Jad Khalaf Writings

"Study to shew thyself approved unto God,
a workman that needeth not to be ashamed,
rightly dividing the word of truth."
II Timothy 2:15

JEPHTHAH

BY

JAD JAMAL KHALAF

  The book of Judges contains very useful information about this particular part of Israel’s
history. During this period of history, there had to be “adaptation and adjustment” on behalf of
the people who were judged by the judges. Jephthah was a minor judge as well as “the tenth
judge.” The judges had a job to do. They were in command of God’s people. There were three
types of judges: warrior, priest, or prophet judge. The judges “were raised up by God to be the
saviours of His oppressed people.” No one knows for sure who wrote the book of Judges but
the author, without doubt, was inspired by God to write down the events that happened under
the different judges. As a whole, the book of Judges is very interesting to read and study. One
particular situation that contains many different opinions about is the vow that Jephthah made to
the Lord in chapter eleven. First of all, there is some very useful background information that
will aid in the understanding of how the vow came to be.
  Jephthah was born to a harlot. Even though Jephthah could not help what his mother was, this
was still a sign of “disgrace" on Jephthah’s reputation.   Jephthah’s brothers did not want him to
receive any inheritance, so they basically drove him out from their presence. Jephthah was
basically left to defend himself, without any help from his family. Jephthah left the presence of
his brothers, dwelt with others who were considered useless, and later became known as a
brave and strong man. That is when the Gileadites came to him.   In time of trouble, they sought
out the outcast Jephthah. There was no one to lead the men in fighting so they asked him to be
their “commander-in-chief against the Ammonites.” Jephthah had certain conditions that must
be understood before he would rule over them. He was “naturally a little sceptical at first; but
agreement is reached and ratified before Jehovah" in Mizpah. The children of Ammon were
going to have to war against Jephthah and his people.   Jephthath advanced his men towards the
Ammonites. God’s spirit had come over Jephthah during this time. God’s spirit did not come
over Jephthah until “he had yielded himself to the Lord, and made full confession, by uttering all
his words before the Lord.”
  This sounds like any other judge who judged and lead the people to war, that is till Jephthah
made his vow. Jephthah made a vow to God and that vow is very interesting to read and think
about. Jephthah promised God that if God would allow him to destroy the Ammonites, then he
would offer a burnt offering. “What is wrong with that?” One might ask. Burnt offerings were
made all of the time, right. Correct, but this vow was much different in nature. Whatever came
out of the doors of Jephthah’s house, to meet him when he returned, would be the Lord’s.
Jephthah was willing to offer “a sacrifice for his victory over the Ammonites.” Now the story of
Jephthah and his vow takes a very interesting twist.
  Take a look at the vow. Some think that “Jephthah’s fulfilled vow seems to be inhuman and
some cannot understand why God should be pleased with it.” There was no doubt that Jephthah
worshiped God. The question arises, “What if Jephthah does defeat the Ammonites, then would
Jephthah really sacrifice a human being as a burnt offering?”
  Sure enough, God helped Jephthah defeat the Ammonites by a great slaughter. Jephthah “is fit
now to have them delivered into his hands, as he himself is now in the hands of God, that no
flesh should glory in His presence.” The Israelites had demolished the Ammonites. Jephthah
was excited and full of joy as he returned to his home. A celebration was going to take place, as
was accustomed to the winning army. God had used this once outcast man to lead Israel back to
Him.    When Jephthah arrived to his home in Mizpeh, someone from his family ran out to meet
him. One might guess correct if said that his daughter was the first one out of his house. Wow!
Talk about Jephthah having to swallow his words whole. Jephthah’s only child was the one who
came to greet him with singing and with dancing. Jephthah had opened his mouth and had
inserted his foot. There was no going back on his word because a promise is a promise.
Surprising, though, Jephthah’s daughter tells her dad that what has been promised must be
carried out. Jephthah’s daughter knew that God had been with her father in defeating the
Ammonites. There was only one request from the daughter. The daughter wanted to go up with
her friends to the hills and lament her virginity. After the two months were up, Jephthah carried
out his promise to Yawheh. After that, Israel’s daughters would go yearly and for four days they
would lament for Jephthah’s daughter.
