Chad, once again people are so interesting. We can do something great for God one minute and then do something evil towards Him the next minute. Very powerful teaching.
Very methodical take, and becoming a national holiday speaks to something a little more dramatic than temple service, as well as him tearing his clothes.
Agreed. The objections as I have heard them are primarily based on the idea that "God wouldn't do that," or "No one that believes in God would do that." or something similar. Which is always a very slippery slope. We not only have too many examples of Biblical people doing heinous things even though they believed/followed/had been blessed by/ God; we need only look at ourselves to know the depths that even those of us indwelt by the very spirit of God can still sink to at times.
Hey Chad, Erick challenged me to preach on jephthath once and in my study I found a lot of the things that you stated, but I felt his biggest mistake was actually sacrifice his daughter, when he could have used God’s own commands to hold off on following through with something he knew he shouldn’t have done: We know Deuteronomy 12:29-31 talks about not following the worship practices of others, which included child sacrifice. And that it was an abomination to the Lord. And I think his promise to God, his oath was rash and not thought out. So it says in Leviticus 5:4-13, “if anyone utters a rash oath with his lips to do evil OR do good, and he relieves his guilt in any of these and confesses his sin, he shall bring an offering to the Lord as compensation for the sin he committed (Female lamb, goat, turtledove of pigeon, a tenth of an ephah of fine flour)” I Felt like this was his out, his way around the promise he made, considering the promise was something outright detestable to the lord. (Not to mention that OT Scripture often says not to wait, if you promise God an offering then fulfill it. So he kind of dropped the ball letting his daughter go off for two months. Maybe he was hoping she woundnt return. LOL) I used all of this to remind people that there is nothing we can’t bring to God no broken promise or rash promise that he hasn’t forgiven us of and paid for at the cross. Wonder if you have any thoughts (or do you think I was trying a little to hard to squeeze the gospel of out the passage. LOL) (I may have even sought your guidance on this years ago, now that I think of it) but would love you thoughts again. Great video! As always Dom
Dom, I like the way you preached it. There are plenty of narratives where the Gospel must be brought in from elsewhere in the Scriptures when the text at hand is all law. Jephthah’s terrible mistakes were many but chief among them was thinking he must follow a vow to God that God himself would have condemned.
Food for thought. I almost died when I was 13 and I remember thinking with great remorse: “I will never have children”. I’m a modern dude. Ancient Hebrews probably didn’t see themselves as individuals so much as part of a lineage. It makes sense to me the Jephthah’s daughter saw that the most tragic aspect of having her life cut short was not contributing to her family tree. Great point about how this fits thematically with the Canaanization of the Hebrews. Everyone in the Bible, with the exception of Jesus, is to some extent a cautionary example.
they absolutely saw themselves as part of a lineage. they saw themselves as descendants of abraham, moses. God told them he would be their God to a thousand generations. God told Abraham he would be the God of his descendants. this story was tragic in every way
The book of Judges is such a harrowing journey of human sin and the wickedness of the heart. Your interpretation is very much the correct one, and the book of Judges ought to make the Christian uncomfortable and in anticipation of the righteousness to come.
Exactly. Anyone who looks at the Book of Judges and thinks that anything in there is a blueprint for how one should live one's life is an absolute - UA-cam's capricious and arbitrary censor bot won't let me use the word, but it looks like "maroon."
100% agree. Samuel being offered as a holy sacrifice is the opposite of this story of an unholy sacrifice. This man would not be distraught if his intention was for her to be given to the tabernacle. Plus, his original vow wasn't specific to her when he made it. It was in general, and it shocked him that it was her. This needs to be read as a narrative. It is what it is. People want to change its meaning because it's too atrocious a thing to believe to be true, but that's the point of it. It's supposed to be a deep, dark example of why fallen man should never make a vow. He sacrificed his daughter, as is plainly evident in the passage. What's remarkable is the daughters reaction and response, and the fact she came back to her father so he could fulfill his vow. That's what's more mind blowing to me than him making it.
I use this story as an example of how we don't know scripture and don't trust God. He didn't need to make a vow, if God calls you he has given you everything you need to succeed. If he knew the Law, he would have known that it gave him an out. If you can't pay a vow, you pay a 20% penalty. Go to the priest, explain that you made a foolish vow. God would have directed a substitution. Anytime we go off and do our own thing, our own way we get in trouble. One more thing, God forbids human sacrifice. Samuel is a different story, Hannah loaned her son back to the God who blessed her with a child. It's a story of redemption, I've always been struck at how it gave Eli a second chance.
@@mlneale1959 I know the story is there to showcase selfishness and sin, because that's the history of the downward spiral of Israel during this time. I've just always wondered why he thought to make a vow to begin with. One of two things comes to mind: First: It seems he felt he had to, because he knew he couldn't win without divine help. Asking God for help is obviously not the problem, but tacking on a vow of any kind wasn't necessary. Even one that would've been simple, not selfish, and easy to do, and didn't affect anyone else would've been unnecessary, because God doesn't need anything we can offer. The supplication was fine. The vow was not. Second: He lacked faith in God. This can connect with my first pondering. He was either blinded by selfishness because he just wanted victory at all costs, which would grant him the ability to rule over those who rejected him, or he didn't think God would support his campaign, so he felt he needed to give God a deal in order to secure His help. Either way, he should've done what many others did in this situation, "God, should I go up against _____, or should I not go up?" That was a recurring method used to acknowledge that no major decision should be made apart from God, especially ones involving battle, and/or national ramifications. This story is a great example of the great mess we can make, and the sin we can commit, and the suffering it can cause to others, when we reach for the greatest victory for ourselves at all costs, which is always at the expense of everyone around us.
Reading this story, I've always seen it as a literal sacrifice. Having the benefit of looking back on the words of Jesus to let your yes be yes and your no be no, Jephthah is a lesson in why we ought not to be so quick to make a vow or a promise. It is interesting the value he placed on keeping his vow vs the life of his daughter. Whether or not he was aware of the laws prohibition on human sacrifice or not.
Amazing: This popped up and we had just wrapped up our Bible study on Judges 11, preparing for Sunday. We are doing a series on "Lesser Known but Important Old Testament Stories and People." We felt that--either way--Jephthah's vow was sinful, full of braggadocio and bargaining with God. He could have repented of it, except he either didn't want to be "weak," or he assumed that God was like other gods. Either way--from Jephthah and his daughter's perspective--she was as good as dead. He had risen from nothing to greatness... for what? No chance at progeny. At least she entrusted her faith and fate in the Lord's hand. She said, "He did give you that victory." In Thomas Blanchet's 17C painting Jephthah is holding up his dagger and gazing up to heaven as if hoping for an angel or hand of God to stop him. There is none. Unlike Abraham and Isaac, this was not God's doing. It was his own rash vow and decision to carry it out. No good came of it.
BS. this god didn't have to accept the sacrifice, and it's yet another story about how this god manages not to punish the person actually at fault. Just like david's son.
@@velkyn1As I suggested above this God neither asked for nor accepted the sacrifice. The blame is on Jephthah. & If what you perceive in this world is all there is, then I cannot argue with you. You are absolutely right. I pray that there is more.
@@RebelSon5169 Curious how this god evidently did accept the sacrifice per your bible: "35 When he saw her, he tore his clothes, and said, ‘Alas, my daughter! You have brought me very low; you have become the cause of great trouble to me. For I have opened my mouth to the Lord, and I cannot take back my vow.’ 36 She said to him, ‘My father, if you have opened your mouth to the Lord, do to me according to what has gone out of your mouth, now that the Lord has given you vengeance against your enemies, the Ammonites.’ 37 And she said to her father, ‘Let this thing be done for me: Grant me two months, so that I may go and wander on the mountains, and bewail my virginity, my companions and I.’ 38 ‘Go,’ he said and sent her away for two months. So she departed, she and her companions, and bewailed her virginity on the mountains. 39 At the end of two months, she returned to her father, who did with her according to the vow he had made. She had never slept with a man. So there arose an Israelite custom that 40 for four days every year the daughters of Israel would go out to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite." Why did you choose to try to lie about what yuor bible says? Your god does nothing to reject the sacrifice, doesn't come to jephtha like he did with abraham and stop the murder. yep, you pray your god isn't the disgusting nonsense that it is per the bible. Your prayers fail to change how ignorant and petty this god is. Happily, it doesn't exist. "As I suggested above this God neither asked for nor accepted the sacrifice. The blame is on Jephthah. & If what you perceive in this world is all there is, then I cannot argue with you. You are absolutely right. I pray that there is more."
