NOTES for Jdg 11:1-40

Jephthah is an outcast, one of those whom, under “normal circumstances,” public opinion despises and rejects. But a difficult hour arrives, and, as so often happens, it is precisely the rejected man who proves indispensable.

Jephthah's words to the king of the Ammonites are interesting for the way he defends the Israelite people's rights to the land. He lays no claim to the lands of other peoples, but the land given to his people by the Lord he is prepared to defend not only with the sword but also with words, offering evidence that the neighboring kings' claims to it are unfounded.

The Lord gave Jephthah victory, but tragedy followed victory for him. He could not break his own vow and gave his daughter up to be slaughtered. A vast gulf separates Jephthah and Herod, yet they are alike in this: because of vows whose consequences neither man had foreseen, people whom they had not intended to destroy were killed.