  Now that the story has been summarized, it is time to sort out and figure out everything that
happened. Jephthah had made a hasty, or so it seemed, vow. He did not stop and think who
might come out of his doors, or did he? One thing is for certain, Jephthah knew what he was
doing when he made the vow. Custom was that the women of the house would come out to meet
whoever was coming back from war. So Jephthah could have very well forgot this or might have
just brushed it off. Jephthah’s words were of importance and they were to be taken seriously.
His words had been “uttered before Yahweh at Mizpah.” If he was to not carry out what he had
promised, then not only would his integrity have been on the line but Jephthah would have had
to answer to God. God takes vows very seriously.
  Reading the Scripture poses the question whether or not Jephthah’s intentions were to
sacrifice one of his family members or to sacrifice some kind of animal. “That a human victim is
intended is, in fact, as plain as words can make it; the language is inapplicable to an animal, and a
vow to offer the first sheep or goat that he comes across - not to mention the possibility of an
unclean animal - is trivial to absurdity.” The vow basically vowed that whatever came out of the
door of the house, so “there is no reason why this literal interpretation cannot stand.”   In his
vow, “Jephthah made his vow fully aware of the Israelite custom of maidens coming out to greet
a victor after battle.” So, “whom it shall be it left to JHVH to designate: whoever comes first out
of the house to meet the returning conqueror will be recognized by Jephthah as JHVH’s choice.”
More than likely, Jepthah vowed the vow thinking in his mind that some person would surely
come through the door to greet him. There are two examples of women coming to meet the
victorious men coming from war. On example is Miriam, who was Aaron’s sister that danced
while she had a timbrel in her hand. Another example would be the women that came out to
greet David when he returned from a victorious battle. The question of whether or not Jephthah
really meant to sacrifice whoever came through his door does not raise eyebrows as much as
does the carrying out of the vow. Did Jephthah actually kill and slaughter his only daughter or
did he do something else? Here is where the story becomes really controversial.
  There are a variety of views on this particular subject. Looking at different viewpoints as to
what happened helps in forming an opinion. “Heathen nations of Palestine did offer human
sacrifices to their false gods; but Jehovah repeatedly warned Israel not to engage in such
sacrifices.” There is no doubt that “Jephthah was a God-fearing judge.” Since Jephthah had this
type of characteristic, therefore, he would have known “that human sacrifices were an
abomination to God, He would not be likely to countenance them.” The Israelite law
condemned such actions. Interesting in itself is the idea that Jephthah was a judge that was to
abide by and judge the people of Israel according to the law. How could a judge, who was raised
up be God, go against the very thing that was against the law? Do not forget what a judge was to
do. “The judges whom God raised up were living object-lessons by which God sought to
preserve in Israel the understanding that faith in Jehovah, the only true God, was the way of
victory and well-being.” Clear enough is the concept that “Israelites never practiced human
sacrifice; hence Jephthah never would have intended such sacrifice in his vow and certainly
would not have performed it in fulfillment.”
  Jephthah was excited about his victory in battle, but the victory was turned into sorrow for
him. Jephthah’s daughter, however, had a different attitude concerning the vow that was made.
Instead of being angry and upset with her father, Jephthah’s daughter’s “answer was most
heroic.” No tears were shed and neither was there a tone of rebellion in her voice. His daughter
recognized and knew that “she was to be the burnt offering her father had promised.” Instead of
running from her father, Jephthah’s daughter was obedient in every sense of obedience.
Jephthah’s daughter definitely had character that stood out in her.
  There was the request by Jephthah’s daughter. Interesting to note that his daughter desired to
go and lament in the mountains. Knowing what was to take place must have been
rough on the young lady. There is no doubt that the young lady was strong to her father, but this
young lady must have wondered and thought about the vow time after time. Keep in mind the
young lady’s request to go up to the mountains and lament her virginity. Why did she want to do
this? “To a Hebrew maiden the bitterest pang was to die unwedded and childless, and so
Jephthah’s daughter asks for a delay of two months that she might bewail her virginity.” By now,
the father must have definitely had a broken heart. There was a possibility that this young lady
would not return, but that was not very likely. For she was also true to the promise that she
made. Watching her father keep the vow he made, truly was an example to his daughter. For
Jephthah’s daughter was listening and watching her father. The father was true to the vow that
he made and so was the daughter. “She was a woman of her word, and came back for the
execution of her father’s vow.”   If Jephthah’s daughter was going to die, then this death “was
intended to be for the honour of God, and she would undergo it cheerfully.” The sad part on
behalf of Jephthah’s daughter was the fact that she not only was her father’s only child but she
was also childless. No one from that side of the family would inherit what was to be inherited at
Jephthah’s death. This is what brought sadness and disappointment to the young lady. All of this
will play an interesting role in the decision making process. For now, the question must
continued to be answered as to the sacrifice actually taking place or not. The debate continues
on.
