It’s not something I turn to when looking for a comforting promise from God. With poignancy and insight, it takes readers on a groundbreaking and unforgettable journey inside the hidden world of women in the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community. In the Old Testament scriptures, in the Book of Judges, we encounter the horrifying story of Jephthah and his daughter. 11:32 ), though he had not such an extraordinary call as the rest there mentioned had. Mike Nappa is a big ol’ Bible Study Nerd, and an ongoing Bible commentary and theology writer for Christianity.com. He vowed that if he succeeded in battle he would offer up to the Lord as a burnt offering whatever first came forth from his doors of his house to meet him. Book Title: Die Bibel in Bildern / von Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld Author: Schnorr von Carolsfeld, Julius, 1794-1872 Image Title: Jephthah's Daughter Scripture Reference: Judges 11 (further images / scripture text)Description: Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld's (1794-1872) depiction of Jephthah's daughter greeting him as he returns victorious from war. The sacrifice that you have mentioned is but one more horror story in this book. This deprivation of the opportunity to bear children was considered a great calamity among Jews, and would be especially hard to bear for Jephthah also -- since he was an important man in Israel and she was an only child. The Standard Book of Jewish Verse It should also serve as a warning to make sure any vow we make is something that is not in violation of God’s Word. 11:29–40) is frequently singled out for condemnation.Richard Dawkins describes this account as a “story of human sacrifice” that ended unhappily. 1891 Rare GUSTAVE DORÉ Book Plate "Jephthah's Daughter and Her Companions” The Doré Gallery of Bible Illustrations - Original Antique Print PearTreePrints. His half-brothers, the other sons of Jephthah’s father, despised him. Published on: 09-15-2020. In the Old Testament scriptures, in the Book of Judges, we encounter the horrifying story of Jephthah and his daughter. There came a time when the Israelites are about to fight the Ammonites. According to this interpretation, Jephthah’s daughter was sent to the mountains to live in seclusion. You have devastated me! Jephthah's Daughter Judges Chapter 11:1-40 It is important to remember, in the events that follow, that in the time of the judges, "In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes" (Judges 21:25 ) This book is filled with the consequences of people who did not look to the LORD in all their decisions. However, his only child, an unnamed daughter, came out to meet him dancing and playing a … The people love Jephʹthah’s daughter because she is such a good servant of Jehovah. Sacrificing children was an abomination to God. Chapter 11 This chapter gives as the history of Jephthah, another of Israel’s judges, and numbered among the worthies of the Old Testament, that by faith did great things ( Heb. This book is not only beautiful to hold and a pleasure to read, but also it has rare intellectual clarity and high scholarly relevance. As he came to his house, his daughter, his only daughter, his only child, came to meet him with tambourines and dances. This is because of Jephthah’s vow to God when he said: “…whatever comes out of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the people of Ammon, shall surely be the LORD’s, and I will offer it up as a burnt offering.”. He triumphed over rejection, yet lost someone very dear to him because of a rash, unnecessary vow. Let’s learn about her and her father, Jephthah. Christian writers accordingly sought to speak to the experience of bereavement and to provide cultural scripts for parents who had lost a child. A Lamplighter Moment from Mark Hamby. "Jephthah's Daughter" is a three-act play in verse inspired by the biblical story of Jephthah. So Jephthah went to the battle and the Lord gave him the victory. In Judges, Jephthah is a manipulative leader, who forces everyone’s hand, including God’s. Not my daughter! Because of the manner of his conception, he was driven out from his family and lived with a gang of worthless men. Jephthah was a good man and spent a lot of time teaching his daughter about … Hey Andy, what happened to Jephthah’s daughter? Maria E. Doerfler’s monograph, Jephthah’s Daughter, Sarah’s Son, provides a fundamental assessment of the role late antique texts (commentaries, homilies, inscriptions, letters, and poems) that dealt with the death of children in the Bible played in church and society. The Lament of Jephtah’s Daughter by George Elgar Hick. Jephthah's Vow (Judges 11) October 1 We come now to one of the most difficult passages in the book of Judges—the story of Jephthah. We sometimes mistakenly assume these books are primarily historical. If ever there were a Biblical passage which renders an absolutely hideous message when taken literally, while yielding a completely satisfactory conclusion when understood astronomically, this … 4 Min Read. If Jephthah’s daughter became a perpetual virgin in order to fulfill his vow, then the concern as to why God allowed this to occur disappears. The Old Testament Book of Judges relates a story that almost defies belief. Most Bible students recall the brief story of Jephthah and his daughter in Judges 11:29-40. This morning I completed Matthew Poole's summary of the history of interpretation (which includes a large digest of Louis Cappel's work on the subject, so formative in Poole's own opinion). Indeed, this tale of a nameless young woman, with scarcely a voice of her own and with her violent fate precipitated and carried out by her own father, is surely one of the most horrifying tales in the whole Bible. 