Jephthah's vow and subsequent offering of his daughter is a well-known and controversial story found in Judges 11:29-40. The passage in the KJV reads: ### Judges 11:29-40 (KJV) **29** Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah, and he passed over Gilead, and Manasseh, and passed over Mizpeh of Gilead, and from Mizpeh of Gilead he passed over unto the children of Ammon. **30** And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the LORD, and said, If thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands, **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. **32** So Jephthah passed over unto the children of Ammon to fight against them; and the LORD delivered them into his hands. **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. **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. **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. **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. **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. **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. **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, **40** That the daughters of Israel went yearly to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in a year. ### Interpretation in Original Hebrew In the original Hebrew, key phrases and words can have significant implications for interpretation: - **Vow and Burnt Offering (Judges 11:31)**: - The Hebrew word for "burnt offering" is "עֹלָה" (olah), which typically refers to a burnt sacrifice wholly consumed by fire. This could imply an actual physical sacrifice. - **"Whatsoever cometh forth" (Judges 11:31)**: - The Hebrew phrase "וְהָיָה, הַיּוֹצֵא אֲשֶׁר-יֵצֵא מִדַּלְתֵּי בֵיתִי" is open-ended and could refer to any living creature. Some scholars suggest it was more likely intended for an animal but tragically turned out to be his daughter. ### Supporting Verses in KJV - **Leviticus 27:2-4**: - "Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When a man shall make a singular vow, the persons shall be for the LORD by thy estimation. And thy estimation shall be of the male from twenty years old even unto sixty years old, even thy estimation shall be fifty shekels of silver, after the shekel of the sanctuary." - This passage discusses vows involving persons, which could be redeemed with money, raising questions about whether Jephthah could have redeemed his daughter instead of sacrificing her. - **Genesis 22:2**: - "And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of." - The story of Abraham and Isaac is another instance of a child being offered, though Isaac was spared. It highlights the gravity of child sacrifice in biblical narratives. ### Comparing to the Original Hebrew In Hebrew culture and language, the emphasis on vows and sacrifices was profound. Jephthah's vow reflects the seriousness with which vows to God were regarded. However, the Torah explicitly forbids human sacrifice (Deuteronomy 12:31). This creates a tension in the narrative, possibly highlighting Jephthah's rashness or lack of understanding of God's laws. ### Summary Jephthah's offering of his daughter is a complex story reflecting the gravity of vows made to God and the tragic consequences of rash promises. The Hebrew text underscores the importance of careful consideration before making such vows. Supporting verses in the KJV show that while human sacrifice was abhorred, the seriousness of vows was paramount, often leading to difficult moral and ethical dilemmas.
For me, Jephthah understood the cost required to win freedom. Thus he made a big vow. I wonder if he did not realize it would cost him everything. Maybe a servant that he valued. The daughter, child, reveals to us the true magnitude of honor by exalting God and not challenging her Dads oath
Principal interpretive perspective: Option 1: The judges are morally upright individuals who are worthy of emulation. That is why they are raised up. (Thus, Jepthah couldn’t have committed human sacrifice) Option 2: The judges are morally degenerating alongside Israel and thus become more and more corrupt/evil. The further you get into the book, the less of a moral compass they become. (Thus, Jepthah did offer human sacrifice) It is also a question of interpretive purpose-be like so-and-so (ethical models) or type/antitype (prophets, priests, & kings/judges anticipate Jesus in some way, usually by presenting a negative portrait in Hebrew narrative )
The key words in Judges are "and they did what was right in their own eyes". The nation of Israel slid further and further from God. The Judges pointed people back to God, but even they did what was right in their own eyes. That is why you get stories of the Israelites making an idol out of Gideon's rod, Jepthah sacrificing his daughter, and the eventual brutal rapes of a girl who is then cut into 12 pieces. As everyone does what is right in their own eyes, the nation and the leaders move further and further away from what is right in God's eyes.
I just finished the book of Judges and this particular story left me bothered after reading what happened to his daughter, I immediately thought it’s unfair and she’s innocent. God knows our thoughts because the day after at our church our Pastor spoke about this and shone a light to why this happened. He said that God never asked Jephthah to do such sacrifice esp. when human sacrifice is a big NO in God’s commands. In this life like Jephthah people make a deal with God saying Lord if you do this, this is what I will do for you and more often than not we fail to keep our end of the deal. Also in the case of Jephthah he was a Spirit filled and bc of that he was able to defeat the enemies but missed the mark bc he there was a part in him that he wanted to bring honor to himself but it resulted to his daughter’s death.
The story of Jephthah one I always struggle with. The Plain and simple reading of the text is that he indeed sacrificed his daughter. Something that always amazes me is the compliant and wonderful faith of his daughter. Jephthah is at least a warning to not make rash vows. Matthew 5:37 But let your statement be, ‘Yes, yes’ or ‘No, no’; anything beyond these is of evil. New American Standard Bible, 1995 Edition: Paragraph Version (La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995), Mt 5:37. God did not ask for this sacrifice as He did of Abraham with Isaac. God provided the alternate animal to rescue Isaac. As He rescues us from the need for sacrifices through the Sacrifice of His only Son Jesus. Jephthah was unthinking in making that vow. He was human and shortsighted. Tragically, because of his vow he chose to sacrifice in accordance with his word that he gave to GOD.
I think it would be interesting to compare and contrast this with Saul’s attempt to execute Jonathan in 1 Samuel 14. There Saul’s men come to Jonathan‘s aid and tell Saul he has made a rash vow.
What is presented as the greatest tragedy in this event is that the daughter died a virgin, childless. The daughter was allowed to have 2 months to go into the mountains, with her friends, bewailing her virginity. It became a custom that "the daughters of Israel went 4 days each year to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite." As to Jephthah's vow, the Bible tells us, "he carried out his vow with her which he had vowed." Seems like a cold way to report that Jephthah killed his daughter and sacrificed her as a whole offering to God. Jephthah probably did actually sacrifice his daughter, since the annual memorial to lament for Jephthah's daughter became an annual 4 day custom. The best that can be said about this event is that it is not as gruesome as what is described in chapter 19. Addendum: We all know about Rachel's anxiety that, unlike Leah and their handmaids (concubines), her capability to have babies was slow to come about. We know about Hannah being anxious (until she heard comforting words from Eli) about not having babies. David condemned Michal to dying childless.
Jephthah approached Yahweh the same way a pagan would approach their false gods: bartering to get what they wanted. His “pagan approach” had its result: the death of his daughter. However if Jepthah had known (or gone to someone who should have known) he would realized that Yahweh provided in the law of Moses an alternative to “rash” or “thoughtless” vows, found in Leviticus 5:4-13. POINT: (as you pointed out) this story is another example of Israel “doing what they thought was right in their own eyes” absent God’s Law): Jepthah treated Yahweh like a pagan god because (1) he did not think Yahweh would come through on his promise without bartering and (2) he did not know Yehweh or His Law and paid an unnecessary price for it, thereby violating the law (human sacrifice) following the Law would have prevented. He did not know Yahweh or His Law. He was (or at least still acting like) a pagan with his “god.”
Agree. Though not sure if you are familiar with the anarcho-capitalist Christian position that Judges 17:6 was in contrast to the opposite, where 1 Sam. 8:7, where Israel rejects YHWH by asking for a king. Everyone can at best do what is right in their own eyes, informed by good or evil. But at less than best, can be compelled by kings, emperors, popes, deep state, etc.
@chadbird1517, thank you for clarifying. I was in the spiritual camp but you showed me the correct interpretation, as sad as it is. Also, I PM you in Messenger about an issue I would appreciate guidance on. Thank you and may God continue to bless you in your ministry!
So, pastor, should we always understand that Judges was a time when everyone did what they thought was right in their own eyes? Plus that God can still use some messed up people to bring about specific things.
I believe Jephthah had to follow through with his vow. His daughter also encouraged him to do so. He was already trapped by his own vow: "It is a trap to dedicate something rashly and only later to consider one’s vows." Prov 20:25, NIV This is the man who shall dwell in God's holy hill: "He that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not." Psalm 15:4c "When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed. Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay." Eccl 5:4-5 Also, the next verse: "Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin; neither say thou before the angel, that it was an error: wherefore should God be angry at thy voice, and destroy the work of thine hands?" Eccl 5:6 I believe that Jephthah assumed an animal would come out through the gate of his compound. It was a foolish vow, but scripture is clear: once made, even such a vow must be paid. His mouth had caused his flesh to sin in the killing of his daughter. The greater sin had already been committed. I am reminded of Jesus saying to Pilate, "Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above: therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin" John 19:11. In this case, Satan had the greater sin; in Jephthah's case, his mouth had the greater sin. Just as in the case of Jesus with Pilate too, after Jesus said this in verse 11, Pilate from that point on tried to release Him. Surely from the point of Jephthah realizing he had trapped himself by his mouth, he tried his hardest to release his daughter. She had no descendants in Israel because of her sacrifice in which she was an innocent victim as Jesus had no natural descendants but was cut off from the land of the living (Isaiah 53:8). It is amazing that Jephthah's greater sin was his foolish vow, and the lesser sin was follow-through of killing of his daughter, but the fulfilling of the vow itself was right. It is like how the crucifixion of Christ was wrong and the most terrible injustice in all the world, but Christ's submission to the will of His Father in going through with it was the most righteous thing in all the world. So Jephthah and his daughter together are a type of Christ. Jonah sinned but was a type of Christ, Samson sinned but was a type of Christ. How can sinners be a type of Christ?? Because Jesus Christ bore our sins in his own body on the tree, therefore He can be typified even by sinners experiencing the consequences of their sins. The difference is we were GUILTY of sin and He was not. Think too that in the case of Abraham and Isaac, God provided an animal substitute for Abraham's son. In this case, Jephthah expected an animal but THROUGH HIS FOLLY/SIN a human substitute was provided. We are getting closer to where God would provide Himself a Lamb to take away the sin of the world.
