Judges 11:30-31, 34-35, 39-40
This rendering and this interpretation is warranted by the Levitical Law about vows consisted of two parts.
1. That what person soever met him should be the L-rd's or be dedicated to His service;
2. That what beast soever met him, if clean, should be offered up for a burnt-offering unto the L-rd.
G-d did NOT accept human sacrifice. Jephthah makes a rash vow, I will offer it for a burnt offering; that is, if it is what according to the Law may be offered up, as an ox, sheep, ram, or lamb; some read the words disjunctively. "Or I will offer it"… it shall either be devoted to the L-rd in the manner that persons or things, according to the Law, are directed to be. (Human sacrifice was strictly forbidden by the Mosaic Law in Leviticus 18:21 and Deuteronomy 12:31.) Human sacrifices were ever an abomination to the L-rd; and this was one of the grand reasons why G-d drove out the Canaanites. “I will consecrate it to the L-rd, or I will offer it for a burnt-offering; that is, "If it be a thing fit for a burnt-offering, it shall be made one, if fit for the service of G-d, it shall be consecrated to him."
From Judges 11:39 appears evident that Jephthah's daughter was not SACRIFICED to
G-d, Jephthah set his daughter aside for the Tabernacle service according to the principle of Leviticus 27:2-4, Exodus 38:8; 1 Samuel 2:22 where persons set apart to G-d in a vow are not required to be sacrificed (as animals were), but were "given" to the Tabernacle in monetary value.
His daughters, and her friends, are rightly sorrowful that she would be given to the Tabernacle service before she was ever married; probably, most the women who assembled at the door of the Tabernacle were older widows (however, there would have been much more to bewail if she was killed!)
By sending his unmarried, only daughter to the service of the Tabernacle for the rest of her life, it shows how seriously both Jephthah and his daughter took his promise to G-d.
Her father's extreme grief on the occasion and her requisition of a respite for two months to bewail her virginity, are both perfectly natural. Having no other issue, he could only look forward to the extinction of his name or family. A state of celibacy, which is reproachful among women everywhere, was peculiarly so among the Israelites, and was therefore no ordinary sacrifice on her part, who, though she generously gave up, could not but regret the loss of, becoming ‘the mother of the promised Messiah’ or at least a mother in Israel. And he did with her according to his vow which he had vowed, and she knew no man, or remained a virgin, all her life.
Those who assert that Jephthah did sacrifice his daughter, attempt to justify the opinion from the barbarous usages of those times: but in answer to this it may be justly observed, that Jephthah was now under the influence of the Spirit of G-d, Judges 11:29. That Spirit could not permit him to imbrue his hands in the blood of his own child; and especially under the pretence of offering a pleasing sacrifice to that G-d who is the Father of mankind, and the Fountain of love, mercy, and compassion.
Vows were in common practice also among the Israelites. They were encouraged by the divine approval as emanating from a spirit of piety and gratitude; and rules were laid down in the Law for regulating the performance. But it is difficult to bring Jephthah's vow within the legitimate range (Lev. 27:28).
Whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me-- contemplated a human sacrifice? Bred up as he had been, beyond the Jordan, where the Israelitish tribes, far from the Tabernacle, were looser in their religious sentiments. With him living latterly on the borders of a heathen country where such sacrifices were common, it is not unlikely that he may have been so ignorant as to imagine that a similar immolation would be acceptable to G-d. His mind, engrossed with the prospect of a contest, on the issue of which the fate of his country depended, might, through the influence of superstition, consider the dedication of the object dearest to him the most likely to ensure success.
Shall surely be the L-rd's; and or I will offer it up for a burnt offering-- introduces the important alternative, that if it were a person, the dedication would be made to the service of the Sanctuary; if a proper animal or thing, it would be offered on the altar.
Jephthah came to Mizpeh unto his house, and, behold, his daughter came out to meet him with timbrels and with dances--The return of the victors was hailed, as usual, by the joyous acclaim of a female band (1 Sam. 18:6), the leader of whom was Jephthah's daughter. The vow was full in his mind, and it is evident that it had not been communicated to anyone; otherwise, precautions would doubtless have been taken to place another object at his door. The scream, and other accompaniments of irrepressible grief, seems to indicate that her life was to be forfeited as a sacrifice; the nature of the sacrifice (which was abhorrent to the character of G-d) and distance from the Tabernacle does not suffice to overturn this view, which the language and whole strain of the narrative plainly support. The lapse of two months might be supposed to have afforded time for reflection, and a better sense of his duty, there is but too much reason to conclude that he was driven to the fulfillment by the dictates of a pious but unenlightened conscience.
The Targumist refers here to the Law, Leviticus 27:1-5, where the L-rd prescribes the price at which either males or females, who had been vowed to the L-rd, might be redeemed. "When a man shall make a singular vow, the persons shall be for the L-rd at thy judgment. the male from twenty years old even unto sixty, shall be fifty shekels of silver; and if it be a female, then thy estimation shall be thirty shekels; and from five years old unto twenty years, the male twenty shekels, and for the female ten." This also is an argument that the daughter of Jephthah was not sacrificed; as the father had it in his power, at a very moderate price, to have redeemed her: and surely, the blood of his daughter must have been of more value in his sight than thirty shekels of silver.
