Did Jephtah kill his daughter?

ig3L · Mar 22, 2007

Even though this seems like a rather obscure passage to get worked up about, I have struggled with this passage, and I am curious to see what others who have thought about this have concluded. The relevent passages are below:

Judges 11:

29 Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon 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 tambourines! 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! My daughter! You have made me miserable and wretched, because 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 the girls 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 custom 40 that each year the young women of Israel go out for four days to commemorate the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite.

Hebrews 11:

32And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets, 33who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, 34quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies.

It seems pretty clear that the Bible says that Jephtah offered his daughter as a burnt offering (which would involve killing her). But, did God approve? Why is he celebrated in Hebrews, when he clearly violated the Mosaic law? Another theory seems to be that he merely promised his daughter to a life of virginity, but this does not seem consistent with the text. Just curious about others' thoughts on this.

ContentInHim · Mar 22, 2007

No, he killed her for sure.

I hadn't realized that his name was in Hebrews -

I assume he was honored as a great warrior and judge, not as a human being.

The notes in my Tanakh indicate that the High Priest would have released Jephtah from his oath for a penalty fine but that Jephtah was too proud to ask. The priest could have insisted but did not. Both were punished. Midrash indicates that Jepthah died by having his limbs fall off one by one!

andross77 · Mar 22, 2007

yes, he killed her. The passage shows how serious an oath is, especially an oath to God. Why was the person killed that used God's name in vain? Why was the person who gathered sticks for a fire on the Sabbath stoned? Because they were both breaking commandments set out by God and God wanted to use them as an example to show people the severity of sin.

Jesus thought oaths were so important that he takes time in Matt. 5:34-37 to tell us not to swear by Heaven or Earth or Jerusalem or even our own head. Just let your yes be yes and your no be no, anything beyond that comes from the evil one.

There are many examples in the OT and NT of people making vows and seeing them through. It is a very important principle.

Yes, it seems crazy that Jepthah would have killed his daughter b/c of a stupid vow he made, but nothing is more important than that relationship (to God). So if you tell God you will do something, if he does something, then when he accomplishes his side of the bargain, you better do yours. God is more important than Jepthah's daughter. It was a stupid vow in the first place but what is made cannot be unmade.

Lilly of the Valley · Mar 25, 2007

No he DIDN'T kill her....human sacrifice was an abomination to God, as you can see all in the OT w/ his judgements on Israel and other nations.

PLus...look closely at the verse:

Jdg 11:37 And she said unto her father, Let this thing be done for me: let me alone two months, that I may go up and down upon the mountains, and bewail my virginity, I and my fellows.

Jdg 11:38 And he said, Go. And he sent her away for two months: and she went with her companions, and bewailed her virginity upon the mountains.

Jdg 11:39 And it came to pass at the end of two months, that she returned unto her father, who did with her according to his vow which he had vowed: and she knew no man. And it was a custom in Israel,

As you can see, she was 'sacrficed' to the Lord by not marrying and staying in the temple of the Lord. Same happened w/ Samuel at the beginning of his life, though he eventually left and married.

1Sa 1:11 And she vowed a vow, and said, O LORD of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt give unto thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto the LORD all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head.

Stinker · Mar 25, 2007

Both the mother of Samuel (Hannah) and Jephthah carried out their vows. Hannah, gave Samuel up to become the final judge Israel had, and it's first prophet. Jephthah gave up his only child as a burnt offering, which teaching had it's roots in Molech. (Lev.18:21)

Some scholars believe that according to the Documentary Hypothesis, these two writers may have come from different tribes, where one believed it to be a sin to offer humans as burnt offerings, and the other did not.

Lilly of the Valley · Mar 25, 2007

The tribe thing doesn't matter since it says clearly that she did not know a man and she was grieving her virginity...not death or etc. Jephthah still carried out his vow...he sacrificed her to God...if you examine the bible sacrifice is more than just death.

ig3L · Mar 25, 2007

Lilly of the Valley said:
The tribe thing doesn't matter since it says clearly that she did not know a man and she was grieving her virginity...not death or etc. Jephthah still carried out his vow...he sacrificed her to God...if you examine the bible sacrifice is more than just death.

The fact that she bewailed her virginity does not end the inquiry. It is accepted by some scholars that she bewailed her virginity because she knew she was going to die a virgin . . . when her father sacrificed her. According to this theory, she was a faithful daughter and allowed her father to complete his vow, but wanted to bewail her virginity because to die a virgin was a shameful thing to happen in the culture. Her father in turn allowed her to do this.

Note also the language of the verse 31: "I will sacrifice it as as a burnt offering." (empahsis added). A burnt offering implies killing the subject of the offering. If he kept the vow, then, it could be argued that he was offering his daughter as a burnt offering.

