12:7: 'Then Jephthah the Gileadite died and he was buried in the towns of Gilead.' Why there is more to Jephthah than meets than eye It was not that long ago that I realized the Jephthah-story and the Jesus-story were basically the same story. He was a Gileadite (Judges 11:1), which likely places him as a member of the tribe of Manasseh (Numbers 26:29). 11:29–40) is frequently singled out for condemnation.Richard Dawkins describes this account as a “story of human sacrifice” that ended unhappily. Jephthah?! Jephthah, a man who became renowned for his bravery, was the son of a harlot and a man named Gilead–which was also the name of the region where he lived. Deuteronomy says: Deuteronomy 23:2 (NIV) An analysis of Judges 11:31", "Killing the daughter: Judges' Jephthah and The Jew of Malta's Barabas", "Jephtha (Hewitt, John Hill) - IMSLP: Free Sheet Music PDF Download", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jephthah&oldid=1022894324, Short description is different from Wikidata, Wikipedia articles with WORLDCATID identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, The story of Jephthah and his daughter is the subject of, This page was last edited on 13 May 2021, at 03:39. Jephthah is a minor player in the Bible who reveals a major aspect of God's character. According to Judges 11, he was the son of a prostitute, and … but is bound by his vow: "I have opened my mouth to the Lord, and I cannot take back my vow". Jephthah passed through Gilead and Manasseh and the city of Mizpah in Gilead to the land of the Ammonites.” “Jephthah made a promise to the LORD, saying, ‘If you will hand over the Ammonites to me, I will give you as a burnt offering the first thing that comes out of my house to meet me when I return from the victory. Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty warrior. Jephthah’s misfortune is to be the son of a prostitute. As his following grew and word spread of their daring adventures. . [26] Thus, Jephthah is not stating an alternative between dedicating something to God and offering it up as a burnt offering, but clearly linking the two. Jephthah is introduced in chapter 9 as a גבור חיל, “an able warrior,” in biblical terms a high accolade. Jephthah is introduced in chapter 9 as a גבור חיל, “an able warrior,” in biblical terms a high accolade. But it is here in our Bibles, and a high view of Scripture compels me to deal with it, difficult or not. Jephthah (pronounced /ˈdʒɛfθə/; Hebrew: יפתח (Yiftāḥ), appears in the Book of Judges as a judge who presided over Israel for a period of six years (Judges 12:7). For the oratorio by Handel, see. 1143-1137.His history is contained in ( Judges 11:1; Judges 12:8) He was a Gileadite, the son of Gilead and a concubine.Driven by the legitimate sons from his fathers inheritance, he went to Tob and became the head of a company of freebooters in a debatable land probably belonging to Ammon. Aramaic Bible in Plain English. 4 It came to pass after a time that the people of Ammon made war against Israel. After this it became the custom for the daughters of Israel to lament four days in every year the death of Jephthah's daughter (Judges xi. Although he eventually rose to become judge of Israel for six years, he had a very rough start in life. Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valour, and he was the son of an harlot: and Gilead begat Jephthah. He was a strong soldier. 34 When Jephthah returned to his home in Mizpah, who should come out to meet him but his daughter, dancing to the sound of timbrels! Later, Jephthah was forced to fight against the Ephraimites, who refused to aid him in his struggle against the Ammonites. Jephthah was judge in Israel for 6 years, but appears only once more in the Scripture narrative. © Copyright 2002-2021 Got Questions Ministries. Hashem prepared Jephthah for his role through the circumstances of his dubious birth and through his life as an outcast and brigand. Adam Clarke's Commentary has an exposition of the issues at stake in this passage and contends that the vow Jephthah made was not as rash as it sounds. The Bible does not have to mention Jephthah’s daughter again just to prove she is alive or she was dedicated to God’s work. Who was Jephthah? I must confess that I have struggled a great deal with this text. The fate of Jephthah’s daughter is difficult to understand. But Jephthah was the son of a prostitute. He was a Gileadite ( Judges 11:1 ), which likely places him as a member of the tribe of Manasseh ( Numbers 26:29 ). Is there a Woman Nazirite in the Bible? Gilead’s wife also bore him sons, and when they were grown up, they drove Jephthah away. Although critics of the Bible seem to find it objectionable whenever any biblical character is killed, the story of Jephthah and his daughter (Judg. Jephthah was this kind of person. Jephthah was a mighty warrior and brilliant military strategist. As his following grew and word spread of their daring adventures. Judges 1111 Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty warrior. (whom God sets free), one of the judges of Israel, was the illegitimate son of Gilead, Jud 11:1; and this fact made him so odious to the other children of the family that they banished him from the house, and he took up his residence in the land of T (Judges 11:30-31 read below) An illegitimate son was not allowed to do this. Gilead’s wife … There’s a reason for this: people without a name seem less real, so leaving the girl nameless minimizes the horror of the story, making Jephthah more acceptable as a hero of Israel. Judges 11:1 "Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valor, and he [was] the son of an harlot: and Gilead begat Jephthah." Jephthah's daughter, sometimes later referred to as Seila or as Iphis, is a figure in the Hebrew Bible, whose story is recounted in Judges 11. "Why the Deuteronomist Told about the Sacrifice of Jephthah's Daughter". [22] According to some rabbinical commentators, Phineas also sinned by failing to address the needs of relieving Jephthah of his vow to sacrifice his daughter. Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty warrior. The victorious Jephthah is met on his return by his only child, a daughter. We know of this from other examples, including Miriam (Exodus 15:20) and the women who praised King David (1 Samuel 18:6). Judges 11:30, 31). Traditionally, Jephthah is listed among major judges because of the length of the biblical narrative referring to him, but his story also shares features with those of the minor judges, such as his short tenure—only six years—in office. As I come to our text for today, that thought came to mind. - Yes. [16], The Talmud characterizes Yiftach (Jephthah) as a person of poor judgment, who makes "unfitting" vows without proper consideration for consequences (B'reishit Rabbah, 60:3). Jephthah's sacrifice of his daughter stands in stark contrast to the Binding of Isaac in the Book of Genesis, in which Abraham was about to perform a divinely ordered sacrifice of his son, when an angel of God directly intervened and stopped the sacrifice. Though a mighty warrior (Judges 11:1), he was driven away from the family as an adult because he was considered an illegitimate child. [9] David Janzen argued that the story was an integral part of the Deuteronomist picture of moral decline through adoption of non-Israelitic practices such as child sacrifice. Reply. His mother is a prostitute; his father is identified as Gilead. He was a strong soldier. Yet Jephthah’s vow to Jehovah God would involve his daughter too. Tribe of Zebulun . Judges 11:9 Jephthah agrees to their request and becomes the leader of Israel. Jephthah (whom God sets free), A judge about B.C. His father was Gilead; his mother was a prostitute. Gilead’s wife had several sons. Judges 11:34: When Jephthah returned to his home in Mizpah, who should come out to meet him but his daughter, dancing to the sound of timbrels! Jephthah was from the tribe of Gilead. JUDGES 11 NIV - Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty - Bible Gateway. Since Jephthah is depicted as one of the great heroes of the Old Testament era (Hebrews 11:32), some scholars feel that this involves the Bible in a moral difficulty. He is a Gileadite mighty warrior … Jephthah, having given her a respite of two months, consummated his vow. American Standard Version. Jephthah, mentioned next in Hebrews Eleven, and presented to us in Judges 11:1-40, is a strange character. Jephthah was not born in prostitution: Further proof that Jephthah was not born in prostitution, but was a legitimate son of Gilead, is that Jephthah made a vow to the LORD at the Tabernacle. Such offerings were common to heathen nations at that time, but it is noteworthy that Israel stands out among them with this great peculiarity, that human sacrifices were unknown in Israel. [2], The story of Jephthah is found in the Book of Judges, chapters 11–12. This was a stretch of heavily forested land about 20 miles wide, east of the Jordan River, which today is located in the country of Jordan. Jephthah’s misfortune is to be the son of a prostitute. 