From: Judges 11:29-39a
Jephthahs rash vow
Jephthaths victory over the Ammonites
In fulfillment of his vow, Jephthah sacrifices his daughter
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Commentary:
11:29-40. The Bible contains clear laws which, in addition to forbidding the killing
of an innocent person (Ex 23:7), regard human sacrifice as a very grave sin, a
crime and a form of idolatry (cf. Lev 18:21; 20:2-5; Deut 12:31; 18:10; Mic 6:7).
Human sacrifice was common among Israels neighbours, as can be seen from
Ugarit and Phoenician texts and from the book of Kings (2 Kings 3:27) which
reports the sacrificing of the first-born son of Mesha, king of Moah; there even
seems to have been an instance of it in Israel (cf. 2 Kings 16:3). But in all cases
it is condemned. However, the sacrificing of Jephthahs daughter is reported
without any clear negative criticism and the event was commemorated year by
year (v. 40). The episode certainly is disconcerting, but it may be that the author
(writing at a time when no one was in any doubt about human sacrifice being an
abomination) chose to respect the traditions that had come down, cruel and
harsh though they were, in order to convey a lesson about the sacredness of
vows and promises. Vows are such holy things that they should always be kept.
But, for that very reason, they should not be made rashly. This teaching is
repeated elsewhere in the Bible in reaction to abuses involved in the fulfillment of
vows, especially by those who made them hurriedly and then went back on them
(cf. Num 30:3; Deut 23:22-24; Eccles 5:3-4; cf. also Lev 27:1ff).
When revelation reaches its fullness, the doctrine on vows and promises made to
God becomes quite clear: a person may, out of devotion, promise God that he
will perform some act say some prayer, give alms or do some other good work.
Keeping this promise is a sign of respect for Gods majesty and of love towards a
faithful God. Sometimes, that promise may take the form of a vow, that is, of a
deliberate and free promise made to God, concerning some good which is poss-
ible and better (Code of Canon Law, c. 1191, 1) which is an act of devotion in
which the Christain dedicates himself to God or promises him some good work
(Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2102). If having made a promise or vow, one
realizes that one has promised something wrong, one clearly should not keep the
promise: to do so would not be proof of fidelity to God; it would be sacrilegious.
Therefore, Jephthahs action cannot be justified.
11:37. Jephthahs daughter asks him to delay carryout out his vow so that she
can bewail her virginity, that is, lament that fact that she will die before marrying
or conceiving a child. These were ambitions of every Israelite woman and not to
have achieved them would have been a reason for feeling ashamed and sorrow-
ful.
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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.
Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.