In this third section, the dialogue plays an even more crucial role than the role of dialogue in the first two episodes (Judges 10:6–16, with specific dialogue in Judges 10:10–16, and Judges 10:17 – 11:11, with specific dialogue in Judges 11:5–11). In fact, it expands to fill the entire episode. It is more than a third of the entire Jephthah account (about 345 out of 1,000 words in the Hebrew text). The actual battle, by contrast, is described in merely two verses (Judges 11:32–33).1,2
The dialogue this time around happens at a distance, through diplomatic exchange via messengers.
12 Jephthé envoya des messagers au roi des fils d'Ammon, pour lui dire: Qu'y a-t-il entre moi et toi, que tu viennes contre moi pour faire la guerre à mon pays?