Chapter 11
Jephthah
11:1 Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty warrior, but he was the son of a prostitute. Gilead was the father of Jephthah. 2 And Gilead’s wife also bore him sons. And when his wife’s sons grew up, they drove Jephthah out and said to him, “You shall not have an inheritance in our father’s house, for you are the son of another woman.” 3 Then Jephthah fled from his brothers and lived in the land of Tob, and worthless fellows collected around Jephthah and went out with him.
The next judge and deliverer for the people of Israel is introduced to us in an unusual way, first we are told he was a mighty warrior but then we are told that he is the illegitimate son of Gilead (not the same Gilead that fathered the Gileadites, see Joshua 17:1-6). When his half-brothers grow up they drove him out of the family saying he will not receive any inheritance from their father. So, Jephthah left and settled in the land of Tob (unknown exact location, believed to be ten to twelve miles southeast of the Sea of Galilee) and while there several “worthless fellows” (same word used to describe the worthless men that earlier joined Abimelech, see Judges 9:4) that started to “hang out” around him.
11:4 After a time the Ammonites made war against Israel. 5 And when the Ammonites made war against Israel, the elders of Gilead went to bring Jephthah from the land of Tob. 6 And they said to Jephthah, “Come and be our leader, that we may fight against the Ammonites.” 7 But Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, “Did you not hate me and drive me out of my father’s house? Why have you come to me now when you are in distress?” 8 And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “That is why we have turned to you now, that you may go with us and fight against the Ammonites and be our head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.” 9 Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, “If you bring me home again to fight against the Ammonites, and the LORD gives them over to me, I will be your head.” 10 And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “The LORD will be witness between us, if we do not do as you say.”
From the previous chapter we know that the Israelites had turned away from God and served the false gods of their enemies. God allowed them to be oppressed by the Ammonites and Philistines for eighteen years, at which time they pleaded with God to deliver them from the oppression and returned to serving God. The Ammonites were already in Gilead (see Judges 10:8), but now they decide to go to war against Israel. Knowing that Jephthah was a warrior, the elders of Gilead go the him to lead them into battle. He immediately points out that he was a victim of their hatred and drove him away, he asks them why should he consider this role, “Just because they are in distress?” The elders tell him that he would then be “head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.” Jephthah then asks for clarification, if I return home to fight against the Ammonites, and the YHWH gives them over to me, that I would be your head? The elders respond, “YHWH will be witness between us, if we do not do as you say.”
11:11 So Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and leader over them. And Jephthah spoke all his words before the LORD at Mizpah.
Jephthah agreed and went with the elders back to Gilead and was made their leader. Unlike Abimelech who made himself king through pride, sin, and dishonor, that ultimately led to destruction, Jephthah was made the leader of Gilead in the presence of YHWH. The last half of the verse has been interpreted in a number of ways, words spoken before God typically are words of commitment to Him or one seeking forgiveness, guidance, wisdom, discernment, etc. In other words the speaker desires God to be fully in charge!
11:12 Then Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites and said, “What do you have against me, that you have come to me to fight against my land?” 13 And the king of the Ammonites answered the messengers of Jephthah, “Because Israel on coming up from Egypt took away my land, from the Arnon to the Jabbok and to the Jordan; now therefore restore it peaceably.”
Jephthah sent a delegation of men to the king of the Ammonites to ask them why have they come to fight against his land. The king responded by saying that when the Israelites came up from Egypt many years earlier, they took away his land from the Jabbok River in the north to the Arnon River in the south and to the Jordan River on the west, land that was conquered by Moses and later allocated to the tribe of Gad. And now the Ammonite king is requesting that the land ownership return to them peaceably.