And she said unto him--what a pattern of filial piety and obedience! She was at once obedient, pious, and patriotic. A woman to have no offspring was considered to be in a state of the utmost degradation among the Hebrews; but she is regardless of all this, seeing her father is in safety, and her country delivered. And her going up and down upon the mountains may signify no more than her paying each of them a visit at their own houses, previously to her being shut up at the Tabernacle; and this visiting of each at their own home might require the space of two months.
To lament the daughter of Jephthah--but this custom prevailed in Israel that the virgins of Israel went at different times, four days in the year, to the daughter of Jephthah, that they might comfort her. This verse also gives evidence that the daughter of Jephthah was not sacrificed: nor does it appear that the custom or statute referred to here lasted after the death of Jephthah's daughter.
The neder, or vow, in general, included either persons, beasts, or things dedicated to the L-rd for pious uses; which, if it was a simple vow, was redeemable at certain prices. If the person repented of his vow, and wished to commute it for money, according to the age or sex of the person, Leviticus 27:1-8: this was a wise regulation to remedy rash vows. But if the vow was accompanied with cherem, devotement, it was irredeemable, as in the following case, Leviticus 27:28.
"Notwithstanding, no devotement which a man shall devote unto the L-rd, (either) of man, or beast, or of land of his own property, shall be sold or redeemed. Every thing devoted is most holy to the L-rd.”
The Mischna, or traditional Law of the Jews is pointedly against it; 'If a Jew should devote his son or daughter, his man or maid servant, who are Hebrews, the devotement would be void, because no man can devote what is not his own, or whose life he has not the absolute disposal of.' These arguments appear to be decisive against the sacrifice. Jephthah could not have devoted his daughter to celibacy against her will is evident from the history and from the high estimation in which she was always held by the daughters of Israel for her filial duty and her hapless fate, which they celebrated by a regular anniversary commemoration four days in the year.
Several of the rabbis, and many very learned Christian expositors, believe that Jephthah's daughter was not really sacrificed, but that her virginity was consecrated to G-d, and that she separated from all connection with the world, she knew no man. This was a kind of mysterious death, because it caused her to lose all hope of the glory of a posterity from which the Messiah might descend. From this originated the custom, observed afterwards in Israel, that on a certain season in the year the virgins assembled themselves on the mountains to bewail the daughter of Jephthah for the space of four days.
Yet, we can't deny that this vow is foolish nonetheless; the important thing is to be in the will of G-d yourself, not to make vows to try to get G-d "on your side."
Showing posts with label Judges. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Judges. Show all posts
Samson Seeks a Bride
[Jug. 14:1] And Samson went down to Timnath, and saw a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines.
Samson’s liaison with Philistine women from Timnah, Gaza (16:1), and the Sorek Valley (v. 4) recalls Joshua’s warning against making marriages with the remnant of these nations left here among you (Josh. 23:12; Deut. 7:3). The Spirit drives Samson down to Timnath (Mk. 1:12) to begin the drama of his wedding and its aftermath. Timnath, now Tibna, about three miles from Zorah, his birthplace.
On seven subsequent occasions, the Spirit rushes on him with sudden power:
1. To tear apart a lion with his bare hands (v. 6).
2. To kill thirty of Ashkelon’s elite leaders (v. 19).
3. To burst the bonds put on him by men of Judah in order to hand him over to the Philistines.
4. To kill another one thousand Philistines at Lehi (15:14-15).
5. To have strength to carry the gates of Gaza 24 miles to Hebron.
6. To break Delilah’s bonds three times (v. 9, 12, 14).
7. To bring the military, political, and social elite of Philistia to their death around his head (v. 30).
Samson wants a wife, in the East parents did, and do in many cases still, negotiate the marriage alliances for their sons. During their period of ascendancy, the Philistine invaders had settled in the towns; and the intercourse between them and the Israelites was often of such a friendly and familiar character as to issue in matrimonial relations. Moreover, the Philistines were not in the number of the seven devoted nations of Canaan (Deut. 7:1-3) – with whom the Law forbade them to marry. The kind of marriage custom reflected in Samson’s marriage resembles that in North Thailand, where the groom goes to live in the bride’s family home after the wedding. Samson is on his way down to Timnah with his parents to arrange for his risky wedding with the Philistine girl. He insists, against their better judgment, that she is right in his eyes. His repeated going down to Timnah, and later to Gaza means a fateful, deliberate entry into the Philistine territory. From this perspective Samson is G-d’s secret weapon.
Suddenly Samson is alone, about to enter the Philistine vineyards of Timnah. In the setting of the impending wedding, the erotic association of vine, vineyard, and wine spring to mind along with the warning that the grapes and wine of the enemy contain bitter poison (Deut. 32:32-33). The vineyard reminds us of the Nazarite vow to eat nothing that is produced by the grapevine, not even the seeds or the skins (Num. 6:4), and anticipates Samson’s drinking feast for the wedding party. In a Greek drama, words of warning might be spoken by a chorus as the hero approaches the tempting vineyard.