11:32). Jephthah, King James Bible Dictionary. Judges 11:6-7 the people ask Jephthah to lead them into battle against the people of Ammon. He was great with words, and the Bible records more of his conversations than any other judge in the book. Jephthah, King James Bible Dictionary. Although critics of the Bible seem to find it objectionable whenever any biblical character is killed, the story of Jephthah and his daughter (Judg. The Lord used him to free Israel from eighteen years of Ammonite oppression. In the same way that the Bible didn’t mention all details of the past events in the lives of God’s servant. Here’s where it gets interesting, and may be the reason for his name in the Hall of Faith. Judges 1111 Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty warrior. Jephthah (meaning “set free”) was the son of a man named Gilead from a tribal area of ancient Israel that was also called Gilead. Jephthah the Gileadite was a great warrior, but he was the son of a prostitute, and Gilead was his father. After a crushing defeat of the Ammonites, Jephthah returned to his own house, and the first to welcome him was his own daughter. It may have been first written down in the 8th century BCE, when the Northern kingdom of Israel (Samaria) began to collect its heroic tales, royal stories, and foundation myths. You have brought me very low!" 1 Former preacher turned atheist Dan Barker says that Jephthah “found it hard to murder … Jephthah also called on the Lord, who endowed him with supernatural strength. The elders of Gilead said to him, “Nevertheless, we are turning to you now; come with us to fight the … He judged Israel for six years (Judg. In Judges 11:30-31, Jephthah, a judge of Israel, made a foolish vow that if God gave him victory in the upcoming battle, he would sacrifice whatever first came out of his door when he came home. II. [30], The 18th-century French philosopher Voltaire noted the similarities between Jepththa and the mythical Cretan general, Idomeneus, speculating whether one story had in fact imitated the other. This was the period between the death of Joshua (The man who led Israel into the promised land of Canaan) and King Saul (The first King of Israel). Jephthah was victorious in the battle against the Ammonites ( Judges 11:32-33 ). [29] Finkelstein has also suggested that the story of Jephthah's vow may have been added into the story as late as the Hellenistic period. This free audio Bible name pronunciation guide is a valuable tool in your study of God’s word. The woman’s father, Jephthah, has a rather unconventional background. A Gileadite, illegitimate child expelled by his brother from the paternal abode. [15] Ambrose cited the story as an example of how it is "sometimes contrary to duty to fulfill a promise, or to keep an oath". The men of Ephraim, offended because they had had no share in the victory over the Ammonites, made war upon Gilead, but were put to rout by the forces under Jephthah (Jdg 12:1-6). First, Jephthah was a Gileadite but was born of a prostitute. thou hast brought me very low...I have opened my mouth unto the Lord, and cannot go back." Jephthah's daughter, sometimes later referred to as Seila or as Iphis, is a figure in the Hebrew Bible, whose story is recounted in Judges 11. Except for her he had neither son nor daughter. He clarified the issues so that everyone knew the cause of the conflict. Some writers have observed that the Israelites of the time were decidedly barbarous; that Mosaic law (which forbade human sacrifice) was at this time widely disrespected; and that there are several other examples of rash vows to God with similarly terrible consequences. Jephthah first tried to settle the dispute with the Ammonites through diplomatic channels. Jephthah’s story does not begin with him but with Joshua. He also says: In any case, it should have been unlawful, and repugnant to Jehovah, to offer a human being to Him as a burnt-offering, for His acceptance. His father was a man named Gilead. Jephthah: Faithful but Flawed. Of the Israelite tribe in Gilead (present northwest Jordan), he was banished from his home (whom God sets free), one of the judges of Israel, was the illegitimate son of Gilead, Jud 11:1; and this fact made him so odious to the other children of the family that they banished him from the house, and he took up his residence in the land of T
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