Jephthah

Overview

Jephthah was the son of Gilead by a harlot, driven out by his half-brothers so he would not share in their father's inheritance, and he fled to the land of Tob, where he gathered a band of men around him. When the Ammonites made war against Israel, the elders of Gilead, desperate for a capable military leader, sought out the very man they had once expelled and asked him to become their head. Jephthah first attempted diplomacy, sending messengers to the king of Ammon reciting Israel's history and Israel's right to the land, but when Ammon refused to listen, the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah and he led Israel to a decisive victory. Before the battle, Jephthah made a rash vow that whatever came out of his house to meet him upon his return would be offered up, a vow tragically fulfilled when his only daughter came out first, a sobering account of impulsive religious zeal disconnected from careful reflection on God's actual commands.