The people, the princes of Gilead, said one to another, What man is he who will begin to fight against the children of Ammon? he shall be head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.
The Lord reminded them, presumably through a prophet, that their behavior had fallen into a pattern of apostasy, oppression, confession, and deliverance (Judges 10:11-12). God had delivered Israel from many enemies. They were the Egyptians (cf. Exodus 1-14), Amorites (also known in Scripture as Midianites, cf. Numbers 31:3), Ammonites (Judges 3:12-30), Philistines (Judges 3:31), Sidonians (ch. 4?), Amalekites (cf. Exodus 17:8-16), and Maunites. The Maunites were probably the Midianites (chs. 6-8), according to the Septuagint. Possibly Israel had defeated each of these nations already during the amphictyony.