The lion from this very vineyard a roaring lion leaps out at Samson. The terms eater, or the devouring one; and the strong of the riddle resonate with other verses about the wicked as a ravening and roaring lion (Ps. 22:13). Such a lion lurks in secret, watching for the hapless poor to drag him away, with mouth open (22:21) and fangs bared (58:6), eager to tear his prey (17:12). The lion as a symbol for the contemporary enemy of Samson’s time, namely the Philistines. Instead of finding love in the vineyards of Timnah, Samson encountered a murderous enemy. He was able to overcome the lion only by the power of G-d’s Spirit! Samson’s encounter with the lion not only gives him the idea for his riddle, but also breaks up his marriage (v. 15-20) and provides four occasions against the Philistines (v. 19; 15:4, 8, 15). Samson’s bare-handed fight with the lion makes him a world hero in the Israelite tradition. A lion in the pride of his youthful prime. The wild mountain passes of Judah were the lairs of savage beasts; and most or all the "lions" of Scripture occur in that wild country. His rending and killing the shaggy monster, without any weapon in his hand, were accomplished by that superhuman courage and strength which the occasional influences of the Spirit enabled him to put forth, and by the exertion of which, in such private incidental circumstances, he was gradually trained to confide in them for the more public work to which he was destined.
The honey – in the carcass of the dead lion Samson finds honey, eats it, and gives some to his parents. At first thought we might relate honey to erotic but forbidden pleasures associated with the wine of the vineyard. However, the honey is in fact associated with the dead lion. At one level, the honey may have served to revive Samson’s strength and courage as in the case of Jonathan who, after his part in the great victory over the Philistines, ate some honey and was refreshed (1 Sam. 14:27, 29). At another level, honey would suggest a future period of peace after the destruction of the oppressing power when G-d would restore to his people and the land flowing with milk and honey. Giving the honey to his parents would be in effect encouraging them with hope that the whole affair of the wedding would turn out well for Israel in spite of the obvious dangers involved.
In each case of the affairs with Philistine women Samson was looking for love (symbolized by the vineyard), when he meets dander (symbolized by the lion). His bride betrays him in order to save herself from death by fire at the hands of the young Philistine men at the wedding party. The Philistines burn his wife and father-in-law in revenge for his burning of their crops (15:6), then seek to destroy him at Lehi, and lay in wait for him again and again until they are able to overcome, cripple and humiliate him. In each case a sudden onrush of strength (G-d’s Spirit) enables Samson to overcome or outwit the enemy. In each case he discovers an unexpected grace (symbolized by the honey). Utterly exhausted after the deliverance brought by his victory at Lehi, he utters his humble prayer for deliverance from the hands of the Philistines. G-d’s gift of water from the rock revives his strength and courage so that he is enable to judge Israel 20 years.
The social intercourse between the youth of different sexes is extremely rare and limited in the East, and generally so after they are betrothed. After a time he returned to take her, probably after the lapse of a year, the usual interval between the ceremonies of betrothal and marriage. It was spent by the bride elect with her parents in preparation for the nuptials; and at the proper time the bridegroom returned to take her home.
The Hebrew word translated feast means literally drinking feast. Strong drink should probably be beer. The wedding festivity lasted a week. The men and women were probably entertained in separate apartments - the bride, with her female relatives, at her parents' house; Samson, in some place obtained for the occasion, as he was a stranger. A large number of Para nymphs, or "friends of the bridegroom”, furnished, no doubt, by the bride's family, attended his party, ostensibly to honor the nuptials, but really as spies on his proceedings.
I will now put forth a riddle - Riddles are a favorite Oriental amusement at festive entertainments of this nature, and rewards are offered to those who give the solution. Samson's riddle related to honey in the lion's carcass. The prize he offered was thirty sindinim, or shirts, and thirty changes of garments, probably woolen. Three days were passed in vain attempts to unravel the enigma. The festive week was fast drawing to a close when they secretly enlisted the services of the newly married wife, who having got the secret, revealed it to her friends. What is sweeter than honey? and what is stronger than a lion? And he said unto them, If ye had not plowed with my heifer, ye had not found out my riddle. The riddle, on its face a bawdy wedding night joke among male companions, carries deeper meaning. "The friend of the bridegroom”, who was the medium of communicating during the festivities between him and his bride. The acceptance of her hand, therefore, was an act of base treachery that could not fail to provoke the just resentment of Samson.
The proposal the father wanted to made of a marriage with her younger sister was but an insult to Samson, and one which it was unlawful for an Israelite to accept (Leviticus 18:18). Samson took revenge, Manoah’s traditional faith would see Samson’s life in a moralistic light as a story of broken vows, brutish behavior, the profligate wasting of a consecrated life, and a fatal weakness of the Danite man for Philistine women – as a negative example for the reader. Samson’s mother would be more ready to see her son’s life and death in relation to the great deliverance from the Philistines which he brings to one segment of the people of Israel.
Samson’s liaison with Philistine women from Timnah, Gaza (16:1), and the Sorek Valley (v. 4) recalls Joshua’s warning against making marriages with the remnant of these nations left here among you (Josh. 23:12; Deut. 7:3). The Spirit drives Samson down to Timnath (Mk. 1:12) to begin the drama of his wedding and its aftermath. Timnath, now Tibna, about three miles from Zorah, his birthplace.