I can't defend his actions. There is a strong emphasis on keeping your vows. How would you compare this to Jonathon and King Saul when Jonathon broke a fast he didn't know his father had commanded with the penalty of death.
Jephthah could have and should have repented before God for his foolish vow. Instead he compounded the sin of the foolish vow by keeping it and adding the sin of the human sacrifice of his own daughter which was never called for nor condoned by God.
The Torah gives a sacrifice for when an irresponsible vow is made. If he knew the law he would have done this. I agree with the argument that he sacrificed her. A terrible idea but not the worst idea in the Judges
Yes he did. The Holy Spirit did not empower or move him to make this pagan oath. We are clearly told that he grew up among lawless men out on the fringes of the Ammonite kingdom. He burned his daughter alive. He committed abomination before the Lord. He is no hero. He is an example, along with Samson, of just how far Israel had fallen away from the Lord.
He was actually commended for his faith, along with Samson. They are also examples and sinful men. Moses was a murderer but was he not a hero? David committed adultery and murder? Is he not a hero? Even someone like Daniel, who we don’t see commit any sins in scripture, is a man and therefore a sinner, and he himself confesses his sin. The word hero doesn’t appear in the Bible so I use that term loosely. But if a hero by your definition is only someone without sin, then the only hero there ever was or ever will be is the Lord Jesus Christ. If you mean that Jepthah and Samson’s sins are somehow less favorable than others, that would appear to not be showing equal weights and measures.
The question remains then is did Jephthah expect God to receive his "sacrifice" and did God expect him him to keep his vow despite the fact that God prohibited such sacrifices?
Regarding question 1, yes, I assume Jephthah did expect God to receive his sacrifice. It would make no sense otherwise. But did God expect him to keep his vow. Absolutely not. His vow was as evil as if I vowed to murder my neighbor.
This question has troubled me for a long time, I can't believe that Yahweh would accept a human sacrifice when there are several scriptural passages where God says human sacrifice is abhorrent to him. Jeremiah 19:5. I have real trouble reconciling God would have given him victory and allowed him to sacrifice his daughter.
The assumption there is that God accepted the sacrifice, as opposed to allowing it. God does not always stop us from sinning (clearly!). The fault is on Jephthah here, not on God.
@@timtherrien7843 Hello Tim, I agree with you that God would not accept Jephthah's sacrifice, the question to me is why someone in the nation of Israel would essentially commit murder as a sacrifice in the first place. Wasn't that the reason that the previous occupants of the Holy Land were removed from there.
@@BrianSmith-nq3szyes, but not all the land was cleared of the previous occupants. So the pollution of their ideas of human sacrifice slowly permeated Israel. That's why in the books of Kings, it describes Israel burning babies alive to Chemosh and Baal. The problem was, as the book of Judges states, "and everyone did what was right in their own eyes" instead of looking for what was right in God's eyes. It meant that as much as leaders like Jepthah were looking to God, they were also adopting philosophies from the surrounding nations and adopting them as "good"
Why would an animal come out of their home? They had hygeine and knew animals carried parasites. And why would an animal come to welcome them first, unless it was a dog?
Can you speak to the differences between the Spirit empowering folks in the OT and in the NT? In the former it seems like people become the sort of comical super soldiers childlike and ignorant tribal people would dream of, whereas in the latter testament the Spirit effects a very philosophically deep interior transformation. What gives?
I do firmly disagree. One thing I am convinced about, is where the Word is silent, we should be too. Anything else is mere conjecture. Because of the focus on his daughter's virginity, I am of the belief that Jephthah consecrated his daughter to the Lord, never to marry, and thereby never to have his family line extended. It all ended with Jephthah. If Jephthah indeed sacrificed his daughter on the altar, I believe God would have recorded that in His Word as a testament to Jephthah's actions. But He did not. The truth, I believe, lies elsewhere.
Its not just that ,the old Testament is replete with God despising human sacrifice and warning Israel not to practise such or engage in that. She mourned her virginity not her life. The close of the story could leaves us with an open end. I am more inclined to think he actually gave her to God's service.
Would the priests have allowed for human sacrifice because human sacrifice was already forbidden in Israel. It would have drawn an outrage to do that. In fact Israelites were often supposed to offer their first born as sacrifice but because human sacrifice was not acceptable, they would give a bullock instead. Human sacrifice would have been a great outrage in Israel. I still believe, based on the text, that Jephthah did not committed human sacrifice.
Priests need not have had anything to do with Jephthah's sacrifice of his daughter. Keep in mind that throughout Israel's history, people offered sacrifices on high places, all on their own. As we would say today, "They did their own thing." Human sacrifice would have been an outrage in Israel, yes, but only to those who actually observed the Torah. But Judges was a time when every man did what was right in his own eyes. And, later in Israel's history, child sacrifice was practiced even by Israel's kings, *right outside Jerusalem.* Given the widespread Canaanization of Israel, given the practice of child sacrifice later in Israel's history, and given the clear language of offering up a whole burnt offering, I see no way around the conclusion that Jephthah did indeed commit the heinous act of human sacrifice.
I don't think Jephthah knew that a person will be the first to come out of his house otherwise he will not knowingly promise to sacrifice him/ her to the LORD. The Israelites knew that it is an abomination before the LORD to sacrifice humans. This is one of the main reasons why God drove out the Canaanites from the land.Jer.19.5 - They have built the high places of Baal to burn their sons in the fire as offerings to Baal-something I did not command or mention, nor did it enter my mind. He tested Abraham but prevented him from killing Isaac because it is an abomination in His sight.
Jephthah's daughter became a servant of the tabernacle. Her life was dedicated, not destroyed. The very thought that Jephthah's daughter died miserably in a flaming pyre on some altar in the desert, as a reward for her father's valor in saving God's people, is so stupid and such a grotesque misreading that it goes far beyond the mere stretching of reason, beyond the realm of absurdity, all the way into outright stupid satanic suggestion. First off, according to Levitical law, every burnt offering was to be a male without blemish, and each step of the sacrifice was a sacred sequence designed solely for bulls, sheep, goats, doves, and pigeons. Contrarily, snakes, spiders, unicorns, and little girls who love their daddies were not allowed to be sacrificed under any circumstance whatsoever. Mankind was and is made in the image of God Himself. Consider, if you will, the explicit and precise nature of the burnt offering ritual. The animal, once brought to the altar, was slaughtered, its throat slit to ensure a complete draining of blood-'for the life of the flesh is in the blood,' as Leviticus states (Leviticus 17:11). No flesh could be consumed without this sacred release of life. Afterward, the priests would carefully flay the animal, stripping off its skin, then parting and dissecting it. The entrails and legs were washed thoroughly to ensure ritual cleanliness. Its flesh, head, fat, and other parts were meticulously separated and arranged upon the altar, piece by piece, until the entire animal was wholly consumed by fire. What person would dare to suggest that Israel's priests-guardians of God's holy ordinances-would commit such a vile act, subjecting a young woman, her family, themselves, and the people of Israel to the grisly spectacle of a burnt human offering? I'll tell you who. 1. Gross sinners who have consciously chosen their sin over God and have entered into an open rebellion. 2. Those with a deep misunderstanding or willful distortion of Israel's faith would even entertain such a notion. 3. Those who harbor anti-Semitic bias, seeking to portray ancient Israel's worship as cruel or barbaric, might resort to such an accusation, aiming to denigrate what was, in fact, a system founded on reverence for life and God's holiness. 4. Luciferians and Satanists, who pervert Christian symbols and principles, could project such heinous practices onto Israel's worship, attributing to it their own abhorrent values in an attempt to degrade the purity of God's commands, which strangely is part of their own cherished anti-value system. These accusations ignore the entire spirit and true meaning of the holy arrangement that is Judeo-Christianity. For God Himself decreed in Leviticus 18:21, Deuteronomy 12:31, and Deuteronomy 18:10 that human sacrifice is an abomination that is categorically forbidden and abhorrent to Him. Merely suggesting that Jephthah's daughter was ritually slain insults not only the divine Law but also God's faithful worshipers, who fear and revere the sanctity of life as instructed by God Himself. In truth, her life was consecrated, sanctified in service and a living commitment to God, not a life destroyed. To suggest that Jephthah's daughter was sacrificed in a burnt offering is to ignore the profound cultural and religious identity rooted in the Law given by Moses. This Law was far more than a set of rules, it was the heartbeat of Israel's national identity, their covenant with God, and a daily guide that touched every facet of life. Just as every true American knows who they won their independence from, every Israelite knew the history and commands delivered through Moses a mere 300 years, or three long generations, earlier. These divine instructions shaped not only their relationship with God but also the very fabric of their society. And although you may not remember the first or second amendment, their life wasn't so saturated with endless nonsense. They remembered all 613 mitzvot and you could walk down the street and ask almost anyone to recite them back to you with a 95% success rate. These laws are not to them what they are to you. They took them serious. They counted their laws with even more love than you count your hard-earned paper money. Jephthah calling out a burnt offering was like saying 'the whole enchilada '. Every single part, nothing withheld. When we say `the whole enchilada‘, we're not actually talking about an enchilada, and neither was Jephthah's oath intended to be taken absolutely literally. Jephthah's vow was never intended as a literal burnt offering of his daughter but as a declaration of total consecration. '100% God's,' set apart without reservation. If a male lamb without blemish