Judges 11 Jephthah's Daughter

seekeroftruth

Well-Known Member
Judges 11:29 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.”

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.

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.”

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.”

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.

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.

Oh no! Oh this is horrible.... His daughter.... his own little daughter.... Why?

This is from Bibletrack.org.

Jephthah did clobber the Ammonites, but before going, he does a really dumb thing: Jephthah pledges the sacrifice of whatever comes forth first from his house to greet him after his victory. It wasn't just dumb; it was contrary to God's law! Human sacrifice was strictly forbidden by the Mosaic law (Leviticus 18:21; Deuteronomy 12:31); so Jephthah should have known that God’s favor could not be gained in this terrible way. Yet Israel’s neighbors (ironically, especially the Ammonites) sacrificed their children; and this custom might have influenced Jephthah. There is no defense for Jephthah here. I'm guessing he probably expected a servant to emerge first of all, but no...it was his daughter. Those Israelites took their vows to God seriously...well, except those to continue serving Jehovah! Instead of Jephthah's Biblical legacy being the judge who delivered Israel from the attack of the Ammonites, he is most commonly known to us as the man who sacrificed his daughter as a burnt offering. His daughter was pretty understanding though - became a folk heroine with her own annual holiday (verse 40). I would have been looking for a new daddy if I had been her. It should be noted, however, that Jephthah is mentioned as a hero of the faith in Hebrews 11:32 .

Clarification: God did not commission Jephthah to sacrifice his own daughter. That was his own doing.

Well.... this is the last posting for 2017. It sucks that it has to be about child sacrifice.... The children of the Old Testament had a hard way to go. There were a lot of babies. There was no birth control. Just back in Judges 9 Abimelek had 70 brothers. It's touching that Jephthah was heartbroken.... I wonder... was he heartbroken because she was his only daughter.... or because they had a great relationship.... since she was the only child....

God hug a kid for New Years....

:coffee:
 
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