1 Former preacher turned atheist Dan Barker says that Jephthah “found it hard to murder … Then, in 11:38, the text records that while with her friends, she wept over the fact of her virginity. Conclusion. Friedlander, Joseph, comp. Once again, we must remember that both Jephthah and his daughter were … Jephthah's Daughter. Jephthah was the son of a prostitute. Jephthah’s Daughter. He fails and war ensues. I don’t know about you, but I’m not that fond of the book of Judges—all those nasty stories. Jephthah’s Daughter - When Jephthah came to his house at Mizpah, there was his daughter, coming out to meet him with timbrels and dancing; and she was his only child. Did Jephthah sacrifice his daughter to the Lord? There many kids in the Bible who were obediently and patiently serving God. The Rabbis severely criticize Jephthah’s vow and conduct that resulted in the senseless death of his daughter. Jephtah was a man of outstanding military ability who rose from despised beginnings (he was illegitimate) to become a leader of Israel. Jephthah's Daughter, Sarah’s Son traces the stories these writers crafted and the ways in which they shaped the lived experience of familial bereavement in ancient Christianity. You see, Jephthah was a dictatorial parent. Jephthah’s war with the tribe of Ephraim. See also Doerfler, p. 4 (But n.b., ‘David Bakke’ should read here ‘Odd Magne Bakke’). But God knew if he did not. But did he? Jephthah’s legacy in Israel is a legacy of death. His father was Gilead; his mother was a prostitute. The characters in the Book of Judges should be compared and contrasted to understand the message of the book. There is a second interpretation that asserts that Jephthah never committed human sacrifice, but rather he dedicated his daughter over to the Lord as mentioned in Leviticus 27:1ff. This is a minority opinion among scholars and is not viewed highly by most. The book of Judges is often seen to be problematic as a whole. The Ammonites were conquered, and Jephthah came home in peace. It’s the story of a mighty Israelite warrior named Jephthah who ends up offering up his only daughter as both human sacrifice and “burnt offering” up to the God of Israel.How this came about is related in Judges 11:29 – 39. September 15 / The Word / No Comments / ELIZABETH OSTRING. Did Jephthah kill his daughter? A modern classic of Jewish-American literature, a remarkable journey into the shrouded world of Chassidic women. In the ancient Hebrew biblical world, Jephthah’s daughter sought to gain an even more famous name than Abraham’s son Isaac. Besides her he had neither son nor daughter. Jephthah’s Daughter. And a kilogram of flour. Jephthah’s story is found in Judges 11 to 12. Jephtah was a man of outstanding military ability who rose from despised beginnings (he was illegitimate) to become a leader of Israel. Keeping his promise, Jephthah consecrated her solely to the Lord, according to his vow, and she never did marry. He’s also a bestselling and award-winning Christian author with more than a million copies of his books sold … Lesson no. This little known/ infrequently discussed woman’s story can be found in chapter 11 of the book of Judges. Jephthah is portrayed as a haughty individual, who flaunts his position as commander of all the military chieftains, when in actuality he was an ignoramus, unlettered in the Torah she-bi-khetav: Lit. The Story of Jephthah’s Daughter In this story, the author points out the danger to the Israelite people if they should have a human king. She is the daughter of a man named Jephthah. Synopsis : Jephthah and His Vow written by David Marcus, published by Texas Tech University Press which was released on 30 July 1986. The judge Jephthah had just won a battle over the Ammonites, and vowed that he would offer the first thing that came out of his house as a burnt offering to Yahweh. From shop PearTreePrints. Second, Jephthah followed the … Despite the possibilities of comprehending the narrative as part of the propaganda of the Book of Judges, the story of Jephthah’s daughter remains enigmatic and disturbing to today’s readers. BY ELIZABETH OSTRING. What it does say is that he cannot go back on his word, and his daughter fully agrees. Do you remember Jephthah? 1 It ostensibly is designed to demonstrate the need for central leadership, i.e., a king. His brothers drove him out to prevent him from getting an inheritance. 35 When he saw her, he tore his clothes and said, “No! Judges 1111 Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty warrior. She acted upon what she knew, but sadly she had learned from her father, who knew little. The Resurrection of Jephthah's Daughter: Judges 11:34-40 and Mark 5:21-24, 35-43 MARY ANN BEAVIS St. Thomas More College Saskatoon, SK S7N 0W6, Canada THIS ARTICLE is the product of a persistent hunch that there is a literary rela- tionship between two biblical narratives about dying daughters. The dedication of Samuel to God in 1 Samuel 1:11-28 is not a good precedent for the view that the sacrifice of Jephthah’s daughter was just a “spiritual sacrifice.” The sacrifice of Jephthah’s daughter is not the focus of Jephthah’s narrative; the real focus of the story is the irrevocability of a vow. You have brought me very low! The father remembered his vow, his promise to the Lord. Jephthah tries to avert war by negotiating with the enemy. His father was Gilead; his mother was a prostitute. In fact, it is the Book of Judges that records Jephthah’s sacrificing of his daughter (noted above), not to mention the gang rape of a Levite’s concubine by the men of Gibeah, probably one of the most horrifying stories in all of the Old Testament. You are among those who trouble me! In lamenting her misfortune, Jephthah's daughter did not bewail the loss of life; she simply bewailed her "virginity". You have brought great misery on me. Maria Doerfler’s recent book, Jephthah’s Daughter, Sarah’s Son: The Death of Children in Late Antiquity, is a shining example of how scholarship can utilize liturgy towards new social insights. Men and women alike are unnamed. Jephthah and His Daughter The Book of Judges Chapter 11. Here we have, I. If you fall into any of these categories, you might be able to identify with today’s woman—Jephthah’s daughter. The story of Jephthah's daughter and her violent fate has been a part of my own story for quite some time. I don’t know about you, but I’m not that fond of the book of Judges—all those nasty stories. Jephthah's Daughter, the Levites, and Symbolic Sacrifices. So Jephʹthah’s daughter goes to Shiʹloh, and she spends the rest of her life serving Jehovah at his tabernacle. j She was his only child; he had no other son or daughter besides her. This is a delicate project: with the death of children, Doerfler takes up grief at its harshest manifestation. When you donate a physical book to the Internet Archive, your book will enjoy The account of Jephthah and his daughter serves as an example for us to not make foolish vows or oaths. Then again, in 11:39, it is recorded that Jephthah fulfilled his vow to the LORD, and the text clearly describes how this vow was fulfilled—“that is, she did not know a man.”. 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