Jephthah’s daughter meets him Judges 11:34-40 Lesson 14

Jephthah returns Jephthah returns to his home in Mizpah His daughter came out to meet him with tembrels and dances She was his only child (no other sons or daughters) When Jephthah saw her coming to meet him he rent his clothes in grief He told her you have brought me very low You have become one of those who trouble me

Jephthah returns I have opened my mouth and can’t go back on my word His daughter replied: My father, you have made your vow to Jehovah Do to me as you have vowed Jehovah has taken vengeance for you upon your enemies even the ammonites Let me first have this favor Let me and my companions go to the mountains

Jephthah returns There I may bewail my virginity, I and my companions Jephthah told her to go with her companions for 2 months She returned after 2 months and said to her father, do with her as he vowed She did not know a man in her lifetime It was a custom in Israel, to go out each year to praise the daughter of Jephthah

Jephthah returns One of the most debated questions in the Bible is whether Jephthah offered his daughter as a burnt offering Whether he burned her as one would a burnt sacrifice More study of the pros and cons can help you determine the answer So do not let your class get out of hand make the discussion brief

Those who believe he offered his daughter as a burnt sacrifice The text states that Jephthah vowed a vow Whoever meets me upon my victorious return from the Ammonites, I will offer up for a burnt offering 11:31 He did with her according to his vow 11:39 These words, taken at face value, indicate that he offered his daughter as a bleeding sacrifice to Jehovah

Those who believe he offered his daughter as a burnt sacrifice The literal meaning of Jephthah’s vow is , “whoever comes out to meet me,”not, whatever comes out to meet me Whoever comes from the door of my house will be offered Jephthah must have been thinking of some person who would meet him

Leviticus 27:28-29 says, “No devoted thing, that a man shall devote unto Jehovah of all that he hath, whether of man or beast, or of field, shall be sold or redeemed: It is most holy unto Jehovah They can not be ransomed Jephthah was very specific in his vow He would offer a burnt offering Burnt offerings were totally burned, except the skin or hide of the animal This signified total dedication Ex 29:18; Lev 1:9, 13, 17

When Hannah vowed to give her son to God, she worded her vow to indicate a Nazirite vow One of dedication to God for a period of time In the case of Samuel, it was for his entire life 1Sam 1:11 Jephthah’s vow was different because nothing lived through a burnt offering Jephthah lived in the time of idolatrous worship around him which offered human sacrifices to gods like Molech Lev 18:21; Lev 20:1-5 Human sacrifice would not be a shock to him as it would be to us today

Those who deny Jephthah offered her as a burnt offering Human sacrifices were an abomination to Jehovah, prohibited upon pain of death Lev 18:21; 20:2-5; Deut 12:31; 18:9-13 There is no rebuke from God for his vow Instead of being rebuked, his name is listed in Heb 11 as one of the faithful God stopped Abraham from offering his son as a sacrifice

During the days of the wicked kings, such as Ahaz and Manasseh, who offered their sons as sacrifice to false gods 2 King 16:3; 21:6 These actions hastened the destruction of the kingdom of Judah If Jephthah did offer his daughter as a sacrifice, there were some details pertaining to the law that were broken Lets look at them

According to the law, sacrifices, including the burnt offerings, were to be offered at the sanctuary Deut 12:6,11,13-14 This law was strictly observed unless a special occasion was commanded by God If he offered her it would be a direct violation of the commandment Unless he carried her to the Priest to offer her for him If that be the case the Priest were involved in a sacrifice which was an abomination to Jehovah Burnt offerings could only be male Lev 1

Are we to conclude that Jephthah could offer a human sacrifice, an abomination to the Lord, that he could offer it in an unscriptural place. Would he ignore the restriction that it be male Jephthah was a religious man Judges 11:10-11,21-27,29-30,35 He had not shown himself to be rash in conduct He declared that Jehovah had given Israel the disputed land He ask for help in defeating the enemy He was not given over to idolatrous practices nor the practice of human sacrifice

Others were totally dedicated to God like: Samson Judges 13:4-5 Samuel 1Samuel 1:11 John the Baptist Lk 1:15 These were all Nazirites from birth—dedicated to God from birth There were women who did service at the door of the tent of meeting 1Sam 2:22 Anna in the New Testament Lk 2:37 Jephthah’s daughter was not the only one who was a participant in a vow of dedication

