0101 - Who was Jephthah and what was his vow?

Who was Jephthah and what was his vow?

 

What can we learn about Jephthah?

 

1 – Jephthah was son of Gilead and was born in the city of Gilead (Jdg 11:1).

 

2 – There are versions that says that he was:

o   (AFV, MKJV) mighty man of war;

o   (ASV, Cepher, Darby, JPS, JUB, KJV, LSV, TLV, WEB, Webster, YLT) mighty man of valor;

o   (BBE) great man of war;

o   (Brenton) mighty man;

o   (DRB) most valiant man;

o   (ESV, LEB, LITV) mighty warrior;

o   (GNB) brave soldier;

o   (NET) brave warrior;

o   (ISV) valiant soldier;

 

3 – He was son of a prostitute (Jdg 11:1).

 

4 – His father Gilead had other sons with his wife. 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.”. Then Jephthah fled from his brothers and lived in the land of Tob (Judge 11:2,3).

 

5 – Based on this, we can infer that Jephthah was a boy rebel and frustrated:

o   Rejected by his step-brothers in virtue of having a different mother;

o   Belittled by many Israelites in virtue of his mother being a harlot (hence it is said “mighty warrior, BUT he was the son of a prostitute”);

o   Wronged. As a firstborn, he had the right of being chief of his brothers and receive the double of the inheritance (Deut 21:17). Nonetheless he had to flee from his city in virtue of ferocious persecution of his step-brothers.

 

6 – Some people gathered to Jephthah:

 

o   (AFV) worthless men were gathered to Jephthah

o   (ASV) there were gathered vain fellows to Jephthah

o   (BBE) a number of good-for-nothing men, joining Jephthah

o   (Cepher) there were gathered vain men to Yiphtach

o   (Darby) vain men were gathered to Jephthah

o   (DRB) were gathered to him needy men and robbers

o   (ESV) worthless fellows collected around Jephthah

o   (GNB) he attracted a group of worthless men

o   (GW) Worthless men gathered around Jephthah

o   (ISV) worthless men gathered themselves around him

o   (KJV) there were gathered vain men to Jephthah

o   (LEB) outlaws gathered around Jephthah

o   (NET) Lawless men joined Jephthah’s gang and traveled with him

o   (TLV) worthless fellows joined with Jephthah

o   (WEB) Outlaws joined up with Jephthah

 

Most of the versions says that people that followed Jephthah was worthless (vain) men. That is to say, people like many vagrants, beggars, addicted and criminals who look like a parasite (because they don’t desire to do anything profitable for their neighbor, but live by their expenses).

 

Nonetheless, Jephthah was able to transform these people in a valiant army who served to free Israel from the Ammonites.

 

 

7 – Jephthah held a grudge against all the elders of Gilead in virtue of his rejection (Jdg 11:5).

 

8 – Certainly they were until Jephthah, not because of his virtues (character), but for his abilities as mighty warrior (Jdg 11:6,8). They had to suffer tremendously during eighteen years until they can humble before Jephthah.

 

9 – Jephthah only was to fight against the Ammonites because of his interest in being leader over all Gilead (Jdg 11:9).

 

10 – Jephthah sought the presence of the Creator specially to guarantee that Gilead’s citizens would fulfill their promise (Jdg 11:11).

 

11 – Jephthah was someone very circumspect. Instead of starting the fight immediately, he tried to negotiate with the enemies (Jdg 11:12,14). He found out that two of the cities claimed by the king of Ammon belonged to Moab in the past, but was took by Sihon, the king of the Amorites:

·       Num 21:26-29 -> “For Heshbon was the city of Sihon the king of the Amorites, who had fought against the former king of Moab and taken all his land out of his hand, as far as the Arnon. Therefore the ballad singers say, “Come to Heshbon, let it be built; let the city of Sihon be established. For fire came out from Heshbon, flame from the city of Sihon. It devoured Ar of Moab, and swallowed the heights of the Arnon. Woe to you, O Moab! You are undone, O people of Chemosh! He has made his sons fugitives, and his daughters captives, to an Amorite king,”.

When Israel fought at Sihon, they took the lands from Arnon to Jabbok:

·       Num 21:24,25 -> “And Israel defeated him with the edge of the sword and took possession of his land from the Arnon to the Jabbok, as far as to the Ammonites, for the border of the Ammonites was strong. And Israel took all these cities, and Israel settled in all the cities of the Amorites, in Heshbon, and in all its villages.”. 

So, Israel took no land of the Ammonites. And although these two lands belonged to Moab in the past, never was intention of Israel to fight against Moab or Ammon. They took the land that the Creator took from Moab and gave to Sihon. Therefore, these two lands weren’t more property of Moab (they lost their right).

Besides, if the Moabites craved so much for their lands, why didn’t they claim them previously (more than three hundred years were past – Jdg 11:26). However, not even Moab, during 300 hundred years dared to fight at Israel (Jdg 11:25).

They mixed the losses of Moab with their losses in order to take advantages on Israel. Hence Jephthah took back to them “Will you not possess what Chemosh your god gives you to possess?”. Chemosh was god of the Moabites. This changing was intended, an ironic way to show the Ammonites that they were using of perfidy.

