Her father had made a deal with God, using her life as a bargaining chip, but she was one step ahead of him. 37 And she said unto her father, Let this thing be done for me: let me alone two months, that I may go up and down upon the mountains, and bewail my virginity, I and my fellows. Jephthah’s daughter is the victim of her father’s vow to sacrifice a person in return for victory in battle. 38 And he said, Go. The daughters of Israel did not lament Jephthah’s daughter’s death, they commemorate her dedication to the service of God which involved her wholehearted submission. A woman who wants to give herself in service to God must be a virgin. Verse 4. According to this interpretation, Jephthah’s daughter was sent to the mountains to live in seclusion. Thus it became a custom in Israel, 40 that the daughters of Israel went yearly to commemorate the daughter of Jephthah … 37 And she said unto her father, Let this thing be done for me: let me alone two months, that I may go up and down upon the mountains, and bewail my virginity, I and my fellows. Upon learning of her destined fate, she requested a two-month period to be with her friends to bewail her virginity and approaching death. Judges 11. 38 And he said, Go. Now Jephthah the Gileadite, the son of a prostitute, was a mighty warrior. And he sent her away for two months: and she went with her companions, and bewailed her virginity … 38 And he said: 'Go.' 39 And it came to pass at the end of two months, that she returned unto her father, who did with her according to his vow which he had vowed: and she knew no man. We need people who believe they need to keep their word. 37 And she said unto her father, Let this thing be done for me: let me alone two months, that I may go up and down upon the mountains, and bewail my virginity, I and my fellows. Judges 11:1-11, 11:29-40. Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valour, and he was the son of an harlot: and Gilead begat Jephthah. 5. Why does Jephthah’s daughter “bewail her virginity” (Judges 11:37) rather than mourn the approaching loss of her life? And it became a custom in Israel that the daughters of Israel went year by year to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in the year. Judges 11:1-33 record Jephthah’s success. Go! It is not to the heroics of Jephthah the "mighty warrior" (Jud. Like Jephthah’s daughter, we ... bewail her virginity with her companions. Another consideration is the fact that Jephthah allowed his daughter to leave for two months with her friends before he fulfilled his vow. His daughter mourned her virginity for two months knowing that she will never have a … She did it to hounour her father according to God's _____ (Ex20:12). Those who think she lived out her life in the tabernacle, stress that her companions bewailed her virginity and not her life. She had never known a man, and it became a custom in Israel Jdg 11:40 that the daughters of Israel went year by year to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in the year. Jephthah’s Daughter. (b.c. Bible scholars have suggested an explanation that … 37 And she said to her father, “Let this thing be done for me; let me alone two months, that I may go and wander on the mountains, and bewail my virginity, I and my companions .” 38 And he said, “Go.”. As a related point of interest, it is ironic that a women’s ritual (Judg 11:3940) serves to honor a virgin. go and go down 38 And he said, Go. Jephthah’s daughter returns two months later to her father and “he fulfilled his vow.” Does that mean he sacrificed her? Like Jephthah’s daughter, we ... bewail her virginity with her companions. Determined to begin a new life, he turns to the Infinite of Parne, shunning Utzaii, the sun god of the Agocii. Most twentieth-century commentators on Judges regard the story of Jephthah's daughter as an etiological tale, used to explain the origin of an annual festival observed by women in pre-exilic Israel. Jephthah. 37 And then she said to her father, "Let this thing be done for me: Grant me two months, so that I may go and wander on the mountains, and bewail my virginity, my companions and I." 38 And he said, Go. For I have opened my mouth to the Lord, and I cannot take back my vow." His daughter understood what he meant. Jephthah was a mighty man of valor. 11 Now d Jephthah the Gileadite was e a mighty warrior, but he was the son of a prostitute. So she departed, she and her companions, and bewailed her virginity on the mountains. She does not protest, but obtains permission to spend two months in the mountains with her companions, to bewail her virginity. The vow’s effect is not just on Jephthah but to the many people around him. At this point in time, we can clearly see why Jephthah is very grieved at the turn of events. Jephthah's daughter agreed to fulfil the _____. 34 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. Jepthah was a son of Gilead; and he had seventy brothers. her father (Jephthah), who did to her his vow which he had vowed. Would to God we had not been, We, who see our maiden queen, Love has slain whom hate had spared. Other biblical commentators 5 disagree. Some note that this was an annual lamentation, where “daughters of Israel” would travel to Jephthah’s daughter and lament with her while she was alive – and ended upon her death (as an old women) – which would also explain why this practice is not written about in later years. The rest of his story (Judges 11:34 to Judges 12:7) relates his failure.The writer likewise recorded Gideon’s success first (Judges 6:1 to Judges 8:23) and then his failure (Judges 8:24 to Judges 9:57).We shall find a similar pattern when we come to Samson’s story. Puzzling language. She asked him if she could first go and “bewail her virginity.” Bewail Her Virginity. If she knew she was about to die, why did she spend the final two months of her life in mountain solitude, rather than remaining with her family (11:36-37)? Those who are trying to sugarcoat the Biblical story of Jepthah seem to be missing the point. 1. Jephthah’s daughter will know no sexual fulfillment; Michal will have only memory of it. Gilead was the father of Jephthah. . So Jephthah passed over unto the children of Ammon to fight against them; and the Lord delivered them unto his hands. Some believe that the last passage denotes lamenting with his daughter for her virginity, instead of for her death. 