Did Jephthah Actually Sacrifice His Daughter? Bible Commentary

Judges 11

1 Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valor, and he was the son of an harlot: and Gilead begat Jephthah.

2 And Gilead’s wife bore him sons; and his wife’s sons grew up, and they thrust out Jephthah, and said to him, You shall not inherit in our father’s house; for you are the son of a strange woman.

3 Then Jephthah fled from his brothers, and dwelled in the land of Tob: and there were gathered vain men to Jephthah, and went out with him.

4 And it came to pass in process of time, that the children of Ammon made war against Israel.

5 And it was so, that when the children of Ammon made war against Israel, the elders of Gilead went to fetch Jephthah out of the land of Tob:

6 And they said to Jephthah, Come, and be our captain, that we may fight with the children of Ammon.

7 And Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, Did not you hate me, and expel me out of my father’s house? and why are you come to me now when you are in distress?

8 And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, Therefore we turn again to you now, that you may go with us, and fight against the children of Ammon, and be our head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.

9 And Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, If you bring me home again to fight against the children of Ammon, and the LORD deliver them before me, shall I be your head?

10 And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, The LORD be witness between us, if we do not so according to your words.

11 Then Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and captain over them: and Jephthah uttered all his words before the LORD in Mizpeh.

12 And Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the children of Ammon, saying, What have you to do with me, that you are come against me to fight in my land?

13 And the king of the children of Ammon answered to the messengers of Jephthah, Because Israel took away my land, when they came up out of Egypt, from Arnon even to Jabbok, and to Jordan: now therefore restore those lands again peaceably.

14 And Jephthah sent messengers again to the king of the children of Ammon:

15 And said to him, Thus says Jephthah, Israel took not away the land of Moab, nor the land of the children of Ammon:

16 But when Israel came up from Egypt, and walked through the wilderness to the Red sea, and came to Kadesh;

17 Then Israel sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, Let me, I pray you, pass through your land: but the king of Edom would not listen thereto. And in like manner they sent to the king of Moab: but he would not consent: and Israel stayed in Kadesh.

18 Then they went along through the wilderness, and compassed the land of Edom, and the land of Moab, and came by the east side of the land of Moab, and pitched on the other side of Arnon, but came not within the border of Moab: for Arnon was the border of Moab.

19 And Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, the king of Heshbon; and Israel said to him, Let us pass, we pray you, through your land into my place.

20 But Sihon trusted not Israel to pass through his coast: but Sihon gathered all his people together, and pitched in Jahaz, and fought against Israel.

21 And the LORD God of Israel delivered Sihon and all his people into the hand of Israel, and they smote them: so Israel possessed all the land of the Amorites, the inhabitants of that country.

22 And they possessed all the coasts of the Amorites, from Arnon even to Jabbok, and from the wilderness even to Jordan.

23 So now the LORD God of Israel has dispossessed the Amorites from before his people Israel, and should you possess it?

24 Will not you possess that which Chemosh your god gives you to possess? So whomsoever the LORD our God shall drive out from before us, them will we possess.

25 And now are you any thing better than Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab? did he ever strive against Israel, or did he ever fight against them,

26 While Israel dwelled in Heshbon and her towns, and in Aroer and her towns, and in all the cities that be along by the coasts of Arnon, three hundred years? why therefore did you not recover them within that time?

27 Why I have not sinned against you, but you do me wrong to war against me: the LORD the Judge be judge this day between the children of Israel and the children of Ammon.

28 However, the king of the children of Ammon listened not to the words of Jephthah which he sent him.

29 Then the Spirit of the LORD came on Jephthah, and he passed over Gilead, and Manasseh, and passed over Mizpeh of Gilead, and from Mizpeh of Gilead he passed over to the children of Ammon.

30 And Jephthah vowed a vow to the LORD, and said, If you shall without fail deliver the children of Ammon into my hands,

31 Then it shall be, that whatever comes forth of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, shall surely be the LORD’s, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering.

32 So Jephthah passed over to the children of Ammon to fight against them; and the LORD delivered them into his hands.

33 And he smote them from Aroer, even till you come to Minnith, even twenty cities, and to the plain of the vineyards, with a very great slaughter. Thus the children of Ammon were subdued before the children of Israel.