In addition, Jephthah was questioning them about their gods. After all, if their gods were true, why didn’t they grant for them a greater inheritance?

12 – Jephthah had a certain belief in the God of Israel. After all, he uttered words before Him in Mizpah (Jdg 11:11) and invoked the Creator as his judge (Jdg 11:27).

13 – However his faith or intimacy with the Creator was little. After all, why did he make a vow, once the Holy Spirit had come on him (Jdg 11:29-31)? If he perceived that the Holy Spirit was come on Him and, even so, he made a vow, this is an expression of lacking of faith (in this case, he was trying to make sure of the Creator’s favor based on his efforts); if he didn’t perceive the presence of the Creator, in this case, his intimacy with Him was low.

 

And what was the vow of Jephthah?

 

·       Jdg 11:30,31 (KJV) -> “And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the LORD, and said, If thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands, 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 11:30,31 (Cepher) -> “And Yiphtach vowed a vow unto Yahuah, and said, If you shall without fail deliver the children of Ammon into my hands, then it shall be, that whatsoever comes forth of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, shall surely be Yahuah’s, and I will offer it up for an ascending smoke offering.”.

 

The burnt offering was an offering of a sweet savour unto the LORD (Exodus 29:18,25,41; Lev 1:9,13,17), as it was the offer of Jesus Christ and the offer of Philippians to Paul:

 

·       Eph 5:2 -> “And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.”.

·       Php 4:18 -> “But I have all, and abound: I am full, having received of Epaphroditus the things which were sent from you, an odour of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, wellpleasing to God.”.

 

Jephthah went to offer someone of his servants unto the Creator as a burnt offering, that is to say, an offering of a sweet savor. For some reason he didn’t thought that who would come to meet him was his only daughter (Judge 11:34).

 

Why Jephthah rued to offer his daughter to the Creator? He could have other wives who could give him more children (at that time this was allowed). He wasn’t old because she went to a war. And now, after he gain this battle, he would become a famous and honored person.

 

Of course: Jephthah would like to conserve his daughter together with him and have grandchildren through her. However, at first, he could have children. Unless his wife had become sterile after give birth to his daughter and he didn’t desire to have another woman beyond her (perhaps he didn’t desire to make the same mistake as his father). He knew how hard is to be son out of marriage (after all, his step-brothers didn’t reject him because his mother was a whore, but because he was son of another woman).

 

And why did Jephthah’s daughter desired to regret his virginity (Jdg 11:36)?

 

At that time, it was a dishonor, a motive of curse doesn’t have child. See, for instance, what said Elizabeth:

 

·       Luk 1:24,25 -> “After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she kept herself hidden, saying, “Thus the Lord has done for me in the days when he looked on me, to take away my reproach among people.””. 

 

Now, she never could be mother.

 

But, why to weep her virginity on the mountains for two months (Jdg 11:37,38)?

 

Although I don’t know what was her intention and why his father agreed with her, one thing is for sure: this caused a great impact on all the daughters of Israel:

 

·       Jdg 11:39,40 -> “She had never known a man, and it became a custom in Israel that the daughters of Israel went year by year to *lament* the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in the year.”.

 

And the detail is that, the word which is translated for “lament”, in Hebraic, can mean, also, “celebrate”. That is to say, during all the lifetime of the daughter of Jephthah, from year to year, the virgins of Israel went to get in touch with Jephthah’s daughter in order to comfort her for his virginity and, at the same time, to celebrate her fidelity and dedication to the Creator and his father. After all, at no moment she complained for the vow of his father, nor rebelled against him; instead, she honored his father and the Creator for His marvelous deliverance.

 

Besides, his father had two alternatives:

 

1 – he could redeem her if he desired:

 

·       Lev 27:1-5 -> “The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, If anyone makes a special vow to the LORD involving the valuation of persons, then the valuation of a male from twenty years old up to sixty years old shall be fifty shekels of silver, according to the shekel of the sanctuary. If the person is a female, the valuation shall be thirty shekels. If the person is from five years old up to twenty years old, the valuation shall be for a male twenty shekels, and for a female ten shekels.”.

 

2 – he could break the vote:

 

The vow he has made could be irrevocable to him. He, by himself, could come back. Nonetheless, there was a possibility to back down on his rash words and confess them as sin (Lev 5:4-5). Nonetheless, he should bring a trespass offering (Lev 5:6).

 

·       Lev 5:4-6 -> “or if anyone utters with his lips a rash oath to do evil or to do good, any sort of rash oath that people swear, and it is hidden from him, when he comes to know it, and he realizes his guilt in any of these; when he realizes his guilt in any of these and confesses the sin he has committed, he shall bring to the LORD as his compensation for the sin that he has committed, a female from the flock, a lamb or a goat, for a sin offering. And the priest shall make atonement for him for his sin.”.

 

So, if the vow was related to death, he could recant. But he didn’t cogitate this hypothesis, even knowing that human sacrifice wasn’t pleasant to the Creator (Lev 18.21; 20.2-5; Deut 12.31). Therefore, the vow was the virginity of his daughter.

 

Furthermore, it is good to recall that this vote was done immediately after the Holy Spirit comes on him (Judge 11:29).