What does the Bible say ...?

According to the Bible,
After Jephthah was victorious in battle, what sacrifice did he burn on the altar, as he had vowed to the Lord?

A. Himself.
B. His livestock.
C. Two unspotted lambs.
D. His virgin daughter

[David Merrill]

Originally Posted by Heidi Guedel

According to the Bible,
After Jephthah was victorious in battle, what sacrifice did he burn on the altar, as he had vowed to the Lord?

A. Himself.
B. His livestock.
C. Two unspotted lambs.
D. His virgin daughter

The answer is D.

Jdg 11:30 And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the LORD, and said, If thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands,
Jdg 11:31 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.
Jdg 11:32 So Jephthah passed over unto the children of Ammon to fight against them; and the LORD delivered them into his hands.
Jdg 11:33 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.
Jdg 11:34 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.
Jdg 11:35 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.
Jdg 11:36 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.
Jdg 11:37 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.
Jdg 11:38 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.
Jdg 11:39 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,
Jdg 11:40 That the daughters of Israel went yearly to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in a year.

From A Dictionary of Biblical Tradition in English Literature by David Lyle Jeffrey.

[2tim215]

I have a couple of questions for you:

1) Who was Jephthae? and more importantly

2) Assuming that DM is correct in his response of (D), was he (Jephthae) in God's will in doing this purported act, i.e., was he doing this on God's instruction.? What do you think?

Blessings.

2tim215
2 Timothy 2:15 (KJV) Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

[Shoonra]

The story of Jepthah may be an object lesson about rash vows (although possibly not). Jepthah was judge of Gilead, much as Samson was judge of Dan. He was an Israelite commander in the wars against the Ammonites. His story is told in Judges chapter 11.

He made a vow that "whoever comes first from the door of my house when I return victorious shall belong to the Lord and I will render a burnt offering". Apparently he made this vow under divine inspiration. The vow suggests that he expected a person to come out of his house, as indoor housepets were unlikely in that culture. The first person who came out to meet him was his daughter.

Now it must be said that, in the original Hebrew, although Jepthah promised to dedicate that person to God, he did not explicitly say that he would make a burnt offering of that person. It may be plausibly suggested that he promised only to dedicate his daughter, for the rest of her natural lifespan, to the Lord ... apparently as a sort of nun, much as Samson had been dedicated as a nazarite by his parents, which additionally meant that, she being his only child, Jepthah's family line died out for lack of grandchildren which was a great disappointment in that culture. The burnt offering he made on her behalf was presumably an animal suitable for sacrifice.

The women's auxiliary of the Masons has a ritual pantomime of this story (on the common assumption that the girl was killed as a sacrifice).

[BoyntonStu]

Originally Posted by 2tim215

I have a couple of questions for you:

1) Who was Jephthae? and more importantly

2) Assuming that DM is correct in his response of (D), was he (Jephthae) in God's will in doing this purported act, i.e., was he doing this on God's instruction.? What do you think?

Blessings.

2tim215
2 Timothy 2:15 (KJV) Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

The whole point of the story is that a person makes a contract with God and he offers his child to God as a sacrifice payment. God accepts and she helps the guy win his battles. The contract is closed when the child is burnt.

BoyntonStu

[Shoonra]

I disagree. God does not bargain with people subject to the terms of the UCC. There is a more subtle spiritual significance to this story.

[BoyntonStu]

Originally Posted by Shoonra

I disagree. God does not bargain with people subject to the terms of the UCC. There is a more subtle spiritual significance to this story.

WHICH IS WHAT?

[Shoonra]

Honestly, I don't know the spiritual significance to the story of Jepthah. I can only assume it is an object lesson on making unnecessary or rash vows.

I joined this website primarily for the legal arguments, not the theological disputes.

[2tim215]

I agree with Shoonra for the most part. Let me add a little to what he said:

Who was Jepthae? His name means whom God sets free.

Jepthae was a Gileadite, the son of Gilead.

He was a mighty man of valor.

He was the son of a prostitute and was banished by his half brothers so that he would not receive any of the iheritance of his father.

He was later solicited by the Jews (the same ones who banished him) to lead them in battle against the Ammonites which he did and won.

He made a foolish vow which was totally unecessary.
The vow was made after his victory (not before as some have implied).