  Some believe that since God did not condone human sacrifice, then Jepthah sacrificed his
daughter to the Lord in a different sense. Wow! That jumps out and clings to the mind. What
would a burnt offering do if nothing was killed and offered? Interesting enough, there is a
possibility that Jepthah’s daughter served in the tabernacle during her entire lifetime. What
does that mean and what does that have to do with a burnt offering?    Why would that
assumption come into play? One reason might be that Jephthah daughter remained a virgin,
therefore, she was not able to marry and have a child to continue on the name. This type of view
supports the fact that “Jephthah kept his daughter in sacred celibacy for the rest of her life; that
what she and her female companions bewailed was not the prospect of coming sacrifice but her
virginity.” In this type of opinion, Jephthah’s daughter could have very well been a nun. She
was not Catholic, so how could she be a nun? A nun lives in a life that is totally surrendered to
God and for His service only. So the vow could have been carried out in the sense that “the
exclusion of his daughter as a kind of Old Testament nun, surrendered to live a secluded life in
the service of the Tabernacle - a vestal virgin.”
  This type of view argues their point in several different areas. They are the following: “1) The
sacrifice of children to Moloch was an abomination prohibited by an express law, and not an
instance occurred of a human sacrifice to God. 2) The case of Abraham offering Isaac is not in
point, as Isaac was not sacrificed. The command was given only to try Abraham’s faith. 3) No
father could put even a criminal child to death without the consent of the magistrates. 4) The
traditional laws of the Jews say: ‘If a Jew should devote his son or his daughter, his man servant
or maid servant who are Hebrews, the devotement should be void.’” Offering up his daughter
“as a spiritual burnt offering unto the Lord“ goes along with how these people think what
happened to Jephthah’s daughter.   The book of Leviticus, however, forbid this to happen. By
the time of the judges of Israel, this was clearly a forbidden sacrifice. Since this type of practice
was clearly illegal, then why would Jepthah try to please the Lord with something that went
against God? There probably would not have been a priest in Israel who would have carried out
this type of sacrifice.
   Just because a burnt offering was to be offered did not mean that death had to occur. It did
mean, however, that something had to be totally and completely offered up to God. The Scripture
talks about that two months after Jepthah’s daughter went to lament in the mountains, that the
vow was carried out. Then the Scripture talks about Jepthah’s daughter being a virgin.
Suggestion that she never got married. When Jepthah’s daughter went up to the hills to lament,
it is suggested that this happened for a reason. If Jepthah’s daughter was offered up to God as a
sacrifice to live and dwell in the temple, then she would not be able to have friends. She
probably went with her friends so that they could enjoy each other’s company and say their final
goodbyes. Israel’s daughters went up, though, four days a year to visit Jepthah’s daughters.
This was probably the only time that she could see her friends.
  If this happened, then Jepthah mourned for a few reasons. First, he would lose his
daughter. Secondly, his line would end since his daughter was to remain a virgin. Jepthah did
not try to rescue his daughter, he just simply mourned for her. After mourning, Jepthah carried
out what he had vowed.
  Some scholars say that child sacrifice was done during this time of history. Different people
think that Jepthah’s vow was made in order to win God’s approval in helping him defeat the
children of Ammon. Child sacrifices were practiced in Israel, though it was forbidden. Some
think that when Jepthah made the vow, child sacrifice was not wrong. “Why would that be?” one
might ask. During that time, the Canaanites were accustomed of offering up their children as
sacrifices. “The ancient Jews who had an intimate knowledge of the customs of thier race and a
unique meaning of their own language, have always understood that the daughter of Jephthah
was a literal burnt offering.”    So, some people believe that Jepthah’s daughter was killed for a
burnt offering. Back during the days of the judges, “every man did that which was right in the
sight of his own eyes and consequently it was a period of ignorance and barbarity when the
sacrifice of human life was common.” This offering up of Jephthah’s daughter was, in a sense,
according to these scholars an offering “offered up in emergency conditions to obtain the active
cooperation of the deity.” Even before Jephthah made his vow of offering up a sacrifice, human
sacrifice had been going on long before. One cannot just read this story, according to this type
of view, and say that Jephthah knew what he was doing was wrong. For Jephthah could
have not been aware of the type of law that forbade someone from human sacrifice. Some even
say that Jephthah was unaware of the law that was found in the book of Leviticus. “A reason
often given, particularly by modern scholars, for Jephthah’s ignorance of the law is the fact that
he lived outside of Israel for some time.” The Israelites worshiped the Amonite god, as found in
the book of Judges, before Jephthah judged the children of Israel. “A basic element in this
argument is the belief that Ammonites, like others of Israel’s neighbors, regularly practiced
human sacrifice in their cult. Thus it is thought, Jephthah believed that just as other gods
required human sacrifice, so did Yahweh.”
