Jephthah

This article is about a character in the Book of Judges. For the character in Book of Genesis, see Japheth. For the oratorio by Handel, see Jephtha (Handel). For the oratorio by Carissimi, see Jephte (Carissimi). For the community in the United States, see Jeptha, Kentucky.
Jephthah
יפתח
Portrait from Promptuarium Iconum Insigniorum (1553) by Guillaume Rouillé
PredecessorJair
SuccessorIbzan

Jephthah (pronounced /ˈdʒɛfθə/; Hebrew: יִפְתָּח, Yīftāḥ) appears in the Book of Judges as a judge who presided over Israel for a period of six years (Judges 12:7). According to Judges, he lived in Gilead. His father's name is also given as Gilead, and, as his mother is described as a prostitute, this may indicate that his father might have been any of the men of that area.[1] Jephthah led the Israelites in battle against Ammon and, in exchange for defeating the Ammonites, made a vow to sacrifice whatever would come out of the door of his house first. When his daughter was the first to come out of the house, he immediately regretted the vow, which bound him to sacrifice his daughter to God. Jephthah carried out his vow.

Traditionally, Jephthah ranks among the major judges because of the length of the biblical narrative referring to him, but his story also shares features with those of the minor judges, such as his short tenure—only six years—in office.[2]

  1. ^ Bohmbach, Karla (2009). "Daughter of Jephthah: Bible". Jewish Women's Archive.
  2. ^ Hauser, Alan J. (1975). "The "Minor Judges" – A Re-evaluation". Journal of Biblical Literature. 94 (2). Alan J. Hauser: 190–200. doi:10.2307/3265729. JSTOR 3265729.