had run out, I'm sure it would have hit the altar. But if a slave came out, he or she would have gone into tabernacle service. But it was his own daughter. Not to be mutilated and consumed in flames, but to serve honorably and respectfully in the temple, so honorably and respectfully that she requested two months to lament her virginity. Let's be honest, when you're staring down death's door, you're hardly worried about not having known the rod of Jacob or having embraced the scepter of Solomon or having your vineyard tilled. These priests, descendants of Aaron and the only ones authorized to perform sacrifices, appointed as custodians of God's holiness, would know beyond any doubt that God expressly forbids human sacrifice. Jephthah is not a descendant of Aaron and, therefore, would have no authority to perform any sacrificial ritual-certainly not in secret, if that's the next wild, absurd suggestion the devil whispers to your peabrain. Only priests from the line of Aaron were ever permitted to conduct sacrifices, and their work was bound by the highest standards of holiness, visibility, and adherence to God's explicit commands. The Law, as given to Moses, is unwavering on this matter. In Leviticus 18:21, God commands, 'You shall not give any of your children to offer them to Molech, and so profane the name of your God.' In Deuteronomy 12:31, He declares with clarity, 'You shall not worship the Lord your God in that way, for every abominable thing that the Lord hates they have done for their gods, for they even burn their sons and their daughters in the fire to their gods.' Again, in Deuteronomy 18:10, He reinforces this command, 'There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering.' Numbers 8:11-16 reminds us that the Israelites did indeed consecrate individuals to God-offered up as a living sacrifice, not in death, but in lifelong devotion. The Levites were set apart and presented as a 'wave offering,' symbolizing their dedication to God's service, not as lifeless sacrifices but as living servants wholly given to Him. This act of consecration demanded purity and total commitment of life, not death. Even within the sin offerings, where blood symbolized atonement, human life was never offered up in death, for every sacrifice preserved the sacredness of life. Each type of offering held its purpose and meaning, and none of these-burnt, sin, peace, or otherwise-permitted the slaughter of human beings as a sacrifice to God. God's Law would never allow such an abomination among His people. Thus, in every way, Jephthah's daughter's consecration would reflect a living offering, a life wholly set apart in service to God, not a life destroyed upon the altar. And look, too, to Christ, the ultimate fulfillment of sacrifice, who, while offered for sin, accomplished it in a way far removed from ritual slaughter. Unlike any sacrifice before, Christ's was voluntary, transcending the limitations of law-bound offerings. He gave His life willingly, submitting to death yet transforming it into an eternal, perfect sacrifice that fulfills every law-bound offering of old. Thus, when Jephthah's daughter went to the mountains to mourn her virginity, it was no dirge for impending death but a lament for the life she would surrender in lifelong service. She grieved not because she was to be killed, but because she would know no husband, no children. To interpret her story otherwise is to impose upon Israel the customs of pagan nations, to forget God's abhorrence of human sacrifice, and to ignore His unwavering commands against shedding innocent blood. Israel was uniquely called, as part of their covenant, to abolish these pagan practices, eradicating the very customs that desecrated life. Her offering was one of holy devotion, an enduring service, the kind of sacrifice God desired-a life set apart, not a life destroyed. Her fate was consecration, not combustion.
If I may add, Jephthah is not a descendant of Aaron, therefore he can't perform the ritual in secret, if that was the next wild stupid assertion the devil suggested to your pea-brain.
Great video, thanks! I think one of our barriers to a straightforward interpretation is the idea that human sacrifice is an aberration, when in fact, it's normal or even normative.
Curious though, if the daughter was an only child, and you mentioned the language of the offering promise could not refer to an animal, then the offering always was either the wife or the daughter. Pretty sad either way. Shows some pretty strong and admirable devotion to the Lord to do His bidding - willing to give anything to get that help. Is it similar to the message from Jesus that we should be willing to give up everything, even our own family, to follow him ... taken to the extreme? too far? begs the question : Jesus calls us to put our family behind us to follow him (I guess if they don't want to join and walk along) ... can we take that to '''removing''' them if they block us?
If you believe he offered his daughter as a human sacrifice then you couldn't be more wrong. Some critics and scholars have condemned Jephthah for his vow, having the view that Jephthah followed the practice of other nations, offering up his daughter by fire as a human burnt offering. But this is not the case. It would be an insult to Jehovah, a disgusting thing in violation of his law, to make a literal human sacrifice. He strictly commanded Israel: “You must not learn to do according to the detestable things of those nations. There should not be found in you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire . . . For everybody doing these things is something detestable to Jehovah, and on account of these detestable things Jehovah your God is driving them away from before you.” (De 18:9-12) Jehovah would curse, not bless, such a person. When Jephthah brought his daughter to the sanctuary, which was in Shiloh at that time, he undoubtedly accompanied his presentation of her with an animal burnt offering. Moreover, Jephthah’s daughter was visited “from year to year” by her companions to ‘give her commendation.’ (Jg 11:40) There is no reason to think his daughter was sacrificed.
He didn't directly offer his daughter as a sacrifice, the story I read was the first thing that came out of his house he would sacrifice to the Lord. As far as I'm concerned and believe he was just keeping his own to the Lord. I believe that's why it's written, it is better not to vow then to vow and not keep it.. do not overanalyze or micro analyze scripture..
I know you probably mean well, but that is not even close to being true. 1. Baal was an idol and not really God. 2. Yhwh is God and not an idol. 3. The values of yhwh are 180 degrees different than the values of the Baal cult. 4. As yhwh is a God of truth, the text has to have a core truth narrative. We may argue and disagree as humans with what that core truth is, but there is a core truth. The post modern lie of "truth is subjective" has absolutely no place in the Bible or the interpretation of the Bible. 5. The entirety of the Bible gives a very clear view of who yhwh is. If you are massaging anything in the text about who yhwh is, you are adding to the text things that are not there.
Vile! Goes against everything God hated. And utterly unpunished unlike David's sin. Instead he's held up as a hero. Totally disagree with your interpretation here. Makes me feel ill.
Concerning the punishment- Bible doesnt tell us whether any particular punishment happened to him- maybe yes, maybe no.. But thats not the most important thing, He deals with that. Lots of things in Bible FEEL unjust, wrong etc to us, but that just shows God's character and unwavering determination with His promises to carry out plan of salvation- that no matter what, no matter our wickedness, twisted, perverted vile nature, thinking or actions, He is going to "crush snake's head", which is exactly what He did. Look at the ancestry of Jesus in Matthew- do you see a parade of noble, courageous, just and holy people? (I certainly dont) What does it tell you? You dont agree or dont like Chad's interpretation? p.s.My big issue with with Jephthah is- who in a world tickled his tongue to give such oath in the first place?!? Why would anyone do such thing?? So eager to become big man in his lineage and thus ready to promise anything? I think Chad's note about israelites degrading into caananite ways helps to understand how this was even possible.
Who said he was a hero? Neither the Bible, nor Chad said that here. The man, blinded with selfishness to rule over those who had thrown him aside, makes a very rash, and audacious vow in order to secure victory. He made a vow to secure his place to rule. He's far from a hero. The Bible is very clear about vows. It's a very serious matter before God. In this instance, it wouldn't have mattered if he followed through or not, because both actions are abominations. The point was to focus on the vow, not the man. If his intention was to dedicate something to the Lord for service in the tabernacle, the "burnt offering" part wouldn't be there. Also, he would've been more specific in the vow of that we're the case, since only humans can serve in the tabernacle in that way. It's clear that he meant to burn an animal, because that's how "give to the Lord" and "burnt offering" makes sense. I mean no disrespect, but this passage is clear and it offends on purpose to teach us a vitally important lesson, repeated in the NT: don't make vows. Period.
@@jaybuffie9624 Hmm, I'd be little more specific- I'd say its not about not making vows in general, but like, be much more considerate, responsible, dont promise or say your yesses or nos on hot head etc. The begginning of Ecclesiastes ch5 puts it very well.
I’m now convinced it was literal sacrifice and also equally comforted by the grace of God that actually can cover any confessed sin.
Yet another reminder that we are all sinner, fallen short before God, saved by His Grace alone!!
Chad, once again people are so interesting. We can do something great for God one minute and then do something evil towards Him the next minute. Very powerful teaching.
Very methodical take, and becoming a national holiday speaks to something a little more dramatic than temple service, as well as him tearing his clothes.
Agreed. The objections as I have heard them are primarily based on the idea that "God wouldn't do that," or "No one that believes in God would do that." or something similar. Which is always a very slippery slope. We not only have too many examples of Biblical people doing heinous things even though they believed/followed/had been blessed by/ God; we need only look at ourselves to know the depths that even those of us indwelt by the very spirit of God can still sink to at times.
Excellent summary staying true to the text. Good example of understanding command and narrative language.
Hey Chad,
Erick challenged me to preach on jephthath once and in my study I found a lot of the things that you stated, but I felt his biggest mistake was actually sacrifice his daughter, when he could have used God’s own commands to hold off on following through with something he knew he shouldn’t have done:
We know Deuteronomy 12:29-31 talks about not following the worship practices of others, which included child sacrifice. And that it was an abomination to the Lord.
And I think his promise to God, his oath was rash and not thought out.
