JUDGES:
JEPHTHAH’S DAUGHTER
I will discuss the story of Jephthah’s daughter and the rash vow made by Jephthah. I will explore why the story about the sacrifice of Jephthah’s daughter is included in the book of Judges.
To begin, Judges 11: 30-32 & 34 states, “And Jephthah made a vow to the Lord: ‘If you give the Ammonites into my hands, 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.’ Then Jephthah went over to fight the Ammonites, and the Lord gave them into his hands. When Jephthah returned to his home in Mizpah, who should come out to meet him but his daughter, dancing to the sound of tambourines!”[1]
In An Introduction to the Old Testament, the author states that the account of Jephthah shows conflict within God about his relationship with Israel. The author goes on to say God is provoked to anger by Israel’s sin but he is committed to Israel and vexed by their suffering. The author sets this as the stage for Jephthah appearing on the scene. He states that Jephthah, in calculating self – interest, makes a rash and redundant vow to God that ends up destroying that which he held most dear, his only child. However, the author also states that despite Jephthah’s flaws, we are to learn from his faith because it was in faith that he conquered, served justice and he gained the promise.[2]
In Why Would the Deuteronomists Tell about the Sacrifice of Jephthah’s Daughter, the author states that in spite of a widely held opinion, the account of Jephthah and his daughter never existed independently, but was composed by a redactor to fit in its present context. He says this means the author-redactor wanted to create a kind of tension between the gift of the spirit and the vow. The author also states, “As holistic readings have often underlined, Jephthah’s vow appears after v. 29 as due to lack of faith. The tragic outcome of the vow that was not necessarily hasty and inconsiderate increases the ambiguity of Jephthah’s character. We may add that there is a neutrality of God. Indeed, the text is silent about God’s reaction to the deed and he does not intervene at all. Thus, the story of Jephthah’s sacrifice puts forth an atmosphere of fatality. The vow has been pronounced and has to be accomplished. But it would have been preferable that this vow had never been made.”[3]
In The Interpreter’s Bible, the authors state that Jephthah’s vow was an attempt to buy God’s favor. They reveal that the root of the story of Jephthah lies in the personal tragedy, which came upon him through the very qualities of devotion and courage, which made him great. They go on to say that as Jephthah marched out against the Ammonites, he was fearful lest God should not be completely with him and that is why he made the solemn and tragic vow. However, they also point out several factors that help to redeem the story. The authors state these redeeming factors in the story: Jephthah’s conviction that he must have God’s help if he was to win the victory; he was willing to pledge anything for divine support; Jephthah’s great love for his daughter; the daughter’s noble submission to her father’s vow; the strong determination of Jephthah to go through with what he had promised and finally, we learn that God cannot be bribed.[4]
In The Pulpit Commentary, the author reveals Jephthah’s vow was a “rash and perverse act, springing from a culpable ignorance of the character of God, and directed by heathen superstition and cruelty instead of by trust in the love and mercy of Jehovah, poured an ingredient of extreme bitterness into this cup of joy and poisoned his whole life. The hour of triumph was turned to desolation and Jephthah had no one to blame but himself for this reverse.”[5] The author goes on to use this as a teaching point for today. He states that, “How often we can match this scene by similar instances of human perverseness embittering the sweet cup of life! A nation’s career is checked by crime; an individual’s life is marred by some act of ungodliness and domestic enjoyment is destroyed by sins of selfishness and self-willed folly. And then men speak of their bad luck, and murmur against the providence of God; as if one could sow the wind and not reap the whirlwind, or cut off the shadow of sin, remorse and shame and death.”[6]
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Buttrick, George Arthur. The Interpreter’s Bible: Leviticus to Samuel. Abingdon Press
New York. 1953.
Longman, Tremper and Raymond B. Dillard. An Introduction to Old Testament.
Zondervan. Grand Rapids, MI. 1994.
Right Rev. Lord A.C. Hervey, D.D., The Pulpit Commentary: Judges & Ruth. Wilcox &
Follett Co. New York.
Romer, Thomas C. Why Would the Deuteronomists Tell about the Sacrifice of
Jephthah’s Daughter? Journal for the Study of the Old Testament. No. 77. Mar
1998.
The NIV Rainbow Study Bible: New International Version. Rainbow Studies, Inc. El
Reno. Oklahoma. 1992.
[1] The NIV Rainbow Study Bible: New International Version, p. 282.
[2] Longman, T. & Raymond B. Dillard, Introduction to the Old Testament, p. 126-127.
[3] Romer, Thomas C., Why Would the Deuteronomists Tell about the Sacrifice of Jephthah’s Daughter?, Journal for the Study of the Old Testament, p. 29-30.
[4] Buttrick, George Arthur, The Interpreter’s Bible, p. 769-770.
[5] Right Rev. Lord A.C. Hervey, D.D., The Pulpit Commentary: Judges & Ruth, p. 127.
[6] Right Rev. Lord A.C. Hervey, D.D., p. 127.