Calminian · Mar 26, 2007

Nah, Lilly's right. This is one issue I'm surprised there so much debate about. While the author leaves room for his readers pause and think, it becomes quite obvious there was no human burnt sacrifice. A female human doesn't meat the Law's requirements of a burnt offering and Jeffy knew this well. But perhaps the biggest key is the reaction of his daughter. I love JP Holding's humor. Nobody's better at poking fun at skeptics.

J'S DAUGHTER: Oh, boo-hoo! Daddy is going to sacrifice me tomorrow!

FRIEND: How awful!

DAUGHTER: Yes, but you know what the worst part is? I'm ALWAYS going to be a virgin! BOOO-HOOOOOO!

When people are offered to the Lord it is always for temple service. This would preclude Jeffy's daughter from wifely duties. Thus she says,

But grant me this one request,” ... “Give me two months to roam the hills and weep with my friends, because I will never marry.”

Come on guys, this one's too easy.

holyrokker · Mar 26, 2007

Calminian said:
Nah, Lilly's right. This is one issue I'm surprised there so much debate about. While the author leaves room for his readers pause and think, it becomes quite obvious there was no human burnt sacrifice.

When people are offered to the Lord it is always for temple service. This would preclude Jeffy's daughter from wifely duties. Thus she says,

But grant me this one request,” ... “Give me two months to roam the hills and weep with my friends, because I will never marry.”

Come on guys, this one's too easy.

I agree.

Dvorah27 · Mar 26, 2007

Lilly of the Valley said:
The tribe thing doesn't matter since it says clearly that she did not know a man and she was grieving her virginity...not death or etc. Jephthah still carried out his vow...he sacrificed her to God...if you examine the bible sacrifice is more than just death.

She was probably mourning her virginity because she died without ever having children.

Dvorah27 · Mar 26, 2007

Calminian said:
Nah, Lilly's right. This is one issue I'm surprised there so much debate about. While the author leaves room for his readers pause and think, it becomes quite obvious there was no human burnt sacrifice. A female human doesn't meat the Law's requirements of a burnt offering and Jeffy knew this well. But perhaps the biggest key is the reaction of his daughter. I love JP Holding's humor. Nobody's better at poking fun at skeptics.

J'S DAUGHTER: Oh, boo-hoo! Daddy is going to sacrifice me tomorrow!

FRIEND: How awful!

DAUGHTER: Yes, but you know what the worst part is? I'm ALWAYS going to be a virgin! BOOO-HOOOOOO!

When people are offered to the Lord it is always for temple service. This would preclude Jeffy's daughter from wifely duties. Thus she says,

But grant me this one request,” ... “Give me two months to roam the hills and weep with my friends, because I will never marry.”

Come on guys, this one's too easy.

Who is Jeffy ? I don't think I've noticed anybody in this thread named Jeffy.

Btw, I don't think its right for you to mock her period of mourning. Virginity was no laughing matter to her, so please have some respect, especially considering that it's coming quite close to mocking the word of God itself.

ig3L · Mar 26, 2007

Calminian said:
Nah, Lilly's right. This is one issue I'm surprised there so much debate about. While the author leaves room for his readers pause and think, it becomes quite obvious there was no human burnt sacrifice. A female human doesn't meat the Law's requirements of a burnt offering and Jeffy knew this well. But perhaps the biggest key is the reaction of his daughter. I love JP Holding's humor. Nobody's better at poking fun at skeptics.

J'S DAUGHTER: Oh, boo-hoo! Daddy is going to sacrifice me tomorrow!

FRIEND: How awful!

DAUGHTER: Yes, but you know what the worst part is? I'm ALWAYS going to be a virgin! BOOO-HOOOOOO!

When people are offered to the Lord it is always for temple service. This would preclude Jeffy's daughter from wifely duties. Thus she says,

But grant me this one request, ... Give me two months to roam the hills and weep with my friends, because I will never marry.

Come on guys, this one's too easy.

I've seen this type of reductio ad absurdum argument before on this topic. The only problem with it is that it only sounds absurd if we assume that the cultural values of Jephtah's time were essentially the same as they are today. It seems pretty clear to me that our values, especially those concerning sexuality and virginity, are vastly different than they were then. So it is mistaken to assume that because it sounds weird to our sensibilities today, that it could not possibly have been reasonable to the people of the time.

In fact, my understanding is that Jews generally accept that Jephtah killed his daughter, and this understanding was generally accepted by Christians until the last couple centuries.

In other words, I don't think this as easy as you seem to think it is.

bliz · Mar 26, 2007

I don't see any way around it, he killed his daughter. He siad he was going t make a burnt offering, and scripture tells us that he did what he said.