So it says in Leviticus 5:4-13, “if anyone utters a rash oath with his lips to do evil OR do good, and he relieves his guilt in any of these and confesses his sin, he shall bring an offering to the Lord as compensation for the sin he committed (Female lamb, goat, turtledove of pigeon, a tenth of an ephah of fine flour)”
I Felt like this was his out, his way around the promise he made, considering the promise was something outright detestable to the lord. (Not to mention that OT Scripture often says not to wait, if you promise God an offering then fulfill it. So he kind of dropped the ball letting his daughter go off for two months. Maybe he was hoping she woundnt return. LOL)
I used all of this to remind people that there is nothing we can’t bring to God no broken promise or rash promise that he hasn’t forgiven us of and paid for at the cross.
Wonder if you have any thoughts (or do you think I was trying a little to hard to squeeze the gospel of out the passage. LOL)
(I may have even sought your guidance on this years ago, now that I think of it) but would love you thoughts again.
Great video! As always
Dom
Dom, I like the way you preached it. There are plenty of narratives where the Gospel must be brought in from elsewhere in the Scriptures when the text at hand is all law.
Jephthah’s terrible mistakes were many but chief among them was thinking he must follow a vow to God that God himself would have condemned.
You're right as usual. Jephthah has faith in God but he sinned. We all do.
Food for thought. I almost died when I was 13 and I remember thinking with great remorse: “I will never have children”. I’m a modern dude. Ancient Hebrews probably didn’t see themselves as individuals so much as part of a lineage. It makes sense to me the Jephthah’s daughter saw that the most tragic aspect of having her life cut short was not contributing to her family tree.
Great point about how this fits thematically with the Canaanization of the Hebrews. Everyone in the Bible, with the exception of Jesus, is to some extent a cautionary example.
they absolutely saw themselves as part of a lineage. they saw themselves as descendants of abraham, moses. God told them he would be their God to a thousand generations. God told Abraham he would be the God of his descendants. this story was tragic in every way
It's so sad. Thank you for being honest even if it will upset some people who just don't want it to be true. 😞
At the 1:45 mark in this video, my already abundant respect for you, Chad Bird, has, at least, doubled. Thank you for this video.
The book of Judges is such a harrowing journey of human sin and the wickedness of the heart. Your interpretation is very much the correct one, and the book of Judges ought to make the Christian uncomfortable and in anticipation of the righteousness to come.
Exactly. Anyone who looks at the Book of Judges and thinks that anything in there is a blueprint for how one should live one's life is an absolute - UA-cam's capricious and arbitrary censor bot won't let me use the word, but it looks like "maroon."
100% agree. Samuel being offered as a holy sacrifice is the opposite of this story of an unholy sacrifice. This man would not be distraught if his intention was for her to be given to the tabernacle. Plus, his original vow wasn't specific to her when he made it. It was in general, and it shocked him that it was her. This needs to be read as a narrative. It is what it is. People want to change its meaning because it's too atrocious a thing to believe to be true, but that's the point of it. It's supposed to be a deep, dark example of why fallen man should never make a vow. He sacrificed his daughter, as is plainly evident in the passage. What's remarkable is the daughters reaction and response, and the fact she came back to her father so he could fulfill his vow. That's what's more mind blowing to me than him making it.
I use this story as an example of how we don't know scripture and don't trust God. He didn't need to make a vow, if God calls you he has given you everything you need to succeed. If he knew the Law, he would have known that it gave him an out. If you can't pay a vow, you pay a 20% penalty. Go to the priest, explain that you made a foolish vow. God would have directed a substitution. Anytime we go off and do our own thing, our own way we get in trouble. One more thing, God forbids human sacrifice.
Samuel is a different story, Hannah loaned her son back to the God who blessed her with a child. It's a story of redemption, I've always been struck at how it gave Eli a second chance.
@@mlneale1959 I know the story is there to showcase selfishness and sin, because that's the history of the downward spiral of Israel during this time. I've just always wondered why he thought to make a vow to begin with. One of two things comes to mind:
First: It seems he felt he had to, because he knew he couldn't win without divine help. Asking God for help is obviously not the problem, but tacking on a vow of any kind wasn't necessary. Even one that would've been simple, not selfish, and easy to do, and didn't affect anyone else would've been unnecessary, because God doesn't need anything we can offer. The supplication was fine. The vow was not.
Second: He lacked faith in God. This can connect with my first pondering. He was either blinded by selfishness because he just wanted victory at all costs, which would grant him the ability to rule over those who rejected him, or he didn't think God would support his campaign, so he felt he needed to give God a deal in order to secure His help.
Either way, he should've done what many others did in this situation, "God, should I go up against _____, or should I not go up?" That was a recurring method used to acknowledge that no major decision should be made apart from God, especially ones involving battle, and/or national ramifications.
This story is a great example of the great mess we can make, and the sin we can commit, and the suffering it can cause to others, when we reach for the greatest victory for ourselves at all costs, which is always at the expense of everyone around us.
Reading this story, I've always seen it as a literal sacrifice. Having the benefit of looking back on the words of Jesus to let your yes be yes and your no be no, Jephthah is a lesson in why we ought not to be so quick to make a vow or a promise.
It is interesting the value he placed on keeping his vow vs the life of his daughter. Whether or not he was aware of the laws prohibition on human sacrifice or not.
Well, you have convinced me, but now I am bummed. 😢
I actually watched it all the way through now. I agree.
Amazing: This popped up and we had just wrapped up our Bible study on Judges 11, preparing for Sunday. We are doing a series on "Lesser Known but Important Old Testament Stories and People." We felt that--either way--Jephthah's vow was sinful, full of braggadocio and bargaining with God. He could have repented of it, except he either didn't want to be "weak," or he assumed that God was like other gods. Either way--from Jephthah and his daughter's perspective--she was as good as dead. He had risen from nothing to greatness... for what? No chance at progeny. At least she entrusted her faith and fate in the Lord's hand. She said, "He did give you that victory." In Thomas Blanchet's 17C painting Jephthah is holding up his dagger and gazing up to heaven as if hoping for an angel or hand of God to stop him. There is none. Unlike Abraham and Isaac, this was not God's doing. It was his own rash vow and decision to carry it out. No good came of it.
BS. this god didn't have to accept the sacrifice, and it's yet another story about how this god manages not to punish the person actually at fault. Just like david's son.
@@velkyn1As I suggested above this God neither asked for nor accepted the sacrifice. The blame is on Jephthah. & If what you perceive in this world is all there is, then I cannot argue with you. You are absolutely right. I pray that there is more.
@@RebelSon5169 Curious how this god evidently did accept the sacrifice per your bible:
"35 When he saw her, he tore his clothes, and said, ‘Alas, my daughter! You have brought me very low; you have become the cause of great trouble to me. For I have opened my mouth to the Lord, and I cannot take back my vow.’ 36 She said to him, ‘My father, if you have opened your mouth to the Lord, do to me according to what has gone out of your mouth, now that the Lord has given you vengeance against your enemies, the Ammonites.’ 37 And she said to her father, ‘Let this thing be done for me: Grant me two months, so that I may go and wander on the mountains, and bewail my virginity, my companions and I.’ 38 ‘Go,’ he said and sent her away for two months. So she departed, she and her companions, and bewailed her virginity on the mountains. 39 At the end of two months, she returned to her father, who did with her according to the vow he had made. She had never slept with a man. So there arose an Israelite custom that 40 for four days every year the daughters of Israel would go out to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite."
Why did you choose to try to lie about what yuor bible says? Your god does nothing to reject the sacrifice, doesn't come to jephtha like he did with abraham and stop the murder.
yep, you pray your god isn't the disgusting nonsense that it is per the bible. Your prayers fail to change how ignorant and petty this god is. Happily, it doesn't exist.
"As I suggested above this God neither asked for nor accepted the sacrifice. The blame is on Jephthah. & If what you perceive in this world is all there is, then I cannot argue with you. You are absolutely right. I pray that there is more."
Thank you for the great video.
I have the same interpretation of the passage.
But, yeah pointing out the people of faith in Hebrews added more light.
Jephthah's vow and subsequent offering of his daughter is a well-known and controversial story found in Judges 11:29-40. The passage in the KJV reads:
### Judges 11:29-40 (KJV)
**29** Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah, and he passed over Gilead, and Manasseh, and passed over Mizpeh of Gilead, and from Mizpeh of Gilead he passed over unto the children of Ammon.
**30** And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the LORD, and said, If thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands,
**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.
**32** So Jephthah passed over unto the children of Ammon to fight against them; and the LORD delivered them into his hands.
**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.
**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.
**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.
**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.
**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.
**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.
**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,
**40** That the daughters of Israel went yearly to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in a year.
### Interpretation in Original Hebrew
In the original Hebrew, key phrases and words can have significant implications for interpretation:
- **Vow and Burnt Offering (Judges 11:31)**:
- The Hebrew word for "burnt offering" is "עֹלָה" (olah), which typically refers to a burnt sacrifice wholly consumed by fire. This could imply an actual physical sacrifice.
- **"Whatsoever cometh forth" (Judges 11:31)**:
- The Hebrew phrase "וְהָיָה, הַיּוֹצֵא אֲשֶׁר-יֵצֵא מִדַּלְתֵּי בֵיתִי" is open-ended and could refer to any living creature. Some scholars suggest it was more likely intended for an animal but tragically turned out to be his daughter.