  This view wants a person to think about the vow and to think about the sacrifice. Take for
instance the sacrifice itself. Did Jephthah do a good job in sacrificing his daughter? “Some
justify him in it, and think he did well, and as became one that preferred the honour of God
before that which was dearest to him in this world.” The book of Hebrews mentions Jephthah as
one that did great things by faith. When the Spirit of the Lord came upon him, he became an
“extraordinary person.” If loving God meant sacrificing his only child, then that is exactly what
Jephthah did. A promise is a promise. The verses are plain in nature and should be taken to
mean exactly that, according to this view.
  Animals. How did they get involved in the story. Jephthah did not own a zoo and neither did he
run a circus. Of course Jephthah did not do all of that, but animals can be used to suggest
what was sacrificed by Jephthah. There are numerous scholars who truly believe that Jephthah
intended from the beginning to sacrifice an animal. One “argument often raised by proponents
of the animal theory is that parallel types of vows in other literatures show that the value of the
offering was not in its weight or worth but on the fact that it was the first: whatever should be
encountered first.” Whatever came out of the doors to greet him should not be taken in its literal
sense, according to this view. There is no doubt that his daughter came to see her father, but
the singing and the dancing was in the street. Since the street is were the parade and
celebration was, then the house could have been far away. If the house was far away, then how
would Jephthah know exactly what came out of his house first? “Indeed, the only type of
domestic animal that could possibly come out first ahead of human beings (a dog, a donkey, a
horse, or a camel) was not permitted to be sacrificed. According to Jewish tradition it was this
fact alone that made Jephthah’s vow illegitimate.” Why would this be true. Some scholars
suggest that there is enough evidence found to point to an animal being sacrificed instead of his
daughter. By looking at the vow, these scholars that believe this say that there are different pats
in the phrase that clearly suggest animal sacrifice instead of human sacrifice. “However, it
should be noted that there are a number of other stories of a similar type in which the father
vows the first person, not the first thing.”
  There have been three different viewpoints from scholars presented. Now the attention
will turn to the women wailing once a year for Jephthah’s daughter. A custom was done yearly in
by the Israelite women. “It became the custom for the Israelite women to observe annually a four
days’ mourning for Jephthah’s daughter. - To lament] this interpretation, which is that of the
ancient versions, suits the construction and context better than, commemorate, celebrate, which
most modern commentators adopt.” These could have been her friends who wanted to
remember Jephthah’s daughter in a special way. According to what view point is chosen, is
according how the scripture is to be taken. It the viewpoint of Jephthah’s daughter being
considered a “nun” who served the Lord in the Lord’s House, then the viewpoint of the Israelite
women mourning for their friend can be taken this way. These women going up yearly could
have been her friends who went to visit. During this visit the friends could have very well
brought Jephthah’s daughter some items that were made back at home. Maybe they baked
cookies or bread to bring to their friend. There was probably much things to catch up on in the
social realm. It could have been both a joyous, cheerful occasion as well as a sad, depressing
time in which another year would have to pass before they were to see each other.
  If the view point of Jephthah actually sacrificing his daughter by killing her is accepted, then
the meaning of the Israelite women going up for a specific amount of days to mourn will most
definitely change the meaning. There friend or relative was the one that was dead and there was
a reason to go up and weep for the one that was now gone from there presence.
  “The majority of scholars today believe that the story about Jephthah’s daughter is etiological.