JEPHTHAH’S DAUGHTER
I will discuss the story of Jephthah’s daughter and the rash vow made by Jephthah. I will explore why the story about the sacrifice of Jephthah’s daughter is included in the book of Judges.
To begin, Judges 11: 30-32 & 34 states, “And Jephthah made a vow to the Lord: ‘If you give the Ammonites into my hands, 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.’ Then Jephthah went over to fight the Ammonites, and the Lord gave them into his hands. When Jephthah returned to his home in Mizpah, who should come out to meet him but his daughter, dancing to the sound of tambourines!”[1]
In An Introduction to the Old Testament, the author states that the account of Jephthah shows conflict within God about his relationship with Israel. The author goes on to say God is provoked to anger by Israel’s sin but he is committed to Israel and vexed by their suffering. The author sets this as the stage for Jephthah appearing on the scene. He states that Jephthah, in calculating self – interest, makes a rash and redundant vow to God that ends up destroying that which he held most dear, his only child. However, the author also states that despite Jephthah’s flaws, we are to learn from his faith because it was in faith that he conquered, served justice and he gained the promise.[2]
In Why Would the Deuteronomists Tell about the Sacrifice of Jephthah’s Daughter, the author states that in spite of a widely held opinion, the account of Jephthah and his daughter never existed independently, but was composed by a redactor to fit in its present context. He says this means the author-redactor wanted to create a kind of tension between the gift of the spirit and the vow. The author also states, “As holistic readings have often underlined, Jephthah’s vow appears after v. 29 as due to lack of faith. The tragic outcome of the vow that was not necessarily hasty and inconsiderate increases the ambiguity of Jephthah’s character. We may add that there is a neutrality of God. Indeed, the text is silent about God’s reaction to the deed and he does not intervene at all. Thus, the story of Jephthah’s sacrifice puts forth an atmosphere of fatality. The vow has been pronounced and has to be accomplished. But it would have been preferable that this vow had never been made.”[3]
In The Interpreter’s Bible, the authors state that Jephthah’s vow was an attempt to buy God’s favor. They reveal that the root of the story of Jephthah lies in the personal tragedy, which came upon him through the very qualities of devotion and courage, which made him great. They go on to say that as Jephthah marched out against the Ammonites, he was fearful lest God should not be completely with him and that is why he made the solemn and tragic vow. However, they also point out several factors that help to redeem the story. The authors state these redeeming factors in the story: Jephthah’s conviction that he must have God’s help if he was to win the victory; he was willing to pledge anything for divine support; Jephthah’s great love for his daughter; the daughter’s noble submission to her father’s vow; the strong determination of Jephthah to go through with what he had promised and finally, we learn that God cannot be bribed.[4]
In The Pulpit Commentary, the author reveals Jephthah’s vow was a “rash and perverse act, springing from a culpable ignorance of the character of God, and directed by heathen superstition and cruelty instead of by trust in the love and mercy of Jehovah, poured an ingredient of extreme bitterness into this cup of joy and poisoned his whole life. The hour of triumph was turned to desolation and Jephthah had no one to blame but himself for this reverse.”[5] The author goes on to use this as a teaching point for today. He states that, “How often we can match this scene by similar instances of human perverseness embittering the sweet cup of life! A nation’s career is checked by crime; an individual’s life is marred by some act of ungodliness and domestic enjoyment is destroyed by sins of selfishness and self-willed folly. And then men speak of their bad luck, and murmur against the providence of God; as if one could sow the wind and not reap the whirlwind, or cut off the shadow of sin, remorse and shame and death.”[6]
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Buttrick, George Arthur. The Interpreter’s Bible: Leviticus to Samuel. Abingdon Press
New York. 1953.
Longman, Tremper and Raymond B. Dillard. An Introduction to Old Testament.
Zondervan. Grand Rapids, MI. 1994.
Right Rev. Lord A.C. Hervey, D.D., The Pulpit Commentary: Judges & Ruth. Wilcox &
Follett Co. New York.
Romer, Thomas C. Why Would the Deuteronomists Tell about the Sacrifice of
Jephthah’s Daughter? Journal for the Study of the Old Testament. No. 77. Mar
1998.
The NIV Rainbow Study Bible: New International Version. Rainbow Studies, Inc. El
Reno. Oklahoma. 1992.
[1] The NIV Rainbow Study Bible: New International Version, p. 282.
[2] Longman, T. & Raymond B. Dillard, Introduction to the Old Testament, p. 126-127.
[3] Romer, Thomas C., Why Would the Deuteronomists Tell about the Sacrifice of Jephthah’s Daughter?, Journal for the Study of the Old Testament, p. 29-30.
[4] Buttrick, George Arthur, The Interpreter’s Bible, p. 769-770.
[5] Right Rev. Lord A.C. Hervey, D.D., The Pulpit Commentary: Judges & Ruth, p. 127.
[6] Right Rev. Lord A.C. Hervey, D.D., p. 127.
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