The story of Jephthah is found in Judges 11. He was “a mighty man of valor”, the son of a prostitute, and the son of Gilead (Judges 11:1). He was thrown out of his father’s house and told that he would not inherit anything because he was an illegitimate child (Judges 11:2).
So, Jephthah left home and took up with “vain men.” The Pulpit Commentary says these were probably men that had run through their inheritances and were looking for someone with which to join forces.
After some time had passed, the Ammonites began a war with Israel, and the people of Gilead went to get Jephthah. After all, he was a mighty warrior and capable of leading an army to fight against the people of Ammon.
Jephthah was still angry over being thrown out of his own home and away from his people, but the men of Gilead promised to make him their captain.
As these men approached the time of battle, Jephthah made a vow to God. This was his vow, “If thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands, Then it shall be, that whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, shall surely be the Lord’s, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering” Judges 11:30-31.
The Lord answered Jephthah by delivering the Ammonites to him and his men. Jephthah was delighted to return home to celebrate his victory.
When Jephthah returned home, his daughter came out to meet him. This was his only child, so you can imagine how he must have felt when he remembered the vow he had made to God. When he saw her, he tore his clothes in despair. He told her, “I have opened my mouth unto the Lord, and I cannot go back.”
So, Jephthah’s daughter asked for two months to prepare herself before her death, and he granted her that time. The scripture says that she wanted that time to “mourn her virginity.” The chapter ends with Jephthah honoring his vow.
There are so many questions about this story; and, unfortunately, most of those questions can only be answered by supposition. Let’s look at just a few.
- First, why did he make a vow at all since God had provided him a victory against the Amorites?
- Second, why would he vow to offer the first thing that came from his house? He had to know that would probably be a human.
- Third, how could Jephthah’s daughter be so compliant with the vow her father made?
The inspired writer affirms that God was with Jephthah. Verse 29 says, “Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah.” This indicates that God was already with him, so there appears to be no need to make a vow. We, too, are like that. We often feel the need to bargain with God instead of just being willing to wait and have faith that God will do what is best.
Some think it is possible that Jephthah expected to offer a human sacrifice. After all, he was the son of a strange woman, probably from Syria. Syrians frequently practiced human sacrifice, as did the Ammonites. He had also spent some time with a group of rebels before he was approached by the elders of Gilead to lead God’s people. All of these things could have contributed to the vow he made and the possibility that he didn’t think it was rash.
Jephthah told his daughter immediately about the promise he had made to God. She let him know immediately that she was willing to comply with the vow her father had made. Her sadness is based on the fact that she would have to remain a virgin. She would not have a chance to become a mother. There would be no children to carry on the family of Jephthah.
Whatever else we can say or feel about this story, we have to admit that this daughter had respect for a vow to God and her part in fulfilling the promise of her father.
We aren’t told how Jephthah fulfilled his promise. We do know that his daughter was remembered, and now we need to see what we can learn from this story.
The lessons are simple:
- Your background does not have to limit what you can do for God. As adults, we become responsible for our actions. We can’t use our family background as an excuse not to serve God.
- Be careful what you promise. We need to think before we speak.
- We shouldn’t bargain with God. God offers us the opportunity to pray to Him with requests, but we need to remember that the way He answers is based on what is best for us.
- Respect and honoring parents in what is right is just as important today as it was in the Old Testament.
Sandra Oliver
And Gilead’s wife bare him sons; and his wife’s sons grew up, and they thrust out Jephthah, and said unto him, Thou shalt not inherit in our father’s house; for thou art the son of a strange woman (Judges 11:2). The covetousness of the younger brothers for the family inheritance is obvious and stated as the reason for thrusting him out, but they may also have had the law against any illegitimate child going into the congregation of the people (Deuteronomy 23:2) in mind too.
Judges 11:3 says Jephthah joined vain men (not evil, but useless, empty; OT:7386 from OT:7324; empty; figuratively, worthless). King David did the same thing when Saul was chasing him, and most of those vain men were related to David through his mother.
Gilead was a place as well as the name of three men in Israel. Numbers 32:39-41 tells us that the children of Machir, the son of Manesseh went to the towns of Gilead and took them and dwelt there. In Judges 11:5-6, we see it was the elders of Gilead and not Jephthah’s family that requested he help them against their enemies.
Jephthah vowed a vow to the Lord as he prayed for victory. He had not been guaranteed victory, but he knew he was fighting for God’s people—a war against 20 cities of the Ammonites. He believed the war was right and just—thus he vowed in Judges 11:30-31 to give whatever came first from his house as a burnt offering if God gave him the victory. A little research regarding how houses were built and how they were used in those days shows that families usually kept their sheep and cattle inside a type of compound wall while the family lived in separate quarters above the animals. With a situation like that, we can believe that Jephthah expected an animal (small or large) to appear first.
When Jephthah saw his daughter coming out of the house with timbrels and dancing to celebrate his victory, he tore his clothes and cried, because she was his only child. But she (and he) believed that their duty was to keep the vow he had made. Judges 11:36-37 shows that she believed his vow was binding and she agreed to abide by the vow he had made—unlike many in Israel’s time, who did not keep the vows they made in marriage or any other agreement (Ecclesiastes 5:5-7).
At the end of the two months his daughter returned from her mourning, and Jephthah did with her according to his vow (Judges 11:39).