Jephthah and His Vow

The words

1. Alas

   Oh no, in the NET Bible.

   Seeing his only daughter arrive, Jephthah tears his clothes and cries “Alas, my daughter!” saying he cannot take back his vow.

   Judges 11:34–35 (opens a new tab) · NET Bible: Judges 11:34-40 (opens a new tab)

2. Ammonites

   Jephthah defeats the Ammonites across twenty cities; Judges describes a “very great slaughter” before Israel subdues them.

   Judges 11:32–33 (opens a new tab)

3. Bewail

   She asks for two months to bewail her virginity in the mountains with her companions, and Jephthah grants her request.

   Judges 11:37–38 (opens a new tab)

4. Burnt Offering

   Jephthah himself promises a burnt offering if the LORD grants victory; his only daughter is the one who comes out to meet him.

   Judges 11:30–31 (opens a new tab) · Judges 11:34 (opens a new tab)

5. Companions

   Her companions go with her into the mountains during the two months Jephthah grants before she returns to him.

   Judges 11:38–39 (opens a new tab)

6. Dances

   Jephthah’s daughter meets him with timbrels and dances when he returns home; the account immediately identifies her as his only child.

   Judges 11:34 (opens a new tab)

7. Daughter

   Judges reports the vow’s fulfillment without describing the act; Anna Linton traces later readings of the daughter’s sacrifice or dedication to lifelong virginity.

   Judges 11:39 (opens a new tab) · Linton: readings of Jephthah’s vow (opens a new tab)

8. Gilead

   Gilead’s elders seek Jephthah as captain against Ammon; he asks whether he will be their head if the LORD gives him victory.

   Judges 11:5–10 (opens a new tab)

9. Jephthah

   Judges calls Jephthah “the son of an harlot”; his brothers drive him out before Gilead’s elders later ask him to lead them.

   Judges 11:1–6 (opens a new tab)

10. Lament

    Commemorate, in the NET Bible.

    Judges describes Israel’s daughters going yearly to lament Jephthah’s daughter for four days, making her remembrance a recurring custom.

    Judges 11:39–40 (opens a new tab) · NET Bible: Judges 11:34-40 (opens a new tab)

11. Land of Tob

    Driven from home by his brothers, Jephthah flees to Tob; the elders of Gilead later travel there to seek his help against Ammon.

    Judges 11:2–6 (opens a new tab)

12. Mizpeh

    Mizpah in the NET Bible.

    Jephthah speaks before the LORD at Mizpeh after becoming head and captain; later he returns there to the house where his daughter meets him.

    Judges 11:11 (opens a new tab) · Judges 11:34 (opens a new tab) · NET Bible: Judges 11:34-40 (opens a new tab)

13. Mountains

    Jephthah grants her request to go into the mountains with her companions, where she spends the two months bewailing her virginity.

    Judges 11:37–38 (opens a new tab)

14. Two Months

    Jephthah allows the two months she requests; when the time ends, she returns and the account says he carries out his vow.

    Judges 11:37–39 (opens a new tab)

15. Virginity

    The KJV says she “knew no man”; the NET note favors death as a virgin while recording a lifelong-celibacy interpretation.

    Judges 11:37–39 (opens a new tab) · NET Bible: Judges 11:34-40 (opens a new tab)