For many years, I was made to believe Jephthah sacrificed his daughter by slaying her like an animal. Most of us still believe he did but, reading through scriptures and learning the rules of bible interpretation made me conclude he couldn't have done so. Even If he did, God would not have accepted such an offering from him because he is not Amadioha, Sango or Ogun who accept human sacrifice.
Some may wonder why I am interested in this? Or they may wonder how relevant an issue like this is to a sound Christian life? Let me explain my interest in this and other seemingly unclear or misconstrued bible issues.
- Failure to divide the word of God rightly will lead many into error. That is why I am interested in clearing the air on vital issues.
- On the issue of Jephthah, we must clear the air on whether he sacrificed his daughter or not because If we don't, we'll paint God in bad light.
- Those that practice African Traditional Religion may refer to issues like this from scriptures to justify their practice of human sacrifice whereas, the bible is clear and clearly against such.
- In addition to the above, If our God accept human sacrifice as some believe about Jephthah, how is he different from heathen gods who accept same and how shall we preach against such barbaric acts/practices if we believe our God accept same?
BACKGROUND TO THE STORY
The elders of Israel asked Jephthah to come help them fight against the Ammonites. He was an outcast due to his maternal involvement in prostitution but he grew to become a mighty warrior.
After he accepted to fight for Israel, he made a vow to God saying: "If you will indeed give the sons of Ammon into my hand, then it shall be that whatever comes out of the doors of my house to meet me when I return in peace from the sons of Ammon, it shall be the LORD’s, and I will offer it up as a burnt offering"(Judg. 11:30–31).
After defeating the Ammonites, Jephthah returns to his home, and the first person to come out to greet him is his one and only daughter. Jephthah tears his clothes and tells his daughter about his vow. She then tells him to honor his vow but to allow her to go to the mountains with some companions for two months to mourn her virginity. Jephthah permits this request, and then we are told he “did to her according to the vow which he had made” (Judg. 11:39).
DID JEPHTHAH KILL HIS DAUGHTER TO FULFILL HIS VOW?
This is a big question that requires the technical knowledge of bible interpretation( Hermeneutics) and applied theology. You need to read patiently from here. Take a bottle of water and drink gently.
I'll be applying two major rules of interpretation here:
- Law of Congruence: This law says that everything in scriptures agree and doesn't contradict itself.
- Law of Context: This law states that the meaning of a passage or text of scriptures is in the context of the passage not outside it.
Keep these two important laws in mind as you read.
REASONS I BELIEVE JEPHTHAH DID NOT KILL HIS DAUGHTER
1- The Laws of God given through Moses forbids Human Sacrifice and Jephthah knew these laws.
It was very clear that Jephthah knew the Law of Moses. He explains, in detail, the history of Israel, Moab, and Ammon in Judges 11:16–26. Jephthah’s account follows the exact order of events given in Numbers 20–22. It is impossible for Jepthah to know all these events without knowing the laws of Moses. The stories were part of the law.
Jephthah also seems to be well aware of what Numbers 30:2 says: “If a man makes a vow to the Lord, or takes an oath to bind himself with a binding obligation, he shall not violate his word; he shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth”.
It is even clear that Jephthah's daughter knew the Laws of Moses. I asserted so because when she found out about her father’s vow, she says, “My father, you have given your word to the Lord; do to me as you have said, since the Lord has avenged you of your enemies, the sons of Ammon” (Judg. 11:36). This is consonance with Numbers 30:2. Obviously, father and daughter knew the laws of God and it is unlikely both of them would act against it especially doing what is atrocious like human sacrifice.
Leviticus 18:21 “Do not permit any of your children to be offered as a sacrifice to Molech, for you must not bring shame on the name of your God. I am the Lord"( NLT).
Leviticus 20:2-3 "Give the people of Israel these instructions, which apply both to native Israelites and to the foreigners living in Israel. “If any of them offer their children as a sacrifice to Molech, they must be put to death. The people of the community must stone them to death. [3] I myself will turn against them and cut them off from the community, because they have defiled my sanctuary and brought shame on my holy name by offering their children to Molech" ( NLT)
Deuteronomy 12:31 "You must not worship the Lord your God the way the other nations worship their gods, for they perform for their gods every detestable act that the Lord hates. They even burn their sons and daughters as sacrifices to their gods" ( NLT)
Deuteronomy 18:10 "For example, never sacrifice your son or daughter as a burnt offering. And do not let your people practice fortune-telling, or use sorcery, or interpret omens, or engage in witchcraft" ( NLT)
The law of congruence applies here. These scriptures agree on one thing: God forbida human sacrifice and it will be incongruent in the case of Jephthah for God to accept what he forbids.
Also, Jephthah knew all these laws and he wouldn't have acted against it thinking God will accept it because whatever he forbids as sacrifice to gods wouldn't be accepted by him. The Law of congruence applies here.
2- The hebrew conjunction Jephthah used - Vav
The second clue can be found in the vow Jephthah made reading it from the Hebrew text where "Vav" is used. "Vav" is a Hebrew letter and it is also a conjunction. Letter Vav represents multiple different conjunctions. It could mean “and,” “together with,” “but,” “so,” “then,” and “or.” Here, we must apply the law of context.
In the case of Jephthah's vow, many scholars have translated this Vav conjunction as “or.”
If that’s the case, then Jephthah’s vow says, “Whatever comes out of the doors of my house…it shall be the LORD’s, OR I will offer it up as a burnt offering” (Judg. 11:31).
This vow could be interpreted to mean that if the first thing to come out of the house was appropriate to offer as a burnt offering, then Jephthah would offer it as a burnt sacrifice. However, if the first thing to come out of the house wasn’t appropriate to offer as a burnt sacrifice, “it shall be the Lord’s,” meaning it would be dedicated to the Lord.
If this is the case, I believe Jephthah's daughter was dedicated to the Lord for service as a virgin perpetually. She did not marry so she can be useful unto the Lord because of her father's vow. This is similar to what Rev sisters do in Roman Catholic churches.
3- She mourned her virginity instead of mourning her impending death
This is a no brainer. Jephthah's daughter should have mourned her impending death after hearing about her father's vow. In that case, the wisest thing for her to do could have been to get pregnant quickly, have a child and then offer herself for death, rather, she mourned her virginity. Why did you think she did so?
This is because she knew she would live and die as a virgin knowing she wouldn't be married nor have children till death.
This idea is also reinforced by how the text emphasizes her virginity as part of her father’s vow. “At the end of two months she returned to her father, who did to her according to the vow which he had made; AND SHE HAD NO RELATIONS WITH A MAN” (Judg. 11:39).
CONCLUSION: I arrived at this conclusion after study and tutelage in bible interpretation. I'll counsel you go over this write up again, check each scriptural reference and let the Holy Spirit minister to you. God is not Amadioha, Sango or Ogun who accept human sacrifice. He wouldn't have accepted what he forbade for the Jews.