34 And Jephthah came to Mizpeh to his house, and, behold, his daughter came out to meet him with tambourines and with dances: and she was his only child; beside her he had neither son nor daughter.

35 And it came to pass, when he saw her, that he rent his clothes, and said, Alas, my daughter! you have brought me very low, and you are one of them that trouble me: for I have opened my mouth to the LORD, and I cannot go back.

36 And she said to him, My father, if you have opened your mouth to the LORD, do to me according to that which has proceeded out of your mouth; for as much as the LORD has taken vengeance for you of your enemies, even of the children of Ammon.

37 And she said to her father, Let this thing be done for me: let me alone two months, that I may go up and down on the mountains, and mourn my virginity, I and my fellows.

38 And he said, Go. And he sent her away for two months: and she went with her companions, and bewailed her virginity on the mountains.

39 And it came to pass at the end of two months, that she returned to her father, who did with her according to his vow which he had vowed: and she knew no man. And it was a custom in Israel,

40 That the daughters of Israel went yearly to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in a year.

Dios no aceptó un sacrificio humano en la historia de Jefté porque su hija no fue asesinada, sino que fue dedicada a un servicio perpetuo en el santuario en un estado de celibato de por vidaARSH January 13, 1863, page 50.8+2.

La Naturaleza del Voto de Jefté 🕊️

Jefté era un hombre de fe profunda que conocía bien la ley de Moisés, la cual enseña claramente que los sacrificios humanos son una abominación para Jehová Leviticus 18:21+1HBS 288.4. Su voto, aunque expresado en términos generales, implicaba que el objeto dedicado sería ofrecido a Dios de la manera que las circunstancias permitieran según la leyARSH January 13, 1863, page 50.8+1. Al salir su hija a recibirlo, Jephthah se angustió porque ella era su única hija y, al dedicarla a Dios, su linaje y nombre en Israel se extinguirían Judges 11:34-35HBS 288.4+1.

• Dedicación en lugar de muerte: La frase "será de Jehová" se refiere a la consagración de la persona, similar a como los levitas fueron tomados por Dios en lugar de los primogénitos Numbers 3:12-13BHOTV3 141.2.

• Voto de virginidad: La hija de Jefté no pidió tiempo para llorar su muerte, sino para llorar su virginidad, lo cual indica que pasaría el resto de sus días sin casarse Judges 11:37-38ARSH January 13, 1863, page 50.8+1.

• Servicio en el Santuario: Ella fue apartada para deberes religiosos, viviendo recluida y renunciando a la esperanza de ser madre en Israel o progenitora del MesíasARSH January 13, 1863, page 50.8+1.

Razones por las que no hubo sacrificio de sangre 📜

Existen pruebas contundentes dentro de las Escrituras y el contexto histórico que confirman que Jefté no mató a su hija:

1. Aceptación de la fe: Jefté es incluido en la lista de héroes de la fe en el Nuevo Testamento Hebrews 11:32Ed 158.1. Sería imposible que Dios lo incluyera como un ejemplo de justicia si hubiera cometido el horrible crimen de un sacrificio humanoHBS 288.4+1.

2. Ausencia de sacerdotes y altares: No existía ningún sacerdote de Jehová que realizara tal rito, ni un altar legítimo para tal abominación, ya que Jefté no era un adorador de MolocHBS 288.4+1.

3. La Ley de los Sacrificios: Según la ley mosaica, los holocaustos debían ser machos sin defecto, por lo que una mujer no era apta para un sacrificio quemado literal Leviticus 1:3HBS 288.4.

4. El lenguaje del relato: El texto menciona que después de cumplirse el voto, ella "nunca conoció varón", una aclaración que sería innecesaria y sin sentido si la joven hubiera muerto Judges 11:39BHOTV3 142.4.

El contraste con el paganismo 🌑

Mientras que las naciones paganas como los amonitas ofrecían sacrificios humanos a sus dioses como Moloc o Quemos, el Dios de Israel prohibió estrictamente estas prácticas Deuteronomy 12:31ETI Ammonite.2+1. El sacrificio de la hija de Jefté fue una ofrenda espiritual de obediencia filial y devoción total a Dios, demostrando que Jefté cumplió su palabra ante el Señor de una manera santa y legalARSH January 13, 1863, page 50.8+1.