Judges 11:40 - Printer Friendly

ESV: that the daughters of Israel went year by year to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in the year.

NIV: that each year the young women of Israel go out for four days to commemorate the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite.

NASB: that the daughters of Israel went annually to commemorate the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite for four days in the year.

CSB: that four days each year the young women of Israel would commemorate the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite.

NLT: for young Israelite women to go away for four days each year to lament the fate of Jephthah’s daughter.

KJV: That the daughters of Israel went yearly to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in a year.

NKJV: that the daughters of Israel went four days each year to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite.

Although Jephthah's daughter (Judges 11:30–39) either died young or lived a life of celibate service to the Lord, her story resonated deeply with the "daughters of Israel." Her loss may have resonated as a symbol of all women who are unable to have children. One way or another, Jephthah's daughter became the focus of an annual four-day memorial. The women of Israel would apparently gather to lament her loss and, perhaps, their own or that of those close to them.

In this way, the foolishness of Jephthah's vow lingered for generations. His example serves as a reminder not to attempt to manipulate God with promises in exchange for good outcomes.

Judges 11:29–40 begins with God's Spirit coming on Jephthah and empowering him to raise an army from Gilead and Manasseh. Before attacking the Ammonites, Jephthah makes a vow regarding victory in the war. When Israel wins the victory, Jephthah's vow surprisingly binds him to offer his daughter, his only child, as an offering to the Lord. She agrees that her father must follow through on this sacred promise, but she first spends two months grieving that she will not marry or have children. Jephthah fulfills his vow, though scholars have long debated how, exactly, he did so.

A man named Jephthah is driven away from his home in Gilead by jealous brothers. He settles in Tob, where he becomes warrior chief of a criminal band. Gilead's elders later recruit Jephthah to lead the fight against their Ammonite oppressors. After a failed negotiation attempt, Jephthah vows to make a burnt offering to the Lord of whatever comes to meet him if God gives him victory over the Ammonites. Israel thoroughly defeats Ammon, and Jephthah's daughter, his only child, greets him. Jephthah carries out his vow after his daughter grieves never marrying or having children.

Judges 11 answers the question raised at the end of the previous chapter: who could lead Gilead's fight against the Ammonites? The elders recruit Jephthah, a warrior driven away by his family in Gilead. Jephthah agrees to return and is appointed leader of Gilead. Jephthah raises an army and makes a foolish vow to the Lord in exchange for victory. Israel defeats Ammon, but Jephthah's vow costs him his only child, his daughter. His victory also creates civil strife in Israel, leading to a minor civil war.

The Book of Judges describes Israel's history from the death of Joshua to shortly before Israel's first king, Saul. Israel fails to complete God's command to purge the wicked Canaanites from the land (Deuteronomy 7:1–5; 9:4). This results in a centuries-long cycle where Israel falls into sin and is oppressed by local enemies. After each oppression, God sends a civil-military leader, labeled using a Hebrew word loosely translated into English as "judge." These appointed rescuers would free Israel from enemy control and govern for a certain time. After each judge's death, the cycle of sin and oppression begins again. This continues until the people of Israel choose a king, during the ministry of the prophet-and-judge Samuel (1 Samuel 1—7).

Accessed 5/6/2024 12:55:32 AM