On seven subsequent occasions, the Spirit rushes on him with sudden power:
1. To tear apart a lion with his bare hands (v. 6).
2. To kill thirty of Ashkelon’s elite leaders (v. 19).
3. To burst the bonds put on him by men of Judah in order to hand him over to the Philistines.
4. To kill another one thousand Philistines at Lehi (15:14-15).
5. To have strength to carry the gates of Gaza 24 miles to Hebron.
6. To break Delilah’s bonds three times (v. 9, 12, 14).
7. To bring the military, political, and social elite of Philistia to their death around his head (v. 30).
Samson wants a wife, in the East parents did, and do in many cases still, negotiate the marriage alliances for their sons. During their period of ascendancy, the Philistine invaders had settled in the towns; and the intercourse between them and the Israelites was often of such a friendly and familiar character as to issue in matrimonial relations. Moreover, the Philistines were not in the number of the seven devoted nations of Canaan (Deut. 7:1-3) – with whom the Law forbade them to marry. The kind of marriage custom reflected in Samson’s marriage resembles that in North Thailand, where the groom goes to live in the bride’s family home after the wedding. Samson is on his way down to Timnah with his parents to arrange for his risky wedding with the Philistine girl. He insists, against their better judgment, that she is right in his eyes. His repeated going down to Timnah, and later to Gaza means a fateful, deliberate entry into the Philistine territory. From this perspective Samson is G-d’s secret weapon.
Suddenly Samson is alone, about to enter the Philistine vineyards of Timnah. In the setting of the impending wedding, the erotic association of vine, vineyard, and wine spring to mind along with the warning that the grapes and wine of the enemy contain bitter poison (Deut. 32:32-33). The vineyard reminds us of the Nazarite vow to eat nothing that is produced by the grapevine, not even the seeds or the skins (Num. 6:4), and anticipates Samson’s drinking feast for the wedding party. In a Greek drama, words of warning might be spoken by a chorus as the hero approaches the tempting vineyard.
The lion from this very vineyard a roaring lion leaps out at Samson. The terms eater, or the devouring one; and the strong of the riddle resonate with other verses about the wicked as a ravening and roaring lion (Ps. 22:13). Such a lion lurks in secret, watching for the hapless poor to drag him away, with mouth open (22:21) and fangs bared (58:6), eager to tear his prey (17:12). The lion as a symbol for the contemporary enemy of Samson’s time, namely the Philistines. Instead of finding love in the vineyards of Timnah, Samson encountered a murderous enemy. He was able to overcome the lion only by the power of G-d’s Spirit! Samson’s encounter with the lion not only gives him the idea for his riddle, but also breaks up his marriage (v. 15-20) and provides four occasions against the Philistines (v. 19; 15:4, 8, 15). Samson’s bare-handed fight with the lion makes him a world hero in the Israelite tradition. A lion in the pride of his youthful prime. The wild mountain passes of Judah were the lairs of savage beasts; and most or all the "lions" of Scripture occur in that wild country. His rending and killing the shaggy monster, without any weapon in his hand, were accomplished by that superhuman courage and strength which the occasional influences of the Spirit enabled him to put forth, and by the exertion of which, in such private incidental circumstances, he was gradually trained to confide in them for the more public work to which he was destined.
The honey – in the carcass of the dead lion Samson finds honey, eats it, and gives some to his parents. At first thought we might relate honey to erotic but forbidden pleasures associated with the wine of the vineyard. However, the honey is in fact associated with the dead lion. At one level, the honey may have served to revive Samson’s strength and courage as in the case of Jonathan who, after his part in the great victory over the Philistines, ate some honey and was refreshed (1 Sam. 14:27, 29). At another level, honey would suggest a future period of peace after the destruction of the oppressing power when G-d would restore to his people and the land flowing with milk and honey. Giving the honey to his parents would be in effect encouraging them with hope that the whole affair of the wedding would turn out well for Israel in spite of the obvious dangers involved.
In each case of the affairs with Philistine women Samson was looking for love (symbolized by the vineyard), when he meets dander (symbolized by the lion). His bride betrays him in order to save herself from death by fire at the hands of the young Philistine men at the wedding party. The Philistines burn his wife and father-in-law in revenge for his burning of their crops (15:6), then seek to destroy him at Lehi, and lay in wait for him again and again until they are able to overcome, cripple and humiliate him. In each case a sudden onrush of strength (G-d’s Spirit) enables Samson to overcome or outwit the enemy. In each case he discovers an unexpected grace (symbolized by the honey). Utterly exhausted after the deliverance brought by his victory at Lehi, he utters his humble prayer for deliverance from the hands of the Philistines. G-d’s gift of water from the rock revives his strength and courage so that he is enable to judge Israel 20 years.
The social intercourse between the youth of different sexes is extremely rare and limited in the East, and generally so after they are betrothed. After a time he returned to take her, probably after the lapse of a year, the usual interval between the ceremonies of betrothal and marriage. It was spent by the bride elect with her parents in preparation for the nuptials; and at the proper time the bridegroom returned to take her home.
The Hebrew word translated feast means literally drinking feast. Strong drink should probably be beer. The wedding festivity lasted a week. The men and women were probably entertained in separate apartments - the bride, with her female relatives, at her parents' house; Samson, in some place obtained for the occasion, as he was a stranger. A large number of Para nymphs, or "friends of the bridegroom”, furnished, no doubt, by the bride's family, attended his party, ostensibly to honor the nuptials, but really as spies on his proceedings.
I will now put forth a riddle - Riddles are a favorite Oriental amusement at festive entertainments of this nature, and rewards are offered to those who give the solution. Samson's riddle related to honey in the lion's carcass. The prize he offered was thirty sindinim, or shirts, and thirty changes of garments, probably woolen. Three days were passed in vain attempts to unravel the enigma. The festive week was fast drawing to a close when they secretly enlisted the services of the newly married wife, who having got the secret, revealed it to her friends. What is sweeter than honey? and what is stronger than a lion? And he said unto them, If ye had not plowed with my heifer, ye had not found out my riddle. The riddle, on its face a bawdy wedding night joke among male companions, carries deeper meaning. "The friend of the bridegroom”, who was the medium of communicating during the festivities between him and his bride. The acceptance of her hand, therefore, was an act of base treachery that could not fail to provoke the just resentment of Samson.
