Jephthah

Jephthah (Heb./Aram. יפתח Yiftach / Yipthaχ) is a character in the Old Testament who served as one of the Judges in Israel for a period of six years (Judges 12:7) between the Israelite conquest of Canaan and the first king of Israel, Saul. Jephthah lived in Gilead and was a member of the Tribe of Manasseh. His father's name is also given as Gilead.

Unknown outside of the Bible, Jephthah is remarkable for several reasons. First, his birth was anything but a noble one, being identified as the son of a harlot. Second, despite being driven from home by his half-brothers, Jephthah went on to be a great military leader, to whom God gave impressive victories against the Ammonites. Third, Jephthah tragically fulfilled a vow to sacrifice "whatever comes out of my house first" after his victory by slaying his own daughter as a burnt offering to God.

The story of Jephthah thus ends as an extremely disturbing one, providing evidence of Israelite human sacrifice in the time of the judges, not to a false God but to the God of Israel himself. Jepthah's saga provides a shocking counterpart to the much better known story of Abraham's binding of Isaac, which culminates with God intervening to spare Isaac at the last moment.

Biblical record

The story of Jephthah with a description of the plight of the Israelites who live east of the Jordan River in the land of Amorites. For 18 years, the Book of Judges reports, the Israelites in the land of Gilead were harassed by neighboring tribes, especially the Ammonites, who also made forays west of the Jordan to cause "great distress" to the major tribes of Israel. This prompted the people to pray to God in repentance, which resulted in the emergence of Jephthah as their deliverer.

Jephthah was his father's son by a prostitute, and his half brothers—sons by their father's legitimate wife—were consequently unwilling to share their inheritance with a son of "another woman." Being driven out by his siblings, Jephthah took up dwelling in Tob, east of Gilead. Here, men identified as "adventurers" joined him in opposing the Ammonites and put themselves under his command. (Judges 11:3) Later, the Ammonites attacked Israel again and the "elders of Gilead" asked Jephthah to aid them. They apparently include some of his kin, and he balks at first, on the grounds that they had driven him from his open. They persist in requesting his aid however, and he eventually agrees to help.

The Return of Jephthah, by Giovanni Antonio Pellegrini.

He is best known for a rather unfortunate episode. Before leaving for the war, he made a vow to God that if he were to return home victorious, "whoever is the first to come through the doors of my house" to meet him would be given to God. He was victorious, and return he did, but he was met by his daughter and only child. It is written that after much mourning she died as a childless, unmarried virgin.

The event has been the subject of many debates among readers. Some have argued that this was a practice of dedicating women to virginity, but it is likely that he really sacrificed her as an offering. Ancient Jewish writers interpreted it as a human sacrifice, as seen explicitly, for example, in the classical Pseudo-Philo, where the daughter sings a lament about her impending death and its necessity to fulfil Jephthah's vow. That Jephthah's daughter was indeed offered as a holocaust was also the common opinion amongst Fathers of the Christian Church since the Holy Spirit is said to be upon Jephthah when he made his vow. According to their interpretation Jephthah was foreshadowing the sacrifice of Jesus. Leviticus 27:16-29 is used in support of both positions. On one hand it can be argued that these items are destroyed, but the cited text also allows for ransoming and also mentions land which can not be destroyed and was traditionally turned over for temple use. Some Jewish sources claim that Jephthah may have expected an "unclean" animal such as a dog to greet him upon returning home. Alternatively, the main point of this story may be to instruct young girls as to how to behave should they ever be selected for service (verses 37-38). That is, it could be a normative tale. Whatever the case, it became a custom in Israel (perhaps only in the region of Gilead) that women should go out four days every year and lament the daughter of Jephthah. This custom is still practiced by some Gilghadic Isarlaeans during the last four days of Spring (in the month of Khordad), just before the summer solstice.

Later, Jephthah went to war against the Ephraimites, who refused to acknowledge him. The story is remembered for the killing of the fugitive Ephraimites who were identified by their accent; they said the Hebrew word shibboleth as sibboleth. In this rebellious action, 42,000 people lost their lives (Judges 12:5,6).

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