Did Jephthah set fire to his kid?

All the following scripture is from Judges 11:29-40:

29 Then the Spirit of the Lord came on Jephthah. He crossed Gilead and Manasseh, passed through Mizpah of Gilead, and from there he advanced against the Ammonites. 30 And Jephthah made a vow to the Lord: “If you give the Ammonites into my hands, 31 whatever comes out of the door of my house to meet me when I return in triumph from the Ammonites will be the Lord’s, and I will sacrifice it as a burnt offering.”

The Bible introduces us in this chapter to Jephthah as a mighty warrior but context is everything, so let's start with that. Jephthah is the only son of his father to be born of a prostitute. Due to this blemish, his other brothers forced him to flee so he would not receive any part of his father's inheritance. He then settled in the land of Tov, likely with other people of similar circumstance. The elders of Gilead must have heard of Jephthah's reputation and invited him back to help fight the Ammonites. While he was still bitter about being exiled, the elders eventually made him an offer he could not refuse, that changing his status from exile to a normal member of society.

As mighty and cunning as Jephthah was, there is a lot riding on this victory, so he turns to God for aid and makes a vow, should God bless him with such a victory. To make vows is not a bad thing but we are not to approach God with an attitude of deal making. Also, one is to be wise in vow making in order to avoid unintended consequenses, which in this case, is going to impact whatever or whoever walks through that door. But how are we to read that impact?

Hebrew scholars point out the vow consists of two parts, that the one who comes out shall belong to God and Jephthah will offer he/she/it up as a burnt offering. Important to point out here is ambiguity in the Hebrew of whether these two parts are connected by "and" or "or". It is reasonable to suggest that depending on what came out the door, either it is to be dedicated to God, or sacraficed as an offering.

A key thing to remember for the rest of this passage of scripture, the Holy Spirit has come upon Jephthah, thus he will not be guided in such a way that his actions and God's blessing upon them will not contradict the commands of scripture. God will not set down instructions to not do human sacrifice as the pagans did and then tell Jephthah to do a human sacrafice.

32 Then Jephthah went over to fight the Ammonites, and the Lord gave them into his hands. 33 He devastated twenty towns from Aroer to the vicinity of Minnith, as far as Abel Keramim. Thus Israel subdued Ammon.

Jephthah goes off to battle and God blesses him with a great victory.

34 When Jephthah returned to his home in Mizpah, who should come out to meet him but his daughter, dancing to the sound of timbrels! She was an only child.Except for her he had neither son nor daughter. 35 When he saw her, he tore his clothes and cried, “Oh no, my daughter! You have brought me down and I am devastated. I have made a vow to the Lord that I cannot break.” 

It was common in Jephthah's day that upon return from a great battle, the women would exit their homes in an attitude of celebration to greet the returning men. It is unlikely Jephthah would not have known this when he made his vow. He now realizes the unintended consequences of hasty decisions, but he knows that what was solemnly vowed to God, must be performed, even though it may be grievous to everyone concerned.

36 “My father,” she replied, “you have given your word to the Lord. Do to me just as you promised, now that the Lord has avenged you of your enemies, the Ammonites. 37 But grant me this one request,” she said. “Give me two months to roam the hills and weep with my friends, because I will never marry.”

May we all have the humble spirit displayed by this young woman. She gives no indication of bitterness or of any desire to avoid the vow. Make no mistake, this will be of great cost to her but she obediently submits to her father and to God. She asks only to mourn for her future with her friends. Notice the focus here is not on her life, but rather her never going to be married, thus to remain a virgin. Something that would seem trivial if her life was to be sacrificed. But in a society where women are valued for their ability to have children, this for her is quite the sacrifice, and not just for her. There will be no family line for Jephthah to pass anything to as his daughter is an only child.

38 “You may go,” he said. And he let her go for two months. She and her friends went into the hills and wept because she would never marry. 39 After the two months, she returned to her father, and he did to her as he had vowed. And she was a virgin.

Jephthah grants his daughter her request and true to her word, she returns and his vow is carried out. She lives a life of seclusion, dedicated to God, never to know a man. Again, a focus on remaining celibate, not on death.

From this comes the Israelite tradition 40 that each year the young women of Israel go out for four days to commemorate the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite.

This tradition is never mentioned again and was likely something done only during her lifetime.

The story of Jephthah is a tragic one, but also an example faith and holding true to one's word.