The proposal the father wanted to made of a marriage with her younger sister was but an insult to Samson, and one which it was unlawful for an Israelite to accept (Leviticus 18:18). Samson took revenge, Manoah’s traditional faith would see Samson’s life in a moralistic light as a story of broken vows, brutish behavior, the profligate wasting of a consecrated life, and a fatal weakness of the Danite man for Philistine women – as a negative example for the reader. Samson’s mother would be more ready to see her son’s life and death in relation to the great deliverance from the Philistines which he brings to one segment of the people of Israel.
Jephthah’s Vow
[Judg. 12:30] And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the LORD, and said, If thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands,
The focus of the story of Jephthah is not so much on the victory that he won with G-d’s help as on his tragic vow which make the victor a victim. His vow from a troubled heart makes him kin to those in all cultures who make vows. He bargain with G-d, once G-d has carried out his side of the bargain, the one who made the vow must do what has passed his lips (Deut. 23:21, 23).
The second part of Jephthah’s vow was that he promised to sacrifice a human being, a Canaanite practice specifically condemned by Israelite Law. The Laws frequently refer to the Canaanite custom of burning their sons and their daughters in the fire to their idols. This is no routine sacrifice of his firstborn son, Jephthah had no son, and he specifically states that the vow refers to whoever comes forth from the doors of my house.
Whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me - This evidently points not to an animal, for that might have been a dog; which, being unclean, was unfit to be offered; but to a person, and it looks extremely as if he, from the first, contemplated a human sacrifice. Bred up as he had been, beyond the Jordan, where the Israelitish tribes, far from the tabernacle, were looser in their religious sentiments, and living latterly on the borders of a heathen country where such sacrifices were common, it is not improbable that he may have been so ignorant as to imagine that a similar immolation would be acceptable to G-d. His mind, engrossed with the prospect of a contest, on the issue of which the fate of his country depended, might, through the influence of superstition, consider the dedication of the object dearest to him the most likely to ensure success.
Shall surely be the Lord's; and or I will offer it up for a burnt offering . The adoption of the latter particle, which many interpreters suggest, introduces the important alternative, that if it were a person, the dedication would be made to the service of the sanctuary; if a proper animal or thing, it would be offered on the altar.
30-31 and 34:35, 39 Jephthah’s nonbiblical ways of thinking and acting the reader must remember the theme of Judges: Everyone was doing what was right in his or her own eyes. Jephthah was no different. The people hesitated to call him as a judge over the tribes on the east bank (before he was finally named) because his mother was a prostitute and his own brothers had driven him from the family inheritance.
There are three main questions to answer here: All else, as they say in Jewish circles, is commentary.
First exactly what did Jephthah mean by his vow?
Before Jephthah marched out of Mizpah, he solemnly vowed to give G-d whoever came out the door of his house if he returned victorious over the Ammonites. This raises the issue of vows and the problem translating whoever.
Vows are not unbiblical, but there are some dangers to avoid in making them. First, it is best to avoid making vows that will afterwards prove difficult for one’s conscience or ability to carry out (Prov. 20:25; Eccles. 5:2-6).
Second, vows should never be used to purchase favor with G-d as if we could work for G-d’s grace or we could influence G-d to do for us what He would not otherwise do. Instead, our vows should express gratitude for Him for His unmerited favor.
But when a vow has been made, the promise ought to be fulfilled. Oaths or vows which violate a moral law of G-d, should not be kept.
How did he carry it out?
Jephthah actually sacrificed his daughter as a burnt offering. She was a virgin and this point is added to emphasize the tragedy and grief of the events described.
Did G-d condone his actions?
The fact that the young women of Israel go out for four days to commemorate the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite is not a biblical endorsement of this event. Nor does it say this event was observed throughout all Israel. But even if it were a national holiday, it came about by local or national custom and not by the word of G-d from His prophets or inspired leaders.
The return of the victors was hailed, as usual, by the joyous acclaim of a female band (1 Samuel 18:6), the leader of whom was Jephthah's daughter. The vow was full in his mind, and it is evident that it had not been communicated to anyone; otherwise precautions would doubtless have been taken to place another object at his door. The shriek, and other accompaniments of irrepressible grief, seem to indicate that her life was to be forfeited as a sacrifice; the nature of the sacrifice (which was abhorrent to the character of G-d) and distance from the Tabernacle does not suffice to overturn this view, which the language and whole strain of the narrative plainly support; and although the lapse of two months might be supposed to have afforded time for reflection, and a better sense of his duty, there is but too much reason to conclude that he was impelled to the fulfillment by the dictates of a pious but unenlightened conscience. The moment of glory and honor for the conquering hero is dramatically transformed by the joyful sound of timbres and dance of a welcoming girl coming out of the house. The trap set by the unnecessary, unfaithful, and impatient vow suddenly snapped shut on both father and daughter.
