Jephthah's Daughter



In Chapter 11 of the book of Judges we find a very interesting and yet heart breaking story of Jephthah, a mighty man of valor, and his young daughter. I will not print the whole forty verses that make up the chapter but will highlight the verses of importance to our story; I would recommend that you read the chapter for yourself.
Jephthah was a son of Gilead by a harlot and Gilead had other sons by his wife who banished Jephthah so he could not claim an inheritance.

Judges 11:3 KJV Then Jephthah fled from his brethren, and dwelt in the land of Tob: and there where gathered vain men to Jephthah, and went out with him.

Jephthah and his men formed raiding parties to raid Ammonite towns and cities for their livelihoods and supplement their needs. We read in the following verses that it came to pass that the Ammonites sought to make war against the children of Israel claiming the Israelites had taken their land. Sound familiar? So the elders of Gilead came to Jephthah asking him to be their captain. It seems the other sons of Gilead were neither fighters nor leaders, and the elders of Gilead needed a leader to fight the Ammonites for them. We find that Jephthah was not only a man of valor but also a man of intelligence who got the elders to agree that if he won over the Ammonites they would make him head over all of Gilead.

Jephthah then sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites to see if a diplomatic solution could be found but the King of the Ammonites would not listen. The scripture then tells us the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah and he gathered all who would come and join his army.



Judges 11:30-31 KJV 30And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the LORD, and said, If thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands, 31Then 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.

The scripture records Jephthah's reckless and untimely vow to God knowing his small army had no chance without God's help in achieving victory over the large Ammonite army. Jephthah's army went on to overcome the Ammonites and upwards of twenty of their cities.

Judges 11:34-40 KJV 34And 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. 35And 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. 36And 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. 37And 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. 38And he said, Go. And he sent her away for two months: and she went with her companions, and bewailed her virginity upon the mountains.



39And 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, 40That the daughters of Israel went yearly to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in a year.

Scholars are divided as to Jephthah's daughter's fate, some believe Jephthah did indeed offer her up as a burnt offering unto the Lord as he had vowed, yet others believe that despite the troublesome times, there were in Israel many noble, God-fearing men and women who understood and practiced the wise and merciful system of Moses, that of not offering human beings as burnt sacrifices realizing that a Holy God would not have required that but that the daughter give her life to the service of the tabernacle. I offer up in defense of the latter train of thought with two statements in scripture. Verse 31 - "shall surely be the Lords" and verse 39 - "she knew no man".

For an only daughter of a mighty man of Israel to not bare a child to continue his name is in itself a heavy judgment and what the daughters of Israel were lamenting was her celibacy. We find it also written in the scriptures that a priest must offer up to God all sacrifices and no priest of the time would have offered a human sacrifice.

What I find so touching and uplifting was this young girl's humble and meek heart and love for her father that she answered immediately in verse 36 that he must do what he had sworn to God to do. She is remembered to this day over thirty centuries later as the embodiment of a courageous young woman who was both meek in spirit and patient in suffering.

Bob Goulding © November 2006




A Daughter of Valor
Bob Goulding © November 2006

There are many mighty men known for their valor
There are vows made that must not be broken
To assure his victory and keep his honor
He said the words that should not have been spoken

How could he have known the price he would pay?
The one so very young with a heart so tender
His only one who was the sunshine of his day
There was no other, she was his only daughter

There were battles to fight and a war to win
Men to lead and fears to be conquered
Not trusting in the Lord would be a sin
His faith was strong and God was faithful

He came home in joy to claim his promised title
His home was in site as he led the procession
There was music and dancing to which he was entitled
Then she came through the door his most loved possession
He remembered his vow as he smote his chest
His heart burned as he told her his vow
Do unto me the words you have spoken
For God was faithful and you can do no less

Give me two months time to lament my fate
The mountains I crave to absorb my sorrow
A husband and children I shall never know
Your name shall be lost and know no tomorrow

She was the daughter of a man of valor
She could do no less than bring him honor
A life of service she willingly gave
And found the joy her heart had craved.

As with the other stories we have done on the people in the Bible I have done a fiction story of Jephthah's Daughter - "In Her Own Words". Click on the People Archive link below to read the story.

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