Did Jephthah Offer his Daughter for a Burnt Offering?

[Posted January 31, 2024]

The elders deliberated on whether Jephthah offered his daughter for a burnt offering or not. In the final analysis, the elders reached a consensus that Jephthah did not offer his daughter for a burnt offering but that the vow was in relation to her virginity. Now let’s take a look at the verses of scripture about Jephthah’s vow and related events.

Jdg 11:29  Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah, and he passed over Gilead, and Manasseh, and passed over Mizpeh of Gilead, and from Mizpeh of Gilead he passed over unto the children of Ammon. 
Jdg 11:30  And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the LORD, and said, If thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands, 
Jdg 11:31  Then it shall be, that whatsoever cometh 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.
Jdg 11:32  So Jephthah passed over unto the children of Ammon to fight against them; and the LORD delivered them into his hands.
Jdg 11:33  And he smote them from Aroer, even till thou come to Minnith, even twenty cities, and unto the plain of the vineyards, with a very great slaughter. Thus the children of Ammon were subdued before the children of Israel. 
Jdg 11:34  And Jephthah came to Mizpeh unto his house, and, behold, his daughter came out to meet him with timbrels and with dances: and she was his only child; beside her he had neither son nor daughter. 
Jdg 11:35  And it came to pass, when he saw her, that he rent his clothes, and said, Alas, my daughter! thou hast brought me very low, and thou art one of them that trouble me: for I have opened my mouth unto the LORD, and I cannot go back. 
Jdg 11:36  And she said unto him, My father, if thou hast opened thy mouth unto the LORD, do to me according to that which hath proceeded out of thy mouth; forasmuch as the LORD hath taken vengeance for thee of thine enemies, even of the children of Ammon. 
Jdg 11:37  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.
Jdg 11:38  And he said, Go. And he sent her away for two months: and she went with her companions, and bewailed her virginity upon the mountains. 
Jdg 11:39  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. And it was a custom in Israel, 
Jdg 11:40  That the daughters of Israel went yearly to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in a year.

From the account given, the vow Jephthah made was in relation to the virginity of his daughter since all Israel were aware of the abomination of a human sacrifice, and therefore, he could not have said that whosoever comes out of his house shall be offered for a burnt offering. We know that animals do not come out to welcome people and so Jephthah was aware that it was a human being who would come out to welcome him. A human sacrifice was therefore not on his mind since it was an abomination in Israel. Apart from this, a burnt offering must be offered with assistance from a priest, and no priest would consider carrying out this abomination. The King James version of the Bible gave a poor rendition of verse 30 by saying that whatever comes out of Jephthah’s house to meet him shall be offered as a burnt offering.

Jdg 11:31  then whatever comes out from the doors of my house to meet me when I return in peace from the Ammonites shall be the LORD’s, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering.”

The original manuscript does not have the underlined words. This implies that Jephthah was going to dedicate whatever comes out of his house to the Lord and after that offer a burnt offering to the Lord.

Another proof that Jephthah did not offer his daughter as a burnt offering can be gleaned from the response of the daughters of Israel as they made it a custom to celebrate Jephthah’s daughter four days in a year. If what took place was a human sacrifice, which was an abomination, the daughters of Israel would not even dream of having it as a custom.

Jdg 11:40  That the daughters of Israel went yearly to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in a year.

Again, King James’ use of the word “lament” in verse 40 is misleading as it suggests that the custom was about weeping for this unfortunate incident – human sacrifice. However, there are fewer versions of the Bible that use the word “celebrate” instead of lament. The celebration was for the daughter’s decision to remain chaste or virgin for the Lord.

Jdg 11:40  that the daughters of Israel went yearly to celebrate the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in a year. (ASV)

Jdg 11:40  that for four days every year the girls in Israel would go out to sing the praises of the daughter of Jephthah, the man from Gilead. (GW)

All the elders came to the consensus that Jephthah did not offer a human sacrifice of his daughter but that the daughter was dedicated to the Lord, which necessitated that she remain a virgin for the rest of her life. In addition to devoting her daughter wholly to the Lord, additionally he offered a burnt offering.