Self-sacrifice, she accepted her father’s interpretation that her life was the cost which had to be paid to secure the restoration of land to her people and leadership to her father. Her attitude, unlike her father’s when he made the vow, was not my will….but your will be done. In Memory of her, the only redeeming feature of the tragic story of Jephthah’s vow is the courageous self-sacrifice of his own daughter. Her own lament on the mountains of Gilead was not only to prepare herself for the death which would cut of her life in the prime of maidenhood, but to mourn the fact that her father would have no descendants to carry on his name and to maintain his inheritance which he had won back from his brothers. Recount or repeat the triumphs of Yahweh and the people of Israel. Unfortunately she has been forgotten by Scripture, which praises the father but makes no mention of the daughter (1 Sam. 12:11; Heb. 11:32).
The focus of the story of Jephthah is not so much on the victory that he won with G-d’s help as on his tragic vow which make the victor a victim. His vow from a troubled heart makes him kin to those in all cultures who make vows. He bargain with G-d, once G-d has carried out his side of the bargain, the one who made the vow must do what has passed his lips (Deut. 23:21, 23).
The second part of Jephthah’s vow was that he promised to sacrifice a human being, a Canaanite practice specifically condemned by Israelite Law. The Laws frequently refer to the Canaanite custom of burning their sons and their daughters in the fire to their idols. This is no routine sacrifice of his firstborn son, Jephthah had no son, and he specifically states that the vow refers to whoever comes forth from the doors of my house.
Whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me - This evidently points not to an animal, for that might have been a dog; which, being unclean, was unfit to be offered; but to a person, and it looks extremely as if he, from the first, contemplated a human sacrifice. Bred up as he had been, beyond the Jordan, where the Israelitish tribes, far from the tabernacle, were looser in their religious sentiments, and living latterly on the borders of a heathen country where such sacrifices were common, it is not improbable that he may have been so ignorant as to imagine that a similar immolation would be acceptable to G-d. His mind, engrossed with the prospect of a contest, on the issue of which the fate of his country depended, might, through the influence of superstition, consider the dedication of the object dearest to him the most likely to ensure success.
Shall surely be the Lord's; and or I will offer it up for a burnt offering . The adoption of the latter particle, which many interpreters suggest, introduces the important alternative, that if it were a person, the dedication would be made to the service of the sanctuary; if a proper animal or thing, it would be offered on the altar.
30-31 and 34:35, 39 Jephthah’s nonbiblical ways of thinking and acting the reader must remember the theme of Judges: Everyone was doing what was right in his or her own eyes. Jephthah was no different. The people hesitated to call him as a judge over the tribes on the east bank (before he was finally named) because his mother was a prostitute and his own brothers had driven him from the family inheritance.
There are three main questions to answer here: All else, as they say in Jewish circles, is commentary.
First exactly what did Jephthah mean by his vow?
Before Jephthah marched out of Mizpah, he solemnly vowed to give G-d whoever came out the door of his house if he returned victorious over the Ammonites. This raises the issue of vows and the problem translating whoever.
Vows are not unbiblical, but there are some dangers to avoid in making them. First, it is best to avoid making vows that will afterwards prove difficult for one’s conscience or ability to carry out (Prov. 20:25; Eccles. 5:2-6).
Second, vows should never be used to purchase favor with G-d as if we could work for G-d’s grace or we could influence G-d to do for us what He would not otherwise do. Instead, our vows should express gratitude for Him for His unmerited favor.
But when a vow has been made, the promise ought to be fulfilled. Oaths or vows which violate a moral law of G-d, should not be kept.
How did he carry it out?
Jephthah actually sacrificed his daughter as a burnt offering. She was a virgin and this point is added to emphasize the tragedy and grief of the events described.
Did G-d condone his actions?
The fact that the young women of Israel go out for four days to commemorate the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite is not a biblical endorsement of this event. Nor does it say this event was observed throughout all Israel. But even if it were a national holiday, it came about by local or national custom and not by the word of G-d from His prophets or inspired leaders.
The return of the victors was hailed, as usual, by the joyous acclaim of a female band (1 Samuel 18:6), the leader of whom was Jephthah's daughter. The vow was full in his mind, and it is evident that it had not been communicated to anyone; otherwise precautions would doubtless have been taken to place another object at his door. The shriek, and other accompaniments of irrepressible grief, seem to indicate that her life was to be forfeited as a sacrifice; the nature of the sacrifice (which was abhorrent to the character of G-d) and distance from the Tabernacle does not suffice to overturn this view, which the language and whole strain of the narrative plainly support; and although the lapse of two months might be supposed to have afforded time for reflection, and a better sense of his duty, there is but too much reason to conclude that he was impelled to the fulfillment by the dictates of a pious but unenlightened conscience. The moment of glory and honor for the conquering hero is dramatically transformed by the joyful sound of timbres and dance of a welcoming girl coming out of the house. The trap set by the unnecessary, unfaithful, and impatient vow suddenly snapped shut on both father and daughter.
Self-sacrifice, she accepted her father’s interpretation that her life was the cost which had to be paid to secure the restoration of land to her people and leadership to her father. Her attitude, unlike her father’s when he made the vow, was not my will….but your will be done. In Memory of her, the only redeeming feature of the tragic story of Jephthah’s vow is the courageous self-sacrifice of his own daughter. Her own lament on the mountains of Gilead was not only to prepare herself for the death which would cut of her life in the prime of maidenhood, but to mourn the fact that her father would have no descendants to carry on his name and to maintain his inheritance which he had won back from his brothers. Recount or repeat the triumphs of Yahweh and the people of Israel. Unfortunately she has been forgotten by Scripture, which praises the father but makes no mention of the daughter (1 Sam. 12:11; Heb. 11:32).
