Jephthah and His Vow

Israel again did evil in Yahweh’s sight and served many gods. Yahweh gave them into the power of the Philistines and the Ammonites. For eighteen years the Ammonites oppressed Israelites in Gilead, and they also crossed the Jordan to fight against Judah, Benjamin, and Ephraim. When Israel cried out, they confessed their sin, put away foreign gods, and served Yahweh.

The Ammonites camped in Gilead, and Israel gathered at Mizpah, asking who would begin the fight and become head over Gilead. Jephthah was a mighty warrior, but his brothers had driven him away because he was the son of a prostitute. He had been living in Tob. So the elders of Gilead went there and asked him to return as their leader.

Jephthah agreed to come if, after Yahweh gave victory, he truly became their head. The people made him head and chief at Mizpah. Before any battle, Jephthah sent messengers to the king of Ammon. The king claimed Israel had taken his land. Jephthah answered that Israel had not taken the land of Ammon or Moab, but had taken land from Sihon king of the Amorites after Sihon fought Israel. The king of Ammon would not listen.

Then Yahweh’s Spirit came on Jephthah as he passed through Gilead and Manasseh and went toward the Ammonites. Jephthah made a vow to Yahweh: if he returned in peace, whatever came out from the doors of his house to meet him would belong to Yahweh, and he would offer it up as a burnt offering. Yahweh gave him victory, and Ammon was subdued before Israel.

When Jephthah came home to Mizpah, his daughter, his only child, came out to meet him with tambourines and dancing. Jephthah tore his clothes in grief because of his vow. She asked for two months to go with her companions and mourn her virginity in the mountains. Then she returned, and Jephthah did with her according to his vow. After this, the daughters of Israel went each year for four days to remember Jephthah’s daughter.