Judges 11:29-40

Jim ButlerJudges 11:29–40

Judges 11:29–40 presents one of the most disputed passages in the Old Testament: Jephthah's vow and its fulfillment. This study argues, against the view that Jephthah's daughter was merely consecrated to perpetual virginity, that the plain meaning of the text — confirmed by the language of burnt offering, the grief of the father, the lamentation of the daughters of Israel, and the brevity of the narrative's account of her death — demands the literal interpretation that Jephthah carried out a human sacrifice. The vow is shown to be unnecessary, manipulative, presumptuous, and wicked, yet God's sovereign deliverance of Israel is not thereby frustrated, and Jephthah's presence in Hebrews 11 demonstrates that the sins of the godly do not utterly extinguish their faith. The episode ultimately points beyond Jephthah to the perfect Deliverer who, in Gethsemane, made no rash bargain with his Father but submitted in full obedience.