וַיֹּ֤אמֶר יִפְתָּח֙ אֲלֵיהֶ֔ם אִ֣ישׁ רִ֗יב הָיִ֛יתִי אֲנִ֛י וְעַמִּ֥י וּבְנֵֽי־עַמּ֖וֹן מְאֹ֑ד וָאֶזְעַ֣ק אֶתְכֶ֔ם וְלֹא־הוֹשַׁעְתֶּ֥ם אוֹתִ֖י מִיָּדָֽם׃
Jephthah answered them, “I and my people were involved in a bitter conflict with the Ammonites; and I summoned you, but you did not save me from them.
The above rendering comes from the RJPS translation, an adaptation of the NJPS translation. Before accounting for this rendering, I will analyze the plain sense of the Hebrew term containing אִישׁ.)
Jephthah depicts a situation that recently preoccupied him, employing phrasing that does not translate directly into English. A more literal rendering would be:
“I—I and my people—and the Ammonites were intense adversaries.…”
As Jephthah frames this situation for his audience, on one side is “I and my people,” while on the other side is “the Ammonites”; each party is described in plural terms (אֲנִי וְעַמִּי and בְּנֵי־עַמּוֹן), and yet both are situated (counterposed) by a term that is couched in the singular: אִישׁ רִיב. Thus אִישׁ is used collectively in a predicate nominal term that characterizes both of the hostile parties, each of which comprises many individuals.
The expression אִישׁ רִיב seems to be conventional, for it appears also in Isa 41:11; Jer 15:10; Job 31:35. It both defines the situation of interest (a conflict) in terms of its participant, and the participant in terms of the situation. Such a term offers strong support for the hypothesis that אִישׁ labels a situation-defining participant as such.
This case is instructive, yet far from unique. Biblical Hebrew applies singular אִישׁ not only to individuals, but also similarly to other groups of persons: households (Exod 12:4; 16:16, 18; Num 1:52, 2:2, 2:34; 1 Kgs 5:5; Isa 7:21; Mic 4:4); clans, lineages, or tribes (Num. 26:54, 35:8; Deut 29:19 [cf. v. 17]); nations (Gen. 10:5b); and one side in a war, or a contingent in an army (see Stein 2023 for 70 instances). In each case, אִישׁ refers to whatever unit that defines the situation under discussion.
As for rendering into English, the NJPS ‘I and my people were in a bitter conflict’ underplays the situating role of אִישׁ and the resulting role term אִישׁ רִיב. To better reflect our noun’s meaning contribution, I insert the situating word involved.