Book of judges in the bible jephthah's daughter

We hope you join us for another segment of our women in the bible series. Jephthahs daughter is a figure in the hebrew bible, whose story is recounted in judges 11. Jephthah appears in the book of judges as a judge who presided over. In the ancient middle east, girls commonly married in their early to midteens, usually becoming engaged after they first started menstruating. If you are curious about this question, there has never been a better time to join this online bible study. Despite the possibilities of comprehending the narrative as part of the propaganda of the book of judges, the story of jephthahs daughter remains enigmatic. A bible story of god and human sacrifice part i the old testament book of judges relates a story that almost defies belief. Jephthah vowed to god that if the lord would grant him victory over the evil ammonites, the first thing that came out to meet him upon his return home, would be jehovahs, andor it would be offered as a burnt sacrifice. The dappled path sharing gods word and daily living on my heavenbound journey. The judges 11 account was accepted as factual by early jewish and christian commentators. When jephthah arrived at home, his daughter, an only child, was the first to come out of his house judges 11. Jephthahs daughter all the women of the bible bible gateway. The judge jephthah had just won a battle over the ammonites, and.

The story of jephthah is well known by readers of the bible because of his willingness to sacrifice his daughter to celebrate his victory against the enemies of israel judges 10. Kirsch, jonathan the harlot by the side of the road. Essentially, jephthah makes a vow to god that if god gives him victory over the ammonites something which presumbably god wants anyway he will sacrifice the first person who comes out from his house to greet him on his return. Of the israelite tribe in gilead present northwest jordan, he was banished from his home. The meaning of the story of jephthahs daughter housetops.

I argued that i believe jephthah did actually sacrifice his daughter to fulfill his. Forbidden tales of the bible ballantine books, 1998 marcus, david jephthah and his vow texas tech university press, 1986 miller, barbara tell it on the mountain. Jephthah was a good man and spent a lot of time teaching his daughter about. But in reading this narrative, one must be careful to interpret events in the context of that day, not merely by the moral climate of ones own. The bible does not explicitly state that jephthah sacrificed his daughter as a burnt offering. One of the more troubling passages of the old testament has to do with a vow made by one of israels judges, jephthah, as recorded in judges 11. The author of judges goes on to add that from then on the virgins of israel would not only mourn the death of baal as they used to, but also jephthahs daughter s death 4 times a year. Because of the word lament and a misunderstanding of the two types of burnt offerings, some have erroneously concluded that this means that jephthahs daughter was sacrificed, that she was. Jephthah was a leader in israel during the time of the judges. Connect with hank hanegraaff, the christian research institute cri and the christian research journal. Jephthah was the commander of the israelite army in gilead at the time the ammonites were oppressing israel.

Like other judges in the bible, jephthah was to conquer the enemies of gods people israel. Like many modern bible scholars, they believed that jephthah kept his vow and killed his daughter. The jewish study bible goes on to discuss how this incident supports the thesis of the book of judges, that in those days people did what was right in their own eyes not following gods law. The bible refers to him as a mighty man of valor judges 11. Rethinking jephthahs foolish vow the gospel coalition. Judges 1921 the daughters of shiloh come out to dance. I am actually suprised that this is a debate i was actually trying to find out if there was a mention of the daughter s name in the bible, when i saw this and thought i would give my two cents. The tragic story from the bible book of judges about jephthah, who made a foolish vow and the sad consequences for his beloved daughter and for him. I will explore why the story about the sacrifice of jephthahs daughter is included in the book of judges. Contextthe interpretation that jephthahs daughter was offered as a burnt offering best fits the context of the book of judges. However, his only child, an unnamed daughter, came out to meet him dancing and playing a tambourine v. We are just getting into judges 11, the jephthah narrative, and by the end of the chapter we will be treated to an extensive discussion of jephthahs vow and the implications for his daughter.

She seeks to find various ways by which to nullify the vow. Jephthah vowed to god that if the lord would grant him victory over the evil ammonites, the first thing that came out to meet him upon his return home, would be jehovah s, andor it would be offered as a burnt sacrifice. As anyone whose read the story knows, his daughter rushes out to greet him, and. She made her father and jehovah happy teach your children. The passage then states that jephthah did to her as he had vowed judges 11. Although boling believed that the whatever of verse 31 could be a reference to a domesticated animal, his view that the writer of the book of judges is sympathetic with jephthah, and his conclusion that the focus of the story is the writers portrayal of jephthahs integrity in fulfilling his vow p. This is not simply an assessment of their moral problems, but its also showing how badly israel was without a king to unite it and lead it. After the awesome victory over the ammonites, some of the men in the israelite tribe of ephraim criticized him for not including them in the war judges 12. If the daughters of shiloh come out to dance in the dances, then come out of the vineyards and snatch each man his wife from the daughters of shiloh, and go to the land of benjamin. Jephthahs daughter i will discuss the story of jephthahs daughter and the rash vow made by jephthah.

