Judges 11:1-40
Jephthah
1 Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty warrior. His father was Gilead; his mother was a prostitute. 2 Gilead’s wife also bore him sons, and when they were grown up, they drove Jephthah away. “You are not going to get any inheritance in our family,” they said, “because you are the son of another woman.” 3 So Jephthah fled from his brothers and settled in the land of Tob, where a gang of scoundrels gathered around him and followed him.
4 Some time later, when the Ammonites were fighting against Israel, 5 the elders of Gilead went to get Jephthah from the land of Tob. 6 “Come,” they said, “be our commander, so we can fight the Ammonites.”
7 Jephthah said to them, “Didn’t you hate me and drive me from my father’s house? Why do you come to me now, when you’re in trouble?”
8 The elders of Gilead said to him, “Nevertheless, we are turning to you now; come with us to fight the Ammonites, and you will be head over all of us who live in Gilead.”
9 Jephthah answered, “Suppose you take me back to fight the Ammonites and the Lord gives them to me—will I really be your head?”
10 The elders of Gilead replied, “The Lord is our witness; we will certainly do as you say.” 11 So Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and commander over them. And he repeated all his words before the Lord in Mizpah.
12 Then Jephthah sent messengers to the Ammonite king with the question: “What do you have against me that you have attacked my country?”
13 The king of the Ammonites answered Jephthah’s messengers, “When Israel came up out of Egypt, they took away my land from the Arnon to the Jabbok, all the way to the Jordan. Now give it back peaceably.”
14 Jephthah sent back messengers to the Ammonite king, 15 saying:
“This is what Jephthah says: Israel did not take the land of Moab or the land of the Ammonites. 16 But when they came up out of Egypt, Israel went through the wilderness to the Red Sea and on to Kadesh. 17 Then Israel sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, ‘Give us permission to go through your country,’ but the king of Edom would not listen. They sent also to the king of Moab, and he refused. So Israel stayed at Kadesh.
18 “Next they traveled through the wilderness, skirted the lands of Edom and Moab, passed along the eastern side of the country of Moab, and camped on the other side of the Arnon. They did not enter the territory of Moab, for the Arnon was its border.
19 “Then Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, who ruled in Heshbon, and said to him, ‘Let us pass through your country to our own place.’ 20 Sihon, however, did not trust Israel to pass through his territory. He mustered all his troops and encamped at Jahaz and fought with Israel.
21 “Then the Lord, the God of Israel, gave Sihon and his whole army into Israel’s hands, and they defeated them. Israel took over all the land of the Amorites who lived in that country, 22 capturing all of it from the Arnon to the Jabbok and from the desert to the Jordan.
23 “Now since the Lord, the God of Israel, has driven the Amorites out before his people Israel, what right have you to take it over? 24 Will you not take what your god Chemosh gives you? Likewise, whatever the Lord our God has given us, we will possess. 25 Are you any better than Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever quarrel with Israel or fight with them? 26 For three hundred years Israel occupied Heshbon, Aroer, the surrounding settlements and all the towns along the Arnon. Why didn’t you retake them during that time? 27 I have not wronged you, but you are doing me wrong by waging war against me. Let the Lord, the Judge, decide the dispute this day between the Israelites and the Ammonites.”
28 The king of Ammon, however, paid no attention to the message Jephthah sent him.
29 Then the Spirit of the Lord came on Jephthah. He crossed Gilead and Manasseh, passed through Mizpah of Gilead, and from there he advanced against the Ammonites. 30 And Jephthah made a vow to the Lord: “If you give the Ammonites into my hands, 31 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.”
32 Then Jephthah went over to fight the Ammonites, and the Lord gave them into his hands. 33 He devastated twenty towns from Aroer to the vicinity of Minnith, as far as Abel Keramim. Thus Israel subdued Ammon.
34 When Jephthah returned to his home in Mizpah, who should come out to meet him but his daughter, dancing to the sound of timbrels! She was an only child. Except for her he had neither son nor daughter. 35 When he saw her, he tore his clothes and cried, “Oh no, my daughter! You have brought me down and I am devastated. I have made a vow to the Lord that I cannot break.”
36 “My father,” she replied, “you have given your word to the Lord. Do to me just as you promised, now that the Lord has avenged you of your enemies, the Ammonites. 37 But grant me this one request,” she said. “Give me two months to roam the hills and weep with my friends, because I will never marry.”
