Jephthah

Jephthah was the son of Gilead and a prostitute. Driven away by his half-brothers, he gathered a band of followers in Tob. When Ammon threatened Gilead, the elders asked him to lead them. Jephthah first attempted diplomacy, rehearsing Israel's history and denying Ammon's territorial claim. The Spirit of the Lord came upon him, and he defeated the Ammonites. Before battle he had made a rash vow concerning whatever came from his house to meet him on his return. His only child, his daughter, came out celebrating the victory, producing the story's tragic climax. Jephthah later fought Ephraim in a bitter civil conflict in which pronunciation of the word 'Shibboleth' was used to identify fugitives. He judged Israel six years.