### Supporting Verses in KJV
- **Leviticus 27:2-4**:
- "Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When a man shall make a singular vow, the persons shall be for the LORD by thy estimation. And thy estimation shall be of the male from twenty years old even unto sixty years old, even thy estimation shall be fifty shekels of silver, after the shekel of the sanctuary."
- This passage discusses vows involving persons, which could be redeemed with money, raising questions about whether Jephthah could have redeemed his daughter instead of sacrificing her.
- **Genesis 22:2**:
- "And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of."
- The story of Abraham and Isaac is another instance of a child being offered, though Isaac was spared. It highlights the gravity of child sacrifice in biblical narratives.
### Comparing to the Original Hebrew
In Hebrew culture and language, the emphasis on vows and sacrifices was profound. Jephthah's vow reflects the seriousness with which vows to God were regarded. However, the Torah explicitly forbids human sacrifice (Deuteronomy 12:31). This creates a tension in the narrative, possibly highlighting Jephthah's rashness or lack of understanding of God's laws.
### Summary
Jephthah's offering of his daughter is a complex story reflecting the gravity of vows made to God and the tragic consequences of rash promises. The Hebrew text underscores the importance of careful consideration before making such vows. Supporting verses in the KJV show that while human sacrifice was abhorred, the seriousness of vows was paramount, often leading to difficult moral and ethical dilemmas.
For me, Jephthah understood the cost required to win freedom. Thus he made a big vow. I wonder if he did not realize it would cost him everything. Maybe a servant that he valued.
The daughter, child, reveals to us the true magnitude of honor by exalting God and not challenging her Dads oath
I always thought so too.
Principal interpretive perspective:
Option 1: The judges are morally upright individuals who are worthy of emulation. That is why they are raised up. (Thus, Jepthah couldn’t have committed human sacrifice)
Option 2: The judges are morally degenerating alongside Israel and thus become more and more corrupt/evil. The further you get into the book, the less of a moral compass they become. (Thus, Jepthah did offer human sacrifice)
It is also a question of interpretive purpose-be like so-and-so (ethical models) or type/antitype (prophets, priests, & kings/judges anticipate Jesus in some way, usually by presenting a negative portrait in Hebrew narrative )
The key words in Judges are "and they did what was right in their own eyes". The nation of Israel slid further and further from God. The Judges pointed people back to God, but even they did what was right in their own eyes. That is why you get stories of the Israelites making an idol out of Gideon's rod, Jepthah sacrificing his daughter, and the eventual brutal rapes of a girl who is then cut into 12 pieces. As everyone does what is right in their own eyes, the nation and the leaders move further and further away from what is right in God's eyes.
I just finished the book of Judges and this particular story left me bothered after reading what happened to his daughter, I immediately thought it’s unfair and she’s innocent. God knows our thoughts because the day after at our church our Pastor spoke about this and shone a light to why this happened. He said that God never asked Jephthah to do such sacrifice esp. when human sacrifice is a big NO in God’s commands. In this life like Jephthah people make a deal with God saying Lord if you do this, this is what I will do for you and more often than not we fail to keep our end of the deal. Also in the case of Jephthah he was a Spirit filled and bc of that he was able to defeat the enemies but missed the mark bc he there was a part in him that he wanted to bring honor to himself but it resulted to his daughter’s death.
The story of Jephthah one I always struggle with. The Plain and simple reading of the text is that he indeed sacrificed his daughter.
Something that always amazes me is the compliant and wonderful faith of his daughter.
Jephthah is at least a warning to not make rash vows.
Matthew 5:37 But let your statement be, ‘Yes, yes’ or ‘No, no’; anything beyond these is of evil.
New American Standard Bible, 1995 Edition: Paragraph Version (La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995), Mt 5:37.
God did not ask for this sacrifice as He did of Abraham with Isaac. God provided the alternate animal to rescue Isaac. As He rescues us from the need for sacrifices through the Sacrifice of His only Son Jesus.
Jephthah was unthinking in making that vow. He was human and shortsighted.
Tragically, because of his vow he chose to sacrifice in accordance with his word that he gave to GOD.
I think it would be interesting to compare and contrast this with Saul’s attempt to execute Jonathan in 1 Samuel 14. There Saul’s men come to Jonathan‘s aid and tell Saul he has made a rash vow.
What is presented as the greatest tragedy in this event is that the daughter died a virgin, childless. The daughter was allowed to have 2 months to go into the mountains, with her friends, bewailing her virginity. It became a custom that "the daughters of Israel went 4 days each year to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite." As to Jephthah's vow, the Bible tells us, "he carried out his vow with her which he had vowed." Seems like a cold way to report that Jephthah killed his daughter and sacrificed her as a whole offering to God. Jephthah probably did actually sacrifice his daughter, since the annual memorial to lament for Jephthah's daughter became an annual 4 day custom.
The best that can be said about this event is that it is not as gruesome as what is described in chapter 19.
Addendum: We all know about Rachel's anxiety that, unlike Leah and their handmaids (concubines), her capability to have babies was slow to come about. We know about Hannah being anxious (until she heard comforting words from Eli) about not having babies. David condemned Michal to dying childless.
Jephthah approached Yahweh the same way a pagan would approach their false gods: bartering to get what they wanted. His “pagan approach” had its result: the death of his daughter.
However if Jepthah had known (or gone to someone who should have known) he would realized that Yahweh provided in the law of Moses an alternative to “rash” or “thoughtless” vows, found in Leviticus 5:4-13.
POINT: (as you pointed out) this story is another example of Israel “doing what they thought was right in their own eyes” absent God’s Law):
Jepthah treated Yahweh like a pagan god because (1) he did not think Yahweh would come through on his promise without bartering and (2) he did not know Yehweh or His Law and paid an unnecessary price for it, thereby violating the law (human sacrifice) following the Law would have prevented. He did not know Yahweh or His Law. He was (or at least still acting like) a pagan with his “god.”
Agree. Though not sure if you are familiar with the anarcho-capitalist Christian position that Judges 17:6 was in contrast to the opposite, where 1 Sam. 8:7, where Israel rejects YHWH by asking for a king. Everyone can at best do what is right in their own eyes, informed by good or evil. But at less than best, can be compelled by kings, emperors, popes, deep state, etc.
@chadbird1517, thank you for clarifying. I was in the spiritual camp but you showed me the correct interpretation, as sad as it is.
Also, I PM you in Messenger about an issue I would appreciate guidance on.
Thank you and may God continue to bless you in your ministry!
It goes to show, we’re hopeless.
Hopeless without a Saviour.
Yes
So, pastor, should we always understand that Judges was a time when everyone did what they thought was right in their own eyes? Plus that God can still use some messed up people to bring about specific things.
So he planned to make a human sacrifice when he made the vow??
And this human sacrifice earned him a spot in the Hall of faith??
Yes to your first question, No to your second one.
Jephthah's daughter was a type of Christ. Yes, it was unjust what Jephthah did, but so was the crucifixion of Jesus.
What???
I believe Jephthah had to follow through with his vow. His daughter also encouraged him to do so. He was already trapped by his own vow: "It is a trap to dedicate something rashly and only later to consider one’s vows." Prov 20:25, NIV
This is the man who shall dwell in God's holy hill: "He that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not." Psalm 15:4c
"When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed. Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay." Eccl 5:4-5
Also, the next verse: "Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin; neither say thou before the angel, that it was an error: wherefore should God be angry at thy voice, and destroy the work of thine hands?" Eccl 5:6
I believe that Jephthah assumed an animal would come out through the gate of his compound. It was a foolish vow, but scripture is clear: once made, even such a vow must be paid. His mouth had caused his flesh to sin in the killing of his daughter. The greater sin had already been committed. I am reminded of Jesus saying to Pilate, "Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above: therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin" John 19:11. In this case, Satan had the greater sin; in Jephthah's case, his mouth had the greater sin. Just as in the case of Jesus with Pilate too, after Jesus said this in verse 11, Pilate from that point on tried to release Him. Surely from the point of Jephthah realizing he had trapped himself by his mouth, he tried his hardest to release his daughter. She had no descendants in Israel because of her sacrifice in which she was an innocent victim as Jesus had no natural descendants but was cut off from the land of the living (Isaiah 53:8). It is amazing that Jephthah's greater sin was his foolish vow, and the lesser sin was follow-through of killing of his daughter, but the fulfilling of the vow itself was right. It is like how the crucifixion of Christ was wrong and the most terrible injustice in all the world, but Christ's submission to the will of His Father in going through with it was the most righteous thing in all the world.
So Jephthah and his daughter together are a type of Christ. Jonah sinned but was a type of Christ, Samson sinned but was a type of Christ. How can sinners be a type of Christ?? Because Jesus Christ bore our sins in his own body on the tree, therefore He can be typified even by sinners experiencing the consequences of their sins. The difference is we were GUILTY of sin and He was not.
Think too that in the case of Abraham and Isaac, God provided an animal substitute for Abraham's son. In this case, Jephthah expected an animal but THROUGH HIS FOLLY/SIN a human substitute was provided. We are getting closer to where God would provide Himself a Lamb to take away the sin of the world.
I think you are mixing things up.