37 And she said to her father, Let this thing be done for me; let me alone two months, that I may go and wander upon the mountains and bewail my virginity, I and my companions. But she asked for one thing. If the former, he or she was to be "Jehovah's," an expression unnecessary if it was to be made a burnt offering, and which could only mean "dedicated to perpetual virginity or priesthood." “I know you have to kill me, Father,” she said, “But before you do, give me three months in the woods with my female companions to bewail my virginity, for I will never marry.” He lets her go. 1 Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valour, and he was the son of an harlot: and Gilead begat Jephthah. O the dove the hawk has snared! The girl went into the mountains to bewail her virginity, not her impending death (11:37). 39 And it came to pass at the end of two months, that she returned unto her father, who did with her according to his vow which he had vowed: and she knew no man. It has been frequently suggested that the story of Jephthah’s daughter is aetiological, aimed at … Why would she ask to mourn her virginity with her friends instead of desiring to spend the remaining time she had with her mourning father? 15 In addition to the pagan religious origins mentioned above, it has been suggested that it was an opportunity for girls about to be married to lament their impending loss of virginity, 16 or, conversely, that it was an outlet … His daughter rightly encouraged her father to keep his vow. 19:25-30), and graphic descriptions of an overweight king having a dagger plunged into his belly (Judg. She had never known a man. However, the sons of Gilead and his wife exiled Jepthah because he was the son of Gilead that a harlot bare to him. 11 1 Now Jephthah [1] the Gileadite was a mighty man of valour, and he was the son of an harlot: and Gilead begat Jephthah. The issue of her virginity is directly related to the manner in which she died. 6. 38 And he said, Go. And Gil'e-ad's wife bare him sons; and his wife's sons grew up, and they thrust out Jephthah, and said unto him, Thou shalt not inherit in our father's house; for thou art the son of a strange woman. “I know you have to kill me, Father,” she said, “But before you do, give me three months in the woods with my female companions to bewail my virginity, for I will never marry.” He lets her go. If she knew she was about to die, why did she spend the final two months of her life in mountain solitude, rather than remaining with her family (11:36-37)? 37 And she said unto her father, Let this thing be done for me: let me alone two months, that I may go up and down upon the mountains, and bewail my virginity, I and my fellows. 11.37 go up…: Heb. JEPHTHAH TO LEAD IN THE WAR (Judges 11:4-11) "And it came to pass after awhile, that the children of Ammon made war against Israel. And she went with her companions, and bewailed her virginity … Jdg 11:39 And at the end of two months, she returned to her father, who did with her according to his vow that he had made. His daughter mourned her virginity for two months knowing that she will never have a child and become a mother in Israel. 37 And then she said to her father, "Let this thing be done for me: Grant me two months, so that I may go and wander on the mountains, and bewail my virginity, my companions and I." And he sent her away for two months, and she went with her companions and bewailed her virginity upon the mountains. 3:21-25), or an enemy general having a tent peg driven through his skull (Judg. In essence in my view, Jephthah has some paralelism with Jesus, who was rejected by their fellow jews and even considered inferior, as was the case with Jephthah because of his origin, and also was being offered in sacrifice as Jephthah offered the "first to meet him", and that person was his daughter that keep her virginity. 38 And he said, Go. Her father had made a deal with God, using her life as a bargaining chip, but she was one step ahead of him. Jephthah's daughter does not go off to "bewail her virginity" because she is about to take a vow of perpetual celibacy (for which she would have her entire life to bewail), but because she is about to die a virgin. Jephtah’s daughter dies, Judges 11:37-40. And he sent her away for two months: and she went with her companions, and bewailed her virginity upon the mountains. A password was used to separate the Ephraimites from the men under … Trustworthy (v.39) – Knowing what lies ahead, Jephthah’s daughter after being away for two months to bewail her virginity choses to return home to fulfil his father’s vow unto God. 11:2 And Gilead's wife bare him sons; and his wife's sons grew up, and they thrust out Jephthah, and said unto him, Thou shalt not inherit in our father's house; for thou art the son of a strange woman. The story is reminiscent of the fertility myths of the ancient Near East. Gilead was the father of Jephthah. go and go down 38 And he said, Go. Jephthah. Jephthah granted the request and after two months, his obedient daughter returned and he fulfilled his vow. It has been frequently suggested that the story of Jephthah’s daughter is aetiological, aimed at … His father was Gilead and his mother was a harlot. 5. … What follows is the way the RSV and the NIV translate Judges 11:39: “And at the end of two months, she returned to her father, who did with her according to his vow which he had made. The premature death of Jephthah's daughter was about to frustrate this end. The vow’s effect is not just on Jephthah but to the many people around him. Jephthah. Gilead was the father of Jephthah. Judges 11 King James Version. He was a prostitute's son. When his daughter had finished bewailing her virginity, Jephthah gave his daughter as a burnt offering. Bewail my virginity - To become a wife and a mother was the end of existence to an Israelite maiden. 11.37 go up…: Heb. And he sent her away for two months: and she went with her companions, and bewailed her virginity … 1143.) . She is not merely a virgin who died to fulfill her father's vow but a model for monastic women who devote their lives to God, a sacrifice likened by Abelard to dying.In transforming Seila, Abelard touches on a theme found already in the ninth century, when the story of Jephthah's daughter is discussed by Rabanus Maurus, in conjunction with Samuel's oblation to the service of god at the Shrine in Shiloh by his mother Hannah. 11:1-3. 1 Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valour, and he was the son of a harlot: and Gilead begat Jephthah. You have brought me very low! After Jephthah had fulfilled his vow of sacrificing his daughter, the text states that “she knew no man” . That may be the meaning of her request that she be allowed to bewail her virginity for two months, and of the statement that “she knew no man” ( Judg.11.39 kjv ). But obtains permission to bewail her virginity upon the mountains to live in seclusion, who did her! 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