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Text -- Judges 11:28-40 (NET)
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Strongs On/Off
Context
11:28 But the Ammonite king disregarded the message sent by Jephthah .
A Foolish Vow Spells Death for a Daughter
11:29 The Lord’s spirit empowered Jephthah . He passed through Gilead and Manasseh and went to Mizpah in Gilead . From there he approached the Ammonites .
11:30 Jephthah made a vow to the Lord , saying , “If you really do hand the Ammonites over to me,
11:31 then whoever is the first to come through the doors of my house to meet me when I return safely from fighting the Ammonites – he will belong to the Lord and I will offer him up as a burnt sacrifice .”
11:32 Jephthah approached the Ammonites to fight with them, and the Lord handed them over to him.
11:33 He defeated them from Aroer all the way to Minnith – twenty cities in all , even as far as Abel Keramim ! He wiped them out ! The Israelites humiliated the Ammonites .
11:34 When Jephthah came home to Mizpah , there was his daughter hurrying out to meet him, dancing to the rhythm of tambourines . She was his only child ; except for her he had no son or daughter .
11:35 When he saw her, he ripped his clothes and said , “Oh no! My daughter ! You have completely ruined me! You have brought me disaster ! I made an oath to the Lord , and I cannot break it.”
11:36 She said to him, “My father , since you made an oath to the Lord , do to me as you promised . After all, the Lord vindicated you before your enemies , the Ammonites .”
11:37 She then said to her father , “Please grant me this one wish . For two months allow me to walk through the hills with my friends and mourn my virginity .”
11:38 He said , “You may go .” He permitted her to leave for two months . She went with her friends and mourned her virginity as she walked through the hills .
11:39 After two months she returned to her father , and he did to her as he had vowed . She died a virgin . Her tragic death gave rise to a custom in Israel .
11:40 Every year Israelite women commemorate the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite for four days .
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Names, People and Places, Dictionary Themes and Topics
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Names, People and Places:
Dictionary Themes and Topics:
Jephthah |
Vows |
Israel |
ISRAEL, RELIGION OF, 2 |
ISRAEL, HISTORY OF, 2 |
Judge |
Gilead |
God |
GOD, 2 |
Rashness |
Consecration |
Zeal |
JUDGES, PERIOD OF |
Prayer |
Music |
MINNITH |
Women |
Aroer |
Virgin |
Quotations and Allusions |
more
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expand allCommentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes
NET Notes -> Jdg 11:28; Jdg 11:28; Jdg 11:29; Jdg 11:29; Jdg 11:29; Jdg 11:31; Jdg 11:31; Jdg 11:31; Jdg 11:32; Jdg 11:33; Jdg 11:33; Jdg 11:34; Jdg 11:34; Jdg 11:35; Jdg 11:35; Jdg 11:35; Jdg 11:36; Jdg 11:36; Jdg 11:36; Jdg 11:37; Jdg 11:37; Jdg 11:38; Jdg 11:38; Jdg 11:39; Jdg 11:39; Jdg 11:40; Jdg 11:40; Jdg 11:40
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NET Notes: Jdg 11:31 Some translate “or,” suggesting that Jephthah makes a distinction between humans and animals. According to this view, if a human comes thr...
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NET Notes: Jdg 11:37 Heb “Leave me alone for two months so I can go and go down on the hills and weep over my virginity – I and my friends.”
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