11:14 Jephthah again sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites 15 and said to him, “Thus says Jephthah: Israel did not take away the land of Moab or the land of the Ammonites, 16 but when they came up from Egypt, Israel went through the wilderness to the Red Sea and came to Kadesh. 17 Israel then sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, ‘Please let us pass through your land,’ but the king of Edom would not listen. And they sent also to the king of Moab, but he would not consent. So Israel remained at Kadesh. 18 “Then they journeyed through the wilderness and went around the land of Edom and the land of Moab and arrived on the east side of the land of Moab and camped on the other side of the Arnon. But they did not enter the territory of Moab, for the Arnon was the boundary of Moab. 19 Israel then sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, king of Heshbon, and Israel said to him, ‘Please let us pass through your land to our country,’ 20 but Sihon did not trust Israel to pass through his territory, so Sihon gathered all his people together and encamped at Jahaz and fought with Israel. 21 And the LORD, the God of Israel, gave Sihon and all his people into the hand of Israel, and they defeated them. So Israel took possession of all the land of the Amorites, who inhabited that country. 22 And they took possession of all the territory of the Amorites from the Arnon to the Jabbok and from the wilderness to the Jordan. 23 So then the LORD, the God of Israel, dispossessed the Amorites from before his people Israel; and are you to take possession of them?
Jephthah sent messengers back to the king to refute his recollection if the facts, that the truth is, “Israel did not take away the land of Moab or the land of the Ammonites.” The messengers then offer a brief history lesson that walked the king through the advancement of the Israelites from the time they left Egypt to them taking possession of the territory of the Amorites. Noting that Israel had respected the territorial claims of Edom and Moab, but Sihon, the king of the Amorites did not trust that they would peaceably travel through. So he attacked them and Israel was victorious, and they rightfully took possession of the land that is now being claimed by the king to belong to the Ammonites.
11:24 Will you not possess what Chemosh your god gives you to possess? And all that the LORD our God has dispossessed before us, we will possess.
The messengers pause to ask the Ammonites, if their god Chemosh told them to possess a land, would they not possess it? That is what they did, their God YHWH cleared the land by dispossessing the people and gave the land to Israel. It is interesting to note that Chemosh was principal god of Moab, the principal god of the Ammonites was Milcom (see 1 Kings 11:5, 33). Many believe it was a deliberate error to further demonstrate their contempt for the Ammonites, a form of sarcasm.
11:25 Now are you any better than Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever contend against Israel, or did he ever go to war with them? 26 While Israel lived in Heshbon and its villages, and in Aroer and its villages, and in all the cities that are on the banks of the Arnon, 300 years, why did you not deliver them within that time?
The message now shifts to question their current capabilities, the messengers ask if they believe that their military might is greater than Balak, the king of Moab, did he go to war against Israel? No! So, therefore their claim to the land is not justified. They next note that Israel has occupied the land for 300 years, so why have they not recovered their land prior to this time?
11:27 I therefore have not sinned against you, and you do me wrong by making war on me. The LORD, the Judge, decide this day between the people of Israel and the people of Ammon.” 28 But the king of the Ammonites did not listen to the words of Jephthah that he sent to him.
Jephthah’s messengers conclude by relaying, “Therefore, I have not sinned against you. Rather, you have wronged me by attacking me. Let the LORD, who is judge, decide today which of us is right—Israel or Ammon.” (Judges 1:27, NLT) But the king of the Ammonites wasn’t convinced and refused to accept Jephthah’s explanation.
Jephthah’s Vow and Victory
11:29 Then the Spirit of the LORD was upon Jephthah, and he passed through Gilead and Manasseh and passed on to Mizpah of Gilead, and from Mizpah of Gilead he passed on to the Ammonites. 30 And Jephthah made a vow to the LORD and said, “If you will give the Ammonites into my hand, 31 then whatever comes out from the doors of my house to meet me when I return in peace from the Ammonites shall be the LORD’s, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering.”
The Holy Spirit came upon Jephthah (click here to read about the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament versus the New Testament) and proceeded with an preemptive strike going through Gilead, to Mizpah (there are at least four locations with that name, this one is identified as being in Gilead) and then on to the Ammonites. Jephthah, possibly caught up in the excitement of finally purging the Ammonites from Israel, that he promises to offer whatever comes out of his house after defeating the Ammonites to be YHWH’s and he will offer it up for a burnt offering. In our ears this is a strange vow, especially when we start wondering, “Who would come and meet him other than a human being? Is he considering a human burnt offering?” Most ancient homes in Israel had four rooms on the first floor, one of which would be for their animals. If Jephthah had in mind a human sacrifice he would have used the feminine form and not the masculine. The use of the masculine implies he had an animal sacrifice in mind.[1] If the vow involved human sacrifice it would not be considered a valid vow.
