Judges 11:29-40--Jephthah's Tragic Vow

Judges 11:29-40
English Standard Version

Jephthah's Tragic Vow
29 Then the Spirit of the LORD was upon Jephthah, and he passed through Gilead and Manasseh and passed on to Mizpah of Gilead, and from Mizpah of Gilead he passed on to the Ammonites. 30 And Jephthah made a vow to the LORD and said, “If you will give the Ammonites into my hand, 31 then whatever comes out from the doors of my house to meet me when I return in peace from the Ammonites shall be the LORD's, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering.” 32 So Jephthah crossed over to the Ammonites to fight against them, and the LORD gave them into his hand. 33 And he struck them from Aroer to the neighborhood of Minnith, twenty cities, and as far as Abel-keramim, with a great blow. So the Ammonites were subdued before the people of Israel.

​34 Then Jephthah came to his home at Mizpah. And behold, his daughter came out to meet him with tambourines and with dances. She was his only child; besides her he had neither son nor daughter. 35 And as soon as he saw her, he tore his clothes and said, “Alas, my daughter! You have brought me very low, and you have become the cause of great trouble to me. For I have opened my mouth to the LORD, and I cannot take back my vow.” 36 And she said to him, “My father, you have opened your mouth to the LORD; do to me according to what has gone out of your mouth, now that the LORD has avenged you on your enemies, on the Ammonites.” 37 So she said to her father, “Let this thing be done for me: leave me alone two months, that I may go up and down on the mountains and weep for my virginity, I and my companions.” 38 So he said, “Go.” Then he sent her away for two months, and she departed, she and her companions, and wept for her virginity on the mountains. 39 And at the end of two months, she returned to her father, who did with her according to his vow that he had made. She had never known a man, and it became a custom in Israel 40 that the daughters of Israel went year by year to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in the year.

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We see again here with Jephthah that the Spirit of the LORD comes upon him for a specific time and for a specific purpose.  This is different than how the Holy Spirit came upon the Church at Pentecost to indwell all believers in all places at all times.  This is a special "anointing" that the LORD gave to those that would serve him as prophet, priests, kings, and judges.  This anointing was to that the LORD gave him leadership ability and strength beyond what he naturally had, however, even when the Spirit of the LORD was upon him, Jephthah made a foolish vow to the LORD that if the LORD gave the Ammonites into his hand, then whatever was first to come out of his house to greet him (I think he assumed it would be an animal) would be sacrificed to the LORD as a burnt offering.  We'll see later why this was so foolish.

The LORD did give the Ammonites into his hands so that he conquered twenty cities and subdued all of the Ammonites before the people of Israel.  As to that vow he made, the first one out of his house to greet him was his daughter, for she had been waiting with tambourine in hand waiting to celebrate, and he remembered the words of his vow, for she was his only child.  He told her of the vow that he made and she asked for two months so that she could morn that she she would never be married and never have children, and her request was granted.  After her time of mourning was fulfilled, Jephthah did according to the vow that he made (I'm pretty sure such child sacrifice did not please the LORD for it was something done by the Canaanites the the LORD prohibited the Israelites to do, however, we do see that Jephthah's daughter was old enough to understand and seemed to be a willing participant--that doesn't make it any less foolish of a vow though).

All the women of Israel lamented and wept for Jephthah's daughter for four days every year to remember the sacrifice that she made to fulfil her father's vow that he made to the LORD, for she gave up something great--not just her life but she was the only offspring of he father's family so there was no one left to bear him any descendants and the line of Jephthah died with her.  This is almost the end of Jephthah's story, but we have one more chapter in it until it is finished, and we'll talk about that next time.