Deborah
[Judg. 2:16] Nevertheless the LORD raised up judges, which delivered them out of the hand of those that spoiled them.
The judges who governed Israel were strictly G-d's vicegerents in the government of the people, He being the supreme ruler. Those who were thus elevated retained the dignity as long as they lived; but there was no regular, unbroken succession of judges. Individuals, prompted by the inward, irresistible impulse of G-d's Spirit when they witnessed the depressed state of their country, were roused to achieve its deliverance. It was usually accompanied by a special call, and the people seeing them endowed with extraordinary courage or strength, accepted them as delegates of Heaven, and submitted to their sway. Frequently they were appointed only for a particular district, and their authority extended no farther than over the people whose interests they were commissioned to protect. They were without pomp, equipage, or emoluments attached to the office. They had no power to make laws; for these were given by G-d; nor to explain them, for that was the province of the priests - but they were officially upholders of the law, defenders of religion, avengers of all crimes, particularly of idolatry and its attendant vices.
Judges function is to rescue G-d’s oppressed people from marauding bands and to keep them safe from enemy power during the lifetime of a particular judge. The Hebrew word translated as judge, may also mean deliver.
As executive officer the judge would preside over intertribal councils and exercise judicial, military, and cultic functions. Judging the people with righteous judgment, without partiality or bribe, following justice, and only justice in the land. A righteous judge would oppose those who judge not with justice the cause of the fatherless, to make it prosper and do not defend the rights of the needy.
Deborah, wife of Lappidoth, was a prophetess; she judged Israel at that time. She used to sit under the Palm of Deborah, between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites would come to her for decisions. Deborah’s husband was an uneducated man. She made thick candlewicks and told her husband to bring them to the holy site in Shiloh were righteous men studied. G-d smiled upon her actions: Deborah, your efforts provided ample light for the study of My Torah; I, in turn, will make the light of your prophecy shine throughout all of Israel.
Deborah lived at the southernmost point of the Canaanite kingdom; the palm tree she sat beneath is often popularly identified with Allon-Baccuth, the burial site of Rebekah’s nurse, Deborah. The Talmudic Sages tell us that Deborah had great wealth, which allowed her to dispense justice with no need for remuneration. One day; Deborah chooses to embark upon a military plan to finally free her people from the Canaanite oppression, a seemingly impossible venture given their inferior military might. Deborah summons Barak, a man from the northern tribe of Naphtali, intending to appoint him as military commander of her mission.
And Deborah, a prophetess was a woman of extraordinary knowledge, wisdom, and piety, instructed in divine knowledge by the Spirit and accustomed to interpret His will; who acquired an extensive influence, and was held in universal respect, insomuch that she became the animating spirit of the government and discharged all the special duties of a judge, except that of military leader.
She was the wife of Lapidoth, rendered by some, "a woman of splendors”.
She dwelt under the palm tree - or, collectively, "palm-grove”. It is common still in the East to administer justice in the open air, or under the canopy of an umbrageous tree. The ferment for reform that led to liberation began in the Ephraimite hill country under the palm tree, where the oppressed people came to her for relief from injustice. Canaanite economic oppression backed up by military power had begun to move down into Ephraim. According to the Scribes time frame, this area had recently been liberated from Moabite colonial oppression on the east by Ehud and from expansionist pressure from the pre-Philistine Sea people on the west along the Gezer-Aijalon road by Shamgar. Deborah arose at that time as Israel’s mother-savior.
She sent and called Barak by virtue of her official authority as judge. His somewhat singular request to be accompanied by Deborah was not altogether the result of weakness. The Orientals always take what is dearest to the battlefield along with them; they think it makes them fight better. The policy of Barak, then, to have the presence of the prophetess is perfectly intelligible as it would no less stimulate the valor of the troops, than sanction, in the eyes of Israel, the uprising against an oppressor so powerful as Jabin. Barak reasoned that because the Holy Spirit rests upon her, that he would be delivered through her merit and come to no harm. Barak is requesting that Deborah accompany him up to Kadesh wherein, together, they will summon volunteer warriors from the northern tribes.
The Lord shall sell Sisera into the hand of a woman this was a prediction which Barak could not understand at the time; but the strain of it conveyed a rebuke of his unmanly fears. Deborah in her role as a mother in Israel, modestly disappears from the narrative after her inspiring words to Barak on Mt. Tabor. When later generations remembered this incident, they thought of Barak the man instead of Deborah the woman (1 Sam. 12:11; Heb. 11:32; Ps. 83:9).
Deborah’s prophecy that “the L-rd will deliver Sisera into the hands of a woman” was fulfilled. For forty years hence, Israel was in peace, but what of Jael’s cruel act? “A transgression (committed) with good intent is more meritorious than the performance of a commandment with no intent.” Deborah and Barak immortalized the victory in a famous ode or song.
“Awake, awake, o Deborah! Awake, awake, utter a song! (5:12). Deborah was looked up to as one of the great leaders and judges of the tribes in the period before the kingdom; she was the fifth judge of Israel. It is also said that Reuben, Leah’s firstborn, isolated east of the Jordan, was involved in the rebellion against Moses and is rebuked by Deborah for the tribe’s failure to share the defense of the land. Neither Simeon, the second born, nor Judah is mentioned in the blessing of Moses or in the song of Deborah.
