Judges 11:29-31

Jephthah's Vow Judges 11:29-31

29 Then the spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah, and he passed over Gilead, and Manasseh, and passed over Mizpeh of Gilead, and from Mizpeh of Gilead he passed over unto the children of Ammon.
30 And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the Lord, and said, If thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands,
31 Then it shall be, that whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, shall surely be the Lord'S, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering.

13.

In what way did the Spirit of the Lord come upon Jephthah? Judges 11:29

Jephthah was not only sought by the elders of Gilead, but his position of leadership was attested by his receiving charismatic gifts. He was not only willing to be the captain of the people, but he appears to have been led by the Spirit of the Lord. Since his agreement with the elders had been sworn to and Jephthah had uttered his convictions before the Lord, we view Jephthah as being a man who was guided of God. This does not mean that he was blameless in character. It also does not signify that he had all the gifts which were given to the apostles in the New Testament when they were baptized of the Holy Spirit. It does signify surely that Jephthah was God's man for the time in Israel.

14.

What was Jephthah's vow? Judges 11:30-31

It is most important for the Bible student to dig deeply into the text at this point. Many ramifications of the situation are seen immediately. A question rises in the Bible student's mind as he asks himself if it is possible for a man like Jephthah to have in mind the making of a human sacrifice. Then consideration must be given to the possibility of God's giving victory to a man who has such a sordid and cruel concept of sacrifice. The Bible does not say expressly that Jephthah sacrificed his daughter; it simply says that he did with her according to his vow (Judges 11:39). The language of the vow is double in implication. Jephthah says whatever comes out will be the Lord's and he will offer it as a burnt offering. It would be possible for him to offer his daughter in perpetual service to the Lord, and that would be essentially the same as making a burnt offering. If he did have in mind the possibility of his offering a sacrifice, some students of the text indicate the conjunction and might be also translated or. Then the vow would indicate whatever came out would be the Lord's if it were human; or if it were animal, he would offer it as a burnt offering.