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.