The judges who governed Israel were strictly G-d's vicegerents in the government of the people, He being the supreme ruler. Those who were thus elevated retained the dignity as long as they lived; but there was no regular, unbroken succession of judges. Individuals, prompted by the inward, irresistible impulse of G-d's Spirit when they witnessed the depressed state of their country, were roused to achieve its deliverance. It was usually accompanied by a special call, and the people seeing them endowed with extraordinary courage or strength, accepted them as delegates of Heaven, and submitted to their sway. Frequently they were appointed only for a particular district, and their authority extended no farther than over the people whose interests they were commissioned to protect. They were without pomp, equipage, or emoluments attached to the office. They had no power to make laws; for these were given by G-d; nor to explain them, for that was the province of the priests - but they were officially upholders of the law, defenders of religion, avengers of all crimes, particularly of idolatry and its attendant vices.
Judges function is to rescue G-d’s oppressed people from marauding bands and to keep them safe from enemy power during the lifetime of a particular judge. The Hebrew word translated as judge, may also mean deliver.
As executive officer the judge would preside over intertribal councils and exercise judicial, military, and cultic functions. Judging the people with righteous judgment, without partiality or bribe, following justice, and only justice in the land. A righteous judge would oppose those who judge not with justice the cause of the fatherless, to make it prosper and do not defend the rights of the needy.
Deborah, wife of Lappidoth, was a prophetess; she judged Israel at that time. She used to sit under the Palm of Deborah, between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites would come to her for decisions. Deborah’s husband was an uneducated man. She made thick candlewicks and told her husband to bring them to the holy site in Shiloh were righteous men studied. G-d smiled upon her actions: Deborah, your efforts provided ample light for the study of My Torah; I, in turn, will make the light of your prophecy shine throughout all of Israel.
Deborah lived at the southernmost point of the Canaanite kingdom; the palm tree she sat beneath is often popularly identified with Allon-Baccuth, the burial site of Rebekah’s nurse, Deborah. The Talmudic Sages tell us that Deborah had great wealth, which allowed her to dispense justice with no need for remuneration. One day; Deborah chooses to embark upon a military plan to finally free her people from the Canaanite oppression, a seemingly impossible venture given their inferior military might. Deborah summons Barak, a man from the northern tribe of Naphtali, intending to appoint him as military commander of her mission.
And Deborah, a prophetess was a woman of extraordinary knowledge, wisdom, and piety, instructed in divine knowledge by the Spirit and accustomed to interpret His will; who acquired an extensive influence, and was held in universal respect, insomuch that she became the animating spirit of the government and discharged all the special duties of a judge, except that of military leader.
She was the wife of Lapidoth, rendered by some, "a woman of splendors”.
She dwelt under the palm tree - or, collectively, "palm-grove”. It is common still in the East to administer justice in the open air, or under the canopy of an umbrageous tree. The ferment for reform that led to liberation began in the Ephraimite hill country under the palm tree, where the oppressed people came to her for relief from injustice. Canaanite economic oppression backed up by military power had begun to move down into Ephraim. According to the Scribes time frame, this area had recently been liberated from Moabite colonial oppression on the east by Ehud and from expansionist pressure from the pre-Philistine Sea people on the west along the Gezer-Aijalon road by Shamgar. Deborah arose at that time as Israel’s mother-savior.
She sent and called Barak by virtue of her official authority as judge. His somewhat singular request to be accompanied by Deborah was not altogether the result of weakness. The Orientals always take what is dearest to the battlefield along with them; they think it makes them fight better. The policy of Barak, then, to have the presence of the prophetess is perfectly intelligible as it would no less stimulate the valor of the troops, than sanction, in the eyes of Israel, the uprising against an oppressor so powerful as Jabin. Barak reasoned that because the Holy Spirit rests upon her, that he would be delivered through her merit and come to no harm. Barak is requesting that Deborah accompany him up to Kadesh wherein, together, they will summon volunteer warriors from the northern tribes.
The Lord shall sell Sisera into the hand of a woman this was a prediction which Barak could not understand at the time; but the strain of it conveyed a rebuke of his unmanly fears. Deborah in her role as a mother in Israel, modestly disappears from the narrative after her inspiring words to Barak on Mt. Tabor. When later generations remembered this incident, they thought of Barak the man instead of Deborah the woman (1 Sam. 12:11; Heb. 11:32; Ps. 83:9).
Deborah’s prophecy that “the L-rd will deliver Sisera into the hands of a woman” was fulfilled. For forty years hence, Israel was in peace, but what of Jael’s cruel act? “A transgression (committed) with good intent is more meritorious than the performance of a commandment with no intent.” Deborah and Barak immortalized the victory in a famous ode or song.
“Awake, awake, o Deborah! Awake, awake, utter a song! (5:12). Deborah was looked up to as one of the great leaders and judges of the tribes in the period before the kingdom; she was the fifth judge of Israel. It is also said that Reuben, Leah’s firstborn, isolated east of the Jordan, was involved in the rebellion against Moses and is rebuked by Deborah for the tribe’s failure to share the defense of the land. Neither Simeon, the second born, nor Judah is mentioned in the blessing of Moses or in the song of Deborah.
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