It is believed that there was in Israel a festival in which the maidens participated for
four days, and this story was told to explain how the festival came into existence.”   There is no
trace found anywhere, other than this particular place, in the Bible that talks about the festival
that happened for four days each year. Some scholars believe that the festival is mythological
while some believe that the fertility rites ceremony is what was really celebrated. The four days
could have very well been spread out over the entire year. Maybe they were all celebrated in
consecutive days. “One scholar holds that since there is an emphasis in the text on the
daughter’s lamenting her virginity, the festival may have been a pre-nuptial ceremony for girls on
the threshold of marriage, who would be lamenting their impending loss of virginity.” Yet there
are other scholars who believe the exact opposite. They insist that the festival was for girls who
were lamenting because they were not married and that they were still virgins. “Is it any wonder
that the daughters of Israel remembered and honored the sacrifice of Jephthah’s daughter with a
four days’ festival during each year?” Not only did the women want to just lament, but they also
wanted to praise her. There must have definitely been a wonderful, yet sad feeling going
through each of them. “The feelings of those Jewish maidens toward their departed companion
were akin to those of the Romans toward Claelia, the virgin martyr of A.D. 280, and of other
national heroines whose self-sacrifice helped their nations to victory.”
  The story of Jephthah and the vow that he made has always interested me. I can remember
reading and hearing about this story when I was a kid. I would read it and just sit and
think about what was going on and try to picture in my mind the events that took place. Recently,
I was talking with an older gentleman who is a Christian. We got on the discussion of Jephthah
and the vow that he made. I listened to this elderly gentleman talk. He mentioned something
that was quite interesting. He told me that Jephthah must have really loved God in order to be
willing to sacrifice his only daughter. I thought about what he said and we both discussed it. We
departed and not many mornings later, I was listening to Dr. Adrian Rodgers preach a message
about Jephthah and the vow that Jephthah made. I listened, like I always do, to this very gifted
man of God. He brought out many points that was very well put. I just listened and then I read
the passage again. As I was doing the research on this topic, I came across much things that was
disturbing and some things that were interesting to read.
  I was disturbed at the fact that someone would question God’s Word, in a sense trying to prove
if there was or there was not a festival that took place every year. If that is what the Bible says,
then that is what it means. Secondly, I believe that the judges were raised up by God to lead His
people in the correct way. These judges knew what was right and what was wrong. I believe that
the law was plainly given to them and that they knew that child sacrifice was wrong in the eyes of
God. There is just something inside of people that tells them that killing your own child is wrong.
Who would take and slaughter their own kid. True, God told Abraham to take Isaac up and
sacrifice him but God did not allow that to take place. Just like Jephthah, I believe, did not
actually sacrifice his only child in a sacrificial way. I personally believe, as does Dr. Adrian
Rodgers, that Jephthah gave his daughter to work for the Lord. When she went to lament with
her friends, she was a virgin. After she returned and her father carried out his vow, scripture
says that she remained a virgin and knew no man. How could she know no man after she had
been killed. That just does not add up to me. Child sacrifice has always been and will always be
wrong in the eyes of God. There is too much scripture to support that idea and the idea that she
was not killed by sacrificing.
  Time and time again, this story is retold. Generation after generation has heard about Jephthah
and his vow. Christians need to remember that whatever is promised to God is to be taken
seriously. Jepthah was a man of integrity, for he kept that which he had promised. Jepthah,
though, was a judge over Israel that will forever be remembered. Minor as Jephthah might have
been, he will be known in major ways.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

John Bright, A History of Israel, 3d ed. (Philadelphia: Westminister Press, 1981).
J. Vernon McGee, “Thru the Bible: Joshua” radio program (Pasadena).
Eric W. Hayden, Preaching Through the Bible (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1967).
Matthew Henry, Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible (Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
Publishers, 1991).
Frederick Carl Eiselen, Edwin Lewis, and David G. Downey, The Abingdon Bible Commentary (New
York: Abingdon, 1929).
James Smith, Handfuls on Purpose (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdman’s Publishing Company,
1971).
Lockyer, Herbert, All the Prayers of the Bible (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1959).
George F. Moore, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on Judges (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1966).
David Marcus, Jephthah and His Vow (Lubbock: Texas Tech Press, 1986).
G. F. Moore, The Book of Judges A New English Translation (London: James Clark & Co., 1898).
J. Sidlow Baxter, Explore the Book (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1975).
William Sanford La Sor, David Allan Hubbard, and Frederic William Bush, Old Testament Survey
(Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1982).
Herbert Lockyer, All the Women of the Bible (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1967).

Dr. Jad Khalaf

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