It falls in very nicely with the last several chapters of the Book of Judges. If you want some intereting bedtime reading, give it a look... Violence, rape and murder of women by Jewish men. What a lovely time in history...

Calminian · Mar 26, 2007

Dvorah27 said:
She was probably mourning her virginity because she died without ever having children.

That's silly. She said she was grieving because she would never marry. This really is easy.

And if Jeffo was met by a female animal do you think he would have offered it as a burnt offering? It is required by the law to be male. Are we really going to assume now he was going to totally violate the law which he knew so well? What if a pig had snuck into the courtyard? Come on guys, think!

Calminian · Mar 26, 2007

Dvorah27 said:
Who is Jeffy ? I don't think I've noticed anybody in this thread named Jeffy.

Btw, I don't think its right for you to mock her period of mourning. Virginity was no laughing matter to her, so please have some respect, especially considering that it's coming quite close to mocking the word of God itself.

Someone needs to lighten up. Do you like Jeffo better? ^_^

ContentInHim · Mar 26, 2007

Calminian said:
That's silly. She said she was grieving because she would never marry. This really is easy.

And if Jeffo was met by a female animal do you think he would have offered it as a burnt offering? It is required by the law to be male. Are we really going to assume now he was going to totally violate the law which he knew so well? What if a pig had snuck into the courtyard? Come on guys, think!

Good point - one we read about in this week's Parasha - BUT ....
Samson knew the law also and was dedicated to God in addition and yet he consistently broke the law. Just because a person was a judge doesn't mean that he didn't break the law!

Calminian · Mar 26, 2007

ig3L said:
IIn fact, my understanding is that Jews generally accept that Jephtah killed his daughter, and this understanding was generally accepted by Christians until the last couple centuries.

The early fathers were good on most things but got a lot wrong as well. None of them were very proficient in the original languages and not one of them could read the original hebrew, so they were at a bit of a disadvantage with compared to latter theologians. The were good theologians in general, but usually were off on issues where old testament understandings were vital. But there really is not excuse for today's christian with all the tools at our disposal.

ig3L said:
In other words, I don't think this as easy as you seem to think it is.

It really is actually. Once you understand that Jeffdog was very knowledgeable about the Law and that he knew only certain animals would qualify for a burnt offering, it's easy to see that he would only be held to his initial pledge. whatever comes out of the door of my house to meet me when I return in triumph from the Ammonites will be the LORDs. Or do you suppose he was saying, "even if it's a pig or some other abomination I'm still going to do it!"?

Come on this is only difficult at first glance. As we examine the text and greater context, human sacrifice becomes absurd. Do you really think such an abomination would get ol Jeffsky into the faith hall of fame? (Heb. 11:32). Come on, dust off those old thinking caps.

ig3L · Mar 26, 2007

ContentInHim said:
Good point - one we read about in this week's Parasha - BUT ....
Samson knew the law also and was dedicated to God in addition and yet he consistently broke the law. Just because a person was a judge doesn't mean that he didn't break the law!

It's worth noting, I think, that the Book of Judges is not really understood to be a decription of a period in the history of Israel, when everyone had it together. In fact, it seems to describe a rather dark period in history. Samson is a clear example of this; even though he was a judge, his conduct was certainly nothing that God would hope that His people would aspire to imitate. The same could be said of Jephtah. The impression that I get in reading the book in general is that the people were so corrupted that Judges mentioned were the best that could do, and this illustrates why this was such a dark period.

It is also worth noting that David, who is one that is usually held in very high esteem, was an adulterer and a murderer -- not really one for follwoing God's law. Jephtah, on the other hand, we don't know much about other than about the story that is the topic of this thread and a very brief mention in the book of Hebrews. Why should we assume that he was any more morally upright than King David, who is much more celebrated in Scripture?

Calminian · Mar 26, 2007

ContentInHim said:
Good point - one we read about in this week's Parasha - BUT ....
Samson knew the law also and was dedicated to God in addition and yet he consistently broke the law. Just because a person was a judge doesn't mean that he didn't break the law!

Yes and he suffered for it. Jeffy, was given victory. There's quite a few differences here, if you read carefully. According to you, Jeff was given victory by God for making a vow both he and God knew to be an abomination. Do you see anything parallel in the Samson account?

ContentInHim · Mar 26, 2007

Calminian said:
Yes and he suffered for it. Jeffy, was given victory. There's quite a few differences here, if you read carefully. According to you, Jeff was given victory by God for making a vow both he and God knew to be an abomination. Do you see anything parallel in the Samson account?

No, he was actually punished for his rash oath and subsequent sacrifice. Read my post #2.

You know, the Jews didn't get EVERYTHING WRONG! They were reading Judges 1500 years before the early church fathers were even saved. I think I'll go along with their opinions for now!

Did Jephtah kill his daughter?

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