Juízes 11

Juízes 11

Henry comments that… "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 favour 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. " A R Fausset - And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the LORD [JEHOVAH], and said, If Thou shalt without fail deliver [Heb., “If giving thou shalt give”] the children of Ammon into mine hands, (Judges 11 Commentary) Judges 11:31 then it shall be that whatever comes out of the doors of my house to meet me when I return in peace from the sons of Ammon, it shall be the LORD'S, and I will offer it up as a burnt offering." it shall be the LORD'S: Lev 27:2,3,28,29 1Sa 1:11,28 2:18 14:24,44 Ps 66:13,14 and I will offer it up as a burnt offering. Lev 27:11,12 Dt 23:18 Ps 66:13 Isa 66:3 Judges 11 Resources See excellent map of Jephthah and the Ammonites THE FOOLISH VOW then it shall be that whatever comes out of the doors of my house to meet me when I return in peace from the sons of Ammon, it shall be the LORD'S, and I will offer it up as a burnt offering." More than one expositor has pointed out that the little word “and” in the phrase “and I will offer it up” can be translated “or.” (In the Hebrew, it’s the letter waw which usually means “and.”) If we take this approach, then the vow was twofold: Whatever met him when he returned home would be dedicated to the Lord (if a person) or sacrificed to the Lord (if an animal). it shall be the LORD'S, and I will offer it up as a burnt offering: This phrase may be translated: "shall surely be the LORD's (if a human being comes first), or I will offer it up for a burnt offering (if an animal appears first)." Sometimes the idea is presented that Jephthah gave her to the tabernacle where she spent the remainder of her life working as a priest’s servant, never marrying, for she would be devoted to the sacred duties of religion as a holy virgin (cf. Ex 38:8; 1Sa 2:22). However, there is no specific OT example for the concept of the celibate female temple servant, though there were women performing various religious functions. Historically, this interpretation apparently rose from the allegorical explanation posited by the Rabbis Kimchi in the 11th and 12th cen. This interpretation was subsequently adopted by many Christian expositors but has little biblical basis. Warren