38 “You may go,” he said. And he let her go for two months. She and her friends went into the hills and wept because she would never marry. 39 After the two months, she returned to her father, and he did to her as he had vowed. And she was a virgin.
From this comes the Israelite tradition 40 that each year the young women of Israel go out for four days to commemorate the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite.
Jephthah was from the tribe of Gilead...He was a strong soldier...But Jephthah was the son of a prostitute...His father was a man named Gilead...Gilead’s wife had several sons...When they grew up, they did not like Jephthah...They forced Jephthah to leave his hometown...They said to him, “You will not get any of our father’s property, because you are the son of another woman.”...So Jephthah went away because of his brothers and lived in the land of Tob...
In the land of Tob, some rough men began to follow Jephthah...After a time the Ammonites fought with the Israelites...The Ammonites were fighting against Israel, so the elders in Gilead went to Jephthah...They wanted Jephthah to leave the land of Tob and come back to Gilead...The elders said to Jephthah, “Come and be our leader so that we can fight the Ammonites.”...But Jephthah said to the elders of the land of Gilead, “You forced me to leave my father’s house...You hate me...So why are you coming to me now that you are having trouble?”...The elders from Gilead said to Jephthah, “That is the reason we have come to you now...Please come with us and fight against the Ammonites...You will be the commander over all the people living in Gilead.”...Then Jephthah said to the elders from Gilead, “If you want me to come back to Gilead and fight the Ammonites, I will do it...But if the LORD helps me win, I will be your new leader.”...The elders from Gilead said to Jephthah, “The LORD is listening to everything we are saying...And we promise to do everything you tell us to do.”...So Jephthah went with the elders from Gilead, and the people made him their leader and commander. Jephthah repeated all of his words in front of the LORD at the city of Mizpah...
Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites with this message: “What is the problem between the Ammonites and the Israelites?...Why have you come to fight in our land?”...The king of the Ammonites said to the messengers of Jephthah, “We are fighting Israel because the Israelites took our land when they came up from Egypt...They took our land from the Arnon River to the Jabbok River to the Jordan River...Now, tell the Israelites to give our land back to us without fighting for it...Jephthah sent another message to the Ammonites...The king of the Ammonites refused to listen to this message from Jephthah...
Then the Spirit of the Lord came on Jephthah, and he passed through the area of Gilead and Manasseh...He went through the city of Mizpah in Gilead on his way to the land of the Ammonites...Jephthah made a promise to the LORD...He said, “If you will let me defeat the Ammonites, I will give you the first thing that comes out of my house when I come back from the victory...I will give it to the LORD as a burnt offering.”...Then Jephthah went to the land of the Ammonites...He fought the Ammonites, and the LORD helped him defeat them...He defeated them from the city of Aroer to the city of Minnith...Jephthah captured 20 cities...Then he fought the Ammonites to the city of Abel Keramim...The Israelites defeated them...It was a very great defeat for the Ammonites...Jephthah went back to Mizpah...He went to his house, and his daughter came out to meet him...She was playing a tambourine and dancing...She was his only daughter, and Jephthah loved her very much...He did not have any other sons or daughters...When Jephthah saw that his daughter was the first thing to come out of his house, he tore his clothes to show his sadness...Then he said, “Oh, my daughter!...You have ruined me!...You have made me very sad!...I made a promise to the Lord, and I cannot change it!”...Then his daughter said to Jephthah, “Father, you have made a promise to the LORD, so keep your promise...Do what you said you would do...After all, the LORD did help you defeat your enemies, the Ammonites.”...Then Jephthah’s daughter said to her father, “But do this one thing for me first...Let me be alone for two months...Let me go to the mountains...I will not marry and have children, so let me and my friends go and cry together.”...Jephthah said, “Go.” He sent her away for two months...Jephthah’s daughter and her friends stayed in the mountains...They cried for her because she would not marry and have children...At the end of two months, Jephthah’s daughter returned to her father, and Jephthah did what he had promised...His daughter never had sexual relations with anyone...So this became a custom in Israel...Every year the young women of Israel would go out for four days to remember the daughter of Jephthah from Gilead and to cry for her....