The daughters of Israel went yearly to lament, to commemorate this event Therefore it must have been proper to remember that occasion Would it be proper to commemorate something that was an abomination to God like a human sacrifice? A total dedication of a person to the service of Jehovah would be commended The family would also be honored

Vows Vows were voluntary, free-will sacrifices to God One could vow to give an animal, a field, a house, or other possession, or a person to the Lord Each type of vow had rules and regulations If it were a clean animal it could be sacrificed If unclean it would be used as a work animal around the tabernacle, or money could be paid according to its value Lev 27:9-13

Vows If it were property vowed It would become either permanent inheritance of the Levites or a value assessed + 1/5 that the owner could pay and retain the property If a person, then that person either served in some capacity of work for the tabernacle, or an appointed price was paid as a gift to the Lord this was set forth in Lev 27:3-8 Vowing a person was not an unheard of thing It was common, and rules were given in the law for the handling of such vows.

Vows Vows were made with a specific person or thing to be dedicated The item would be given if feasible, otherwise the assigned value was paid. The law made provisions for rash vows If a man made a rash vow and realized he could not keep it He was commanded to offer a sacrifice for his sin of vowing rashly He could not complete the vow he made Lev 5:4-6

Vows Certain things could not be vowed. Anything that was devoted to God already The first born animal could not be vowed, it belonged to Jehovah already Lev 27: 26-27 Tithes is another example Lev 27:30-34 The spoils from a dedicated city like Jericho could not be vowed Josh 6:17-19 A person guilty of a crime, or of idolatry, was devoted to God for destruction could not be vowed

Lev. 27:28-29 28Notwithstanding no devoted thing, that a man shall devote unto the LORD of all that he hath, both of man and beast, and of the field of his possession, shall be sold or redeemed: every devoted thing is most holy unto the LORD.  29None devoted, which shall be devoted of men, shall be redeemed; but shall surely be put to death. 

Vows Paying a specific amount of money to fulfill his vow or offering a specific sacrifice to pay the penalty for making a rash vow would seem a simple way out for Jephthah If there was a simple solution why was he terribly upset? His daughter would be totally dedicated to God His vow was whoever came out would be offered to God as an OLAB, which in the Old Testament is uaually a burnt offering, but can mean something totally dedicated to God.

The vow- Judges 11:31 Youngs Literal translation,New Revised Standard,The living Bible,New living translation YLT:31then it hath been, that which at all cometh out from the doors of my house to meet me in my turning back in peace from the Bene-Ammon—it hath been to Jehovah, or I have offered up for it—a burnt-offering.’NRSV:31then whoever comes out of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return victorious from the Ammonites, shall be the LORD’S, to be offered up by me as a burnt offering.”  N

TLB:30-31Meanwhile Jephthah had vowed to the Lord that if God would help Israel conquer the Ammonites, then when he returned home in peace, the first person coming out of his house to meet him would be sacrificed as a burnt offering to the Lord!NLT:31I will give to the LORD the first thing coming out of my house to greet me when I return in triumph. I will sacrifice it as a burnt offering.”

The dedicated thing could have been a servant, family member He intended the sacrifice to be a costly one because the favor he ask was great When his daughter came out he knew that she would be totally dedicated to God for all her life She would remain a virgin, never marry, never lead a normal life, total service to God This could well be celebrated, whereas it is difficult to celebrate a human sacrifice

This was Jephthah’s only child He would have no other descendants The lineage of Jephthah would be lost in Israel

The Ephraimites Judges 12:1-7 The men of Ephraim heard of the war against the Ammonites and went to Jephthah and ask why did you not call us? We will burn down your house since you didn’t call us. Jephthah calls the men of Gilead together and fought the Ephraimites The band of no-bodies that Ephraim thought Jephthah and his men were, began to run them back across Jordan

The Ephraimites Judges 12:1-7 Jephthah’s men were waiting at the fords of the Jordan When a person would come to cross they would be ask if they were Ephraimites They would be required to say shibboleth Those from Ephraim would pronounce it sibboleth, the “h” sound would be missing 42,000 men of Ephraim fell in battle Jephthah judged Israel 6 years He is included as a man of faith Heb 11:32

Fords

END of LESSON

Jordan River with Sea of Galilee in background

Jordan could not be Crossed except in Certain locations called fords

Judean hill country east of Jerusalem