This was not a deal with God. God specificially instructs us not to make vows to him. He also does not allow human physical death sacrifices (other than that of His Son's).

God NEVER accepted nor would accept Human Sacrifices as some of you have claimed. This is totally without merit. Gods laws actually forbid it. It was the nations that God warred against who were the ones who made the human sacrifices (moabites, ammonites, amalekites, etc.) which is one of the reasons He had the Jews make war against them. This was never a teaching of the Bible (Old or New Testaments). God abhors this conduct and it is an abomination to Him. I challenge anyone to prove otherwise.

When you study Leviticus 27:1-25 it talks about vows. In that chapter all that was mentioned could be used for holy purposes, but not everything could be used for burnt offerings. The only things that were allowed to be burnt offerings were animals. Now I realize that some of you have a problem with that and I am not denying that God allowed animals to be sacrifice. This is no longer the case, however. This Old Testament sacrifice of animals was a substitutionary one. Human sacrifices were always an abomination to the Lord although it was customary to most heathen religions. God's law was righteous and had nothing to do with Jephthae's rash vow to sacrifice his daughter in such a way.

I do not believe that Jepthae actually sacrificed his daughter on the altar as some of you maintain, but if he did, I am certain that this was not as a result of a commandment by God neither was it condoned by Him. I believe as Shoonra pointed out, that it was her ability to marry which was what she gave up (sacrificed) which meant that she would be a virgin for the rest of her life. Since this was Jephthae's only child, it meant that he would not have any decendants which was terrible thing regarding the culture of that day.

I have read that there is a saying according to the Talmud "s/he who does not marry, is dead" and "s/he who has no children is a dry tree"... which is also found in a scripture speaking of those Eunuchs who join themselves to Israel "let them not say i am a dry tree...".

If Jephthah understood the law about making vows to the Lord, then he would've also known that human sacrifices would not be acceptable to God and that it would've brought the death penalty upon himself. It tells us that when his daugther found out about Jepthae's vow, she asked for two months to bewail her virginity and then later said the she knew no man which I believe that this is simply what it was.

Human sacrifice was strictly forbidden by the Mosaic law in Leviticus 18:21 and Deuteronomy 12:31.

If Jepthae didn't know the law (which is possible since he was banished by the Jews from his home and therefore would have been living in an non-Jewish environment) then his vow would have been a result of ignorance and his offering would not have been accepted by God.

Clarke says that according to the most accurate Hebrew scholars, the best translation is I will consecrate it to the Lord, or I will offer it for a burnt-offering; that is, "If it be a thing fit for a burnt-offering, it shall be made one; if fit for the service of God, it shall be consecrated to him" meaning that if it is suitable for a burnt offering, it will be "burnt" but due to the fact that it was a human in this case, it would not be suitable for "burning" and therefore would be consecrated as for service to the Lord and thus she would never know a man.

John Wesley confirms this viewpoint:
Judges 11:39 - Did with her - Jephthah's daughter was not sacrificed, but only devoted to perpetual virginity. This appears, From Judges 11:37-38, where we read, that she bewailed not her death, which had been the chief cause of lamentation, if that had been vowed, but her virginity: From this Judges 11:39, where, after he had said, that he did with her according to his vow; he adds, by way of declaration of the matter of that vow, and she knew no man.

Regardless of whether or not you believe that Jephthae had his daughter killed, in no way should this reflect on God's will as this would have been a personal choice made by Jepthae and in no way does it reflect on the character of God. The same holds true for many men throughout the ages who have made bad personal choices in life. In no way should this reflect on the God of this universe nor His Son Jesus Christ.

Whether or not you agree, this certainly does present a whole different side of the argument and is worth considering, for those who are dogmatic in their negative imressions of the Supreme Being.

2tim215

2 Tim 2:15(KJV) Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

This was not a deal with God. God specificially instructs us not to make vows to him. He also does not allow human physical death sacrifices (other than that of His Son's).

If the above statement is true, then Abraham would never have believed that God really told him to kill Isaac, right?

And therefore, if Abraham would never really have believed that God sincerely commanded him to kill Isaac, the entire procedure was a sham. So how was telling Abraham to sacrifice Isaac a real "test"?

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