Did Jephthah Sacrifice His Daughter?

Jephthah was one of the Judges Israel

Judges 11:30–31 (NASB95)

30 Jephthah made a vow to the Lord and said, “If You will indeed give the sons of Ammon into my hand, 31 then it shall be that whatever comes out of the doors of my house to meet me when I return in peace from the sons of Ammon, it shall be the Lord’s, and I will offer it up as a burnt offering.”

Even if You’re Not Familiar with this Story…

You Still Probably Recognize that to Be an Unwise Promise to Make

Judges 11:32–34 (NASB95)

32 So Jephthah crossed over to the sons of Ammon to fight against them; and the Lord gave them into his hand. 33 He struck them with a very great slaughter from Aroer to the entrance of Minnith, twenty cities, and as far as Abel-keramim. So the sons of Ammon were subdued before the sons of Israel. 34 When Jephthah came to his house at Mizpah, behold, his daughter was coming out to meet him with tambourines and with dancing. Now she was his one and only child; besides her he had no son or daughter.

God Answered Jephthah’s Prayer

And Now Jephthah has His Promise to God on His Mind

And When He Returned Home, His Daughter Walks Out

This would Mean, According to His Promise…

He would have to Sacrifice His Daughter

Judges 11:35–36 (NASB95)

35 When he saw her, he tore his clothes and said, “Alas, my daughter! You have brought me very low, and you are among those who trouble me; for I have given my word to the Lord, and I cannot take it back.” 36 So she said to him, “My father, you have given your word to the Lord; do to me as you have said, since the Lord has avenged you of your enemies, the sons of Ammon.”

Obviously, He was Devastated

Why?

Because He Planned on Keeping His Promise

And She Even Tells Him to Do So

But She Does have One Condition:

Judges 11:37–38 (NASB95)

37 She said to her father, “Let this thing be done for me; let me alone two months, that I may go to the mountains and weep because of my virginity, I and my companions.” 38 Then he said, “Go.” So he sent her away for two months; and she left with her companions, and wept on the mountains because of her virginity.

She Asks for 2 Months to Mourn with Her Friends

Judges 11:39–40 (NASB95)

39 At the end of two months she returned to her father, who did to her according to the vow which he had made; and she had no relations with a man. Thus it became a custom in Israel, 40 that the daughters of Israel went yearly to commemorate the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in the year.

The Text Says that He:

“Did to Her According to the Vow Which He had Made”

But the Text Doesn’t Explicitly Say that He Sacrificed Her

Also Notice that She was Mourning the Fact that She was a Virgin…

Not the Fact that She was About to Die

Some Believe this Indicates He Gave Her to the Tabernacle…

As a Life-Long Tabernacle Servant…

Instead of Sacrificing Her

If that is the Case, Would Jephthah Really Be that Upset?

Yes, Because the Text Explicitly Says She is His Only Child

If He Dedicated Her to Perpetual Virginity…

Then He would Never have Grandchildren

Thus, His Lineage would End with Her

This was a Great Tragedy in that Time and Culture

Did Jephthah Sacrifice His Daughter?

Or Did He Dedicate Her Life to Serving the Priesthood, Like Samuel

We’ll Probably Never Know for Sure

But What We Do Know is this:

God Didn’t Want Jephthah to Keep His Promise, Literally…

By Sacrificing His Daughter

God has Always Forbidden Human Sacrifices

Leviticus 20:1–5 (NASB95)

1 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “You shall also say to the sons of Israel: ‘Any man from the sons of Israel or from the aliens sojourning in Israel who gives any of his offspring to Molech, shall surely be put to death; the people of the land shall stone him with stones. 3 ‘I will also set My face against that man and will cut him off from among his people, because he has given some of his offspring to Molech, so as to defile My sanctuary and to profane My holy name.

4 ‘If the people of the land, however, should ever disregard that man when he gives any of his offspring to Molech, so as not to put him to death, 5 then I Myself will set My face against that man and against his family, and I will cut off from among their people both him and all those who play the harlot after him, by playing the harlot after Molech.

Jeremiah 7:31 (NASB95)

31 “They have built the high places of Topheth, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire, which I did not command, and it did not come into My mind.

Jeremiah 19:4–6 (NASB95)

4 “Because they have forsaken Me and have made this an alien place and have burned sacrifices in it to other gods, that neither they nor their forefathers nor the kings of Judah had ever known, and because they have filled this place with the blood of the innocent 5 and have built the high places of Baal to burn their sons in the fire as burnt offerings to Baal, a thing which I never commanded or spoke of, nor did it ever enter My mind; 6 therefore, behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when this place will no longer be called Topheth or the valley of Ben-hinnom, but rather the valley of Slaughter.

Jeremiah 32:35 (NASB95)

35 “They built the high places of Baal that are in the valley of Ben-hinnom to cause their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire to Molech, which I had not commanded them nor had it entered My mind that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin.

Human Sacrifice Never Even Entered the Mind of God

There’s 2 Ways of Looking at this:

Jephthah Knew God wouldn’t Want Him to Literally Sacrifice His Daughter…

So He Didn’t

Jephthah Did Sacrifice His Daughter in Order to Keep His Promise Literally

This wouldn’t Be Out of Character for the Stories Told in Judges

The Book is Filled with Horrible Things

Regardless, Let this Be a Lesson to Us:

Don’t Make Rash Promises

Some Sins are Greater than Others

Sin will Condemn You Regardless of What the Sin is…

But Murder and Human Sacrifice is Much Worse than Breaking a Vow/Promise