What people do in the bible is not always condoned by God. Jephthah probably actually burned his daughter, doesn’t mean this was acceptable by God
I can't defend his actions. There is a strong emphasis on keeping your vows. How would you compare this to Jonathon and King Saul when Jonathon broke a fast he didn't know his father had commanded with the penalty of death.
Was Shamgar on the list of these others ?
Jephthah could have and should have repented before God for his foolish vow. Instead he compounded the sin of the foolish vow by keeping it and adding the sin of the human sacrifice of his own daughter which was never called for nor condoned by God.
The Torah gives a sacrifice for when an irresponsible vow is made.
If he knew the law he would have done this.
I agree with the argument that he sacrificed her. A terrible idea but not the worst idea in the Judges
Yes he did. The Holy Spirit did not empower or move him to make this pagan oath. We are clearly told that he grew up among lawless men out on the fringes of the Ammonite kingdom. He burned his daughter alive. He committed abomination before the Lord. He is no hero. He is an example, along with Samson, of just how far Israel had fallen away from the Lord.
He was actually commended for his faith, along with Samson. They are also examples and sinful men. Moses was a murderer but was he not a hero? David committed adultery and murder? Is he not a hero? Even someone like Daniel, who we don’t see commit any sins in scripture, is a man and therefore a sinner, and he himself confesses his sin. The word hero doesn’t appear in the Bible so I use that term loosely. But if a hero by your definition is only someone without sin, then the only hero there ever was or ever will be is the Lord Jesus Christ. If you mean that Jepthah and Samson’s sins are somehow less favorable than others, that would appear to not be showing equal weights and measures.
The question remains then is did Jephthah expect God to receive his "sacrifice" and did God expect him him to keep his vow despite the fact that God prohibited such sacrifices?
Regarding question 1, yes, I assume Jephthah did expect God to receive his sacrifice. It would make no sense otherwise. But did God expect him to keep his vow. Absolutely not. His vow was as evil as if I vowed to murder my neighbor.
This happens today in abortion clinics, but the children are sacrificed to the god of selfishness. Lord, have mercy.
Jeptah's daughter is a thingking human being in abortion clinic are fetuses.
This question has troubled me for a long time, I can't believe that Yahweh would accept a human sacrifice when there are several scriptural passages where God says human sacrifice is abhorrent to him. Jeremiah 19:5. I have real trouble reconciling God would have given him victory and allowed him to sacrifice his daughter.
The assumption there is that God accepted the sacrifice, as opposed to allowing it. God does not always stop us from sinning (clearly!). The fault is on Jephthah here, not on God.
@@timtherrien7843 Hello Tim, I agree with you that God would not accept Jephthah's sacrifice, the question to me is why someone in the nation of Israel would essentially commit murder as a sacrifice in the first place. Wasn't that the reason that the previous occupants of the Holy Land were removed from there.
@@BrianSmith-nq3szyes, but not all the land was cleared of the previous occupants. So the pollution of their ideas of human sacrifice slowly permeated Israel. That's why in the books of Kings, it describes Israel burning babies alive to Chemosh and Baal. The problem was, as the book of Judges states, "and everyone did what was right in their own eyes" instead of looking for what was right in God's eyes. It meant that as much as leaders like Jepthah were looking to God, they were also adopting philosophies from the surrounding nations and adopting them as "good"
Why would an animal come out of their home?
They had hygeine and knew animals carried parasites.
And why would an animal come to welcome them first, unless it was a dog?
Can you speak to the differences between the Spirit empowering folks in the OT and in the NT? In the former it seems like people become the sort of comical super soldiers childlike and ignorant tribal people would dream of, whereas in the latter testament the Spirit effects a very philosophically deep interior transformation. What gives?
I do firmly disagree. One thing I am convinced about, is where the Word is silent, we should be too. Anything else is mere conjecture. Because of the focus on his daughter's virginity, I am of the belief that Jephthah consecrated his daughter to the Lord, never to marry, and thereby never to have his family line extended. It all ended with Jephthah. If Jephthah indeed sacrificed his daughter on the altar, I believe God would have recorded that in His Word as a testament to Jephthah's actions. But He did not. The truth, I believe, lies elsewhere.
Jephthah could have offered himself and saved his daughter, but he didn't.
Could Abraham have offered himself?
@@wendyleeconnelly2939 sure, greater love has no man but to lay his life down for his friend.
Its not just that ,the old Testament is replete with God despising human sacrifice and warning Israel not to practise such or engage in that. She mourned her virginity not her life. The close of the story could leaves us with an open end. I am more inclined to think he actually gave her to God's service.
Would the priests have allowed for human sacrifice because human sacrifice was already forbidden in Israel. It would have drawn an outrage to do that.
In fact Israelites were often supposed to offer their first born as sacrifice but because human sacrifice was not acceptable, they would give a bullock instead.
Human sacrifice would have been a great outrage in Israel.
I still believe, based on the text, that Jephthah did not committed human sacrifice.
Priests need not have had anything to do with Jephthah's sacrifice of his daughter. Keep in mind that throughout Israel's history, people offered sacrifices on high places, all on their own. As we would say today, "They did their own thing."
Human sacrifice would have been an outrage in Israel, yes, but only to those who actually observed the Torah. But Judges was a time when every man did what was right in his own eyes. And, later in Israel's history, child sacrifice was practiced even by Israel's kings, *right outside Jerusalem.*
Given the widespread Canaanization of Israel, given the practice of child sacrifice later in Israel's history, and given the clear language of offering up a whole burnt offering, I see no way around the conclusion that Jephthah did indeed commit the heinous act of human sacrifice.
I don't think Jephthah knew that a person will be the first to come out of his house otherwise he will not knowingly promise to sacrifice him/ her to the LORD. The Israelites knew that it is an abomination before the LORD to sacrifice humans. This is one of the main reasons why God drove out the Canaanites from the land.Jer.19.5 - They have built the high places of Baal to burn their sons in the fire as offerings to Baal-something I did not command or mention, nor did it enter my mind. He tested Abraham but prevented him from killing Isaac because it is an abomination in His sight.
Does God ever condemn human sacrifice?
That's weird since our salvation is based on him sacrificing his son.
Jephthah's daughter became a servant of the tabernacle. Her life was dedicated, not destroyed.
The very thought that Jephthah's daughter died miserably in a flaming pyre on some altar in the desert, as a reward for her father's valor in saving God's people, is so stupid and such a grotesque misreading that it goes far beyond the mere stretching of reason, beyond the realm of absurdity, all the way into outright stupid satanic suggestion.
First off, according to Levitical law, every burnt offering was to be a male without blemish, and each step of the sacrifice was a sacred sequence designed solely for bulls, sheep, goats, doves, and pigeons. Contrarily, snakes, spiders, unicorns, and little girls who love their daddies were not allowed to be sacrificed under any circumstance whatsoever. Mankind was and is made in the image of God Himself.
Consider, if you will, the explicit and precise nature of the burnt offering ritual. The animal, once brought to the altar, was slaughtered, its throat slit to ensure a complete draining of blood-'for the life of the flesh is in the blood,' as Leviticus states (Leviticus 17:11). No flesh could be consumed without this sacred release of life. Afterward, the priests would carefully flay the animal, stripping off its skin, then parting and dissecting it. The entrails and legs were washed thoroughly to ensure ritual cleanliness. Its flesh, head, fat, and other parts were meticulously separated and arranged upon the altar, piece by piece, until the entire animal was wholly consumed by fire.
What person would dare to suggest that Israel's priests-guardians of God's holy ordinances-would commit such a vile act, subjecting a young woman, her family, themselves, and the people of Israel to the grisly spectacle of a burnt human offering? I'll tell you who.
1. Gross sinners who have consciously chosen their sin over God and have entered into an open rebellion.
2. Those with a deep misunderstanding or willful distortion of Israel's faith would even entertain such a notion.
3. Those who harbor anti-Semitic bias, seeking to portray ancient Israel's worship as cruel or barbaric, might resort to such an accusation, aiming to denigrate what was, in fact, a system founded on reverence for life and God's holiness.
4. Luciferians and Satanists, who pervert Christian symbols and principles, could project such heinous practices onto Israel's worship, attributing to it their own abhorrent values in an attempt to degrade the purity of God's commands, which strangely is part of their own cherished anti-value system.
These accusations ignore the entire spirit and true meaning of the holy arrangement that is Judeo-Christianity. For God Himself decreed in Leviticus 18:21, Deuteronomy 12:31, and Deuteronomy 18:10 that human sacrifice is an abomination that is categorically forbidden and abhorrent to Him. Merely suggesting that Jephthah's daughter was ritually slain insults not only the divine Law but also God's faithful worshipers, who fear and revere the sanctity of life as instructed by God Himself. In truth, her life was consecrated, sanctified in service and a living commitment to God, not a life destroyed.
To suggest that Jephthah's daughter was sacrificed in a burnt offering is to ignore the profound cultural and religious identity rooted in the Law given by Moses. This Law was far more than a set of rules, it was the heartbeat of Israel's national identity, their covenant with God, and a daily guide that touched every facet of life. Just as every true American knows who they won their independence from, every Israelite knew the history and commands delivered through Moses a mere 300 years, or three long generations, earlier. These divine instructions shaped not only their relationship with God but also the very fabric of their society. And although you may not remember the first or second amendment, their life wasn't so saturated with endless nonsense. They remembered all 613 mitzvot and you could walk down the street and ask almost anyone to recite them back to you with a 95% success rate. These laws are not to them what they are to you. They took them serious. They counted their laws with even more love than you count your hard-earned paper money.
