The Daughter Who Must Die for Jephthah’s Vow

On the eve of battle, Jephthah vowed that if he were given victory over the Ammonites, he would offer as a burnt offering whoever first came out of his house to meet him. When he returned from the battle victorious, the first to come out to greet him was his daughter, his one and only child.

Driven out by his half-brothers, Jephthah had lived among the lowest of society. Once he became head of Gilead, he assumed that whoever came out first to meet him would be a servant, and he made his vow thinking it would not matter if that person were sacrificed as a burnt offering. God did not prevent the moment when his daughter ran out ahead of everyone else. The anguish of a daughter who must die for her father’s wrongdoing calls to mind the suffering of Jesus, who died for our transgressions.

A vow should be made not out of greed but in thanksgiving for the grace we have received. Even when we feel wronged and long for revenge, we must leave it in God’s hands, wait patiently, and live holy lives with a pure faith.