11:32 So Jephthah crossed over to the Ammonites to fight against them, and the LORD gave them into his hand. 33 And he struck them from Aroer to the neighborhood of Minnith, twenty cities, and as far as Abel-keramim, with a great blow. So the Ammonites were subdued before the people of Israel.
Jephthah crossed over (Hebrew yǎ·‛ǎḇōr’, to go through, to go beyond, in context to enter the enemy’s territory) and fought against the Ammonites, he struck them from Aroer (a city on the north side of the Arnon River) in the south to Minnith (location unknown, believed to be different than the Minnith listed in Ezekiel 27:17) which included twenty cities, and as far as Abel-keramim (south of the Jabbok, some believe modern-day Amman). The Ammonites were now conquered for the people of Israel.
11:34 Then Jephthah came to his home at Mizpah. And behold, his daughter came out to meet him with tambourines and with dances. She was his only child; besides her he had neither son nor daughter. 35 And as soon as he saw her, he tore his clothes and said, “Alas, my daughter! You have brought me very low, and you have become the cause of great trouble to me. For I have opened my mouth to the LORD, and I cannot take back my vow.”
When Jephthah returned to his home in Mizpah his daughter came out of his house with tambourines dancing undoubtedly in celebration of the victory. We are told that she was his only child, information that will be important soon. When he saw her he immediately tore his clothes a gesture of profound grief, his joy was quickly squashed. He tells her that she unknowingly caused him great distress, as he understood that he could not take back his vow to God (click here for further reading regarding vows to God).
11:36 And she said to him, “My father, you have opened your mouth to the LORD; do to me according to what has gone out of your mouth, now that the LORD has avenged you on your enemies, on the Ammonites.” 37 So she said to her father, “Let this thing be done for me: leave me alone two months, that I may go up and down on the mountains and weep for my virginity, I and my companions.”
These two verses are often misunderstood and therefore widely interpreted. Under no circumstance is human sacrifice acceptable to God. According to the law, burnt offerings have many roles, one that is given in thanksgiving, like this one is intended to please Him. Since human sacrifice is an abomination to God, it wouldn’t make sense that a sacrifice of that nature would in any way be pleasing, vow or no vow (click here for additional information).
Understanding that these verses summarizes what was undoubtedly a lengthy discussion, Jephthah’s daughter did understand that the vow her father made could not be revoked. But what is the concern if the burnt offering is not an option? The first half of verse 31 is a vow to dedicate whatever meets Jephthah on his return is to be given to YHWH. What does that mean? She would serve God in some capacity all her life and would not marry or have a family (see Exodus 38:8; 1 Samuel 2:22). The daughter asks for two months in the mountains with her friends to weep as she will die as a virgin.
11:38 So he said, “Go.” Then he sent her away for two months, and she departed, she and her companions, and wept for her virginity on the mountains. 39 And at the end of two months, she returned to her father, who did with her according to his vow that he had made. She had never known a man, and it became a custom in Israel 40 that the daughters of Israel went year by year to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in the year.
Jephthah’s daughter was granted permission to go to the mountains with her friends for two months and afterward was dedicated to service to God. We read that she never had any relations with a man and that it became a custom in Israel where the young women of Israel would annually remember and lament her for four days.
Considerations
Sacrificial Controversy
There are a number of theologians that believe that Jephthah sacrificed his daughter. He did sacrifice his future lineage as she was his only child, meaning no descendants. And he sacrificed her from ever having a normal life or family. But he did not sacrifice her in any form of burnt sacrifice! Was his vow foolish, yes, he did not think it through. Many believe he should have gone to the high priest to annul the vow, but he didn’t (see Leviticus 27:1-8).
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[1] Fruchtenbaum, A. G. (2006). Ariel’s Bible commentary: the books of Judges and Ruth (1st ed., p. 145). Ariel Ministries.