Jephthah was a mighty warrior and the son of a prostitute. His father, Gilead, also had sons through his wife, and Jephthah’s half brothers drove him away to the land of Tob, where Jephthah led a “gang of scoundrels” (Judges 11:3). Although Jephthah delivered Israel from its enemies, his story ends in one of the most unforgettable tragedies in Scripture.
Before Jephthah was a judge, the Israelites worshiped the Baals, Ashtorahs, the gods of Aram, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the Ammonites, and the gods of the Philistines. When the Israelites’ enemies oppressed them, they cried out to God, and he refused:
“When the Egyptians, the Amorites, the Ammonites, the Philistines, the Sidonians, the Amalekites and the Maonites oppressed you and you cried to me for help, did I not save you from their hands? But you have forsaken me and served other gods, so I will no longer save you. Go and cry out to the gods you have chosen. Let them save you when you are in trouble!” —Judges 10:11–14
But when the Israelites repented, God showed mercy through Jephthah.
The people knew Jephthah to be a mighty warrior and went to the land of Tob to ask him to lead them, promising to make him the head of Gilead. He accepted, and began by negotiating with the Ammonite king. However, the king refused, and the Israelites began driving the Ammonites out of the land. The Spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah (Judges 11:29), and Jephthah made a foolish (and completely unnecessary) vow:
“If you give the Ammonites into my hands, whatever comes out of the door of my house to meet me when I return in triumph from the Ammonites will be the Lord’s, and I will sacrifice it as a burnt offering.” —Judges 11:30–31
The Lord gave the Ammonites into Jephthah’s hands, but tragically, the first thing out of Jephthah’s house was his only daughter.
Jephthah may have been expecting to be greeted by livestock (it was common for them to live in the same space as people). Vowing to make a human sacrifice would’ve been against the law (Deuteronomy 12:31, but it’s possible that Jephthah was so unfamiliar with Israel’s God and the Torah that he was willing to sacrifice any human servant or attendant, too.
Whatever he intended, Jephthah hadn’t planned to sacrifice his daughter. After he lets his daughter her grieve with her friends for two months, she returned to her father, "and he did to her as he had vowed.” —Judges 11:39
The tribe of Ephraim was angered for having been left out of the fighting. The armies of Gilead and Ephraim went to war and the Gileadites won, killing many of the Ephraimites.
