NOTES for Jdg 11:29-39
29 Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah, and he passed over Gilead, and Manasseh, and passed over Mizpeh of Gilead, and from Mizpeh of Gilead he passed over unto the children of Ammon. |
30 And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the LORD, and said, If thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands, |
31 Then it shall be, that whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, shall surely be the LORD's, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering. |
32 So Jephthah passed over unto the children of Ammon to fight against them; and the LORD delivered them into his hands. |
33 And he smote them from Aroer, even till thou come to Minnith, even twenty cities, and unto the plain of the vineyards, with a very great slaughter. Thus the children of Ammon were subdued before the children of Israel. |
34 And Jephthah came to Mizpeh unto his house, and, behold, his daughter came out to meet him with timbrels and with dances: and she was his only child; beside her he had neither son nor daughter. |
35 And it came to pass, when he saw her, that he rent his clothes, and said, Alas, my daughter! thou hast brought me very low, and thou art one of them that trouble me: for I have opened my mouth unto the LORD, and I cannot go back. |
36 And she said unto him, My father, if thou hast opened thy mouth unto the LORD, do to me according to that which hath proceeded out of thy mouth; forasmuch as the LORD hath taken vengeance for thee of thine enemies, even of the children of Ammon. |
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. |
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. |
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, |
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The story of Jephthah the Gileadite from the Book of Judges can leave us perplexed. He appears to be a positive character, the leader of Israel's army, the victor over the age-old enemies, the Ammonites. And the vow he makes to God also seems understandable. How many times have we heard about people who promised God one thing or another in critical circumstances! And here the critical situation concerns not even Jephthah himself, but the people of God. But then the time comes to fulfill the vow, Jephthah fulfills it, and our heart turns over within us: how could he sacrifice his daughter, since God does not need human sacrifices, as is shown already in the story of Abraham and Isaac? And where is God looking?
But notice God's silence throughout this whole story. Jephthah receives the Spirit to wage war against the Ammonites; everything else is his own pure initiative. He makes decisions both for himself and for God; he does not try to ask Him about anything. There is no place for God here, and the whole situation inevitably reaches a dead end, because fulfilling the vow and not fulfilling the vow both turn out to be sinning before God. And again Jephthah makes the decision himself, without God's participation, and apparently does not even recognize his own sinfulness in doing so.
The Book of Judges does not state its own judgments; oh, how much we would like everything to be chewed over for us. It tells us a story and calls us to reflection and, probably, prayer.
Readings for 21 August 2025
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