical calculations of generations found in the text Seder Olam. The primary approach among commentators treats this number as an exact measurement, reached by adding together the years of Joshua's leadership, the subsequent judges, and the periods of foreign oppression [רש"י, רד"ק]. Others, however, suggest that the number is not a precise calculation but rather represents a period of nearly three hundred years [מצודת דוד].

Building on this established history, Jephthah asks a devastating question: why did the Ammonites fail to reclaim the land from the Israelites during that entire lengthy period [מצודת דוד]. His argument rests on basic logic. If the Ammonites truly possessed a legitimate claim to the territory, they should have presented it or attempted to conquer the cities centuries ago. Their long silence completely undermines their current demand, proving there is no genuine justification for their sudden decision to wage war [ביאור שטיינזלץ, צאינה וראינה].