Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Lawrence May <lgmay AT mindspring.com>]

Jdg 11:29-40 - Several important lessons are to be learned from Jephthah's
vow.
    1. There may be remainders of distrust and doubting,
even in the hearts of true and great believers.
    2. Our vows to God should not be as a purchase of
the favor we desire, but to express gratitude to him.
    3. We need to be very well advised in making vows,
lest we entangle ourselves.
    4. What we have solemnly vowed to God, we must perform,
if it be possible and lawful, though it be difficult and grievous to us.
    5. It well becomes children, obediently and cheerfully
to submit to their parents in the Lord. It is hard to say what Jephthah
did in performance of his vow; but it is thought that he did not offer
his daughter as a burnt offering. Such a sacrifice would have been an abomination
to the Lord; it is supposed she was obliged to remain unmarried, and apart
from her family. Concerning this and some other such passages in the sacred
history, about which learned men are divided and in doubt, we need not
perplex ourselves; what is necessary to our salvation, thanks be to God,
is plain enough. If the reader recollects the promise of Christ concerning
the teaching of the Holy Spirit, and places himself under this heavenly
Teacher, the Holy Ghost will guide to all truth in every passage, so far
as it is needful to be understood.

"Christian M. M. Brady" wrote:

On 6/1/02 5:35 PM, "Polycarp66 AT aol.com" <Polycarp66 AT aol.com> wrote:
 

In a message dated 6/1/2002 6:19:16 PM Eastern Daylight Time, cbrady AT tulane.edu writes:
 
 

sh AT teol.ku.dk
> writes:
>
>
>> Could it be the text SAYS she was ritually sacrificed, but does not
>> necessarily report historical events? I'd tend to think the text is a piece
>> of Israelite/jewish philosophical reflection on themes like fate and human
>> responsibility. Some might even say it's a lot more edifying that way.
>>
>
>
> Huh?  What is this supposed to mean.  Please expand.
 

If I may speak for the previous poster, it means that we should not
necessarily assume that the text refers to an *actual* historic event, but
that it is just a morality tale.

 

And what is the moral point of her being sacrificed?

That is for the reader to determine (the whole point of these sorts of narratives where the narrator does not provide a moral judgment is for the reader/audience to think about it themselves). I will say that I don’t think the focus is so much upon her being sacrificed as it is the broader story line of Jephtah being rejected and then called back and inappropriate vows. Consider comparing this story with Saul...

Cb
cbrady @ tulane.edu
--
"If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything."
~ Mark Twain
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