Jephthah calling out a burnt offering was like saying 'the whole enchilada '. Every single part, nothing withheld. When we say `the whole enchilada‘, we're not actually talking about an enchilada, and neither was Jephthah's oath intended to be taken absolutely literally. Jephthah's vow was never intended as a literal burnt offering of his daughter but as a declaration of total consecration. '100% God's,' set apart without reservation. If a male lamb without blemish had run out, I'm sure it would have hit the altar. But if a slave came out, he or she would have gone into tabernacle service. But it was his own daughter. Not to be mutilated and consumed in flames, but to serve honorably and respectfully in the temple, so honorably and respectfully that she requested two months to lament her virginity. Let's be honest, when you're staring down death's door, you're hardly worried about not having known the rod of Jacob or having embraced the scepter of Solomon or having your vineyard tilled.
These priests, descendants of Aaron and the only ones authorized to perform sacrifices, appointed as custodians of God's holiness, would know beyond any doubt that God expressly forbids human sacrifice. Jephthah is not a descendant of Aaron and, therefore, would have no authority to perform any sacrificial ritual-certainly not in secret, if that's the next wild, absurd suggestion the devil whispers to your peabrain. Only priests from the line of Aaron were ever permitted to conduct sacrifices, and their work was bound by the highest standards of holiness, visibility, and adherence to God's explicit commands. The Law, as given to Moses, is unwavering on this matter. In Leviticus 18:21, God commands, 'You shall not give any of your children to offer them to Molech, and so profane the name of your God.' In Deuteronomy 12:31, He declares with clarity, 'You shall not worship the Lord your God in that way, for every abominable thing that the Lord hates they have done for their gods, for they even burn their sons and their daughters in the fire to their gods.' Again, in Deuteronomy 18:10, He reinforces this command, 'There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering.'
Numbers 8:11-16 reminds us that the Israelites did indeed consecrate individuals to God-offered up as a living sacrifice, not in death, but in lifelong devotion. The Levites were set apart and presented as a 'wave offering,' symbolizing their dedication to God's service, not as lifeless sacrifices but as living servants wholly given to Him. This act of consecration demanded purity and total commitment of life, not death. Even within the sin offerings, where blood symbolized atonement, human life was never offered up in death, for every sacrifice preserved the sacredness of life.
Each type of offering held its purpose and meaning, and none of these-burnt, sin, peace, or otherwise-permitted the slaughter of human beings as a sacrifice to God. God's Law would never allow such an abomination among His people. Thus, in every way, Jephthah's daughter's consecration would reflect a living offering, a life wholly set apart in service to God, not a life destroyed upon the altar. And look, too, to Christ, the ultimate fulfillment of sacrifice, who, while offered for sin, accomplished it in a way far removed from ritual slaughter. Unlike any sacrifice before, Christ's was voluntary, transcending the limitations of law-bound offerings. He gave His life willingly, submitting to death yet transforming it into an eternal, perfect sacrifice that fulfills every law-bound offering of old.
Thus, when Jephthah's daughter went to the mountains to mourn her virginity, it was no dirge for impending death but a lament for the life she would surrender in lifelong service. She grieved not because she was to be killed, but because she would know no husband, no children. To interpret her story otherwise is to impose upon Israel the customs of pagan nations, to forget God's abhorrence of human sacrifice, and to ignore His unwavering commands against shedding innocent blood. Israel was uniquely called, as part of their covenant, to abolish these pagan practices, eradicating the very customs that desecrated life. Her offering was one of holy devotion, an enduring service, the kind of sacrifice God desired-a life set apart, not a life destroyed.
Her fate was consecration, not combustion.
If I may add, Jephthah is not a descendant of Aaron, therefore he can't perform the ritual in secret, if that was the next wild stupid assertion the devil suggested to your pea-brain.
Dark themes in the Bible - really in " The Holy Book" really ?
Never 😮 !
Great video, thanks! I think one of our barriers to a straightforward interpretation is the idea that human sacrifice is an aberration, when in fact, it's normal or even normative.
Why would God accept a human sacrifice? Thats an abomination to God. He punished Israelites for sacrificing their children .
It never says God accepted or approved the sacrifice. It was an abomination to him.
Curious though, if the daughter was an only child, and you mentioned the language of the offering promise could not refer to an animal,
then the offering always was either the wife or the daughter. Pretty sad either way.
Shows some pretty strong and admirable devotion to the Lord to do His bidding - willing to give anything to get that help.
Is it similar to the message from Jesus that we should be willing to give up everything, even our own family, to follow him ... taken to the extreme? too far?
begs the question : Jesus calls us to put our family behind us to follow him (I guess if they don't want to join and walk along) ... can we take that to '''removing''' them if they block us?
If you believe he offered his daughter as a human sacrifice then you couldn't be more wrong.
Some critics and scholars have condemned Jephthah for his vow, having the view that Jephthah followed the practice of other nations, offering up his daughter by fire as a human burnt offering. But this is not the case. It would be an insult to Jehovah, a disgusting thing in violation of his law, to make a literal human sacrifice.
He strictly commanded Israel: “You must not learn to do according to the detestable things of those nations. There should not be found in you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire . . . For everybody doing these things is something detestable to Jehovah, and on account of these detestable things Jehovah your God is driving them away from before you.” (De 18:9-12) Jehovah would curse, not bless, such a person.
When Jephthah brought his daughter to the sanctuary, which was in Shiloh at that time, he undoubtedly accompanied his presentation of her with an animal burnt offering.
Moreover, Jephthah’s daughter was visited “from year to year” by her companions to ‘give her commendation.’ (Jg 11:40)
There is no reason to think his daughter was sacrificed.
He didn't directly offer his daughter as a sacrifice, the story I read was the first thing that came out of his house he would sacrifice to the Lord. As far as I'm concerned and believe he was just keeping his own to the Lord. I believe that's why it's written, it is better not to vow then to vow and not keep it.. do not overanalyze or micro analyze scripture..
The beauty of these text is anyone can massage these text to fit there own picture of who baal/yhwh was.
I know you probably mean well, but that is not even close to being true.
1. Baal was an idol and not really God.
2. Yhwh is God and not an idol.
3. The values of yhwh are 180 degrees different than the values of the Baal cult.
4. As yhwh is a God of truth, the text has to have a core truth narrative. We may argue and disagree as humans with what that core truth is, but there is a core truth. The post modern lie of "truth is subjective" has absolutely no place in the Bible or the interpretation of the Bible.
5. The entirety of the Bible gives a very clear view of who yhwh is. If you are massaging anything in the text about who yhwh is, you are adding to the text things that are not there.
@@b_korthuis come on look this up baal transform into yhwh.
@@b_korthuis infact it is pantheon of gods headed by el and his wife/consort asherah
@@b_korthuis the bible is not univocal
@@b_korthuis what is the interpretation of the bible?
the man made a terribly foolish vow
Vile! Goes against everything God hated. And utterly unpunished unlike David's sin. Instead he's held up as a hero. Totally disagree with your interpretation here. Makes me feel ill.
Concerning the punishment- Bible doesnt tell us whether any particular punishment happened to him- maybe yes, maybe no.. But thats not the most important thing, He deals with that. Lots of things in Bible FEEL unjust, wrong etc to us, but that just shows God's character and unwavering determination with His promises to carry out plan of salvation- that no matter what, no matter our wickedness, twisted, perverted vile nature, thinking or actions, He is going to "crush snake's head", which is exactly what He did. Look at the ancestry of Jesus in Matthew- do you see a parade of noble, courageous, just and holy people? (I certainly dont) What does it tell you?
You dont agree or dont like Chad's interpretation?
p.s.My big issue with with Jephthah is- who in a world tickled his tongue to give such oath in the first place?!? Why would anyone do such thing?? So eager to become big man in his lineage and thus ready to promise anything? I think Chad's note about israelites degrading into caananite ways helps to understand how this was even possible.
Who said he was a hero? Neither the Bible, nor Chad said that here. The man, blinded with selfishness to rule over those who had thrown him aside, makes a very rash, and audacious vow in order to secure victory. He made a vow to secure his place to rule. He's far from a hero. The Bible is very clear about vows. It's a very serious matter before God. In this instance, it wouldn't have mattered if he followed through or not, because both actions are abominations. The point was to focus on the vow, not the man. If his intention was to dedicate something to the Lord for service in the tabernacle, the "burnt offering" part wouldn't be there. Also, he would've been more specific in the vow of that we're the case, since only humans can serve in the tabernacle in that way. It's clear that he meant to burn an animal, because that's how "give to the Lord" and "burnt offering" makes sense. I mean no disrespect, but this passage is clear and it offends on purpose to teach us a vitally important lesson, repeated in the NT: don't make vows. Period.
@@jaybuffie9624 Hmm, I'd be little more specific- I'd say its not about not making vows in general, but like, be much more considerate, responsible, dont promise or say your yesses or nos on hot head etc. The begginning of Ecclesiastes ch5 puts it very well.