Bible Commentaries

Jephthah = He will deliver. Note the Fig, Epanadiplosis (App-6), to call attention to the facts of this verse, introducing Jephthah. All was irregular: no king, no judge, no priest.

Gileadite = son of the man Gilead.

man. Hebrew. gibbor. App-14.

strange = foreign.

from. Hebrew "from the face of". Figure of speech Pleonasm. App-6.

Tob = fruitful land. East of Syria.

vain = unemployed, or bankrupt.

children = sons.

the LORD. Hebrew. Jehovah. App-4.

be witness = be a hearer.

with. Some codices, with three early printed editions, read "unto".

before the LORD = in the presence of Jehovah.

in Mizpeh. Compare Judges 10:17.

And said. A special reading (Sevir, App-34) and some codices read "and they said". Hebrew text = he.

me. Most codices, with Syriac, read "us" as in Judges 11:19. Compare Numbers 20:14.

Went along = went on.

but came not. Compare Numbers 21:13, Numbers 21:24.

Israel sent. Compare Deuteronomy 2:26.

us. Compare Judges 11:17 and Deuteronomy 2:27.

trusted = stayed or rested on. See App-69.

coast = border.

shouldest thou . . . ? Figure of speech Erotesis.

it = him: i.e. Israel. Being masculine (in Hebrew), cannot refer to the land of Judges 11:21; and singular, so that it cannot refer to coasts of Judges 11:22.

Wilt not thou . . . ? Figure of speech Erotesis. Jephthah does not recognize Chemosh as a god. The emphasis is on "thy" and "our", and is the argument a fortiori: and, taking them on their own ground, it is the argumentum ad hominem.

art thou. ? Figure of speech Erotesis. Compare Numbers 22:2. Deuteronomy 23:4. Joshua 24:9.

three hundred years. Not a "round number". See App-50.

the Spirit. Hebrew. ruach (feminine.) See App-9.

unto. This word is read in the text of some codices with Aramaean, Syriac, and Vulgate.

vowed a vow. Figure of speech Polyptoton (App-6) = made a solemn vow. See notes on Leviticus 27:1-8.

whatsoever. This is masculine. But the issuer from his house was feminine. Thus his rash vow was impossible of fulfillment, and was to be repented of.

and = or. The Hebrew (Vav) is a connective Particle, and is rendered in many different ways. It is also used as a disjunctive, and is often rendered "or" (or, with a negative, "nor"). See Genesis 41:44. Exodus 20:4; Exodus 21:15, Exodus 21:17, Exodus 21:18. Numbers 16:14; Numbers 22:26 (Revised Version "nor"); Deuteronomy 3:24. 2 Samuel 3:29. 1 Kings 18:10, 1 Kings 18:27. With a negative = "nor", "neither". Exodus 20:17. Deuteronomy 7:25. 2 Samuel 1:21. Psalms 26:9. Proverbs 6:4; Proverbs 30:3, &c. See note on "but", 1 Kings 2:9. Here, Jephthah's vow consisted of two parts: (1) He would either dedicate it to Jehovah (according to Lev 27); or (2) if unsuitable for this, he would offer it as a burnt offering. He performed his vow, and dedicated his daughter to Jehovah by a perpetual virginity (verses: Judges 11:36, Judges 11:39, Judges 11:40); but he did not offer her as a burnt offering, because it was forbidden by Jehovah, and could not be accepted by Him (Judges 18:21; Judges 20:2-5).

timbrels = drums. See note on Exodus 15:20.

beside her. Figure of speech Pleonasm. App-6. The fact is stated in two ways, in order to emphasize it.

opened my mouth. Hebraism for making a formal, prepared, and solemn statement.

go up and down = wander about.

did with her according to his vow which he had vowed = He did not offer her as a burnt offering; for Jehovah could not accept that. Therefore Jephthah must have dedicated her to the LORD by a perpetual virginity. Such a vow was provided for in Lev 27. See note on Judges 11:31.

and she knew no man. This is conclusive. It has nothing to do with a sacrificial death, but it has to do with a dedicated life to Jehovah. Thus was Jephthah's vow fulfilled.

And it was = and it became.

to lament = to rehearse with, as in Judges 5:11; to celebrate [her dedication] in praises.

four days in a year. Thus annually her friends "went", evidently to Jephthah's daughter, to rehearse with her this great event of her life: not of her death.