The story of jephthah is indeed a tragic one, though not in the way critics suppose it to be. The daughters of rabbah signify people who are in natural good and falsify the truths of the church. The bible does not tell us her name, but we know that she made her father and jehovah happy. The book of judges frequently gets a lot of negative press. David kimchi, a jewish commentator of medieval times, apparently conceived the notion that jephthah merely imposed upon her a life of chastity. O jephthah, judge of israel what a treasure hadst thou.

Lessons from jephthahs daughter 31 days of women from scripture volume 2 day 24 making promises to god day twentyfour. In his defense, jephthah might point out that it was actually his daughter who insisted that he fulfill his vow to god judges 11. The story of jephthah is one of the most encouraging and, at the same time, one of the most tragic in the bible. Jephthahs bloodless sacrifice christian research institute. The story of jephthahs daughter is famous as an example of child sacrifice in the bible, but is that really what the verses mean. The judge jephthah had just won a battle over the ammonites, and vowed that he would offer the first thing that came out of his house as a burnt offering to yahweh. Jephthahs daughter was offered as a burnt offering the theme of judges, not only a cycle, but a downward spiral, supports the reading that jephthahs daughter was offered as a burnt sacrifice. He vowed that if he succeeded in battle he would offer up to the lord as a burnt offering whatever first came forth from his doors of his house to meet him. Jephthahs daughter sacred scripture catholic answers. In the 12th chapter of judges, jephthah made a vow to god to present as a burnt offering the first thing that comes out of his house to greet him, if god will let him defeat the ammonites. This record in judges ends by saying that the daughters of israel went yearly to lament the daughter of jephthah.

Though an obscure figure in the bible, jephthah attained the honor to be mentioned in the heroes of faith list. Its the story of a mighty israelite warrior named jephthah who ends up offering up his only daughter as both human sacrifice and burnt offering up to the god of israel. One of todays readings for mass contained the tragic story of jephthahs daughter judges 11. The story of jephthahs daughter judges 11 tells us that jephthah the gileadite made a vow to the lord before going into battle with the ammonites. So if the intention of jephthahs vow was to dedicate his daughter to the lords service, he would be required to redeem her because she could not serve there. Jephthah was a warrior and judge, but a tragic figure. In the laws every first born had to be offered to god, in the case of the. A new translation with introduction and commentary, anchor yale bible. Jephthah evidently expected an animal to exit, but this unexpected event caused him to tear his clothes in mourning. The meaning of the story of jephthahs daughter posted on december 3, 2017 by dknezacek you know, we are told that all scripture was written for our learning romans 15. The story begins at the end of the previous chapter of the book of judges. Jephthahs daughter and her companions bible story and it came to pass, when he saw her, that he rent his clothes, and said, alas, my daughter.

The story of this unnamed woman appears near the end of her fathers story see judg 11. She tells her father that the torah commands man to bring offerings of cattle, from the herd or from the flock lev. Jephthahs daughter, on the other hand, is presented as wise and practical. Jeffthuh comes from the old testament book of judges, chapters 1112. Jephthahs daughter asked for a two month reprieve, and jephthah granted her request judges 11. Yet jephthah s vow to jehovah god would involve his daughter too. Thank you brothers and sisters, and may god bless you. When jephthah returned to his home in mizpah, who should come out to meet him but his daughter, dancing to the sound of timbrels. Judges 11 niv jephthah the gileadite was a mighty bible gateway. Jephthahs vow and sacrifice of his daughter in judges 11.

Did jephthah really kill his daughter in order to fulfill a. The incident of jephthahs daughter may seem incredible and profoundly cruel to some modernday bible readers. This story of jephthahs daughter helps us to reflect on being the best daughters and sons to our heavenly father, so we may be a blessing to our families, which includes being submissive to his will. God used these men to win important victories in the book of judges, but. Third, the bible never specifically condemns jephthah for his actions. He triumphed over rejection, yet lost someone very dear to him because of a rash, unnecessary vow. Hank hanegraaff, the host of the bible answer man, explains jephthahs vow and sacrifice of his daughter in judges 11. Jephthah had a bit of a shaded past, his mother was a prostitute, and his father could have been any number of men.