Was Jephthah's daughter offered as a burnt offering?
In Judges 11-12, we find the narrative about Jephthah.
When we think of him, we almost immediately think of his foolish vow and the consequences of it to his daughter.
Judges 11:30-31 in the ESV reads:
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.”
We know the sad story, how his daughter met him with joy, and the joy turned to gloom.
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.” 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.
Over the centuries, most commentators understood this text to refer to Jephthah actually offering his daughter as a burnt offering. In our day, many point out that the phrase, “shall be the Lord’s, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering” could as well be translated as “shall be the Lord’s, OR I will offer it up for a burnt offering.”
Thus many in our day believe that she was dedicated to serve in the Tabernacle, much like Samuel. We know that women served at the entrance to the Tabernacle (Exodus 38:8 and I Samuel 2:22).
What is your view?
Poll Results
Was Jephthah’s daughter offered as a burnt offering?
Yes, sad as it is. Obviously not God’s will. Votes: 6
Probably Votes: 3
Unsure without leaning one way or the other. Votes: 4
Probably not. Votes: 3
No. Votes: 4
Other Votes: 0
- 4 views
I voted probably. I don’t know Hebrew at all so I have to rely on what others have said. The new arguments are interesting but so far I haven’t been totally convinced.
“And at the end of two months, she returned to her father, who did with her according to his vow that he had made.”
"Some things are of that nature as to make one's fancy chuckle, while his heart doth ache." John Bunyan
She was sacrificed. I think what gives most people heartburn over this is the inclusion of Jephthah in Hebrews 11, but David is there, too, and he had a man murdered. Jephthah’s faith was not demonstrated by this act, but earlier in his confrontation with the Ammonites (especially his conclusion in 11:27) and following through with the battle. The vow and carrying out the vow was a tragic mistake, faithless, and sinful. His slaughter of the Ephraimites was also pretty egregious in my view.
What did he expect to come walking out to greet him? A loaf of bread? Wine? It was going to be a person…
When I taught through Judges, I found the Jephthah cycle to be completely fascinating.
Earlier in chapter 11, Jephthah had referred to God as the judge – one who would decide between Israel and Ammon in their conflict (that was good and probably the highlight of his career) – but if you go to the judge and offer him something to decide in your favor, what is that? It is a bribe, and that is a problem (cf., Deut 10:17; 16:19), but it gets even worse. It’s an open-ended bride, so that he can get away with offering God the minimum. While it is possible an animal could have come out to meet him, it is way more likely that a person would have, and he was probably expecting a person. Note – sleepovers with the Jephthah family would be a bad idea! He was willing to offer a human sacrifice, if he had to, just like the pagans would for their battles (2 Kings 3:16-27). It’s part of the downward cycle of the Judges themselves, not just the nation.
[AndyE]It’s part of the downward cycle of the Judges themselves, not just the nation.
This is the key trend that you see.
Discussion