The Ammonite king's response rehashes historical claims to the lands east of the Jordan, asserting that Israel had originally conquered these territories from the Ammonites and that the Ammonites are now reclaiming their ancestral holdings. This retelling of history, while self-serving, reflects genuine territorial disputes from the conquest period and ancient Near Eastern claims about land ownership and legitimate possession. The Ammonite position echoes claims that might have historical basis in the conquest narratives, where Moses led Israel to conquer the Amorite kingdom of Sihon and the kingdom of Og of Bashan, territories that may have included or bordered Ammonite lands. This historical argument, while not ultimately successful in Jephthah's response, reveals that even the Ammonites understand that land disputes must be framed in terms of prior rights and historical precedence. The Ammonite claim implicitly challenges whether Israel's conquest was truly legitimate or merely a temporary usurpation of Ammonite territories.

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