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From: Judges 11:29-39a
Jephthah’s rash vow
Jephthath’s 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 kil-
ling 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 Israel’s 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 Moab; 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 Jephthah’s daughter is reported with-
out 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 (wri-
ting at a time when no one was in any doubt about human sacrifice being an abo-
mination) 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 else-
where in the Bible in reaction to abuses involved in the fulfillment of vows, espe-
cially 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 God’s 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 pos-
sible and better (Code of Canon Law, c. 1191, 1) which “is an act of devotion in
which the Christian 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 sacrile-
gious. Therefore, Jephthah’s action cannot be justified.
11:37. Jephthah’s 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.